Not far from the ancient city of Paphos are the ruins of an ancient temple complex called Asklepion, which was dedicated to Asclepius, the god of healing and medicine.
According to legend, Asclepius was born to a mortal woman and was an ordinary man, despite the fact that his father was believed to be Apollo himself. Little Asclepius was raised by the centaur Chiron, as Apollo ordered his mother - his lover - to be killed for treason. Subsequently, Asclepius reached such heights in the art of healing that he was even able to raise the dead. It was because of this exceptional talent to heal people that he was resurrected after his death and was rewarded with immortality, becoming a god. Asclepius was greatly revered in both Ancient Greece and Rome.
Thanks to the efforts of archaeologists who discovered the ruins of the temple, it is now easy to imagine what this once huge structure looked like many centuries ago. The Paphos temple complex included several buildings, the main one consisting of a series of terraces one above the other. Around it was a large courtyard. At the very top of the central structure was the main temple, where the sanctuary of Asclepius was located. In addition, the middle terraces were converted into a temple of Apollo, who was also highly revered by the inhabitants of ancient Paphos.
In addition to the fact that in Asklepion worshipped these two gods, the temple was also a kind of educational and medical centre: people came there for medical help, there was also a "school" where those who wished to learn the medical profession.
The temple was also a kind of medical centre.
Also, many scholars associate the temple of Asklepion with the legendary ancient Greek physician Hippocrates, believing that it was in honour of him, not Asklepios, that the temple was built.
