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ARACHNEO (Mountain) ASKLIPIIO
Arachnaeum (to Arachnaion oros), a mountain in Peloponnesus, forming
the boundary between the territories of Corinth and Epidaurus. (Paus. ii. 25.
§ 10; Steph. B. s. v.; Hesych. s. v. husselinon; Leake, Morea, vol. ii. p. 417,
seq., vol. iii. p. 312.)
This text is from: Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography (1854) (ed. William Smith, LLD). Cited July 2004 from The Perseus Project URL below, which contains interesting hyperlinks
EPIDAVROS (Ancient city) ARGOLIS
Epidauros: Eth. Epidaurios. A town on the eastern coast of Peloponnesus,
in the district called Argolis under the Romans. Throughout the flourishing period
of Grecian history it was an independent state, possessing a small territory (Epidauria),
bounded on the west by the Argeia, on the north by the Corinthia, on the south
by the Troezenia, and on the east by the Saronic gulf. Epidaurus is situated on
a small peninsula, which projects from a narrow plain, surrounded on the land
side by mountains. In this plain the vine is chiefly cultivated, as it was in
the time of Homer (ampeloent Epidauron, Hom. Il. ii. 561). North of the peninsula
is a well protected harbour; south of it, an open roadstead. The original town
was confined to the peninsula, which is 15 stadia in circumference. (Strab. viii.
p. 374.) The town also extended upon the shore both north and south of the peninsula,
and embraced the small promontory which forms the southern extremity of the northern
harbour. Epidaurus is accurately described by Strabo as situated in a recess of
the Saronic gulf, looking towards the NE., and shut in by high mountains. Epidaurus
possessed only a small territory; but various circumstances contributed to make
it a place of importance at an early period. Of these the principal was its temple
of Asclepius, situated at the distance of five miles from the city, of which we
shall speak presently. Epidaurus lay near Aegina and the other islands in the
Saronic gulf, and nearly opposite the harbours of Athens, from which it was distant
only a six hours' sail. It was likewise nearly due east of Argos, from which there
was a highway to Epidaurus, forming the chief line of communication between Argos
and the Saronic gulf. Epidaurus was said by Aristotle to have been originally
a Carian settlement. Hence it was called Epicarus. Strabo relates that its more
ancient name was Epitaurus. (Strab. l. c. Steph. B. s. v. Epidauros; Eustath.
ad Hom. Il. ii. 561.) It was afterwards colonised by lonians. According, to Aristotle,
it was colonised by Ionians from the Attic tetrapolis, in conjunction with the
Heracleidae on their return to Peloponnesus; but it is more in accordance with
the generally received legend to suppose that Epidaurus had been previously colonised
by Ionians, and that these latter were expelled by the Dorian invaders. Indeed,
this is the statement of Pausanias, who relates that at the time of the Dorian
invasion Epidaurus was governed by Pityreus, a descendant of Ion, who surrendered
the country without a contest to Deiphontes and the Argives, and himself retired
to Athens with his citizens. (Paus. ii. 26. § 1, seq.) Deiphontes is represented
as the son-in-law of Temenus, who obtained Argos as his share of the Dorian conquests,
having married Hyrnetho, the daughter of Temenus. The misfortunes of Deiphontes
afforded materials for the tragic poets. Whatever truth there may be in these
legends, the fact is certain that the Dorians became masters of Epidaurus, and
continued throughout the historical period the ruling class in the state. At an
early period Epidaurus appears to have been one of the chief commercial cities
in the Peloponnesus. It colonised Aegina, which was for a long time subject to
it. It also colonised, near the coasts of Asia Minor, the islands of Cos, Calydnus,
and Nisyrus. (Herod. vii. 99.) But as Aegina grew in importance, Epidaurus declined,
and in the sixth century B.C. almost all the commerce of the mother-city had passed
into the hands of the Aeginetans.
Epidaurus was originally governed by kings, the reputed descendants
of Deiphontes; but, as in most of the other Grecian states, monarchy was succeeded
by an oligarchy, which was in its turn superseded for a time by a tyranny. Amongst
the tyrants of Epidaurus was Procles, whose daughter Melissa was married to Periander,
tyrant of Corinth; and when Procles resented the murder of his daughter by Periander,
the latter marched against his father-in-law and led him away into captivity after
taking Epidaurus. (Herod. iii. 50 - 52.) After the abolition of the tyranny the
government of Epidaurus again reverted to the oligarchy. who retained possession
of it during the whole historical period. For this reason the Epidaurians were
always firm allies of Sparta, and severed their connection with their mother-city,
Argos, since the latter had adopted a democratical constitution. Of the exact
form of the Epidaurian government we have no particulars. We only read of magistrates
called Artynae, who were presidents of a council of 180 members. (Plut. Quaest.
