Sanctuary of Asklepios at Epidaurus

The Sanctuary of Asklepios at Epidaurus in Argolis is one of the most important surviving centres of ancient Greek healing religion. UNESCO describes the site as a major witness to the healing cults of the Greek and Roman worlds and to the long transition between ritual healing and the development of medicine.

Ceremonial healing associations existed in the area earlier, while the cult of Apollo Maleatas was established by the eighth century BC and Asklepios became the dominant healing deity by the sixth century BC. The sanctuary’s principal monuments include the Temple of Asklepios, the Tholos, the Enkoimeterion, the Propylaia and the celebrated Theatre of Epidaurus.

Patients and pilgrims participated in rituals that included enkoimesis, or sacred sleep, seeking divine guidance or healing. Ancient inscriptions record cures attributed by worshippers to Asklepios; these are important historical evidence for belief and practice, not modern medical proof of miracles.

UNESCO inscribed the sanctuary in 1988. Visitors today encounter a protected archaeological landscape whose religious significance is documented through architecture, inscriptions and ancient practice, alongside faith claims preserved in the historical record.