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- Sep 23, 2023, 12:33 PM
- ☀️ 90 °F
- Altitude: 354 ft
- TurkeyİzmirTeğeltiAsklepieion, Pergamon39°7’8” N 27°9’59” E
Bergama: Ancient Asclepieion
September 23, 2023 in Turkey ⋅ ☀️ 90 °F
After sating our tummies, it was time to sate our minds and eyes by exploring a site of antiquity.
The ancient city of Pergamum is thought to have existed at least since the 5th century BC. However, it wasn’t until the Hellenistic Age (323 to 30 BC) that it rose to prominence, serving as the capital of the Attalid Dynasty following the death of Alexander the Great. The fortress and the palace they built stood on a high hill overlooking the Bakırçay Plain; the town situated on the slopes of the hill. During the Roman Period, the town grew and spread out to the plains below.
Now a UNESCO World Heritage Site, the hilltop ruins — referred to as the Acropolis of Pergamum — is a popular draw for tourists. It wasn’t the Acropolis that was our destination today, however. We’ve wandered around the site and scrambled around the columns and other artifacts that lie in ruins countless times … most recently in 2017. Rather, we planned to explore the Asclepieion, which none of us recalled visiting before … at least not as adults.
[For anyone interested, photos from our 2017 visit to the Acropolis of Pergamum are at this link: https://eenusa.smugmug.com/Europe/Turkey-2007/B….]
After Pergamum became the capital of the Roman province of Asia in 129 BC, it also became world renowned for its Asclepieion … a healing center built in honor of Asclepius, the god of health and healing. His skill in caring for, healing, and even raising people from the dead was such that worshippers raised him to cult status around the Greek and Roman world. Pilgrims in search of spiritual and physical healing flocked to Pergamum and other centers and temples dedicated to Asclepius.
Treatment methods largely centered around promoting healthy lifestyles, with emphasis on a person’s spiritual needs. Numerous written accounts from patients attesting to being cured highlight the success of the methods used at Pergamum and similar healing centers of the time.
The layout of the site is said to be as it was during the reign of Emperor Hadrian. We started our visit by walking up Via Tecta … aka the Sacred Way. Lined with columns on either side, there would have been shops all along the road … selling various items and offerings to those coming to the center in search of healing.
There were no physicians at the end of the road today to greet us as there would have been back in the heyday of Pergamum. Instead, we found ourselves at the entrance to the courtyard where initial diagnoses used to be made. From here, those who could be treated were allowed to proceed further; those who could not be treated were sent back.
Stopping to explore the ancient theater, which is thought to have been built by a local nobleman, we continued our exploration deeper into the site before retracing our steps to the 230-foot long cryptoporticus. This is a semi-subterranean covered gallery that back in the day led to the sleeping and treatment rooms. As it did us today, this passage protected patients from inclement weather … in our case the brutal heat with which the sun was roasting us today.
Admittedly, there isn’t all that much to see at today’s Asclepieion … especially when compared to sites such as Ephesus. Nonetheless, it was fun to delve into the nooks and crannies, sip cool water from the still-flowing sacred fountain — especially welcome on a 92F-day — and scramble over the ruins in search of small details that might have otherwise evaded our eyes.Read more