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visitations were prognostic in nature, revealing the projected course of the disease and ultimate patient outcomes. During this time, patients would also discover what it was they needed to do once they woke in order to treat their disease. Upon awakening, the patient would recount their dream to a temple priest, who would then prescribe a treatment based on their interpretation. Other dreams were less direct, and more symbolic. The physician - priests at the
Asclepions were also master dream interpreters who would divine the treatment to be followed from the patient's account of the dream. The god Asclepius had certain totem animals in whose guise he liked to visit the supplicants as they slept. These were the dog, the rooster, and of course, the snake.
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237:, the wise and peaceful centaur, learned the art of healing. Under Apollo's mentorship, Chiron grew in his craft so much so that Apollo himself entrusted Chiron to train his son, Asclepius. Through his studies, Asclepius became so deft at medicine, especially the art of surgery, that he was able to return the living from the dead. His abilities quickly drew attention and jealousy from the other gods. As one story goes, Asclepius was killed by Zeus at the request of Hades, the god of the underworld, who feared Asclepius was stealing souls away from him. Before his death, however, Asclepius had several children, including:
107:, also known as 'temple sleep.' This was a process by which patients would go to sleep in the temple with the expectation that they would be visited by Asclepius himself or one of his healing children in their dream. During this time, they would be told what it is that they needed to do in order to cure their ailment. At the very least, they would wake up having not been directly visited by a deity and instead report their dream to a priest. The priest would then interpret the dream and prescribe a cure, often a visit to the baths or a
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126:, three large marble boards dated to 350 BC preserve the names, case histories, complaints, and cures of about 70 patients who came to the temple with a problem and shed it there. Some of the surgical cures listed, such as the opening of an abdominal abscess or the removal of traumatic foreign material, are realistic enough to have taken place, with the patient in a dream-like state of induced sleep known as "
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would come pay homage to the gods by making pilgrimages to the site, performing a prayer or a sacrifice, giving monetary gifts or even sleep at the temple. The
Epidaurus also served as a sanctuary for those who were extremely ill. It was eventually expanded to a one hundred eighty-room institution to house the dying and women in labour during the Roman Empire.
310:. Ancient mythographers generally regarded Trikka as the place of Asclepius' birth, but to date archaeological excavations have yet to uncover his sanctuary there. Epidaurus, on the other hand, was the first place to worship Asclepius as a god, beginning sometime in the 5th century BC. The asclepieion at
97:, the first doctor-demigod in Greek mythology. Asclepius was said to have been such a skilled doctor that he could even raise people from the dead. So stemming from the myth of his great healing powers, pilgrims would flock to temples built in his honor in order to seek spiritual and physical healing.
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Asclepieia included carefully controlled spaces conducive to healing and fulfilled several of the requirements of institutions created for healing. Treatment at these temples largely centered around promoting healthy lifestyles, with a particular emphasis on a person's spiritual needs. Characteristic
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or dream therapy. Patients would sleep in the “Abaton” or “Enkoimeterion,” which was a dormitory located in the asclepieion. Here, they would be lulled into a hypnotic state, and begin their dream journey. As they slept, they were visited by
Asclepius or his daughters Hygeia and Panacea. These dream
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of the east
Peloponnese in Greece, Epidaurus was the main asclepieion. The healing temple was named after Asclepius, the son of Apollo. At the Epidaurus, there were various people such as physicians and priests who would assist those who sought a session of healing from these professionals. Patients
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or purification stage. This is when a patient undergoes a series of baths and other methods of purging, such as a clean diet over a series of several days or purging their emotions through art. The patient would then make an offering such as money or a prayer to the temple, therefore to
Asclepius.
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Signature to asclepian medicine was its holistic approach to patient care. It emphasized therapy through the natural environment, hence the carefully chosen locations, as well as care for the patient's psychological and emotional states. By attending to these things, the patient's innate healing
284:, Corinth and Pergamon. These temples were often located in secluded locations surrounded modern spas or mountain sanatoriums. These sanctuaries could attract diverse audiences for various needs other than healing, which makes these spaces more complex than merely healing spaces.
