STUDIES IN PHYSICAL CULTURE AND TOURISM Vol. 15, No. 2, 2008

The article examines the relationships between Asclepius and Trikki, Asclepius’ place in Greek mythology and history, and Asclepius’ significance for sports education. The research focuses on the discovery of the Trikkeos Asclepius sanctuary, the most ancient sanctuary in Greece, and description of rituals and cults related to diagnostic and therapeutic medicine, prayers, dreams, divination, gymnastics and nutrition. These issues were also related to the sources of athletics and sports pedagogy. The research was based on literary, archaeological, monetary and mythological sources and works on religious studies, in particular, L. Preller (1964) and R. Graves (1998). THE LINK BETWEEN ASCLEPIUS AND TRIKKI “Not only was Thessaly the cradle and the anchor point of Hellenism, but it was also the birthplace of medicine, because medicine as a science prospered for the first time in Thessaly. The first medical personalities appeared in this area, such as the wisest Centaur Chiron and the illustrious son of Thessalian Trikki, the doctors’ first ancestor, the Divine Asclepius. Asclepius was Chiron’s student, practiced medicine systematically in Trikki and bequeathed it to all the Greeks” [17]. According to literary sources, e.g. Pausanias’ Description of Greece [25], mentioned by Preller and Thomson [35, 42]: “∆είκνυται δ’ εν τη Γερηνία Τρικκαίον ιερόν Ασκληπιού αμφίδρυμα του εν τη Θεσσαλική Τρίκκη” (“They show a sanctuary dedicated to Asclepius in Gerinia, a ‘replica’ of the sanctuary situated in Thessalian Trikki”) [39]. The acknowledgment of the aforementioned sources by Preller and Thomson, as well as by other researchers make them most accurate and credible. According to the excerpt by Strabo above (also referred to by Thomson) there are three important contexts of Asclepius: a) Asclepius Sanctuary; b) Asclepius Cult and c) Trikkeos Asclepius [42]. The mentioned sanctuary dedicated to Asclepius (a temple, oracle or any other type of sacred place), is still being searched for. So far archeological excavations run by the Archaeological Service of Trikki have revealed only a small part of it. Thus, the cult of Trikkeos Asclepius can be best reconstructed on the basis of Greek mythology and other Asclepius’ sanctuaries in Greece. The sanctuary dedicated to Trikkeos Asclepius is regarded as the “αρχαιότατον και επιφανέστατον”, i.e. “the most ancient and most renowned” [36]. Preller emphasizes that among Asclepius’ numerous worship and therapeutic Correspondence should be addressed to: Kimon Sakellariou, Department of Physical Education and Sports Science, University of Thessaly, Karyes, 42100 Trikala, Greece, e-mail: [email protected]