Visions, therapy, and performance. The role of theatre in healing cults between the 5th and the 4th century BCE

Abstract

The paper examines the relation between epiphanic rituals in Greek healing cults and theatrical mimesis in the 5th and 4th centuries BCE, focusing on three sanctuaries tightly connected to each other: the Asklepieion at Epidauros, the Athenian Asklepieion on the southern slope of Acropolis, and the Amphiareion at Oropos. It takes into account epigraphic, literary, iconographical, and archaeological evidence in order to understand the topography of the evolving ritual performance in the healing cult of Asklepios and Amphiaraos, their votive practices, and their connection to theatrical culture. Finally, the paper argues that the technical devices of theatrical culture had a relevant impact on the evolution of the ritual staging of miracles in healing cults and suggests that such a phenomenon might account for the success of the ritual of therapeutic incubation and the spread of Asklepios’ cult from the 5th century BCE.