214:. His name was said to means "cut open". It is said that he was so named as a result of his mother's childbirth experience, during which time her womb had to be cut open in order for Asclepius to be born (now known as a
122:,’ they were highly effective, as is evident by the numerous written accounts by patients attesting to their healing and providing detailed accounts of their cure. In the Asclepieion of
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Askitopoulou, Helen; Konsolaki, Eleni; Ramoutsaki, Ioanna A.; Anastassaki, Maria (2002). "Surgical cures under sleep induction in the
Asclepieion of Epidauros".
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The priest of the temple then gives the patient a prayer in which it would ease the patient's mind and create a more positive outlook for them.
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Over 300 asclepieia have been discovered throughout ancient Greece. Among the most famous of the temples were Trikka, Epidaurus, island of Kos,
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became increasingly popular. He was admired for serving people despite their class and social status, which was not a common practice by
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There were two steps in order for a patient to be considered to be treated in the asclepieion. The first of which is the
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Christopoulou-Aletra, H.; Togia, A.; Varlami, C. (2010). "The "smart" Asclepieion: A total healing environment".
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is both extensive and well preserved. There is also an asclepieion located on the south slopes of the
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Asclepius holding the staff with a snake wrapped around it that serves as the inspiration for the
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Also characteristic of these temples were the presence of dogs and nonvenomous snakes, known as
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For a full description of how healing was performed at the
Asclepieion, see Vivien Nutton,
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Asclepius’ father Apollo was himself a patron god of medicine. It was through Apollo that
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Kanellou, V (2004). "Ancient Greek medicine as the foundation of contemporary medicine".
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This article is about ancient healing temples. For the municipality of
Argolis, see
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is said to have received his medical training at an asclepieion on the isle of
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Tourists enjoying the panoramic view of the city from the
Asklepieion on
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Morris, D.B. (2007). "Un-forgetting
Asclepius: An Erotics of Illness".
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Asclepius: a collection and interpretation of the testimonies
617:"ASCLEPIUS: Greek God of Medicine & Doctors | Mythology"
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Patients sleeping in the temple of Aesculapius at Epidaurus
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Asclepieia also became home to future physicians as well.
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Melfi, M. (2007). "I santuari di Asclepio in Grecia".
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http://www.greekmedicine.net/mythology/asclepius.html
836:- The Asclepieion at Epidaurus (click "Presentation")
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Mending bodies, saving souls: a history of hospitals
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mechanisms were activated, which promoted recovery.
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206:was the god of medicine – son of the god
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27:Healing temples located in ancient Greece
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534:. Oxford University Press. p. 56.
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177:Panoramic view from the Asklepieion on
101:of the Asclepieion was the practice of
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256:Starting around 350 BC, the cult of
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693:. US National Library of Medicine
575:"Greek Mythology: The Asclepions"
202:In Greek mythology and religion,
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318:which dates to around 420 BC.
266:a snake wrapped around a staff
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718:Archives of Hellenic Medicine
602:10.1016/S0531-5131(02)00717-3
590:International Congress Series
687:"Greek Medicine - Asclepius"
635:"Greek Mythology: Asclepius"
487:Techniques in Coloproctology
270:American Medical Association
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795:World History Encyclopedia
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544:– via Google Books.
499:10.1007/s10151-004-0095-z
399:Asclepieion of Athens in
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824:Asclepieion of Pautaliya
804:– via ancient.eu.
396:, established 419/18 BC
300:Trikka (modern Trikala)
870:Ancient Greek medicine
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406:Sanctuary of Asclepius
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865:Temples of Asclepius
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736:"complex asklepieia"
650:New Literary History
416:Temple of Asclepius
316:Acropolis of Athens
36:Temple of Asclepius
366:List of Asclepieia
357:Afterwards, comes
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276:Asclepieia temples
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85:(and in the wider
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75:aesculapīum
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61:Ἀσκληπιεῖον
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136:ἐγκοίμησις
128:enkoimesis
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32:Asklipieio
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410:Pergamum
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159:Pergamon
434:Messene
401:Piraeus
392:on the
251:Panacea
239:Machaon
212:Coronis
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308:Greece
282:Athens
249:, and
247:Hygeia
235:Chiron
218:). In
208:Apollo
666:S2CID
511:S2CID
224:Iliad
220:Homer
155:Galen
132:Greek
91:Roman
72:Latin
594:1242
536:ISBN
503:PMID
424:Rome
296:hero
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