Dissertation committee:
Ειρήνη Πέππα-Παπαιωάννου, Ομότιμη Καθηγήτρια
Βασίλειος Λαμπρινουδάκης, Ομότιμος Καθηγητής
Στυλιανός Κατάκης, Αναπληρωτής Καθηγητής
Δημήτριος Πλάντζος, Καθηγητής
Σοφία Ανεζίρη, Αναπληρώτρια Καθηγήτρια
Ιωάννης Λώλος, Αναπληρωτής Καθηγητής
Ευγενία Μακρυγιάννη, Επίκουρη Καθηγήτρια
Summary:
The historical evolution of the cult of Asklepios is unclear prior to its transfer from Epidaurus to Athens in the last quarter of the 5th century BC. Based primarily on the earliest 5th-century BC evidence in the literary sources as well as a study of the topography and considering also the evidence for the later development and spread of the cult, it appears to have been an individual, natural cult in open-air sanctuaries, which was invented at the latest in the 8th/7th century BC in Thessaly. An examination of the combined evidence suggests that in the archaic period the mechanisms of its spread appear to have been primarily political, through the Amphictyonic League and the poleis ruled by tyrants. By the classical period, the phenomenon had historical, social, philosophical, economic parameters, but was also linked to local conditions, as well as to the diplomacy of the priesthood, while in the Hellenistic era it had become an arena for politics. Despite all this, the promotion of this cult was always based on individual motives, as can be seen in the instances of the historical personalities who promoted Asklepios as well in the personal reverence and sense of a debt of honour from private individuals, who transmitted the cult of Asklepios from one place to another, so that it was easily accepted on a mass scale.
The philological and epigraphic evidence was re-examined, as were twenty-one sites that played an important role in the network that disseminated the cult, the installation of the cult at the sites and the foundation of Asklepieia, so as to understand the diffusion of the cult within its historical context. The study complements related research with new evidence. It attempts to trace the movement of the cult and present it through its historical development, from the appearance of the figure of the god in the texts and at the sites, to the early Hellenistic period, which the research showed was a turning point in the spread and evolution of the cult of Asklepios, which was changing in a changing world.
The literary sources are examined chronologically, and an attempt made to correlate them with the archaeological evidence from the excavated sanctuaries. In this way, the phenomenon of diffusion is examined through its evolution. The chronological classification enables an understanding of the historical evolution of the cult and a comparison of the evidence. New maps were produced based on the epigraphic evidence, which clearly show the networks of diffusion of both the cult sites and the origins of those who congregated at Epidaurus. The two appendices, in which the sources are classified chronologically, with a special numbering system, are a product of this study. The appendices offer future scholars a collection of sources accompanied by the ancient text, a bibliography and commentary, which did not exist in the literature until now.
One major question in the research on Asklepios is how to interpret the ancient literary tradition that insists he was born in Thessaly, through the reference in Homer, who links him to Trikke and, especially, Hesiod. This tradition survived until the end of antiquity. Even though, given the lack of inscriptions, the cult prior to the classical period appears shadowy, an interpretation of the available evidence is attempted. The authors of the archaic and classical periods saw Asklepios as a god and highlighted the Thessalian thread of his genealogy. The end of the Persian Wars coincides with the great spread of the cult of Asklepios outside of Thessaly. This diffusion was to intensify during the Peloponnesian War, as this cult provided an answer to people’s needs after the despair of plague and war. The establishment of Asklepios as a panhellenic god in the classical period is a phenomenon that eventually evaded the system of the city-state. It is popular demand that led to the proliferation and spread of the cult, as can be seen in the fact that in most known cases where Asklepieia were established, this was done on a private initiative. With the support of Athenian policy and running along the maritime routes of the classical period, Asklepios would reach almost the entire basin of the eastern Mediterranean Sea. In the early Hellenistic period, Asklepios was transferred to the territories conquered by the Macedonians and the spread of his cult had a primarily political cause, which melded with people’s eagerness to adopt the new cult.
The spread of the cult of Asklepios was the result not only of an individual crisis, such as a plague or the effects of the wars, but was also due to social, political, economic and philosophical reasons. Those at risk of social exclusion found in the Asklepieia a place of acceptance and care. The nature of Asklepios, the gentleness of his figure, the support of powerful priesthoods, leaders and social groups, such as women, were factors and mechanisms in the spread of his cult. The early Asklepios, a good spirit from Thessaly – which ancient tradition remembered – differs from the Asklepios of the great diffusion. His cult, due to the conservatism of ancient Greek religion, retained many of its original structural characteristics, such as flowing water, nature and earth. The ἀμύμων ἰητήρ of the Iliad, who was invented and worshipped as a deity in Thessaly at the latest during the archaic period, evolved into the now panhellenic god of the classical era, as the expresser of man’s archetypal need for healing and a good life.
Keywords:
Asklepios, Asclepius, Asklepieia, sanctuaries of Asklepios, ancient Greek cults, ancient Greek religion, ancient medicine, diffusion of ancient cults, Epidaurus
