τὸ δὲ ἱερὸν ἄλσος τοῦ Ἀσκληπιοῦ περιέχουσιν ὅροι πανταχόθεν· οὐδὲ ἀποθνήσκουσιν ἄνθρωποι οὐδὲ τίκτουσιν αἱ γυναῖκές σφισιν ἐντὸς τοῦ περιβόλου, καθὰ καὶ ἐπὶ Δήλῳ τῇ νήσῳ τὸν αὐτὸν νόμον. τὰ δὲ θυόμενα, ἤν τέ τις Ἐπιδαυρίων αὐτῶν ἤν τε ξένος ὁ θύων ᾖ, καταναλίσκουσιν ἐντὸς τῶν ὅρων· τὸ δὲ αὐτὸ γινόμενον οἶδα καὶ ἐν Τιτάνῃ.
τοῦ δὲ Ἀσκληπιοῦ τὸ ἄγαλμα μεγέθει μὲν τοῦ Ἀθήνῃσιν Ὀλυμπίου Διὸς ἥμισυ ἀποδεῖ, πεποίηται δὲ ἐλέφαντος καὶ χρυσοῦ· μηνύει δὲ ἐπίγραμμα τὸν εἰργασμένον εἶναι Θρασυμήδην Ἀριγνώτου Πάριον. κάθηται δὲ ἐπὶ θρόνου βακτηρίαν κρατῶν, τὴν δὲ ἑτέραν τῶν χειρῶν ὑπὲρ κεφαλῆς ἔχει τοῦ δράκοντος, καί οἱ καὶ κύων παρακατακείμενος πεποίηται. τῷ θρόνῳ δὲ ἡρώων ἐπειργασμένα Ἀργείων ἐστὶν ἔργα, Βελλεροφόντου τὸ ἐς τὴν Χίμαιραν καὶ Περσεὺς ἀφελὼν τὴν Μεδούσης κεφαλήν. τοῦ ναοῦ δέ ἐστι πέραν ἔνθα οἱ ἱκέται τοῦ θεοῦ καθεύδουσιν.
οἴκημα δὲ περιφερὲς λίθου λευκοῦ καλούμενον Θόλος ᾠκοδόμηται πλησίον, θέας ἄξιον· ἐν δὲ αὐτῷ Παυσίου γράψαντος βέλη μὲν καὶ τόξον ἐστὶν ἀφεικὼς Ἔρως, λύραν δὲ ἀντʼ αὐτῶν ἀράμενος φέρει. γέγραπται δὲ ἐνταῦθα καὶ Μέθη, Παυσίου καὶ τοῦτο ἔργον, ἐξ ὑαλίνης φιάλης πίνουσα· ἴδοις δὲ κἂν ἐν τῇ γραφῇ φιάλην τε ὑάλου καὶ διʼ αὐτῆς γυναικὸς πρόσωπον. στῆλαι δὲ εἱστήκεσαν ἐντὸς τοῦ περιβόλου τὸ μὲν ἀρχαῖον καὶ πλέονες, ἐπʼ ἐμοῦ δὲ ἓξ λοιπαί· ταύταις ἐγγεγραμμένα καὶ ἀνδρῶν καὶ γυναικῶν ἐστιν ὀνόματα ἀκεσθέντων ὑπὸ τοῦ Ἀσκληπιοῦ, προσέτι δὲ καὶ νόσημα ὅ τι ἕκαστος ἐνόσησε καὶ ὅπως ἰάθη·
γέγραπται δὲ φωνῇ τῇ Δωρίδι. χωρὶς δὲ ἀπὸ τῶν ἄλλων ἐστὶν ἀρχαία στήλη· ἵππους δὲ Ἱππόλυτον ἀναθεῖναι τῷ θεῷ φησιν εἴκοσι. ταύτης τῆς στήλης τῷ ἐπιγράμματι ὁμολογοῦντα λέγουσιν Ἀρικιεῖς, ὡς τεθνεῶτα Ἱππόλυτον ἐκ τῶν Θησέως ἀρῶν ἀνέστησεν Ἀσκληπιός· ὁ δὲ ὡς αὖθις ἐβίω, οὐκ ἠξίου νέμειν τῷ πατρὶ συγγνώμην, ἀλλὰ ὑπεριδὼν τὰς δεήσεις ἐς Ἰταλίαν ἔρχεται παρὰ τοὺς Ἀρικιεῖς, καὶ ἐβασίλευσέ τε αὐτόθι καὶ ἀνῆκε τῇ Ἀρτέμιδι τέμενος, ἔνθα ἄχρι ἐμοῦ μονομαχίας ἆθλα ἦν καὶ ἱερᾶσθαι τῇ θεῷ τὸν νικῶντα· ὁ δὲ ἀγὼν ἐλευθέρων μὲν προέκειτο οὐδενί, οἰκέταις δὲ ἀποδρᾶσι τοὺς δεσπότας.
