1906.] on Hippocrates and the Health Temple at Cos. 261 



it has at Epidaurus), but none has as yet been discovered. Another 

 link, however, connects this altar with Alexandria. Herondas, the 

 Alexandrian poet of the third century B.C., wrote eight "Mime- 

 iambics," comic dramatic poems, the scenes of which are all laid at 

 Cos. The action of the fourth of these takes place in front of this 

 altar. Two Greek ladies, accompanied by their slaves, desire to offer 

 a cock to Asklepios. During the sacrifice they chat with the pyro- 

 phorus, or sacristan, who shows much enthusiasm on the subject of 

 fees, and they comment on certain works of art, a sacrificial pro- 

 cession by Apelles, and a figure of a small boy strangling a goose, 

 which are placed near the altar. 



Quantities of terra-cotta lamps and figurines were found round 

 this altar. 



To the west of the altar stands an Ionic prostyle temple, 16 

 metres in length and 8 in breadth. Its dedication is unknown. 

 But there is evidence from inscriptions that a temple of Apollo 

 formerly existed here ; Apollo being one of the greater gods would 

 have his temple facing the east, and this temple is the only one in 

 the whole precinct which has the correct orientation for so great a 

 deity. The worship of Apollo which perhaps took place here was 

 probably superseded by that of Asklepios in later times. So this 

 temple may have become the Asklepian shrine until the date when 

 the great temple was erected on the upper terrace. It contains one 

 curious feature : a large stone cyst or coffer composed of massive 

 marble blocks forms a portion of the floor of the naos ; it is about 

 5 feet long by 4, and is about 3 feet deep. The side blocks 

 were connected by strong metal clamps. The weighty block forming 

 the hd is pierced in its centre by an aperture some 6 inches broad. 

 Dr. Herzog thinks it is a thesauros, or treasury. But the difficulty 

 of removing the massive cover (which has no rings or handles for 

 such a purpose) would render it almost impossible to deposit or 

 remove such treasure. 



It is known that at every Asklepieion the sacred serpents were 

 worshipped as the incarnation of the god. They were tame and 

 harmless, and were free to wander at will throughout the precinct. 

 They probably were supplied with a den or hiding place to which 

 they could retire, and it would obviously be convenient if this den 

 were adjacent to the small altar where sacrifices were offered to them, 

 and where they were fed with the sacrificial cakes, or " popana," by 

 their votaries. At Epidaurus, a curious dark labyrinthine vault was 

 provided beneath the thymele, or sacrificing place. This I beheve to 

 have been the ophiseion, or serpent house, from which the serpents 

 emerged close to the altar when the sick came to sacrifice and to feed 

 them. We know from a reference in the Plutus of Aristophanes that 

 the serpents were accustomed to be summoned by the sound of a 

 whistle. A somewhat similar structure, on a smaller scale, exists at 

 the Athens Asklepieion. There are, however, other theories astoth^ 



