been born—and a second, like that of Cos, on the island of the same name in the Aegean Sea, which situation without doubt had been chosen chiefly because the locality was exceptionally healthful. Of the first of these two types of temples, the sites of both of which have been most carefully studied, very little need be said in this brief sketch. The purely medical aspects of this Asclepieion, to which at the height of its celebrity crowds flocked from all parts of Greece, are of minor interest. The temple and its accessory buildings, which appear to have been very extensive, were located in a narrow valley, not far distant from the seaside village which still to-day bears the name of Epidaurus. Then, also, the locality is deficient in one important respect—it has an insufficient supply of good drinking water; and, finally, it is only slightly elevated above the sea-level. Dr. Meyer-Steineg remarks that the patients who visited this temple must have owed whatever benefit they derived from the visit to other influences than those of a purely medical or hygienic character. Doubtless suggestion played an important part in any relief which they may have obtained, and the so-called temple-sleep was also doubtless a very effective factor in this direction. The Asclepieion at Cos, on the other hand, occupied a most healthful position on the northern slope of the ridge of mountains which extends throughout the entire length of the island and attains a maximum height of about 3000 feet. (See Fig. 1.)
It now remains for me to describe, as best I may within the limited space which is at my command, the results of the excavations and surveys that have been made in recent years on the Island of Cos. Professor Meyer-Steineg's article on this subject[1] is the source from which I have derived the information contained in the following account.
The temple and its associated buildings stood at an elevation of three hundred feet above the sea-level and at a distance of a little more than two miles from the city of Cos. The heights behind the temple were in former
- ↑ "Kranken-Anstalten im griechisch-romischen Altertum," in Jenaer medizin.-historische Beiträge, Jena, 1912.
