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Asclepieum Asclepieum was a sanctuary and a healing center built in the name of the god of healing, Asclepius. It was similar to the one in Epidauros in Greece. Although this place was set up in the 4C BC, it had its peak in the Roman period. Asclepius, son of Apollo, the god of healing, was a famous physician. His mother, Coronis, a princess of Thessaly, died when he was an infant. Apollo entrusted the child’s education to Chiron, a centaur, who taught Asclepius the healing arts. Asclepius, when grown, became so skilled in surgery and the use of medicinal plants that he could even restore the dead back to life. Hades, ruler of the dead, became alarmed at this and complained to Zeus, who killed Asclepius with a thunderbolt. The healing center, Asclepieum, had been something very similar to a modern natural healing clinic. Patients were given exercises, drugs, herbal remedies, or could take the honey cure, drink the waters of the spring or be treated by suggestion. They could walk among the trees and be calmed by the scent of pine. Over the gate had been inscribed the words: "In the name of the Gods, Death is forbidden to enter". Snakes were sacred to Asclepius because of their power to renew themselves. That is why there was a relief of snakes at the entrance to the sacred area of the medical center symbolizing health. Among the famous physicians of the Asclepieum was Galen. Galen (c.129-199 AD) Galen was the most outstanding physician of antiquity after Hippocrates. His anatomical studies on animals and observations of how the human body functions dominated medical theory and practice for 1400 years. Galen was born in Pergamum. A shrine to the healing god Asclepius was located in Pergamum and there young Galen observed how the medical techniques of the time were used to treat the ill or wounded. He received his formal medical training in nearby Smyrna and then traveled widely, gaining more medical knowledge. Galen dissected many animals, particularly goats, pigs and monkeys, to demonstrate how different muscles are controlled at different levels of the spinal cord. He also showed that the brain controls the voice. Galen showed that arteries carry blood, disproving the 400-year-old belief that arteries carry air. Galen was also highly praised in his time as a philosopher. He closely followed the view of the philosopher Aristotle that nothing in nature is superfluous. Galen’s principal contribution to philosophic thought was the concept that God’s purposes can be understood by examining nature. Galen’s observations in anatomy remained his most enduring contribution. His medical writings were translated by 9C Arab scholars. The Site
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Colonnaded Road connected Asclepieum to the city. Originally it was 820 m /
2,700 ft. Today only a small part of this road is visible. The Propylon was
located at the end of the colonnaded road and dates from 2C AD. It had 12
steps and opened into a large courtyard which was surrounded by stoas on
three sides. It had beautiful acroteriums one of which can be seen in the
Bergama museum. Stoas originally had Ionic capitals but after an earthquake
in the 2C AD, some Corinthian capitals were also used. The Library was for
both educational and entertainment purposes with many medical books for the
physicians and other books for use by the patients. The Theater is a small
building in Roman style with a capacity of 3,500 people. It was mainly used
for performances to entertain the patients when not receiving treatment. The
Sacred Fountain provided water believed to have had healing power. Sleeping
rooms were used to make the patients sleep and analyze their dreams. The
Tunnel is a vaulted subterranean passageway. It is 80 m / 262 ft long. Under
the floor ran water which provided relaxing sounds. On the ceiling there are
12 windows to provide sunlight inside the tunnel. The Round Treatment Center
was a two-storied building with six apsidal sections. Today only the lower
floor remains. The walls and the floor were covered with marble and the roof
was made of wood. Water coming through the tunnel, recesses for washing and
the sun-terrace show that this room was also used for the treatment of
patients. The Temple of Asclepius was erected by the Consul of the time in
the 2C AD. The main part of the temple was cylindrical and covered by a
dome. The floor and the walls were decorated with marble mosaics. There were
many statues of gods and deities related to health including those of
Asclepius himself. This building can be accepted as one of the earliest
structures with a dome in Anatolia. |