Undergraduate Research & Scholarships

Tweed Arden Conrad Humanities and Social Science

Asclepius at Epidaurus: Healing the Ills of Ancient Greece

Asclepius, Apollo’s son, was an important healing deity in ancient Greece. Asclepian healing sanctuaries existed at Epidaurus, Kos, Pergamum, the Athenian Acropolis, and Corinth. The main vehicle for healing at these sanctuaries was dreaming, where one could converse and be healed directly by the god Asclepius himself. This summer I plan to explore the various methods of worship at different Greek sanctuaries, specifically focusing upon sanctuaries that employed different healing methods. Then, I will focus in on the sanctuaries that utilize dreaming as the primary healing method. The site that I am choosing to focus on is the sanctuary of Asclepius at Epidaurus, due to its abundance of archaeological resources.

Message To Sponsor

The SURF Scholarship is enabling me to do the focused, in depth research on my senior thesis that I would otherwise be unable to do. My thesis topic is: Asclepius at Epidaurus: Healing Sanctuaries and Dreaming One's Way to Health in Ancient Greece. As a Classics major, this will a culmination of all of my interests in the Classics into one area. More broadly, this will be a culmination of my life's interests so far. As a certified acupressurist and massage therapist, I have always been interested in health and healing. With the help of the SURF Scholarship, I will finally have the opportunity to complete my personal and scholastic research goals.