Reconstitution based upon recent photographs and upon surveys by Herzog (Koische Forschungen, 1904).
(Courtesy of Prof. Dr. Meyer-Steineg, of Jena, Germany.)
There were two principal types of Asclepieia—one, like that of Epidaurus, in Argolis, which occupied an inland situation, that had clearly been chosen from religious motives alone, viz., because it was believed, in accordance with an ancient tradition, that at this spot Aesculapius had been born—and a second, like that of Cos, on the island of the same name in the Aegean Sea, which situation without doubt had been chosen chiefly because the locality was exceptionally healthful. Of the first of these two types of temples, the sites of both of which have been most carefully studied, very little need be said in this brief sketch. The purely medical aspects of this Asclepieion, to which at the height of its celebrity crowds flocked from all parts of Greece, are of minor interest. The temple and its accessory buildings, which appear to have been very extensive, were located in a narrow valley, not far distant from the seaside village which still to-day bears the name of Epidaurus. Then, also, the locality is deficient in one important respect—it has an insufficient supply of good drinking water; and, finally, it is only slightly elevated above the sea-level. Dr. Meyer-Steineg remarks that the patients who visited this temple must have owed whatever benefit they derived from the visit to other influences than those of a purely medical or hygienic character. Doubtless suggestion played an important part in any relief which they may have obtained, and the so-called temple-sleep was also doubtless a very effective factor in this direction. The Asclepieion at Cos, on the other hand, occupied a most healthful position on the northern slope of the ridge of mountains which extends throughout the entire length of the island and attains a maximum height of about 3000 feet. (See Fig. 1.)
It now remains for me to describe, as best I may within the limited space which is at my command, the results of the excavations and surveys that have been made in recent years on the Island of Cos. Professor Meyer-Steineg’s article on this subject[16] is the source from which I have derived the information contained in the following account.
The temple and its associated buildings stood at an elevation of three hundred feet above the sea-level and at a distance of a little more than two miles from the city of Cos. The heights behind the temple were in former times covered with forests and afforded ample protection against the debilitating and much-dreaded south wind. A brook of considerable size and of very pure water passed through the temple grounds; the spring (Burinna) from which it took its origin being located about 300 feet higher up on the side of the mountain. Not far off, in the same neighborhood, is a mineral spring, the water from which contains both iron and sulphur. All the physical conditions of this site were, therefore, very favorable to the restoration of both mental and bodily health. Professor Meyer-Steineg declares that it is scarcely possible to determine accurately the age of the Cos Asclepieion,—i.e., of the structures which the present ruins represent,—but he believes that some of them date no farther back than the third century B. C., at which time extensive structural alterations were made.[17] Then, at a still later date (first century A. D.), in consequence of the damage done by an earthquake, C. Stertinius Xenophon (at the instigation of the Roman Emperor Claudius, whose private physician he was) carried out some very radical changes. Not only were the separate buildings well supplied with running water, but even many of the individual rooms (of which there were a large number) were equipped with the same conveniences. Hydropathy evidently formed an important part of the treatment in the reconstructed temple. (See Fig. 2.)
As has been shown above, the climate, the freedom from disturbing factors of all kinds, the existence at that spot of a plentiful supply of pure water, the character of the structures composing the temple group, and the widespread belief among the people that the Asclepiadae were able, with the assistance of the god Aesculapius, to effect cures which were obtainable nowhere else—all contributed to make the temple at Cos one of the greatest sanatoria of ancient times.
FIG. 2. BIRD’S-EYE VIEW OF THE TEMPLE OF AESCULAPIUS AND ASSOCIATED BUILDINGS ON THE ISLAND OF COS.
As they appeared in the third century B. C.
(Copied by permission from a model made by Prof. Dr. Meyer-Steineg for the Medico-historical Museum of the University of Jena, Germany.)