κατὰ δὲ τὴν Λῆσσαν ἔχεται τῆς Ἀργείας ἡ Ἐπιδαυρίων· πρὶν δὲ ἢ κατʼ αὐτὴν γενέσθαι τὴν πόλιν, ἐπὶ τὸ ἱερὸν ἀφίξῃ τοῦ Ἀσκληπιοῦ. ταύτην τὴν χώραν οὐκ οἶδα οἵτινες πρότερον ᾤκησαν πρὶν Ἐπίδαυρον ἐλθεῖν ἐς αὐτήν· οὐ μὴν οὐδὲ τοὺς ἀπογόνους Ἐπιδαύρου πυθέσθαι παρὰ τῶν ἐπιχωρίων ἐδυνάμην. τελευταῖον δὲ πρὶν ἢ παραγενέσθαι Δωριέας ἐς Πελοπόννησον βασιλεῦσαί φασι Πιτυρέα Ἴωνος ἀπόγονον τοῦ Ξούθου. τοῦτον παραδοῦναι λέγουσιν ἀμαχεὶ τὴν γῆν Δηιφόντῃ καὶ Ἀργείοις·
καὶ ὁ μὲν ἐς Ἀθήνας ὁμοῦ τοῖς πολίταις ἀφικόμενος ἐνταῦθα ᾤκησε, Δηιφόντης δὲ καὶ Ἀργεῖοι τὴν Ἐπιδαυρίαν ἔσχον. ἀπεσχίσθησαν δὲ οὗτοι τῶν ἄλλων Ἀργείων Τημένου τελευτήσαντος, Δηιφόντης μὲν καὶ Ὑρνηθὼ κατʼ ἔχθος τῶν Τημένου παίδων, ὁ δὲ σὺν αὐτοῖς στρατὸς Δηιφόντῃ καὶ Ὑρνηθοῖ πλέον ἢ Κείσῳ καὶ τοῖς ἀδελφοῖς νέμοντες. Ἐπίδαυρος δέ, ἀφʼ οὗ τὸ ὄνομα τῇ γῇ ἐτέθη, ὡς μέν φασιν Ἠλεῖοι, Πέλοπος ἦν· κατὰ δὲ Ἀργείων δόξαν καὶ τὰ ἔπη τὰς μεγάλας Ἠοίας ἦν Ἐπιδαύρῳ πατὴρ Ἄργος ὁ Διός· Ἐπιδαύριοι δὲ Ἀπόλλωνι Ἐπίδαυρον παῖδα προσποιοῦσιν.
Ἀσκληπιοῦ δὲ ἱερὰν μάλιστα εἶναι τὴν γῆν ἐπὶ λόγῳ συμβέβηκε τοιῷδε. Φλεγύαν Ἐπιδαύριοί φασιν ἐλθεῖν ἐς Πελοπόννησον πρόφασιν μὲν ἐπὶ θέᾳ τῆς χώρας, ἔργῳ δὲ κατάσκοπον πλήθους τῶν ἐνοικούντων καὶ εἰ τὸ πολὺ μάχιμον εἴη τῶν ἀνθρώπων· ἦν γὰρ δὴ Φλεγύας πολεμικώτατος τῶν τότε καὶ ἐπιὼν ἑκάστοτε ἐφʼ οὓς τύχοι τοὺς καρποὺς ἔφερε καὶ ἤλαυνε τὴν λείαν.
ὅτε δὲ παρεγένετο ἐς Πελοπόννησον, εἵπετο ἡ θυγάτηρ αὐτῷ, λεληθυῖα ἔτι τὸν πατέρα ὅτι ἐξ Ἀπόλλωνος εἶχεν ἐν γαστρί. ὡς δὲ ἐν τῇ γῇ τῇ Ἐπιδαυρίων ἔτεκεν, ἐκτίθησι τὸν παῖδα ἐς τὸ ὄρος τοῦτο ὃ δὴ Τίτθιον ὀνομάζουσιν ἐφʼ ἡμῶν, τηνικαῦτα δὲ ἐκαλεῖτο Μύρτιον· ἐκκειμένῳ δὲ ἐδίδου μέν οἱ γάλα μία τῶν περὶ τὸ ὄρος ποιμαινομένων αἰγῶν, ἐφύλασσε δὲ ὁ κύων ὁ τοῦ αἰπολίου φρουρός.
