Greece spikes stilettos from ancient sites

Greece wants to discourage women from wearing stiletto heels at performances held in key archaeological sites because of damage to the monuments.

"Female visitors must wear shoes that do not wound the monuments," said Eleni Korka, director of Greek prehistoric and classical antiquities.

"These monuments have a skin that suffers and people must realise that."

A set of guidelines coming into force from next January will also ban food and drink at on-site perform- ances and forbid entry to anyone who is drunk. Show operators are also held to strict decibel limits and rules covering the installation and removal of scenery, Korka said.

"There is great pressure on the ministry to grant the use of archaeological sites from April to October, but this is a schedule which the sites cannot bear," she added.

Greek archaeologists are concerned that key sites such as the Roman-era Odeon of Herod Atticus in Athens and the Classical-era Epidaurus Theatre in the Peloponnese are showing the strain of continuous use, both in terms of wear caused by show equipment and the passage of thousands of spectators.