CORINTHIA, GREECE—The Greek Culture Ministry announced that archaeologists have completed a first season of excavation of the asclepion, or healing temple dedicated to Asclepius, the god of medicine, at the site of Feneos. According to a report in the International Business Times, they found that the earliest part of the sanctuary dates to the fourth century B.C. It was reconstructed in the second century B.C., and at that time, the main hall was enlarged and decorated with larger-than-life figures of Asclepius his daughter Hygeia. The seated Asclepius and standing Hygeia had been placed on an inscribed pedestal. This room had a mosaic floor decorated with geometric shapes, meanders, and interlaced ribbons. A podium and a marble offering table were found in a second room, but the use of a third room is unclear. A ramp from a courtyard that was decorated and plastered with colorful mortar and lion-head gutters led to the sanctuary’s entrance. The sanctuary was probably destroyed in the first century A.D. by an earthquake. It was later rebuilt and used for imperial worship. To read more about Greek tombs, go to "Rediscovering Paestum."
