Sanctuary of Asclepius, Epidaurus
The number of Wikipedia languages with an article is our measure of how widely known a site is. Counts of visitors and wishes will appear once enough people use the app.
Seals, want-to-go and the year you stood here are recorded in the iPhone app.
How it came to be
In a small valley of the Peloponnese at Epidaurus, healing rituals were practised from the 2nd millennium BC. A cult of Apollo Maleatas existed by the 8th century BC, and from it grew, by the 6th century BC at the latest, the cult of Asclepius, god of medicine.
In the 4th century BC the temple of Asclepius, the round Tholos and the theatre were built, the theatre to a design by Polykleitos the Younger of Argos. The sanctuary rivalled Olympia and Delphi and had guest quarters, baths, sports grounds and a library.
In the Achaean War of 146 BC it was turned into a stronghold, and in 87 BC the Roman general Sulla looted it. Panagiotis Kavvadias excavated it from 1881. An annual festival has been held in the theatre since 1955, and the site was inscribed in 1988.
Data: Wikidata (CC0). Photos: Wikimedia Commons, under each photo’s license. Prototype; may contain errors. We measure usage anonymously to improve the app (PostHog, EU).