The Healing Spaces of Asclepius' Sanctuary at Epidaurus

Before there were physicians in ancient Greece, there was Asclepius, hero-god of healing. Sanctuaries, sprouting from Epidaurus, spread across Greece into Rome as the cult of Asclepius reached distinct renown from the fourth century to the first century BCE. Even when the earliest medical doctors, Hippocrates and Galen, were practicing, they continued to show the utmost respect for their patron god, Asclepius. In this presentation, we follow a worshipper in search of healing as he/she pilgrimages from afar through the hills surrounding the sanctuary of Epidaurus, through the gates marking the god’s territory, through the temple and into the place-not-to-be-trodden to learn the ins and outs of the cult, and we discover how Epidaurus helped the sick, injured and barren become healthy, whole people. By conducting this virtual tour through the temple complex, I will show how the built structures, the inscriptions, and the natural landscape combine to create a healing space that led the cult and the sanctuary to great fame.