Επίδαυρος

Epidaurus is the most important ancient place of God Asclepius worship. It is built at the foot of mountains Aracheo, Korifaio and Tithio, where, according to mythology, Asclepios was born, and it is the place where his worship began for the first time in the 6 th BC century. Its strategic location, emphasized by the existence of Asklepeion, contributed to the city experiencing unprecedented development. It is located, in Peloponnese, in the region of Argolida, about 30km from Nafplio, 20km from New Epidaurus and about 13km from Old Epidaurus. In the hinterland of Epidaurus, an area with mild climate and abundant thermal springs, was the Asklepeion, the seat of the God of medicine in antiquity and the most important healing center of all Greek and Roman world.

Old Epidaurus is located on the site of Ancient Epidaurus. The prosperity brought by the Asklepeion enabled Epidaurus to construct civic monuments, including the huge theatre that delighted Pausanias for its symmetry and beauty, used up today for dramatic performances. The theatre is admired for its exceptional acoustics, which enables almost perfect intelligibility of unamplified spoken words from the proscenium to all 14,000 spectators, regardless of their seating. Studies indicate that the astonishing acoustic properties may be the result of the advanced design: the rows of limestone seats filter out low-frequency sounds, such as the murmur of the crowd, and amplify the high-frequency sounds of the stage.