Ἀρεσθάνας δὲ—ὄνομα γὰρ τῷ ποιμένι τοῦτο ἦν—ὡς τὸν ἀριθμὸν οὐχ εὕρισκεν ὁμολογοῦντα τῶν αἰγῶν καὶ ὁ κύων ἅμα ἀπεστάτει τῆς ποίμνης, οὕτω τὸν Ἀρεσθάναν ἐς πᾶν φασιν ἀφικνεῖσθαι ζητήσεως, εὑρόντα δὲ ἐπιθυμῆσαι τὸν παῖδα ἀνελέσθαι· καὶ ὡς ἐγγὺς ἐγίνετο, ἀστραπὴν ἰδεῖν ἐκλάμψασαν ἀπὸ τοῦ παιδός, νομίσαντα δὲ εἶναι θεῖόν τι, ὥσπερ ἦν, ἀποτραπέσθαι. ὁ δὲ αὐτίκα ἐπὶ γῆν καὶ θάλασσαν πᾶσαν ἠγγέλλετο τά τε ἄλλα ὁπόσα βούλοιτο εὑρίσκειν ἐπὶ τοῖς κάμνουσι καὶ ὅτι ἀνίστησι τεθνεῶτας.
λέγεται δὲ καὶ ἄλλος ἐπʼ αὐτῷ λόγος, Κορωνίδα κύουσαν Ἀσκληπιὸν Ἴσχυι τῷ Ἐλάτου συγγενέσθαι, καὶ τὴν μὲν ἀποθανεῖν ὑπὸ Ἀρτέμιδος ἀμυνομένης τῆς ἐς τὸν Ἀπόλλωνα ὕβρεως, ἐξημμένης δὲ ἤδη τῆς πυρᾶς ἁρπάσαι λέγεται τὸν παῖδα Ἑρμῆς ἀπὸ τῆς φλογός.
ὁ δὲ τρίτος τῶν λόγων ἥκιστα ἐμοὶ δοκεῖν ἀληθής ἐστιν, Ἀρσινόης ποιήσας εἶναι τῆς Λευκίππου παῖδα Ἀσκληπιόν. Ἀπολλοφάνει γὰρ τῷ Ἀρκάδι ἐς Δελφοὺς ἐλθόντι καὶ ἐρομένῳ τὸν θεὸν εἰ γένοιτο ἐξ Ἀρσινόης Ἀσκληπιὸς καὶ Μεσσηνίοις πολίτης εἴη, ἔχρησεν ἡ Πυθία· ὦ μέγα χάρμα βροτοῖς βλαστὼν Ἀσκληπιὲ πᾶσιν, / ὃν Φλεγυηὶς ἔτικτεν ἐμοὶ φιλότητι μιγεῖσα / ἱμερόεσσα Κορωνὶς ἐνὶ κραναῇ Ἐπιδαύρῳ. / οὗτος ὁ χρησμὸς δηλοῖ μάλιστα οὐκ ὄντα Ἀσκληπιὸν Ἀρσινόης, ἀλλὰ Ἡσίοδον ἢ τῶν τινα ἐμπεποιηκότων ἐς τὰ Ἡσιόδου τὰ ἔπη συνθέντα ἐς τὴν Μεσσηνίων χάριν.
μαρτυρεῖ δέ μοι καὶ τόδε ἐν Ἐπιδαύρῳ τὸν θεὸν γενέσθαι· τὰ γὰρ Ἀσκληπιεῖα εὑρίσκω τὰ ἐπιφανέστατα γεγονότα ἐξ Ἐπιδαύρου. τοῦτο μὲν γὰρ Ἀθηναῖοι, τῆς τελετῆς λέγοντες Ἀσκληπιῷ μεταδοῦναι, τὴν ἡμέραν ταύτην Ἐπιδαύρια ὀνομάζουσι καὶ θεὸν ἀπʼ ἐκείνου φασὶν Ἀσκληπιόν σφισι νομισθῆναι· τοῦτο δὲ Ἀρχίας ὁ Ἀρισταίχμου, τὸ συμβὰν σπάσμα θηρεύοντί οἱ περὶ τὸν Πίνδασον ἰαθεὶς ἐν τῇ Ἐπιδαυρίᾳ, τὸν θεὸν ἐπηγάγετο ἐς Πέργαμον.
ἀπὸ δὲ τοῦ Περγαμηνῶν Σμυρναίοις γέγονεν ἐφʼ ἡμῶν Ἀσκληπιεῖον τὸ ἐπὶ θαλάσσῃ. τὸ δʼ ἐν Βαλάγραις ταῖς Κυρηναίων ἐστὶν Ἀσκληπιὸς καλούμενος Ἰατρὸς ἐξ Ἐπιδαύρου καὶ οὗτος. ἐκ δὲ τοῦ παρὰ Κυρηναίοις τὸ ἐν Λεβήνῃ τῇ Κρητῶν ἐστιν Ἀσκληπιεῖον. διάφορον δὲ Κυρηναίοις τοσόνδε ἐς Ἐπιδαυρίους ἐστίν, ὅτι αἶγας οἱ Κυρηναῖοι θύουσιν, Ἐπιδαυρίοις οὐ καθεστηκότος.