[p. 841] Graec. 1.) The original inhabitants of the country were called Konipodes
or dusty-feet, and cultivated the land for their Dorian masters in the city. (Plut.
l. c.; Hesych. s. v. Konipodes; Muller, Dor. vol. ii. pp. 57, 151, transl.) In
the Peloponnesian War (B.C. 419) the Argives made war upon the Epidaurians and
attempted to take their city, but they were repulsed and obliged to retreat into
their own territories. (Thuc. v. 53 - 57.) In the time of the Romans, Epidaurus
was little more than the harbour of the temple of Asclepius. Pausanias gives only
a brief account of its public buildings. He mentions a temple of Athena Cissaea
on the acropolis; temples of Dionysus, Artemis, and Aphrodite, in the city; a
sacred enclosure of Asclepius in the suburbs; and a temple of Hera on a promontory
at the harbour, which promontory is doubtless the one forming the northern entrance
to the harbour, and now called C. Nikolao. (Paus. ii. 29. § 1.) The name of Epidaurus
is still preserved in the corrupted form of Pidhavro, which is the name of a neighbouring
village. The foundations of the ancient walls may be traced in many parts along
the cliffs of the peninsula. Here Dodwell noticed some fragments of columns, and
a draped statue of a female figure, forming apparently the cover of a sarcophagus.
The sea has encroached upon the shore on either side of the peninsula, and some
remains of the outer city may still be seen under water.
The temple of Asclepius was situated at the distance of 5 miles west
of Epidaurus on the road to Argos. (Liv. xlv. 28.) It was one of the most celebrated
spots in Greece, and was frequented by patients from all parts of the Hellenic
world for the cure of their diseases. The temple itself was only a small part
of the sacred spot. Like the Altis at Olympia, and the Hierum of Poseidon at the
Isthmus, there was a sacred enclosure, usually called the grove (alsos) of Asclepius,
and containing several public buildings. It stood in a small plain entirely surrounded
by mountains. (Paus. ii. 27. § 1.) The sacred enclosure was less than a mile in
circumference; it was confined on two sides by steep hills, and on the other two
by a wall, which appears to have formed a right angle in the lowest and most level
part of the valley, and is still traceable in several places. (Leake.) The recollection
of the sacred character of this valley has been preserved down to the present
name. It is still called Hieron (hieron), or the Sanctuary; and it is a curious
circumstance that the village, through which the road leads to the Hieron, bears
the name of Koroni, evidently derived from Coronis, the mother of Asclepius, and
which it must have preserved from ancient times, although the name is not mentioned
by ancient writers. Of the mountains surrounding the sanctuary the highest lies
to the north: it is now called Bolonidia, and bore in ancient times the name of
Titthium (Titthion), because the child of Coronis, which was exposed upon this
mountain, was here suckled by a goat. (Paus. ii. 26. § 4, 27, § 7.) Mount Cynortium
(Kunortion, Paus. ii. 27. § 7), on which stood a temple of Apollo Maleatas, is
probably the hill in the southeast of the valley, above the theatre, on the way
to Troezen. Pausanias also mentions a hill called Coryphaeum, on the summit of
which was a temple of Artemis Coryphaea. It appears to have been the height in
the south-west of the valley, since some believed that an olive tree on the ascent
to the mountain was the boundary of the territory of Asine. (Paus. ii. 28. § 2.)
The buildings in the sacred grove are described by Pausanias. He mentions first
the temple of Asclepius, containing a chryselephantine statue of the god, the
work of Thrasymedes of Paros, and half the size of the temple of Zeus at Olympia.
The god sat upon a throne, holding a staff in one hand, and resting the other
upon the head of a serpent; a dog lay at his feet. On one side of the temple there
were dormitories for those who came to consult the god. Near the temple was the
Tholus, a circular building of white marble, built by Polycleitus of Argos, and
containing pictures by Pausias. In the sacred enclosure there was a theatre, also
built by Polycleitus, which Pausanias considered particularly worthy of attention.
