thumb|right|250px|The Asklepieion on [[Kos]]
An Asclepieion ( Asklepieion; Ἀσκλαπιεῖον in Doric dialect; Latin aesculapīum), plural Asclepieia, was a healing temple in ancient Greece (and in the wider Hellenistic and Roman world) that was dedicated to Asclepius, the first doctor-demigod in Greek mythology. Asclepius was said to have been such a skilled doctor that he could even raise people from the dead. Stemming from the myth of his great healing powers, pilgrims would flock to temples built in his honor in order to seek spiritual and physical healing.
Asclepieia included carefully controlled spaces conducive to healing and fulfilled several of the requirements of institutions created for healing. Treatment at these temples largely centered around promoting healthy lifestyles, with a particular emphasis on a person's spiritual needs. Characteristic of the Asclepieion was the practice of incubatio, also known as 'temple sleep.' This was a process by which patients would go to sleep in the temple with the expectation that they would be visited by Asclepius himself or one of his healing children in their dream. During this time, they would be told what it is that they needed to do in order to cure their ailment. At the very least, they would wake up having not been directly visited by a deity and instead report their dream to a priest. The priest would then interpret the dream and prescribe a cure, often a visit to the baths or a gymnasium. The preliminary treatment for admission into the Asclepieia was catharsis, or purification. It consisted of a series of cleansing baths and purgations, accompanied by a cleansing diet, which lasted several days.
In the Asclepieion of Epidaurus, three large marble boards dated to 350 BC preserve the names, case histories, complaints, and cures of about 70 patients who came to the temple with a problem and shed it there. Some of the surgical cures listed, such as the opening of an abdominal abscess or the removal of traumatic foreign material, are realistic enough to have taken place, with the patient in a dream-like state of induced sleep known as "enkoimesis" (), not unlike anesthesia, induced with the help of soporific substances such as opium.
Asclepieia also became home to future physicians as well. Hippocrates is said to have received his medical training at an asclepieion on the isle of Kos. Prior to becoming the personal physician to the Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius, Galen treated and studied at the famed asclepieion at Pergamon.
Asclepius and his cult
thumb|Asclepius holding the staff with a snake wrapped around it that serves as the inspiration for the [[Rod of Asclepius|symbol of medicine. ]]
In Greek mythology and religion, Asclepius was the god of medicine – son of the god Apollo and mortal Coronis. His name was said to mean "cut open". It is said that he was so named as a result of his mother's childbirth experience, during which time her womb had to be cut open in order for Asclepius to be born (now known as a cesarean section). In Homer's Iliad, Asclepius was a man, a physician to soldiers wounded on the battlefield at Troy. But by Hippocrates' day, he had become elevated to the status of a god.
Asclepius’ father Apollo was himself a patron god of medicine. It was through Apollo that Chiron, the wise and peaceful centaur, learned the art of healing. Under Apollo's mentorship, Chiron grew in his craft so much so that Apollo himself entrusted Chiron to train his son, Asclepius. Doctors claiming to be the direct descendants of Asclepius referred to themselves as “Asclepiads.”
Asclepieia temples
Over 300 asclepieia have been discovered throughout ancient Greece. Among the most famous of the temples were Trikka, Epidaurus, island of Kos, Athens, Corinth and Pergamon. These temples were often located in secluded locations surrounded modern spas or mountain sanatoriums. These sanctuaries could attract diverse audiences for various needs other than healing, which makes these spaces more complex than merely healing spaces.
Also characteristic of these temples were the presence of dogs and nonvenomous snakes, known as Aesculapian snake, who would frequent the halls and dormitories and who played an important role in healing activities.
Asclepius may first have been worshipped as a hero in Trikka (modern Trikala), Thessaly, Greece. Ancient mythographers generally regarded Trikka as the place of Asclepius' birth, but to date archaeological excavations have yet to uncover his sanctuary there. Epidaurus, on the other hand, was the first place to worship Asclepius as a god, beginning sometime in the 5th century BC. The asclepieion at Epidaurus is both extensive and well preserved. There is also an asclepieion located on the south slopes of the Acropolis of Athens which dates to around 420 BC.
Located on the Argolid plain of the east Peloponnese in Greece, Epidaurus was the main asclepieion. The healing temple was named after Asclepius, the son of Apollo. At the Epidaurus, there were various people such as physicians and priests who would assist those who sought a session of healing from these professionals. Patients would come pay homage to the gods by making pilgrimages to the site, performing a prayer or a sacrifice, giving monetary gifts or even sleep at the temple. The Epidaurus also served as a sanctuary for those who were extremely ill. It was eventually expanded to a one hundred eighty-room institution to house the dying and women in labour during the Roman Empire.