THE EPIDAURIAN ORACLE.
In speaking of the god of medicine at Rome, mention was made of
Epidaurus, the original great seat of worship of Æsculapius. In the
Peloponnesian place of that name, in the district of Argolis, on the
western shore of the Saronic Gulf, I will now pause a while; for here is
a spot of earth of special interest, dearer than Salerno, or even Cos, to
every lover of the annals, historical and legendary, of the healing art.
Very different is Epidaurus now from what it was in other days; there
has been a change, and for the worse. Here was once the scene of teeming
life; the home of a people of culture and renown. It is not so at
present. As with many other parts of Greece, time has dealt harshly with
Epidaurus. But for the ruins and the imperishable records we have of
them, one could find very little there worthy of much attention.
It is chiefly in the work of Pausanias, before mentioned, that the
great medical institution of Epidaurus, the Æsculapian Temple, with its
auxiliaries, survives. This observing and inquisitive old Greek traveler
has left an interesting account of it. He lived in the second century of
our era.
The ruins have been carefully studied and described by Mr. Leake.[47]
Under a commission from the Archæological Society of Athens, Mr.
P. Kavvadias, in 1881 and forward to the present time (1885), has
been making exploratory excavations, for full accounts of which the
“Proceedings of the Society” must be consulted.[48]
Although the Asclepion was not within the town of Epidaurus, it was
generally spoken of as part and parcel of the latter. Thus, Strabo
says: “Epidaurus was a distinguished city, remarkable particularly on
account of the fame of Æsculapius, who was supposed to cure every kind of
disease, and whose temple is crowded constantly with sick persons, and
its walls covered with votive tablets, which are hung thereon and contain
accounts of the cures in the same manner as is practiced at Cos and at
Tricca.”[49] In the time of the Romans, the town was regarded as “little
more than the harbor”[50] of the Æsculapian Oracle. Still, at one time
it was of considerable importance. Pausanias speaks favorably of it. In
it there were statues of Æsculapius and his reputed wife, Epione, and of
Diana, Venus, and others. There were public accommodations for persons
dying and lying-in women. This was necessary, because births and deaths
were not allowed to occur within the Sacred Grove. The exclusion was,
according to Pausanias, “agreeable to a law which is established in the
island of Delos.”[51]
Epidaurus was open to intercourse with the Phœnicians and other peoples.
Its citizens were enterprising. It is interesting to note that they
colonized the island of Cos.
Under the name of Pidhavro the ancient town remains in existence; but it
is a mere hamlet of a few dozen families, most of which are engaged in
raising vegetables for the Athenian market.
Proceeding in a southwesterly direction from the site of Epidaurus, one
comes, after a journey of about five Roman miles, to the location of the
famous Epidaurian Oracle of Æsculapius. It is a little vale, bordered
almost all around with shrubbery-clad hills, notable among which are
Mounts Titthium, Cynortium, and Coryphæus, the first and second to the
north, and the third to the southeast. At a little distance down it,
flowing westerly and emptying into the river of Lessa, is a rivulet
formed by two main branches, one of which springs from about Mount
Coryphæus and traverses the sacred Ἀλσος, or Grove.
To the Sacred Grove, the name of Hierum, or, rather, Sto Hieron,[52] a
synonym, is applied. It is less than a mile in circumference. Within it
are found remains of most of the structures which it formerly contained.
In the centre stood the Temple, or Sanctuary, of Æsculapius; in the
southeast, at the foot of Mount Coryphæus, the theatre,[53] which
afforded accommodation for twelve thousand people, and which is one of
the finest ruins of ancient Grecian buildings; and southwest of the
temple was the place devoted to athletic games, the Stadium, to the
north of which were the Cistrum and the Tholus, or circular cell, about
thirty feet in circumference, which contained paintings and other works
of art, and probably served as a place of reunion of the officials of the
sanctuary, and for certain sacrifices and ceremonies. Water-pipes have
been unearthed; and there are remnants of the peribolus, or enclosure,
which, according to Leake, however, was present only on two sides, the
steep hills answering the purpose on the others. The somewhat remarkable
state of preservation of these ruins is largely due to the seclusion of
the place.