The other objects within the sacred enclosure specified by Pausanias were temples
of Artemis, Aphrodite, and Themis, a stadium, a fountain covered with a roof,
and several works erected by Antoninus Pius before he became emperor of Rome,
of which the most important were the bath of Asclepius, a temple of the gods called
Epidotae, a temple dedicated to Hygieia, Asclepius, and Apollo surnamed the Aegyptian,
and a building beyond the sacred enclosure for the reception of the dying and
of women in labour, because it was unlawful for any one to die or to be born within
the sanctuary. (Paus. ii. 27.) A festival was celebrated in the sacred grove in
honour of Asclepius with musical and gymnastic games: it took place every four
years, nine days after the Isthmian games. (Schol, ad Pind. Nem. iii. 145; Plat
Ion, init.; Dict. of Ant. art. Asclepieia.) The site of the sacred enclosure is
now covered with ruins, which it is difficult for the most part to assign to any
definite buildings. The position of the Tholus is clearly marked by its foundations,
from which it appears that it was about 20 feet in diameter. In its neighbourhood
are some foundations of a temple, which was probably the great temple of Asclepius.
The ruins of the theatre are the most important. Leake observes that this theatre
is in better preservation than any other temple in Greece, except that which exists
near Trametzus in Epirus, not far from Ioannina. The orchestra was about, 90 feet
in length, and the entire theatre about 370 feet in diameter: 32 rows of seats
still appear above ground in a lower division, which is separated by a diazoma
from an upper, consisting of 20 seats. Twenty-four scalae, or flights of steps,
diverging in equidistant radii from the bottom to the top, formed the communications
with the seats. The theatre, when complete, was capable of containing 12,000 spectators.
Of the stadium there remain the circular end and a part of the adjacent sides,
with 15 rows of seats. Near it are the ruins of two cisterns and a bath.
When L. Aemilius Paulus visited Epidaurus in B.C. 167 after the conquest
of Macedonia, the sanctuary was still rich in gifts presented by those who had
recovered from diseases; but it had been robbed of most of these votive offerings
before the. time of Livy. (Liv. xlv, 28.) It suffered most from the depredations
of Sulla at the same time that he robbed the temples of Olympia and Delphi. (Diod.
Exc. p. 614, ed. Wess.) It is described by Strabo as a place renowned for the
cure of all diseases, always full of invalids, and containing votive tablets descriptive
of the cures, as at Cos and Tricca. (Strab. viii. p. 374.)
This text is from: Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography (1854) (ed. William Smith, LLD). Cited June 2004 from The Perseus Project URL below, which contains interesting hyperlinks
LISSA (Ancient city) ASKLIPIIO
A village of Epidauria, upon the confines of the territory of Argos,
and at the foot of Mount Arachnaeum. Pausanias saw there a temple of Athena. The
ruins of Lessa are situated upon a hill, at the foot of which is the village of
Lykurio. On the outside of the walls, near the foot of the mountain, are the remains
of an ancient pyramid, near a church, which contains some Ionic columns.
This text is from: Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography (1854) (ed. William Smith, LLD). Cited June 2004 from The Perseus Project URL below, which contains interesting hyperlinks
DIMENA (Village) EPIDAVROS
Dimena is a village belonging to the Municipality of Epidavros. There are about 630 residents, but the remarkable thing is, is the fact that more and more young people return to their birthplace, with the result we see an increase in the number of the residents of the Municipality. The altitude of the village is 150 meters above sea level. Previously the villagers lived in Aggelokasrto of Korinthos and at Aranxnaio during the summer period and in the winter they lived in Dimena. But for 70 years now they are living permanently at Dimena .. In the area of Dimena there are many churches of great interest to tourists and locals alike each having their own traditional celebrations. The most important of May the 21st, St. Constantine and St. Helene day which there is a local festival. Also there are others festivals such 2nd of Feb. Jesus Candle mass holiday and St. George. It is worthwhile for every visitor to try the famous Giosa (a traditional oven baked meal with goat meat) a pleasant surprise for meat eaters.
EPIDAVROS (Small town) ARGOLIS
KOLIAKI (Settlement) EPIDAVROS
Koliaki is not as old as Trachea it's inhabitants coming mainly from Arkedes around the 1850s. Mainly a farming community, the main types being sheep/goat/poultry farming with olive groves and small market gardens. Bread and cheese making have spread to this town also. Is a very graphic village with old small buildings and picturesque views, it is positioned between Trachea and Ancient Epidavros.
