-
The preserved entrance of the oblong building of Asklepieion Archaeological Society at Athens © Η εν Αθήναις Αρχαιολογική Εταιρεία -
Asklepieion, the eastern part of the east portico Archaeological Society at Athens © Η εν Αθήναις Αρχαιολογική Εταιρεία -
Asklepieion, the western part of the east portico Archaeological Society at Athens © Η εν Αθήναις Αρχαιολογική Εταιρεία -
Asklepieion, remains of the western portico Archaeological Society at Athens © Η εν Αθήναις Αρχαιολογική Εταιρεία -
Asklepieion. Inscribed monument. Archaeological Society at Athens © Η εν Αθήναις Αρχαιολογική Εταιρεία -
Asklepieion. Remains of the oldest and newest enclosure Archaeological Society at Athens © Η εν Αθήναις Αρχαιολογική Εταιρεία -
The Asklepieion at the Acropolis of Athens Archaeological Society at Athens © Η εν Αθήναις Αρχαιολογική Εταιρεία -
Telemachos Monument. Marble fragment of a relief with Hygieia seated and three figures. The British Museum © The Trustees of the British Museum -
Lamp with Asklepios Preimos The British Museum © The Trustees of the British Museum -
The Asclepieion Davide Mauro © Davide Mauro / Wikimedia Commons, CC-BY-SA-4.0 -
Relief of Athenian doctors in the form of a shrine: Asklepio Wellcome Collection © Wellcome Collection. Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)
Ten years after the great Athenian plague, estimated to have caused the death of one-third of its population, a sanctuary dedicated to Asclepius, the god of health and medicine, was founded on the southern slope of the Acropolis. Asclepius, son of Apollo and the Nymph Coronis, was the first healing deity. The earliest reference to him is found in Homer’s Iliad where the poet describes him as a benevolent physician and an impeccable healer. In art Asclepius is depicted as a mature bearded man with a serene expression, wearing a himation and holding a wooden staff with a serpent entwined, known as the rod of Asclepius.
The Sanctuary of Asclepius is located west of the Theatre of Dionysus, above the Peripatos, the road around the rock of the Acropolis. It was founded in 420/19 BCE by the Athenian Telemachus of the deme of Acharnae, who brought an image of the god from the Sanctuary of Asclepius in Epidaurus.
The Asklepieion of Athens, besides serving as a place of worship, also functioned as an organised therapeutic centre. The architectural complex enclosed a peribolos with a propylon and included a temple with the cult statue of the god, an altar for sacrifices, two arcades, a spring with sacred water (Sacred Spring) and a circular pit for offerings (Sacred Pit).
The Ionic stoa to the west was built in the late 5th century BCE. It had four rooms and an Ionic colonnade on its facade. It served as a shelter, as a dining area for priests and visitors. The Doric stoa built in 300/299 BCE to the east of the sanctuary was two-story and connected to the Sacred Spring. On its second floor was the Sacred Pit, where visitors sacrificed in honour of the chthonic deities and heroes.
The Doric stoa functioned as an Abaton-Enkoimeterion. Supplicants, after following specific rules of diet and hygiene, purified themselves with the water of the Sacred Spring, sacrificed to the god then slept to receive a visit from Asclepius in their dreams. The god would either heal them or provide advice for their recovery. After the incubation ceremony, the patients, in gratitude to the god, dedicated to the shrine anatomical votive offerings (tamata) representing the afflicted part of their body.
During the invasion of Sulla in 86 BCE, the sanctuary suffered extensive damages and lost its popularity. It was repaired in the following years and a new temple dedicated to Asclepius was erected. In the early Christian centuries, it regained its prominence. The temple was destroyed again during the raids of the Heruli in 267 CE and was reconstructed in the 4th century. At the end of the 5th or the beginning of the 6th century, it was completely ruined and a basilica dedicated to the Holy Unmercenaries (Saints Anargyroi), Christian physicians and healers, was built in its place.
