Joy Woolley on Epidaurus, healing capital of the ancient world

The Site of Epidauros.

Epidaurus:

When you travel to Epidaurus, you truly understand why the Ancient Greeks established a healing sanctuary there! Tucked away in the mountains, Epidaurus is a breathtaking site filled with incredible history. Here are a few things I learned:

Asclepius:

The entire site of Epidaurus was a sanctuary dedicated to the God Asclepius. According to mythology, Asclepius was the son of Apollo and he was worshipped as a healing God. His name means “to cut open”, and he represents the physical healing aspect of medical care. His daughters, the “Asclepiades” represent other aspects such as healthiness, and recuperation. He is depicted holding a rod with one snake entwined around it. This icon is often confused with the double-snaked caduceus of Apollo, but it is still widely used as the symbol of medicine today.

The Theater in Epidauros.

The Ancient Theatre:

Built in the 4th century BC, the Ancient Theatre at Epidaurus is widely considered the most perfect ancient Greek theatre. It is aesthetically beautiful and was constructed with acoustics in mind. Our class walked to the last row of seats, and we were able to clearly hear our professor who was speaking at normal conversational volume on the stage! Music, plays, and dramatic games were all hosted at the theatre. It was used as a method to heal patients visiting the sanctuary because comedic and tragic plays were thought to have positive effects on health. The theatre had a capacity of around 13 to 14 thousand visitors at the time, and it is still used to host shows today.

Sanctuary of Asclepius:

The Sanctuary of Asclepius was the main holy site dedicated to Asclepius during the Classical and Hellenistic periods. People from all over the ancient world would go on pilgrimages to the sanctuary to seek out treatment for all sorts of medical treatments. The ancients wrote about numerous miracles occurring at the Sanctuary of Asclepius. We were able to exercise our knowledge of the Ancient Greek language and translate inscriptions about people being miraculously cured. We fully translated a story about a man who was injured in a wrestling competition, but was healed at the Sanctuary and went on to continue wrestling and win at the Nemean games.

Students studying an inscription in Epidauros.