NEA EPIDAVROS (Small town) ARGOLIS
In the area of New Epidavros, cottages first appeared during the Modern Greek age, circa Early Mycenaean. In ancient times it was part of Epidavros, connecting with the other villages through common history. With the passing of time, New Epidauros came to own three important monasteries, one vitally significant Byzantine castle, more than 20 churches together with the large area of land constituting, during the Byzantine period, the central core of Epidavros. The intent is for an attractive, tourist village with traditional rural architecture. Its pretty, narrow streets are built into one of the slopes of the "Akros" outcrop and on the next rocky outcrop are the ruins of the Byzantine castle; at the base of this there is a gorge unique for its natural beauty, known as the "Gorge of Vothila". The village stretches out, down to the sea, ending at two beautiful natural bays with clean water for swimming and fishing. Pine trees, olives and orange trees encompass the village and the port.
The villagers of New Epidavros are, in the first instance, farmers who cultivate olive and citrus trees, while the fishing is also important to them. The visitor could take pleasure in the natural and historical beauties of the area, staying at the local hotels or camping sites and there are also rooms to let. Also the area has, in addition, restaurants, bars and one disco, for nightlife. During the summer, on the lovely beaches, the festival of Redeemer's Day takes place on the 6th of August.
TRACHIA (Village) EPIDAVROS
One of the older -if not the oldest- village of our municipality. In the past, Trachea was one of the Turkish communities, which after 1821 when Greece took back their freedom, people from North Greece (Epirotes) came to stay here. The new residents grew up with success in the art of cheese making and soon they flourished. As time passed, they created the tradition of producing cheese products within the area of Argolida. With the finest quality and taste resulting in them now being one of the best producers in Greece.
Today Trachea owns 11 traditional family cheese factories, keeping the secrets they took from their ancestors. Also they grew up the art of making bread following the old traditional recipes and they have 12 bakeries famous for their bread and paximadia.
Here you can eat in one of the 8 excellent taverns, with specialty in boiled goat and roast lamb. The people here are very polite and hospitable and hence it is a popular attraction for locals and tourists alike. It is one of the most beautiful stopping points for the travelers on their way towards to Ermioni, Kranidi, Spetses, Poros and many other places.
EPIDAVROS (Ancient city) ARGOLIS
ASKLEPIEION OF EPIDAURUS (Ancient sanctuary) ARGOLIS
A city in a recess of the S arm of the Saronic Gulf. Its territory
reached to the Gulf of Argos on the W, on the N to the boundaries of Corinth,
and on S and E to Hermione and Troezen. In its few well-watered valleys the vine
flourished (vine growing Epidauros in Hom. Il. 2.561).
The city was founded on the rocky hill of the small peninsula of Akte
(Nisi) near modern Palaia Epidauros. There are remains on the acropolis of the
peninsula (walls and houses), in the sea (submerged remains of the ancient harbor
and several buildings belonging to the lower city), and in the neighboring area
at Nea Epidauros. Numerous prehistoric and Geometric finds have come from these
areas.
Epidauros took part in the Trojan War (Il. 2.561) and was a member
of the Kalaurian Amphictyony during the 7th and 6th c. B.C. (Strab. 8.374). At
the end of the 6th c. B.C. its ruler Prokles married his daughter Melissa to Periander,
the tyrant of Corinth, who murdered her and annexed Epidauros (Hdt. 3.50-52; Paus.
2.28.8). In the Persian Wars Epidauros sent eight ships to the sea battle off
Artemision, 800 men to the battle of Plateia, and ten ships to the battle of Salamis
(Hdt. 8.2, 43, 72; 9.28, 31). Afterwards the city was consistently unfriendly
to Athens and continued steadfastly in alliance with Sparta throughout the Peloponnesian
War and later on, even after the battles of Leuktra (371 B.C.) and Mantinea (369
B.C.). Epidauros was involved in the Lamian War (323-322 B.C.: Diod. Sic. 18.11.2),
and in 243 B.C. was a member of the Achaian League (Paus. 2.8.5; Plut. Arat. 24).
