The sanctuary of Apollo Maleatas at Epidaurus occupies the north slope of Mt Kynortion. The cult was born here in prehistoric times and continued and flourished later on in the Asklepieion.

The Temple of Apollo Maleatas

If you're interested in exploring the roots of ancient Greek medicine and the healing traditions and history of Epidaurus, visit the hilltop temple of Apollo Maleatas on the flanks of Mount Kynortion.

The Sanctuary of Apollon Maleatas is where the Epidaurian cult started in the 3rd millennium B.C., long before the sanctuary of Asclepius was founded. – © Hellenic Ministry of Culture and Sports / Ephorate of Antiquites of Argolida

Mount Kynortion, just behind the theater of the Sanctuary of Apollo, was the locus of a very ancient cult, the members of which sought healing by magical means. This included purification with water and a “communal” meal with the god. After the founding of the Sanctuary of Asklepios (son of Apollo) in the adjacent valley, in the sixth century BC, father and son were worshipped in the now twin “Sanctuary of Apollo Maleatas and Asclepius”.

Visit