Herakles
and Healing Cult in the Peloponnesos[1]
Christina A. Salowey
In
his encounters with men, women, children, and beasts, Herakles is not usually remembered
for improving their health. Yet running
parallel to his violent and destructive aspects is the tradition of a kinder,
gentler Herakles whose martial campaigns are viewed as protection, whose
slaughter of wild animals is called civilizing the landscape, and whose
avenging elimination of evil of all sorts becomes synonymous with health
care.
Twenty-eight
sites in the Peloponnesos can claim Herakles’ cult, usually in one of three
categories: military, athletic, and curative (map 1). The hero’s function as a curative divinity
probably began in the Classical period when the cult was mostly concerned with
the eradication of plagues and epidemics.
This paper will outline the evidence for his healing cult associations,
his pairing with Asklepios, and the hero's connection with medicinal
springs. Herakles' masterly control of
water sources and drainage may offer an aetiology for this strong link with
disease prevention.
The
curative aspect of the hero’s cult has been long been recognized in the Roman
world, especially in the first and second centuries A.D. Johannes Lydus, in a treatise on the
calendar of religious festivals, written in the 6th century A.D. but drawing on
sources as early as the 1st century B.C., mentions that on the 3rd of April,
Herakles Epinikios was honored as a
provider of health.[2] In Rome,
Hercules had a healing function at the Porte Trigemina sanctuary.[3]
Hercules Salutaris is the focus of a second century A.D., Romano-celtic cult at
Deneuvre[4]
and salutary waters are a feature at fourteen other Hercules shrines in both
Gaul and Roman Britain.[5] Lastly, Roman surgical instruments from the
area of the Black Sea inscribed with the hero's name also indicate his
absorption into the medical world.[6]
In
the Greek world, Herakles' well-known cult epithet, Alexikakos, found twice in a healing cult context, signals his
protective function against plague. The
most noteworthy sanctuary of Herakles Alexikakos
was located in the Athenian deme of Melite, according to the scholiast to
Aristophanes' Frogs (ad 501), and its foundation was in
response to a great plague. The passage
in the Frogs refers to this Melitan
sanctuary which, therefore, must have been in existence from at least 405 B.C.,
the date of the performance of the comedy at the Lenaia. Exactly which plague initiated the founding
of the cult is not clear. The same
Aristophanic scholiast indicates that a statue, created by Hageladas, the
Argive, student of Pheidias, was dedicated in the sanctuary, after which the
plague ended. Hageladas' floruit is given as 432 - 429 B.C. by
Pliny (NH 35.49 - 52), which would
correspond to the date of the most famous plague at Athens during the
Peloponnesian War, but the reference to Pheidias as Hageladas' teacher places
the date closer to the beginning of the fifth century B.C., which most scholars
seem to favor.[7] It is
possible that the reference is to a different, earlier epidemic than the war’s
plague or that a previously existing statue of Herakles Alexikakos by Hageladas was moved to the Melite sanctuary at the
time of the Peloponnesian War. In
either case, a cult of Herakles Alexikakos
was established in Athens as a public health measure against the effects of
plague, perhaps as early as the beginning of the fifth century B.C., but
certainly by the last quarter of the century.
The
epithet also appears in Peloponnesian contexts. A strong support for the word's curative connotations comes from
its occurrence in an inscription found at the sanctuary of Asklepios at
Epidauros. A poros stele records a
dedication to Herakles Alexikakos.[8] A small marble altar and a statue base also
bear dedicatory inscriptions to Herakles.[9] Although no ancient authors comment on the
presence of the cult of Herakles at Epidauros, the archaeological remains bear
witness that his cult was appropriate and important in a healing shrine,
perhaps as an adjunct to the more major incubation cult of Asklepios. The occurence of the epithet Alexikakos in this major healing shrine
reaffirms it disease averting meaning.
There
may have been a cult of Herakles Alexikakos
at his sanctuary in Mantineia.
Thucydides (5.64.1, 5.66.1) mentions the Herakleion there, where the
Spartans pitched camp before the battle of 418 B.C. Many scholars have tried to locate the sanctuary but have been
unsuccessful in discovering tangible remains.[10] Pritchett, however, examining an area of the
plain which fits Thucydides' topographical specifications, reports a very
promising find - a re-cut stele base with the letters ALEJI,
further examination of which, he conjectures, might reveal additional letters.[11] The block has the tapering form of the lower
part of a herm and the letters ALEJI could be part of Herakles' cult epithet ƒAleji€kakow.
A herm is an appropriate dedication to Herakles elsewhere[12],
therefore this piece, if it has not moved very far in the intervening
centuries, could provide some confirmation for the location of the Herakleion[13]
as well as another example of Herakles' curative epithet.
Alexikakos, of course, is also used for
Apollo but Aelius Aristides (40.14 - 15) offers some history of the
designation. He states that of the two
well-known epithets for Herakles, Kallinikos
and Alexikakos, the one was given to
Herakles alone and the other to Herakles first among the gods, implying that
Herakles received the title before Apollo.