Of course, the most notable building within the sacred grounds was the
Temple.[54] This was the abode of the god; here was his oracle. His
statue was of great splendor and highly renowned. It was formed of ivory
and gold—chryselephantine—and was by Thrasymedes, of Parus. Æsculapius
was represented as a man somewhat advanced in life, but of attractive
presence, seated on a throne. His hair and beard were given long, perhaps
too long for an ideal physician.[55] In his left hand he held a staff,
and the other he held over the head of a serpent. At his feet was the
figure of a dog. On the throne were wrought illustrations of the works
of the Argive heroes. Bellerophon was shown in the act of slaying the
Chimæra, and Perseus cutting off the head of Medusa.
Besides the temple, the theatre, gymnasium, and other buildings mentioned
above, there were still others to meet the manifold needs of the numerous
visitors. As those who came to consult the oracle remained a night or
longer, there must have been an extensive dormitory. It is referred to
by Pausanias.[56] Those, however, who approached the god, always, I
believe, passed the night in the sanctuary.
When at the height of its glory the Hierum was surely a place full of
life. Being the most famous sanatory retreat, multitudes flocked to it
from all parts of Greece and beyond. Many who came were, doubtless,
invalids, but likely far more could not be classed as such. In fact,
this Æsculapian Grove, although mainly a medical institution, a sort of
hospital, might reasonably be taken as a prototype of modern popular
health resorts.
The glory of the Epidaurian Oracle was not short-lived. In the year 292
B.C., the time when the Roman embassy paid the historic visit, it was
very great; and five centuries later—that is, in the time of Pausanias—it
had not passed away; the worship of the serpentine divinity had not then
ceased.
With years the oracle accumulated riches, so that it became noted for
its treasures. When, in the year 167 B.C., it was visited by L. Æmilius
Paulus, after his conquest of Macedonia, it was rich in gifts presented
by those who had obtained relief there from their afflictions. A century
and a half later many of the valuable offerings had disappeared.
The visitors to the great oracle in search of health placed themselves
under the care of the asclepiades, or disciples of the god. A special
course of regimen (treatment) was followed. It is said that it was
directed by Æsculapius, through dreams,—not necessarily a truth. The plan
pursued was more or less scientific and free from superstition. Mr. Leake
rather ungraciously remarks that the advisors, being “equally dexterous
as priests and physicians, provided themselves with resources in either
capacity, which they could turn to the benefit of their patients’
infirmities and their own profit.”[57] The rules were decidedly strict.
Records of patients were preserved, and the tablets on which they were
placed were hung up in the temple and elsewhere. Some of those surviving
from the stelæ, mentioned by Pausanias,[58] have been unearthed recently
by Mr. Kavvadias. They are mostly statements of miraculous cures.[59]
Famous and immensely popular as the Epidaurian Oracle was, it cannot
be said to have had notable natural advantages in its favor. The site
was not one of the best, being low and hill-bounded,—conditions closely
related to unhealthy states of humidity and heat of the atmosphere. The
supply of water was not good, dependence having to be placed at times on
cisterns. The locations of many other, but less noted, asclepia, were
certainly far more sanatory. At Cos there was pure, mild sea-air; and,
of those in the mountains or by fountains, each had one or more special
natural attractions. Indeed, there could seemingly be few much worse
sites than this close little Epidaurian valley, without even a mineral
spring, or, in fact, a good spring of ordinary water to recommend it.
But, greater than any one, or all climatic or other influences in power
to attract the multitude, was the belief that at his birthplace and
primary seat and oracle the influence of the god of medicine could be
most effectively brought to bear to remove disease and restore health. As
in this case, a pleasing superstition may work wonders.