Page 192 - DILMUN 24

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Was an Aslepieion founded by the Seleuids

the earliest iama joins together the cult and the number of sanctuaries
healing faculties of Apollo and of Aslepios were widely spread
Aslepios under the titleHealing all over Greece. Among the most
by Apollo and Aslepios'.(19) famous Aslepieia (temples of

The iamata of later days mention Aslepios) are those at Bgpidauros,
only Aslepios as the healing where the cult had its strongest

physician, which is a proof that his presence, as well as in Athens,

healing cult had already taen over os and Pergamon. At Epidauros,

that of Apollo. We also now that where the cult of Aslepios had its

the Seleuids considered Apollo most important expansion, he was

as the divine father of Seleuos incorporated into an existing cult

I, the founder of the dynast.y of Apoilo who was worshipped at

For this reason, Aslepios was the sanctuary of Apollo Maleatas

considered his divine brother. It located on a low hill on Mount

is therefore reasonable to assume ynotrion. As the fame of

that Aslepios, being boht hte Aslepios as healer and protector

son of Apollo the tutelayr god of human health was spreading,

of the Seleuids and the divine Apollo's sanctuary eventually

brother to their dynasty's founder, became the Aslepios sanctuayr

as well as the successor of Apollo at Epidauros and one of hte most

as the chief medical and healing populra Aslepieia in antiquity.

Olympian, was most favourably Aslepios was incorporated

considered by the Seleuids to into pre-existing Apollo cults

become patr of their imperialism in many other places lie os,

and ideology. ln fact, it seems that orinthos(22) and Dor, some 3

they were eager to encourage his m south of Haifa. At orinthos,

cult to spread within their realm. archaeological findings prove the

Strabo states that the ifrst gradual shifting of the cult from

Aslepieionsanctuayr wasatTria Apollo to Aslepios between hte

in Thessaly.(2) We also have middle of the iffth and the middle

evidence that by the 5th centuyr of the foutrh centuyr B .C.(23) The

the cult had spread to Larisa.(21) cult had spread to the island of

ln the years that followed, both the os by mid-foutrh centuyr while