How do you feel when you visit an ancient sacred place?
With some places you feel a deeper connection, while there are places that make you feel uncomfortable for a reason. I don't think that anyone would feel some kind of negative feeling when visiting the sanctuary of Asklipios in Epidaurus. It doesn't only have to do with the energy of the sanctuary, but also with the landscape, the harmony of nature blending with the ruins and the beauty all around.
I love greek mythology for its wild imagination, but especially for the human characteristics that the ancient were giving to their gods. Gods were not distant and they were far from perfect. Their weaknesses, their passions, were bringing gods close to people, they could feel connected with them, they could relate to them. Gods had characteristics of the morals and the morals could be lifted to gods.
Asklipios was believed to be the son of god Apollo and a mortal woman (in terms of love, nothing could stop greek gods and this part of mythology was really imaginative!), but he was a mortal himself and it was due to his healing powers that people made him a god. They said he could heal any disease, even win death. But that started making things too complicated for gods so Zeus killed him with a lighting.
This sanctuary was built where according to mythology Asklipios was born.
People would go there to be cured. It was the most famous sanctuary in Mediterranean. After a sequence of rituals, at night and in their sleep the god would come and reveal to them what they had to do in order to be cured.
At the photo below, we see the remaining of the buildings that used to host the patients, around 160 beds as they estimate. Archaeology and archaeological sites demand a good eye and a lot of imagination to rebuild the story :)
Of course there were baths.
There was a kind of restaurant where ceremonial meals were taking place. All rituals were related with the worship of Asklipios.
A stadium. As you might have already guessed, all games and races where devoted to the healing god.
I was the witness of a race between son and father :)
Various temples.
I specially loved this spot, where according to the sign "the first ash altar and ritual feasting where located".
The temple of Asklipios.
And the "Avato", the sacred place of the healing, inaccessible to those who hadn't gone through a kind of preparation in order to come in contact with god in their dreams.
The dome, under conservation.
The altar of Asklipios.
The sacred fountains.
For the end I left the theater of Epidaurus, that has its own post here as it is interesting and magic on its own.
My parents loved history, so any time we were traveling there was no doubt we were going to visit an archaeological site or a museum. There is a story about me being around 3 or 4 years old crying and grumbling that I don't want to go to another museum while they were just taking me to a traditional weaving workshop (little I knew back then about how my life would lead me to a weaving loom).
I don't think I ever grumbled about going to Epidaurus, even if it was a family trip or a school excursion or a summer evening at the theater during the festival.
Thanks so much for reading!
All the pictures and the words are mine. If you would like to know more about me this is my introduction post.