From 115-114 B.C. on, Epidauros was allied to Rome as a friend. The last mention
of Epidauros is in the 6th c. A.D. when it was included in the Synekdemos of Hierokles.
The Sanctuary of Asklepios
This was always under the management of the city. It lies SW of it,
in the middle of the Argolid peninsula, near the modern town of Ligourio (9 km
by the old road, 18 km by the new highway). It comprises 160 sq km in the verdant
valley enclosed by Mt. Arachne together with the lower peak of Titthion which
lies in front of it, and by Mts. Koryphaion and Kynortion. Here in archaic, perhaps
even in prehistoric, times the god or hero Malos or Maleatas was worshiped. He
had his own sanctuary, which is a little outside the Sanctuary of Asklepios on
the slope of Mt. Kynortion above the theater. Long before the cult of Asklepios
and his father Apollo was established the inhabitants of the area gathered at
the Sanctuary of Malos in spring to celebrate the regeneration of nature and the
end of winter. These festivals, as in Delphi and Delos, were associated with teleological
and metaphysical ideas as well as with the operation of the temple as an oracle.
The evident relation of this cult to that of Apollo very early allowed a merging
of the two. In historic times, Apollo, already the dominant god in the precinct,
took on the surname Maleatas.
Asklepios, the mythical hero-doctor, son of Apollo and Korone, learned
medicine from the centaur Chiron. It is not known when the worship of Malos was
superseded by that of Apollo and Asklepios. The contention of the Epidaurians
that the worship of Asklepios was autochthonous there and not introduced from
Trikka in Thessaly, a view which the poet Isyllos also tried to promote in the
4th c. B.C., is not proved. When other places, like Messenia, however, claimed
the oldest cult, the temple of Delphi ruled for the Epidaurians (Paus. 2.26.7).
Nevertheless, up to the present, the finds from the excavations in the Asklepieion
are not older than the end of the 6th c. B.C.
In the last quarter of the 5th c. B.C. the cult of Asklepios enjoyed
a sudden upsurge in Epidauros, to reach its peak in the 4th c. B.C. The Panhellenic
Games and horse races, the Asklepieia, which were traditionally held every four
years, were enriched around 400 B.C. by poetry and music contests (Pl. Ion 530).
At that time the cult spread throughout the Greek world, so that more than 200
new Asklepieia were built, the most notable being in Athens (420 B.C.), in Kos,
in Pergamon (4th c. B.C.), and in Rome (293 B.C.)--all under the patronage of
the sanctuary in Epidauros. In the 4th c. B.C. the Hellenistic world, under the
influence of radical internal and external changes now clung with especial fervor
to this new philanthropic god, a healing doctor and savior. The manifest reverence
towards the god resulted in the metamorphosis of the sanctuary's enclosure, which
had been unadorned up to the 5th c. B.C., into a place filled with countless offerings
and monuments, most of them remarkable examples of 4th c. B.C. Greek art. The
prosperity of the sanctuary continued through the Hellenistic period. Treasures
and choice works of art were ceaselessly heaped up in it. The treasures were looted
by Sulla in 87 B.C. (Plut. Sull. 12.6; Paus. 9.7.5) and again by pirates in 67
B.C. (Plut. Pomp. 24.5).
The sanctuary enjoyed a new flowering in the 2d c. A.D. when, because
of the reigning climate of spiritual anxiety, there grew a strong inclination
towards religious salvation. In consequence of this inclination new gods were
introduced into the sanctuary: Ammon, Sarapis, and Isis, as evidenced by the discoveries
there of dedicatory inscriptions. In A.D. 163 the senator Sextus Julius Antoninus
gave generously for the repair of many ruined buildings and for the erection of
new ones to meet the needs of the sanctuary and of the worshipers. Among these
was the Temple of Apollo and Asklepios under the Egyptian epithet (Paus. 2.27.7).
It is worthwhile to note that even in the great days of the sanctuary in the 4th
and 3rd c. B.C., and again in the 2d c. A.D., while the religious buildings were
all of small dimensions, the buildings necessary for visitors and patients (enkoimetenon,
baths, gymnasium, katagogeion, stoas, etc.) were two-storied and large, thus surrounding
and hiding the others. In A.D. 395 the Goths under Alaric raided the sanctuary.
The triumph of Christianity ended the sanctuary's rites in mid 5th c., but Christ
and the saints took the place of the healer-god. In the N part of the sanctuary
a five-aisled early Christian basilica was built in the end of the 4th c. A.D.