Ἐπιδαυρίοις δέ ἐστι θέατρον ἐν τῷ ἱερῷ μάλιστα ἐμοὶ δοκεῖν θέας ἄξιον· τὰ μὲν γὰρ Ῥωμαίων πολὺ δή τι ὑπερῆρκε τῶν πανταχοῦ τῷ κόσμῳ, μεγέθει δὲ Ἀρκάδων τὸ ἐν Μεγάλῃ πόλει· ἁρμονίας δὲ ἢ κάλλους ἕνεκα ἀρχιτέκτων ποῖος ἐς ἅμιλλαν Πολυκλείτῳ γένοιτʼ ἂν ἀξιόχρεως; Πολύκλειτος γὰρ καὶ θέατρον τοῦτο καὶ οἴκημα τὸ περιφερὲς ὁ ποιήσας ἦν. ἐντὸς δὲ τοῦ ἄλσους ναός τέ ἐστιν Ἀρτέμιδος καὶ ἄγαλμα Ἠπιόνης καὶ Ἀφροδίτης ἱερὸν καὶ Θέμιδος καὶ στάδιον, οἷα Ἕλλησι τὰ πολλὰ γῆς χῶμα, καὶ κρήνη τῷ τε ὀρόφῳ καὶ κόσμῳ τῷ λοιπῷ θέας ἀξία.
ὁπόσα δὲ Ἀντωνῖνος ἀνὴρ τῆς συγκλήτου βουλῆς ἐφʼ ἡμῶν ἐποίησεν, ἔστι μὲν Ἀσκληπιοῦ λουτρόν, ἔστι δὲ ἱερὸν θεῶν οὓς Ἐπιδώτας ὀνομάζουσιν· ἐποίησε δὲ καὶ Ὑγείᾳ ναὸν καὶ Ἀσκληπιῷ καὶ Ἀπόλλωνι ἐπίκλησιν Αἰγυπτίοις. καὶ ἦν γὰρ στοὰ καλουμένη Κότυος, καταρρυέντος δέ οἱ τοῦ ὀρόφου διέφθαρτο ἤδη πᾶσα ἅτε ὠμῆς τῆς πλίνθου ποιηθεῖσα· ἀνῳκοδόμησε καὶ ταύτην. Ἐπιδαυρίων δὲ οἱ περὶ τὸ ἱερὸν μάλιστα ἐταλαιπώρουν, ὅτι μήτε αἱ γυναῖκες ἐν σκέπῃ σφίσιν ἔτικτον καὶ ἡ τελευτὴ τοῖς κάμνουσιν ὑπαίθριος ἐγίνετο· ὁ δὲ καὶ ταῦτα ἐπανορθούμενος κατεσκευάσατο οἴκησιν· ἐνταῦθα ἤδη καὶ ἀποθανεῖν ἀνθρώπῳ καὶ τεκεῖν γυναικὶ ὅσιον.
