Ancient Epidavros: The Theater and Sanctuary of Asklipious

Epidavros is a World Heritage Site.

Epidaurus was one of the most important medical sanctuaries of the ancient world, dedicated to Asklipios, the god of healing, superseding the earlier sanctuary of Apollo by the 4th century BC.

The Asklipian cult probably originated in Homeric times in Thessaly (from Trikke) from which it migrated southward, but it first attained prominence at Epidaurus during the 6-5th centuries BC., spreading from there to Athens (where there is are ruins of an Asklipian sanctuary on the south slope below the Acropolis). The sanctuary at Epidaurus, along with that on the island of Kos (where Hippocrates practiced medecine), were the two most famous.

According to legend Asklipios was the son of Apollo and Koronis, a Boetian princess and was suckled by a female goat and educated by a wise centaur (Cheiron) who taught him surgery and healing with plants. As a result, the student became so gifted as to resurrect the dead, earning him the enmity of Hades and Zeus, who considered such powers the province of gods alone, his punishment: death by one of Zeus' thunderbolts, after which he was buried at Epidaurus.

The peak of his cult was reached during the 4th century BC and all of the great Greek doctors (including Hippocrates) claimed him as mentor.

He is depicted as a bearded figure leaning on a divining wand and accompanied by a magic serpent-hence the caduceus- sacred symbol of medecine.

Some of the medical knowledge attributed to Asklipius may have originated in Egypt, and then made its way to Greece via Asia Minor and Kos (just off the Asia Minor coast).

The Ptolemaic Greeks had a hero-god Asklipios Imhotep (said to have lived around 2780BC), to whom sanctuaries were dedicated. There is a small sanctuary of Egyptian gods in fact, on the site at Epidaurus.

The Hieron (Sanctuary of Epidaurus (Iieron, being the genitive of the Greek word for 'sacred') is located in a valley between Mt Velanidhia (Oak Mountain) and Mt Kharani. It was both a religious place and a sort of spa, in that along with the temples and colonnades of the cult, hospitals, sanitaria and dwellings for priest-kings, there were also hotels for the healthy. In Roman times, baths were added, with water channeled in from spring-fed reservoirs. The site, though overlooked by many visitors more interested in the famous theater (see below) is as large as the sites at Delphi and Olymbia, and the setting is quite lovely.

The treatment: First, the sick would make a sacrifice to the gods and thus purify themselves and then lie on the skins of animals that had been sacrificed In some cases they were cured during their sleep without further ado, but sometimes Asklipios himself would appear to them in their dreams (believed to assume the form of a serpent) and later the priests would interpret the medical instructions given. Sometimes the cure would include baths, relaxion, physical exercises, or even intellectual pursuits. One can deduce from all this some of the purpose of the adjacent gymnasium, stadium and theater and the 'Asklipian Games' held every four years and which included competitions in music and poetry as well as sports. In later years under the Romans the treatments became more scientifically grounded and in the late 5th century AD a Christian basilika was built on the ancient site.

One of the best-preserved buildings on the site is the circular Tholos, with labyrinthine inner foundation walls believed to have been used as a snakepit. One view holds that the snakes were involved in some kind of 'shock therapy' for the mentally ill, though others maintain that priests were initiated here, undergoing a death and rebirth experience. It wasn't until the beginning of the 19th century that an English traveler and topographer, Sir William Gell, drafted a plan of the ruins at Epidaurus and in 1822 Greek independence was proclaimed in the theater. Greek and French archaeolgists began work on the site in 1881.

The theater Built around 330-320BC, the famous ancient theater of Epidaurus now stages performances of Classical plays on Friday and Saturday nights from the end of June through the last weekend in August, peformed for the annual Athens Festival, and featuring the works of Sophocles, Euripides and Aeschylus. They are performed in modern Greek, though a book of translations is available at the Odyssey bookstore in Nafplio.

The builder was Polykleitos the Younger, Argive architect, responsible for the harmonious proportions (which observe the 'golden mean') and beautiful lines of this most impressive of theaters worldwide. Its setting too is a major factor in its beauty, sitting on the north slope of Mt Harani and facing the sacred Aslipian valley (above). It seats 14,000 spectators and in shape constitutes more than half of a semicircle. There are 55 rows of seats divided by a promenade. The seats for notables and those for ordinary folk were of red or white limestone, respectively. It is most famous feature is its perfect acoustical properties, whereby the slightest sound is heard without any distortion from the stage to the top back corner at the top of the many terraces-an upward distance of 22.50meters/74feet. Similarly, the performance can also be seen perfectly from any seat in the theater (assuming one has good eyes). The circular orchestra is 20.28 meters/63 feet in diameter., with the base of an altar to Dionysos in the center. The floor of the stage is of beaten earth. This is where the chorus performed. There is even a channel for runoff of rainwater (between the orchestra and the first row of seats). Double doorways are at the entrance to the theater, with pilasters with Corinthian capitals.

The theater is the best-preserved theater in Greece as well as one of the best-preserved Classical buildings.

The museum near the theater is open during summer Mon 12noon to 7pm, Tues-Sun 8am-7pm; in winter it closes at 5pm; the entrance fee is included in the price of the site ticket).

Visiting it first deepens appreciation of the site. The medical cures are shown here in chronological progression as well as tablets that record outstanding or miraculous cures, and finally, advanced surgical instruments.

Also displayed are Corinthian and Ionic columns, Roman statuary, sculpture , reconstructions from the Temple of Asklipios, pavement of the Tholos.

Greece Travelers may take a luxury coach tour, rent a car or empower themselves with a private Oracle tour of their own design. Consider these other popular Greece travel destinations. If its on the Greek mainland Oracle can take you there in air conditioned & non-smoking security!

Athens, Cape Sounion, Ancient Corinth, Delphi & Ossios Lukas, Drama, Florina, Greneva, Chalkidiki, Imathia, Kastoria, Kavala, Kozani, Meteora, Mt. Athos, Mycenaea, Naufplion, Olympia, Pella and Vergina, Phillipi & Kavala, Dion & Mt Olympus, Sparta & Mystras, The Mani and Monemvasia, Thessaloniki,
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