Religious healing evidently continued there.
Ancient literary sources and relevant inscriptions found in the sanctuary
give a great deal of information about the cures. Therapy was based on the belief
that, since an individual's sickness had a psychosomatic origin, the power to
restore health was likewise to be sought within him (Democr.: Diels, Dox. Graec.
Vorsokr. II 183.7; 192.4; Galen: Diels II 339.5). The therapy of the doctor-priests,
therefore, aimed at the rousing and augmentation of an inner power of restoring
health, which was, in fact, the harmony of soul and body (Diels 451; II 463.25).
This type of therapy was also practiced by the Pythagoreans, whose founder was
held to be the son of Apollo. Although this therapy often led to superstition,
it nevertheless presented a basis for scientific medicine and proved the importance
of psychosomatic factors in the control of health. Consequently, in the Hellenistic
and Roman periods, although the practice of medicine was generally taken away
from religious control, doctors traced their lineage and inspiration to Asklepios,
and called themselves his descendants.
The Excavations
From the middle of the 17th c. travelers came to see the sanctuary.
A systematic excavation of it was undertaken in the 19th c., during which most
of the remains now preserved were uncovered, as well as important literary inscriptions
on stone, among them the Paean of Isyllos. In 1946 a small trial excavation was
made in the sanctuary and a small part of the Temple of Apollo Maleatas was studied.
In the sanctuary a museum houses the fragments of the most noteworthy
buildings (the tholos, and the Temples of Asklepios and Artemis) and much of the
sculpture, although the rest of the sculpture, particularly that from the Temples
of Asklepios and Artemis is in the National Archaeological Museum in Athens.
The Temple of Asklepios 380-375 B.C.
Only the foundations are preserved, but the architectural fragments
discovered and an inscription concerning the building of the temple allow the
reconstruction of its original form. It was the work of the architect Theodotos,
and although it was one of the smallest Doric peripteral temples in Greece (6
x 11 columns; 23.06 x 11.76 m) with no interior colonnade and no opisthodomos,
still it was one of the most splendidly ornamented, with a floor of black and
white marble slabs, and inlays of ebony, ivory, gold, and other precious materials
on the door and elsewhere. In the temple stood the chryselephantine statue of
Asklepios by Thasymedes of Paros (Paus. 2.27.2).
In the W pediment was an Amazonomachy. In the E pediment was the Sack
of Troy, apparently with 22 figures, 11 male and 11 female, which were perceptibly
larger than those of the W pediment. The two groups are basically of a different
technique. The figures of the W pediment, although in active conflict, have a
soft and flowing form. On the other hand, the figures of the E pediment with their
harshly geometrical articulation and forceful constriction, with their drapery
schematically rendered in deep folds and sharp-edged ridges or planar surfaces,
create an intense chiaroscuro effect.
The W acroteria, filled out by new fragments, have a central Nike
figure, as may be inferred from a new fragment with feathers carved in relief
which fits into her left shoulder. The two lateral acroteria are Aurai. The central
acroterion on the E side must have been a group of male and female figures, the
females represented now only by a left hand. This group must be placed in this
position since, unlike all the others, it is worn on all sides, and does not have
the cutting necessary for fixing it to the tympanum of the pediment. The corners
of the pediment must have been occupied by figures of Nike.
The above observations on the sculpture are reinforced also by the
building inscription discovered in the sanctuary. According to this inscription,
Timotheus did the typoi, which must be interpreted as small models of the statues.
The making of one pedimental group was entrusted to Hektorides, the other to a
man whose name is not preserved. It is also noted that one of the two acroterial
groups was entrusted to Timotheus, and the other to a sculptor of whose name only
the first three letters, Theo . . . , are preserved. Unfortunately the inscription
does not specify which end of the temple each of these men worked on.
Temple of Artemis
Late 4th c. B.C. The temple is small, Doric, hexastyle prostyle. Ten
columns, which ran around the inside of the temple, were Corinthian. The gutter
spouts, of marble like the roof, took the form of dog heads.