ὄρη δέ ἐστιν ὑπὲρ τὸ ἄλσος τό τε Τίτθιον καὶ ἕτερον ὀνομαζόμενον Κυνόρτιον, Μαλεάτου δὲ Ἀπόλλωνος ἱερὸν ἐν αὐτῷ. τοῦτο μὲν δὴ τῶν ἀρχαίων· τὰ δὲ ἄλλα ὅσα περὶ τὸ ἱερὸν τοῦ Μαλεάτου καὶ ἔλυτρον κρήνης, ἐς ὃ τὸ ὕδωρ συλλέγεταί σφισι τὸ ἐκ τοῦ θεοῦ, Ἀντωνῖνος καὶ ταῦτα Ἐπιδαυρίοις ἐποίησεν.
The sacred grove of Aesculapius is surrounded by mountains on every side. Within the enclosure no death or birth takes place: the same rule is observed in the island of Delos. The sacrifices, whether offered by a native or a foreigner, are consumed within the bounds. I know that the same thing is done at Titane.
The image of Aesculapius is half the size of the image of Olympian Zeus at Athens: it is of ivory and gold. An inscription sets forth that the sculptor was Thrasymedes, a Parian, son of Arignotus. The god is seated on a throne, grasping a staff in one hand, and holding the other over the head of the serpent: a dog crouches at his side. On the throne are carved in relief the deeds of Argive heroes: Bellerophon killing the Chimaera, and Perseus after he has cut off Medusa’s head. Over against the temple is the place where the suppliants of the god sleep.
Near it is a round building of white marble: it is called the Rotunda (Tholos), and is worth seeing. It contains a picture of Love by Pausias: the god has thrown away his bow and arrows, and has picked up a lyre instead. Here, too, is another painting by Pausias: it represents Drunkenness drinking out of a crystal goblet: in the picture you can see the crystal goblet and the woman’s face through it. Tablets stood within the enclosure. There used to be more of them: in my time six were left. On these tablets are engraved the names of men and women who have been healed by Aesculapius, together with the disease from which each suffered, and the manner of the cure. The inscriptions are in the Doric dialect.
Apart from the others stands an ancient tablet with an inscription stating that Hippolytus dedicated twenty horses to the god. The people of Aricia tell a tale that agrees with the inscription on this tablet. They say that Hippolytus, done to death by the curses of Theseus, was raised from the dead by Aesculapius; and that being come to life again, he refused to forgive his father, and disregarding his entreaties went away to Aricia in Italy. There he reigned, and there he consecrated to Artemis a precinct, where down to my time the priesthood of the goddess is the prize of victory in a single combat. The competition is not open to free men, but only to slaves who have run away from their masters.
In the Epidaurian sanctuary there is a theatre which in my opinion is most especially worth seeing. It is true that in size the theatre at Megalopolis in Arcadia surpasses it, and that in splendour the Roman theatres far transcend all the theatres in the world; but for symmetry and beauty what architect could vie with Polyclitus? For it was Polyclitus who made this theatre and the round building also.
Within the grove is a temple of Artemis and an image of Epione ; also a sanctuary of Aphrodite and Themis; and a stadium formed, like most Greek stadiums, by banks of earth; also a water-basin worth seeing for its roof and decorations.
The buildings erected in our time by the Roman senator Antoninus include a bath of Aesculapius and a sanctuary of the gods whom they name Bountiful. Further, he built a temple to Health, Aesculapius, and Apollo, the two last under the surname Egyptian. He also rebuilt a colonnade called the Colonnade of Cotys: the roof had fallen in, and the whole edifice was in ruins, having been built of unburnt brick. The Epidaurians who were engaged about the sanctuary suffered much hardship, because their women were not allowed to bring forth under shelter, and their sick were obliged to die under the open sky. To remedy the inconvenience Antoninus had a house built, where a man may die and a woman may lie in without sin. 8. Above the grove is Mount Titthium and another mountain named Cynortium. On the latter is a sanctuary of Maleatian Apollo. The sanctuary itself is ancient, but everything about it, including the cistern in which the rain-water is collected, is a gift of Antoninus to the Epidaurians.
Cite This Text