Panoramic view from the Askleipion on Kos

View from the Askleipion on Kos

In ancient Greece and Rome, an asclepeion (or asklepieion, Greek: Ἀσκληπιεῖον, Latin aesculapīum) was a healing temple, sacred to the god Asclepius.

Starting around 300 BC, the cult of Asclepius became increasingly popular. Pilgrims flocked to asclepieia to be healed. They slept overnight and reported their dreams to a priest the following day. He prescribed a cure, often a visit to the baths or a gymnasium. Since snakes were sacred to Asclepius, they were often used in healing rituals. Non-venomous snakes were left to crawl on the floor in dormitories where the sick and injured slept.

Pausanias remarked that, at the asclepieion of Titane in Sicyon (founded by Alexanor, Asclepius' grandson), statues of Hygieia were covered by women's hair and pieces of Babylonian clothes. According to inscriptions, the same sacrifices were offered at Paros.

Hippocrates is said to have received his medical training at an asclepieion on the isle of Kos. Prior to becoming the personal physician to the Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius, Galen treated and studied at the famed asclepieion at Pergamon.

The oldest known asclepieion was at Trikke (now known as Trikala) in Thessaly. The asclepieion at Epidaurus, traditionally regarded as the birthplace of Asclepius, is both extensive and well preserved. There is an asclepieion located on the south slopes of the Acropolis of Athens which dates to around 420 BC.

[edit] See also

• Ancient Greek medicine
• Pool of Bethesda

[edit] External links

• Ministry of Culture/ Asclepeion of Epidaurus
• Ministry of Culture/ Ascl.of Trikala
• Presentation of Tholos - The Asclepieion at Epidaurus (click "Presentation")

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