The Tholos or Thumele
A circular building whose underground center is labyrinthine (diameter
ca. 13.36 m), composed of three concentric walls, each of which has a door and
beside it a partition running crosswise, closing off the circular passageway in
one direction. To get from the outside to the center one must traverse the whole
circuit of each passageway, and reverse direction in the next. This building,
whose purpose remains unknown, was built in the 6th c. B.C. and is closely associated
with the cult of Asklepios. In the years 360-320 B.C. the Argive architect and
sculptor Polykleitos the Younger enlarged the building and encircled the original
part with three concentric rings (diameter 21.68 m). The outer ring is a Doric
peristyle, the next is the wall of the building, and the inner one a Corinthian
colonnade. In the center the well-like opening was left. The peak of the conical
roof was crowned by an exquisitely worked acanthus. In this new version of the
tholos there was abundant use of black and white marble as well as poros. The
numerous floral and geometric decorations in the paneling, the orthostates, the
parastades, the doors, and the cornice establish this building as one of the most
beautiful and most representative of 4th c. architecture. The interior was decorated
with painted panels, the work of the painter Pausias.
Enkoimeterion or Abaton
A large poros porticoed building of the 4th c. B.C. (70 x 9.50 m),
which is divided near the middle into two sections: the E had a single story;
the W, which was a little later, had two stories owing to the steep slope of the
ground. The building was closed off at the rear by a wall, and in front an open
colonnade of 29 Ionic columns supported the roof. An inner row of columns divided
the building in two lengthwise; the interspace between the columns was filled
by a wall. The sleeping-in of believers took place in this closed-off inner room,
which communicated with the open portico through doors. The sleeping-in also took
place in the lower floor of the W section. In the SE corner of the enkoimeterion
was discovered a well filled with inscribed tablets describing miraculous cures.
A square structure at the W end was a fountain of the 4th c. B.C.
Epidoteion
This sacred building, known from inscriptions of the 4th and 3d c.
B.C., seems to have been rebuilt by the senator Antoninus (Paus. 2.27). It may
have been the temple-style building W of the Temple of Artemis.
Anakeion
This was a sanctuary dedicated to the Dioskouroi, which is known from
inscriptions of the Roman period. Some authorities place it near the Temple of
Artemis, others to the NE of it.
The Old Abaton
An almost square building (24.30 x 20.70 m) of the second half of
the 6th c. B.C., with closed passageways surrounding it on three sides.
Baths of Asklepios and the Library
Located at the NE corner of the enkoimeterion, they were probably
built by the senator Antoninus.
Temple of Aphrodite (?)
This name is applied to a temple which is unique in the Peloponnese.
It is pseudoperipteral, set on a krepidoma of four steps. Across the front are
four Ionic columns, and in back of each corner column is another single column.
Around the outside of the cella walls ran a row of columns connected to the wall
like pilasters. They were placed one at each corner of the E wall, four along
the W wall, and five each on the N and S walls. The columns which ran around the
inside of the cella were Corinthian. The fine workmanship and the decoration of
the architectural members were clearly inspired by those of the tholos, and date
this building to the end of the 4th or the early 3d c. B.C. The statue of Aphrodite
with a sword, which was found in the sanctuary, may have stood by this temple.
It is Hellenistic, possibly the work of Polykleitos the Younger.
The Cistern
This is Hellenistic. The baths are NW of it and W of them is a large
building of unknown purpose, consisting of a portico, a peristyled court, and
a room.
The Propylaia
This lies on the NW side of the sanctuary, where the Sacred Road from
Epidauros comes ln. The sanctuary, however, was not enclosed by a peribolos wall,
and only in the 4th c. A.D. was it protected by a double wall. To the E of the
propylaia, a villa was built in the 5th c. A.D. and an Early Christian basilica
at the end of the 4th c. The five-aisled basilica with a narthex was dedicated
to St. John. To the N of the propylaia was the necropolis of the sanctuary.
A Large Porticoed Building
Of the Classical Greek period, with two colonnades, the outer Doric
and the inner Ionic. It was repaired by Antoninus (Paus. 2.27.6). West of it were
baths built in the Roman period. SW of these is the Sanctuary of the Egyptian
Gods (?), which is a square building with a portico on the front and a square
court with three entrances behind. Near this shrine was a house of the Late Roman
period.
Palaistra (?). A rectangular structure of the Classical period with
a four-sided interior courtyard. The stoa along its N side was perhaps the Stoa
of Kotys (Paus. 2.27.6).
The Gymnasium or Palaistra
A square building with an inner peristyled court and porticos and
rooms along the four sides, like the palaistra at Olympia. The entrance is through
a monumental propylon on the NW side. An odeum was constructed in Roman times
on the site of the gymnasium.
