Sanctuary of Asklepios

Epidaurus

This is the sanctuary of Asklepios in Epidaurus. This is where the god of medicine Askllepois was worshiped, which makes this sanctuary a place of healing. It is believed that the worship of this god is an earlier form of the worship of the god of Apollo. This a picture of the theater that is found in that sanctuary, where in ancient times plays were put on for the public. Even in present day there are occasionally plays performed in this theater! Unfortunately we were not able to catch any of these plays.

The acoustics of this theater are so good that anyone standing in the center can talk and they can be heard from anywhere in the theater, even the top step where I am standing in this picture. Being the curious minded students we are, we decided to test this for ourselves. My professor stood at the bottom and some students and I climbed to the top of the steps and called to him. He heard us! The acoustics are amazing and a work of genius on the part of the architect.

Walking into the theater was breathtaking. Just standing in the theater or climbing the stairs makes you feel like an ancient Greek about to witness a play. It was amazing to be able to sit in a seat where the Greeks once sat and stand where they stood. Although the theater is not how it looked in its prime, it is crazy to think that this has withstood the test of time and is still very much in tact!