Greece

Trip Start Sep 02, 2006

Trip End Oct 01, 2006

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Flag of Greece Epidavros, Greece
Thursday, September 28, 2006

Today on our way to the island of Spetes, we stopped at Epidavros which was once the most famour healing center in ancient Greece. It was like an ancient Lourdes. The site began as a sanctuary to Appolo but soon his son Asklepios had taken over. This site reached its heights in the 4th and 3rd century BC People came from all over to be healed. The only people not allowed into the site were the terminally ill and women who were in the last stages of pregnancy. If people died, it would not be good for the reputation of the center. People would go into the Tholos and here they would prepare for their healing. It could include meditation, prayer, aromas, etc. It was also very interesting that a labrinth was found at the lower level of the tholos. It is not known if the patients used this or if the prients who did the healing used it in their preparation.
Next the patients would go to the abton which was the area where the healing took place. There may have been some opium use which caused people to hallucinate. There were also surgeries that took place here.
When you were healed, you had to make a testimony which was recorded on a hugh rock. There were 70 of these miracles found so far.
This site also had the best preserved of the ancient theaters. It has perfect acoustics.

Epidavros hotels Slideshow