Epidaurus
placeEpidaurus was the most famous healing sanctuary in Greece, sacred to Asclepius, where patients slept in the temple and received divine cures in their dreams.
The Myth
The Asklepieion at Epidaurus was the ancient world's most renowned healing centre. Patients underwent incubation — sleeping in the temple precinct (abaton) and receiving healing visions from Asclepius in their dreams. Inscribed cure tablets record miraculous healings: the blind given sight, the lame made to walk, tumours dissolved. The sanctuary also hosted one of Greece's best-preserved theatres, seating 14,000 with acoustics so perfect a whisper on stage can be heard in the last row.
Symbols
Fun Fact
The theatre at Epidaurus has such perfect acoustics that you can hear a coin drop on stage from the back row — 60 metres away.
Words We Inherited
English words and phrases that trace back to this myth:
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