Epidavros (Epidaurus) is situated in the northeast of Peloponnes on the eastern side of Argolis.
The Sanctuary was founded in the 4rth cent. B.C. in the honour of Asclepios, the god of medicine.
Masses of worshippers and sick people from all over Greece flocked here seeking relief and cure. The priest-doctors, the Ascepiadae, as they named the descendants of Asclepios, served the god and maintained the secrets of healing which were passed from father to son.
The sanctuary is built amidst a peaceful evergreen landscape with crystal clear waters.
In the Sanctuary which was surrounded by a peribolos wall there were many temples, most of them built in the 4rth c. B.C.
The Temple of Themis goddess of justice, the Temple of Artemis on the pediments of which were statues of Nikes (Victories) that they survive, magnificent works of the sculptor Timotheos.
Close by to this temple are the ruins of the Abaton. This was the dormitory where the sick slept, hoping for a dream in which the god would indicate the method of their cure.
Close by is the famous Tholos (rotonda) . A remarkable building of the 4rth.c.B.C. built after the plans of the great architect Polycleitos the Younger. This circular building was intended to be a place of cult practice.
The Temple of Asclepios, work of Theodotos, housed the gold and ivory statue of the god. The god was sitting on a throne holding a cane in one hand , while his other was stretched out over the head of a serpent which was the symbol of the god.. The temple was in doric style, peripteral with 6 columns in the narrow and 11 on the long sides.
The Stadium of Epidavros was built in the 5th c. B.C.
The jewel though of Epidavros and one of the marvels of Greece is the Theatre which was built by Polycleitos. This theatre is worldwide known forits acoustics. It is perfectly preserved and still in use.
Very interesting is the museum of Epidavros which contains the statues and the architectural fragments of the buildings of the sanctuary.
Info
Telephone: 0030 27530 22009
Tickets : Full € 6, Reduced € 3
Opening hours: 08:00 - 18:00
Written by: Sophia Kokkinou . guide/archaeologist/ writer
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