Baths of the Classical Greek Period. A rectangular building poorly
preserved.
The Katagogeion
A two-storied hostelry for the use of visitors to the sanctuary. It
contained 160 rooms arranged around four peristyled courts. It is of the 4th c.
B.C.
The Theater
This is the best preserved theater in Greece, celebrated in antiquity
for its beauty and harmonious proportions. The elliptical cavea in the lower story
with 34 rows of seats, the entrances to the paradoi, the proskenion, and scene-building,
the sloping steps, and the orchestra in the form of a full circle were built of
local limestone in the second half of the 4th c. B.C. by Polykleitos the Younger
of Argos (Paus. 2.27.5). In the 2d c. B.C. the cavea above the diazoma was added,
which, with the lower section, makes 55 rows of seats, giving about 14,000 places.
The acoustics of the theater are remarkable, and spectators in the highest seats
can hear the actors clearly. At this period additions and changes were made to
the scene-building. The W parados entrance was restored with the original materials,
while some new material was incorporated in the E.
The Stadium
The length is 181 m. It was built in the later 5th c. B.C. and underwent
numerous changes and additions from then to the Roman period. At both ends of
the track the two stone starting posts are preserved. In the lower part of the
sides of the stadium, in the middle, are rows of stone seats dedicated by private
individuals, and also the remains of seats for judges and officials of the games.
In the N side is an underground passage for athletes. The hippodrome lies SW of
the stadium about an hour's walk away. It has not been excavated. To the W of
the stadium are the remains of a house of the Later Roman period with peristyled
courts.
The Sanctuary of Apollo Maleatas
This is much older than the Sanctuary of Asklepios. Its site was inhabited
from the Early Helladic period. The finds show a continuous inhabitation to historic
times. The Mycenaean finds from a deposit (a steatite rhyton with the representation
of a procession, terracotta idols, etc.) show that even at that period the site
was sacred. The excavated structures, include a large Temple of Apollo and two
smaller buildings (treasuries?) of the 4th c. B.C., a stoa of 300 B.C., an altar
and a fountain of the Roman period, etc. The latest of these other buildings was
erected by the senator Antoninus.
N. Yalouris, ed.
This text is from: The Princeton encyclopedia of classical sites,
Princeton University Press 1976. Cited Nov 2002 from
Perseus Project URL below, which contains bibliography & interesting hyperlinks.
EPIDAVROS (Ancient city) ARGOLIS
A city in a recess of the S arm of the Saronic Gulf. Its territory reached to the Gulf of Argos on the W, on the N to the boundaries of Corinth, and on S and E to Hermione and Troezen. In its few well-watered valleys the vine flourished (vine growing Epidauros in Hom. Il. 2.561).
The city was founded on the rocky hill of the small peninsula of Akte (Nisi) near modern Palaia Epidauros. There are remains on the acropolis of the peninsula (walls and houses), in the sea (submerged remains of the ancient harbor and several buildings belonging to the lower city), and in the neighboring area at Nea Epidauros. Numerous prehistoric and Geometric finds have come from these areas.
Epidauros took part in the Trojan War (Il. 2.561) and was a member of the Kalaurian Amphictyony during the 7th and 6th c. B.C. (Strab. 8.374). At the end of the 6th c. B.C. its ruler Prokles married his daughter Melissa to Periander, the tyrant of Corinth, who murdered her and annexed Epidauros (Hdt. 3.50-52; Paus. 2.28.8). In the Persian Wars Epidauros sent eight ships to the sea battle off Artemision, 800 men to the battle of Plateia, and ten ships to the battle of Salamis (Hdt. 8.2, 43, 72; 9.28, 31). Afterwards the city was consistently unfriendly to Athens and continued steadfastly in alliance with Sparta throughout the Peloponnesian War and later on, even after the battles of Leuktra (371 B.C.) and Mantinea (369 B.C.). Epidauros was involved in the Lamian War (323-322 B.C.: Diod. Sic. 18.11.2), and in 243 B.C. was a member of the Achaian League (Paus. 2.8.5; Plut. Arat. 24). From 115-114 B.C. on, Epidauros was allied to Rome as a friend. The last mention of Epidauros is in the 6th c. A.D. when it was included in the Synekdemos of Hierokles.
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