THE SACRED COURT OF THE ASKLEIPEION
Asklepios
is the god of health and therapy. He was one of the sons
of Apollo. He was, worshiped in pre-Roman times as the
god of health, and later. He was worshipped during the
Roman period and he was accepted with the name of Aesculapius.
The
legend relates that Apollo was in love with the daughter
of a king, known as Koronis. She begot a child by him,
but took another lover during her pregnancy. When Apollo
heard of this he was extremely angry,. He was determined
that his unfaithful lover should burn. She is burnt at
the stake, but Apollo is unable to endure the death of
his child. So has her removed from the flames, thus saving
his son. He later entrusts the boy to the Centaur Kheirona.
This legendary figure has unraveled all the secrets of
Nature. These he teaches to the boy, who becomes such
a gifted doctor that he capable of restoring the dead
to life.
Zeus,
the father of all the Gods destroyed the god Asklepius
with a shaft of lightening, when he began to fear his
powers. Just as the great physician was about to die he
inscribed something onto paper. As the legend goes, and
this inscription fell onto the grass, being soaked in
by the rain. This is said to be the origin of garlic,
the cure for all ailments. The Asklepieion became renowned
during early times as an important cure center in Pergamon.
Its reputation was maintained during the Roman period,
when it continued to be an important center for health
cures.
As
one leaves the ruins of Pergamon, a winding road takes
one to the sacred center of Asklepios. On approaching
the Asklepieion, we are first impressed by the columned
road, which leads to the cure house. The propylaea, on
three sides of which were Corinthian porticos, is reached
at the end of this street. The Propylaea was built during
the 2 century A.D. by the historian, Consul Claudus Cracax.
It has Corinthian columns, and a temple-like facade, which
is approached by steps. Today only two of these steps
remain in site. On the right, the large, square-shaped
building is the Emperor's quarters. It was also used as
a library. The shelves in the wall recesses were used
for storing manuscripts. As a therapy, mud and hot baths
were used. But since reading and theatre were also part
of the cure, the center also has a theatre and a library.
Sport was also an essential part of the cure.
The
circular building on the left of the entrance was the
Asklepios temple. It was constructed with the donations
of the Consul Lucius Rufmus in 150 A.D. in honor of Asklepios,
God of Health. It is covered with a dome measuring 23.85m.
diameter. The walls, which are up to 3 meters thick, are
polygonal and rounded niches on the interior. The ground
and walls are decorated with colored marble mosaics.
The
sanctuary, which has survived to the present day measures
110 x 130m. It is Roman in origin. Within this sanctuary,
to the left, is the circular house of treatment, 26.50m
in diameter, cylindrical in shape. It is a two-storied
building, constructed later than the Asklepios temple.
The lower story is on a level with the main courtyard.
There are six apses arranged around the interior of this
building. The roof was wooden, overlaid with tiles, rather
than domed.
We
learn from various inscriptions the kind of physic-therapy
methods practiced here. Among these were methods even
today, such as water and mud cure baths, together with
massage and herbal remedies.
A
passage 80 meters long extends from the sacred fountain,
which is situated in the center of the courtyard with
galleries on three sides, to the cure center. This was
used for patients to pass through to the cure center without
going into the open air. During the passage the patients
were treated with auto-suggestion and the sounds of running
water.
Let
us now go through this passage and visit the rest of the
buildings. After leaving the buildings, opposite stands
the theatre. It has a capacity of 3,500 spectators. It
is adjacent to the northerly columns. The auditorium was
semi-circular in shape. The benches rising towards the
top of the theatre terminate in low galleries.
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