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The Asklepieia were sacred hospitals where the methods of Asklepieios were used for the treatment of the patients. To understand this better, we'll take a detour into the origin, life and studies of Asklepieios.
 Asklepieios was the son of Apollo and Koronis. Koronis was later unfaithful to Apollo and he had her thrown into the flames in his anger. She was holding their son Asklepieios at the time and Apollo snatched him from her to save him and appointed the centaur Hiron to care for him. Hiron taught medicine to many people but Asklepieios was his favourite student. Together they studied the medical properties of herbs and discovered miraculous cures for various ailments. Asklepieios thus became the god of medicine and was worshipped as such as he was able to cure both men and gods. To honour Asklepieios, people built the Asklepieia which were originally places of worship. As people flocked to these centres in hope of a cure from the god, it was natural that they would gradually progress to centres of healing and treatment.
There were 300 Asklepieia all over ancient Greece with the most important ones being in Trikkis, Thessaly (the home town of Asklepieios), Sycyon, Tirothea, Epidaurus, Knidos, Athens and of course Kos. The Asklepieia were built in beautiful surroundings with special areas for research and treatment, comparable to our modern day sanatoriums. The "doctors" were actually priests who passed the secrets revealed to them by the gods from father to son.
 Before the patient's examination and treatment, protocol dictated that certain procedures had to be followed to the letter. The patient had to adapt his soul and body to the immediate environment while undergoing a pre-treatment of medicine, fasting, hydrotherapy, hypnosis, dream therapy and of course the offering of sacrifices. This superstitious system of treatment of patients continued until Hippocrates appeared on the scene and introduced scientific methods of medicine.
The Asklepieion of Kos was the best and most famous of its time to which many patients and medical students of the then known world flocked. It is situated in a wonderful area with a breathtaking view at 100 metres above sea level and covers a large area, wrapped in the greenery of the grove in which it lies, which was dedicated to Apollo of the Cypresses and was considered sacred. Springs with mineral water terminated at the Asklepieion and were used for the treatment of dermatological ailments, for bathing and drinking cures.
 The landscape of the Asklepieios is divided into three levels, each quite different from the other. 24 steps lead us to the first level. On the south side there are galleries which were probably used as patient recovery rooms surrounded by clear running water from the springs. Beside the stairs, an inscription to Xenophon (a famous Koan doctor of ancient times) was found and on the left of the staircase there are recesses which probably held statues. There certainly was a statue of Aphrodite made by Praxitelis as well as a temple dedicated to her. To the east there is a building from the Roman era and was most likely the residence of a Roman general and in its ruins there are hot baths.
 At the second terrace one climbs up 30 steps where one encounters the oldest building of the Asklepieion, the altar of Apollo of the Cypresses. To the west there is a temple with two restored columns which belonged to the Asklepieion of the 3rd century BC where the temple treasury was found where gifts of great value were deposited by patients. To the east of the terrace at the top of the stairway is the temple of Apollo with eight restored columns and a little further away is a semi-circular platform which was probably the hall used for meetings and discussions by the doctor priests. To the west there is a small temple dedicated to the emperor Nero (who had made himself a god but this worship was stopped shortly after his death) as well as the remains of a staircase leading to the sacred forest.
 Another 60 steps and we are led to the third level. From this height the view of the sacred area and beyond is almost hypnotically beautiful. Here from north to south there was a great temple of Doric architecture which measured 36 x 18 metres. It was built in the 2nd century as an offering to Asklepieios. Enclosing this is a gallery of the Hellenistic era measuring 100 x 80 metres which probably also included treatment rooms. To the east in this area, an engraved slab with the letters ICXP (Byzantine symbol for Jesus Christ) leads us to the conclusion that the temple was later transformed into a Christian church. |
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Dry -
mostly cloudy
- thunder; Cumulonimbus clouds, towering cumulus clouds observed |
| Temp.:
15.0°C | 59.0 °F
Hourly
Fluctuation (0.0 °C/hr)
Humidity: 82 %
Wind: 5 bft - S
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01:30 AM
(GMT+2) -
06/01/09 |
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