θεὸν δὲ Ἀσκληπιὸν νομισθέντα ἐξ ἀρχῆς καὶ οὐκ ἀνὰ χρόνον λαβόντα τὴν φήμην τεκμηρίοις καὶ ἄλλοις εὑρίσκω καὶ Ὁμήρου μαρτυρεῖ μοι τὰ περὶ Μαχάονος ὑπὸ Ἀγαμέμνονος εἰρημένα Ταλθύβιʼ, ὅττι τάχιστα Μαχάονα δεῦρο κάλεσσον / φῶτʼ Ἀσκληπιοῦ υἱόν, / ὡς ἂν εἰ λέγοι θεοῦ παῖδα ἄνθρωπον.
At Lessa are the frontiers of Argolis and Epidauria; but before reaching the city of Epidaurus you will come to the sanctuary of Aesculapius.
Who dwelt in the country before Epidaurus came to it, I know not. The natives could not even inform me who were the descendants of Epidaurus. They say, however, that the last king who reigned over them before the Dorians came into Peloponnese was Pityreus, a descendant of Ion the son of Xuthus. He, they say, surrendered the land to Deiphontes and the Argives without striking a blow, and retired with his people to Athens, where he settled, while Deiphontes and the Argives took possession of Epidauria. The latter had separated from the rest of the Argives after the death of Temenus, because Deiphontes and Hyrnetho hated the sons of Temenus, and their army was more attached to them than to Cisus and his brothers.
Epidaurus, from whom the country got its name, was a son of Pelops, according to the Eleans ; but according to the Argives and the epic called the Great Zoeae the father of Epidaurus was Argos, the son of Zeus. But the Epidaurians father Epidaurus upon Apollo.
The country is sacred in a very high degree to Aesculapius, and this is how it is said to have come about. The Epidaurians say that Phlegyas came to Peloponnese nominally to view the land, but really to spy out the number of the people and see whether they were a fighting race. For Phlegyas was the greatest warrior of the age and made forays in all directions, carrying off the crops and driving away the cattle. When he came to Peloponnese his daughter came with him; and she, all unknown to her father, was with child by Apollo. In the land of Epidaurus she was delivered of a male child, whom she exposed upon the mountain which is named Titthium (‘nipple’) in our day, but then it was called Myrgium. But one of the goats that browsed on the mountain gave suck to the forsaken babe; and a dog, the guardian of the flock, watched over it. Now when Aresthanas—for that was the name of the goatherd—perceived that the tale of the goats was not full, and that the dog too kept away from the flock, he went up and down, they say, looking everywhere. At last he found the babe and was fain to take it up in his arms. But as he drew near he saw a bright light shining from the child. So he turned away, ‘For surely,’ thought he, ‘the hand of God is in this,’ as indeed it was. And soon the fame of the child went abroad over every land and sea, how that he had all power to heal the sick and that he raised the dead.
Another story told of him is this: While he was still in the womb of his mother Coronis, she admitted Ischys, son of Elatus, to her arms; and Artemis avenged the insult offered to Apollo by slaying her. The pyre was already lighted when Hermes, they say, snatched the infant from the flames.
The third story, which represents Aesculapius as the son of Arsinoe, daughter of Leucippus, is to my mind the most unlikely of them all. For when Apollophanes, the Arcadian, came to Delphi and inquired of the god whether Aesculapius was the son of Arsinoe and therefore a Messenian, the Pythian priestess gave answer :— O born to be the world’s great joy, Aesculapius, Offspring of love, whom Phlegyas’ daughter, fair Coronis, bore to me In rugged Epidaurus. This oracle is the best proof that Aesculapius was not the son of Arsinoe, but that Hesiod or some interpolator of Hesiod composed the verses to please the Messenians.
Another proof that the god was born in Epidaurus is this: I find that his most famous sanctuaries are offshoots from the one at Epidaurus. For instance, the Athenians professedly assign to Aesculapius a share in the mysteries, and give to the day on which they do so the name of Epidauria; and they date their worship of Aesculapius as a god from the time when this practice was instituted. Again, the worship of Aesculapius was introduced into Pergamus by Archias, son of Aristaechmus, because, hunting on Pindasus, he had strained a limb and had been healed of the strain in Epidauria. And in our time the sanctuary of Aesculapius beside the sea at Smyrna was founded from the one at Pergamus. Again, at Balagrae in the land of Cyrene, Aesculapius is worshipped under the title of Physician, and this worship also came from Epidaurus. And from this Cyrenian sanctuary, again, is derived the one at Lebene in Crete. The Cyrenians differ from the Epidaurians in this, that whereas the Cyrenians sacrifice goats, it is against the Epidaurian custom to do so. That Aesculapius was held to be a god from the first, and did not merely acquire this reputation in course of time, I find from various evidence, in particular from the words which Homer puts in the mouth of Agamemnon touching Machaon :— Talthybius, hither call with speed Machaon, The mortal who is son to Aesculapius, which is as if he said, a man the son of a god.
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