In a small valley in the Peloponnesus, the shrine of Asklepios, the god of medicine, developed out of a much earlier cult of Apollo (Maleatas), during the 6th century BC at the latest, as the official cult of the city-state of Epidaurus. Its principal monuments, particularly the temple of Asklepios, the Tholos, and the Theatre – considered one of the purest masterpieces of Greek architecture – date from the 4th century. The vast site, with its temples and hospital buildings devoted to its healing gods, provides valuable insight into the healing cults of Greek and Roman times. Nowadays is best known for its ancient theatre of Epidaurus (excavated in 1990) designed by Polykleitos the Younger in the 4th century BC. The theatre is famous for its exceptional acoustics, which reportedly allowed almost perfect intelligibility of unamplified spoken words from the proscenium to all 14000 spectators, regardless of their seating.
Parking location – Epidaurus: 37.596331N 23.074955E (🚻)