The sanctuary of Asclepius, or Asclepieion, stretches over a verdant plain with countless water sources among mountains and hills. The earliest indications of a cult development can be traced to the nearby Mount Kynortion, as early as the second millennium B.C. Initially, a specific tribe used to worship their ancestors there, and around 800 B.C., this evolved into a cult of Apollo. Malos, the founding king of the area, gave his name to the cult of Apollo Maleatas. The pilgrims in this sanctuary strived for health through cleansing and culinary rituals. Practical reasons soon saw the cult moving to the plain. Apollo’s son, Asclepius, became a major subject of worship, soon after he first appeared, in the 6th century B.C. Asclepius’ fame rose rapidly and many affiliated sanctuaries were established throughout Greece. The gathering of a large number of pilgrims saw a vertical increase of the sanctuary’s income. All this money is invested toward building the most important buildings of the sanctuary in the 4th century B.C. The period of significant prosperity lasted for about three centuries. However, raids by pirates and foreign tribes caused excessive damage to the buildings. Despite this, the Roman senator Antoninus funded a reconstruction, offering the sanctuary its last major heyday in the 2nd century AD. Three centuries later, the sanctuary is shut down and abandoned by order of the Byzantine emperor Theodosius to ban all ancient cults.
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