Sanctuary of Asklepios
- "The Sanctuary of Asklepios, god of medicine. I'd rather trust a physician than a god to heal me."
- ―Kassandra[src]
The Sanctuary of Asklepios was a temple complex dedicated to Asklepios, the Greek god of healing, located within the Valley of Dreams in Argolis, Greece.
Facilities[edit | edit source]
As a complex, the sanctuary housed multiple buildings.
- The Abaton, where the patients, after purifying themselves and making offerings or sacrifices to the god, came to sleep. It was believed that Asklepios would show them their cure in their dreams, as interpreted by the priests of the sanctuary.[1][2][3]
- The Epidauros Sanctuary, where a large statue of Asklepios sat, flanked by images of snakes and where most of the offerings and sacrifices were made.[4][5]
- The guesthouse, where travellers spent their time before proceeding with the rituals.[6] During the Peloponnesian War, the guesthouse also accommodated military members and the elder priest Mydon.[7]
In addition to these, there was also a stadium,[8] a tholos,[9][10] and the Epidoteion on the grounds.[11]
Practices[edit | edit source]
The priests kept sacred snakes on the grounds of the sanctuary. They were usually kept in a tholos and brought out when they were needed. During the Peloponnesian War their caretaker was Doreios, who treasured them.[9]
The priests of the sanctuary kept records of all the patients, their ills and their cures. These they inscribed into stone, so "that the glory of Asklepios can be celebrated."[12]
History[edit | edit source]
At some point the priestess of Hera, Chrysis, seized the control of the sanctuary and the priests within. While most acquiesced out of fear, some joined her like Pleistos, and some protested. Though she allowed the daily life to go on as it had, she forbid collaboration with Hippokrates, considering his methods and ways impious. Chrysis also sought to demolish all mention and memory of the visit of a Spartan woman with an injured baby, going as far as to scratch out most of the stone slab wherein her visit had been recorded,[12] and had the priest who had treated them the most, Mydon, cut out his own tongue as a show of loyalty to her.[13]
When rumors reached Chrysis about the Spartan misthios Kassandra looking for her mother, she tightened her hold, and had all the priests of the sanctuary swear not to tell the eagle-bearing misthios anything on the pain of death.[14]
Behind the scenes[edit | edit source]
The layout of the Sanctuary of Asklepios in Assassin's Creed: Odyssey is based on the Sanctuary of Asklepios, Epidaurus, with the exception that what is deemed to be a temple of Artemis is in-game referred to as archives.[15]
Gallery[edit | edit source]
-
Another view of the sanctuary -
Environment art of the sanctuary -
Concept art of the Sanctuary: Hippokrates showing the Sanctuary to the Eagle Bearer
Appearances[edit | edit source]
References[edit | edit source]
- ↑ Assassin's Creed: Odyssey – Argolis: Abaton
- ↑ Assassin's Creed: Odyssey – Argolis: Sanctuary of Asklepios
- ↑ Discovery Tour: Ancient Greece – Sanctuary of Asklepios at Epidauros: "The Abaton"
- ↑ Discovery Tour: Ancient Greece – Argolis: "Temple of Asklepios"
- ↑ Assassin's Creed: Odyssey
- ↑ Discovery Tour: Ancient Greece – Argolis: "Guest House"
- ↑ Assassin's Creed: Odyssey – Speak No Evil
- ↑ Discovery Tour: Ancient Greece – Argolis: "Stadium"
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 Assassin's Creed: Odyssey – Enough is Enough
- ↑ Discovery Tour: Ancient Greece – Argolis: "The Tholos and the Sacred Snakes"
- ↑ Discovery Tour: Ancient Greece – Sanctuary of Asklepios at Epidauros
- ↑ 12.0 12.1 Assassin's Creed: Odyssey – Written in Stone
- ↑ Assassin's Creed: Odyssey – Ashes to Ashes
- ↑ Assassin's Creed: Odyssey – A Heart for a Head
- ↑ Sanctuary of Asklepios, Epidaurus