The stoa of Abaton or “Enkoimeterion” (incubation hall) was the place in which patients were cured, through the contact with the healing god Asklepios during the “enkoimesis” (incubation). This kind of healing was a mystery, so the stoa was an “abaton” (impenetrable), which means blocked for those who had not prepared themselves to encounter Asklepios. Near this room were water supply, a draw-well and a washbasin. Patients should first be purified to enter the fragrant temple of God. When a patient falls asleep, the God appears to heal him. In the morning the priests of the temple of Asclepius talked with patients and with the help of dream analysis found the ways of treatment. This medical practise was used by the time of Asklepios, the God of medicine and some cultures are still using this methods of healing. S.Froyd was one of the modern phicologysts who explained the value of Dreaming.
The “Enkoimeterion” (incubation hall) in “Hippocrates Garden” is a replica of the places where patients of Asclepius came for sleeping therapy.
Ελληνικά
