The temples and ritual of Asklepios at Epidauros and AthensTwo lectures delivered at the Royal Institution of Great Britain . suggested above,viz., a place of sacrifice to the sacred serpents, may we not havehere also the remains of a Tholos or Thymele on a small scale ?Possibly the four marble bases are those of columns surroundingan altar to which the serpents ascended from their pit beneath, 26 THE TEMPLES AND RITUAL OF to receive the sacrificial cakes of the worshippers, whothemselves stood beneath a roof carried by these of course is a mere hypothesis. The grove contained gre
The temples and ritual of Asklepios at Epidauros and AthensTwo lectures delivered at the Royal Institution of Great Britain . suggested above,viz., a place of sacrifice to the sacred serpents, may we not havehere also the remains of a Tholos or Thymele on a small scale ?Possibly the four marble bases are those of columns surroundingan altar to which the serpents ascended from their pit beneath, 26 THE TEMPLES AND RITUAL OF to receive the sacrificial cakes of the worshippers, whothemselves stood beneath a roof carried by these of course is a mere hypothesis. The grove contained great numbers of statues, busts,ex-votos, and inscriptions. The theatre of Dionysos close athand was doubtless frequented by the sick as a diversion. Thestall occupied by the priest of Asklepios, with his name on it, isstill in excellent preservation, as seen in plate XXIV. He satin the first rank, in a most honoured position, with his back tothe setting sun, next to the priest of the Muses. ThePanathenaic stadium, three-quarters of a mile away, doubtlesswas also frequently visited by the convalescents from PLATE XXIV—Seats of Priests of Asklepios and of theMuses in the Theatre ASKLEPIOS AT EPIDAUROS AND ATHENS 2J LECTURE II We now pass on to consider the ritual of the Aslclepian shrinesand the accommodation and treatment of the sick who frequentedthem. It is convenient, first, to consider the Hierarchy. The)consisted of the Hiereus or Hierophant, the priest, who was thehead official. He was appointed annually, and he appears tohave been frequently re-elected. From the Athenian inscriptionswe know that sometimes he was a physician, sometimes not;so also it was with the subordinate officials. The priest was thegeneral administrator, and had a share in the financial govern-ment of the temple. The Dadouchoi, or torch-bearers, wereprobably subordinate priests; the Pyrophoroi, or fire-carriers,among other functions, lighted the sacred fire on the altars; theNakoroi o
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