The ancient site of Epidaurus is bordered by mountains, and is in the plain of Argolid in the state of Argolid, which is in the northeastern part of the Peloponnese. On this place the god of health god, Asclepius, had his sanctuary. Indeed it was a healthy place of warm climate, lush greenery, and spring waters.

            Asclepius was the god of health. His mother, a Lapith princess, had died and Asclepius' father, the god, Apollo brought him to the centaur Chiron to raise the child. Chiron was a good and intelligent centaur, unlike all of the other centaurs, and kings often brought their sons to him so Chiron could teach them how to be a true teacher.

            Asclepius learned from Chiron, but had also inherited his father's skill for healing the sick. He left Chiron and went to help the people of Greece. He quickly became the worldÕs first physician. People came from all over the country to ask them to help him. Apparently many miracles happened after Asclepius had come to them and cured them.

            Many tablets were written of miracles that had happened to people. One was about a woman named Nikoboule, from Messene who couldn't have a child. She slept in the Abato (the building which the inflicted person would spend the night in and the next morning be healed.) Asclepius appeared in her dream holding a large snake and the snake slept in the Abato with her. Within that year the woman gave birth to two sons. Many other accounts were told of Asclepius' powers.

            His priests aided Asclepius and the sick went through a certain process before they were cured. First the sick would enter the sanctuary through the Propylaia and follow the Sacred Way that led them to the temple of Asclepius. After the temple, the inflicted would use the water from the Sacred Fountain for purifications. Then he would offer a sacrifice on an altar to Apollo and Asclepius. The richest sacrifice anybody could offer was an ox down to cockerels, but the poor could offer fruit and other humble sacrifices.  After all this the ill had to go through religious trials to reinforce his faith and prepare his soul for advancing in front of the god. The priests would bring the ill into the Abato and they would sleep and have a vision of the god who performed a miracle on them and they woke up healthy.   

            Asclepius had a staff intertwined with sacred serpents. Serpents and snakes, he said, told the secrets of the earth and told him cures for illnesses.

            Asclepius had a wife and seven children. One of those children was Hygeia who washed the patients with soap and water to keep them clean and to help them regain their health. Also his two sons Machaon and Podaleirios were very knowledgeable about medicine and during the Trojan war when Menelaos was wounded by arrows, supposedly Machaon was called to treat him.

            All the people healed by Asclepius bestowed him with gifts. Money was mostly given so many statues, temples, and works of art could be put into the sanctuary.

            After a while he became so skilled that he could resurrect the dead. Zeus evidently didn't like this so he threw a thunderbolt at Asclepius and killed him. Although he was dead, his care giving lived on and still lives.

            The date of the founding of this shrine is not known. 5^th century B.C. authors say it was a famous shrine even then. The oldest written finds are the marble inscriptions from the 4^th century B.C.

            There were many buildings in the shrine including, Baths, a Cistern, a Tholos Tomb, a Temple of Artemis, a stadium, and The Temple of Asclepius. The Temple of Asclepius took five years to build from 380-375 B.C. The architect and supervisor was Theodotos. Six columns by eleven columns held the roof and its dimensions were 2,450 by 1,320 meters.

             The shrine stayed popular even into 4^th century B.C., but the Goths ruined the site of Asclepius in 395 A.D. Also two earthquakes in the 6^th century B.C. helped to ruin it even more.

The stadium. Ruins from the site.

The Theater

Also a very important structure is the theatre. It is the best-constructed ancient theater. The shape of the theater is a half circle and it has amazing acoustics. Even a whisper in the center of it can be heard from the top most rows. A spectator is never blocked from seeing the actors and the sun is never in his or her eyes. The theater can fit 12,300 people and ancient Greek plays still happen in the theater. The architect Polykleitos built it in the 4th century B.C. It is a truly amazing sight.

The theater. Seats in the theater.

The Museum

The museum of Epidaurus is small, but contains many objects. It holds medical instruments including scalpels, tweezers, and many other things. Alongside these tools are offerings made to the god. There are also statues from the ruins of the site. Probably the most impressive of these things is a beautiful Corinthian capital thought to be the "model" for equal capitals in the Tholos of the sanctuary of Asclepius.

The Corinthian Capital.

My Thoughts About the Site

I truly enjoyed this site because of its beauty. Trees shaded the green grass and under the trees it was very calm. I think it would have been actually healing for an ill person to come here.

            I also really enjoyed the theater because of the way it was built. I was really amazed at the way that the ancient Greek architects built it in a certain way so that every person it the theater could see and hear the performers. The views were very beautiful, like most places in Greece. The museum was also very interesting. If I could, I think I would go back to Epidaurus.

A view from Epidaurus.

Some information was used from Epidaurus, the Sanctuary of Asclepios and the Museum copyright "CLIO" editions 1978, by Angeliki Charitonidou: archaeologist.