EPIDAURUS, a city of Argolis, in the Peloponnesus, situated in a recess of the Saronic Gulf, open to the northeast, and backed by high mountains, was founçled probably by Carians, and afterwards joined by a colony of Ionians from Attica. It was at first subject to Argos; but on the return of the Heraclidae and Dorians to the Peloponnesus, an independent kingdom was established, which extended over the whole of this small peninsula. We∙find its king Procles engaged in war with Periander of Corinth. In the Persian war it sent ten ships to the common fleet at Salamis, and eight hundred heavy-armed men to Plataea ∙ and in the Peloponnesian war it always appears as the determined opponent of Argos, and the ally of Sparta, successfully resisting the Argives when besieged by them after the battle of Amphipolis. In the time of Augustus the circumference of its walls was no more than fifteen stadia; whence it appears that Epidaurus was even at that time reduced to the promontory where are now to be seen, in many parts, the foundations of Hellenic walls along the edge of the cliffs. A small neighbouring village is still called Pidhavro.

Epidaurus was chiefly remarkable for the temple and sacred grove of Aesculapius, one of the most renowned places in Greece for its sanctity, riches, and the splendour of the sacred offerings which adorned it. It was at the distance of five miles from the city, and surrounded by a semicircle of steep hills. The place is still called Sto Iero, which means the temple, or sacred place. It contained a statue of the god, wrought in gold and ivory, by Thrasymedes of Paros, and about half the size of the Jupiter Olympius at Athens. Aesculapius was seated on a throne, holding a staff in one hand, whilst the other rested on the head of a serpent, and a dog lay at his feet. Beside the temple was the dormitory of those who came to supplicate the god; and near it the Tholus, a circular building of white marble, built by Polycletus of Argos. But the most remarkable building was the theatre, which, though inferior in size and ornamental decoration to those of the Romans, far excelled them in the beauty of its workmanship and the harmony of its proportions. This temple was the most fashionable place of resort for Grecian invalids seeking relief from a change of air, of place, or of medical treatment. Hither they flocked from every part of the country, to place themselves under the care of the servants of Aesculapius; and those who were healed were in the habit of recording their cures with inscriptions in different parts of the temple.

Considerable remains of the temple and adjoining buildings are still to be seen. “There exists a part of the foundations, and some remains of the circular cell of the Tholus, with defaced inscriptions. But the most remarkable ruin at Iero is the theatre: though no traces of the proscenium remain, and many of the seats made of white marble are displaced, it is in better preservation than any other theatre in Greece, except that which exists near Trametzus in Epirus, not far from Joannina. The orchestra must have been about ninety feet in length, and the entire theatre about 370 in diameter. Thirty-two rows of seats still appear above ground in a lower division. The theatre, when complete, was capable of containing 12,000 spectators.” Leake’s Travels in the Morea, vol. ii. p. 424, London, 1830.