Aristides (40.21) also relates the dream of a Thasian or Macedonian
stranger that he was singing a paean written by Aristides, which had the
refrain "Oh Paean Herakles Asklepios." Aristides interprets this as an appropriate union since "in
labors, in pleasure, in care of the body,
and in every circumstance the god [i.e. Herakles] is of importance." Since Aristides is antiquity's most famous
hypochondriac, I trust his judgement on matters medical.
Herakles
and Asklepios appear to share a close relationship at a few other sites of the
Peloponnesos. The cult of Herakles Alexikakos at Epidauros has already been
discussed. Pausanias (2.11.8) tells us that
Herakles and the Nikai, Victories,
were featured in the pediments of the Asklepios temple at Titane in the
Korinthiad. It might be argued that
Herakles and his mythical exploits are a common pedimental theme on the temples
of many divinities but his pairing here with Nikai suggest that his Alexikakos and Kallinikos personas were being used to portray a defeat of
disease. In Lakonia, Asklepios cured
Herakles of a thigh wound he incurred during a battle with the sons of
Hippokoön (Paus. 3.20.5). In thanks,
Herakles erected a sanctuary of Asklepios Kotyleos
between Amyklai and Therapne. The
epithet Kotyleos memorializes the
location of Herakles' wound. The Hymn of Isyllos from Epidauros indicates
that Asklepios came as a helper to the Spartans, when Philip led his army
against them, because they were the race of Herakles.[14] In Messenia, Herakles had a notable cult
presence in the Asklepieion at
Messene. A statue of Herakles stood in
one of the smaller cult rooms surrounding the temple (Paus. 4.31.10).[15] It may be that the religious importance of
Herakles at Messene is due to the city's founding by Epaminondas of Thebes,
where Herakles is the patron divinity.
However, there is evidence for the cult of Herakles in Messenia before
the founding of the city and another site in the region, Abia, is known for its
noteworthy sanctuaries of Asklepios and Herakles, which were contiguous,
according to Pausanias (4.30.1).
The strongest argument for Herakles' status as a curative
deity, however, comes from the site of ancient Geronthrai, known today as
Geraki, located 16 miles southeast of Sparta in the foothills of Mt.
Parnon. An epigrammatic inscription (plate 1a) of the fourth century B.C. commemorates the
dedication of a spring to Herakles.[16]
AÞ¡naow phg¯ [p]ar'
ƒEpandrÛda ´d' Žn‹keitai
„HrakleÝ
Þ‹trvn ŽntÜ xarizom¡n<ou>
Î
xaÝre „Hr‹kleis megalñsyenew: ƒAntÜ d¢ dÅrvn
p¡nte
êgÛeian mvmon ƒEpandrÛdai ±d¢ t¡knoisin.[17]
An ever holy spring
is dedicated by Epandridas to Herakles showing gratitude for cures. Greetings Herakles, great in strength. In return for these gifts, grant faultless
health to Epandridas and his children.
Pausanias (3.22.6 - 7) reports that the
agora at Geronthrai was noted for its springs of drinking water. There are natural springs located under the
southeast corner and on the east side of the acropolis. Perhaps it is one of these springs that
Epandridas dedicated to Herakles. The
stone on which these verses are inscribed is a wall block, indicated by
anathyrosis on the two long sides, probably a part of the spring or fountain
house for the spring which the inscription dedicates (plate
1b). The
inscription is explicit in its invocation of Herakles as a healing deity: the
hero is thanked for cures already bestowed and beseeched for continued
health. Since Herakles is connected
with healing springs and fountains elsewhere, it is possible that the spring
here dedicated was part of the cure the invoked hero specified.
At
Troizen there is a Fountain of Herakles, so named because he discovered the
water (Paus. 2.32.4). Archaeologically,
the spring can be verifed. There is a fountain house that was supplied with
water from a natural spring, originating at the base of Mt. Aderes, ancient
Phorbantion.[18] The excavator, Welter, who believes that the
site contained an Asklepieion,
concluded that the mineralogical properties of the water at Troizen probably
formed the basis for the cult of Asklepios and presence of ÞatroÛ
at the site. Since the water from this
spring was undoubtedly used in the sanctuary, it may have been therapeutic in
some manner. Therefore, the legend may
credit Herakles with the discovery of water with medicinal properties. Additionally, there are two pieces of
epigraphical evidence which indicate the worship of Herakles at Troizen. A small marble base, dated to the 1st
century B.C. bears a dedicatory inscription[19]
and a stele, dated to the 5th century B.C., preserves a response to a oracle
detailing that Euthymidas must sacrifice to Herakles Alios[20]. These dedications in a healing shrine, as at
Epidauros, indicate that Herakles was perhaps worshipped in his capacity as a
healing divinity.
A
third sanctuary where Herakles may have been connected with healing springs is
that of the river god Pamisos, near Haghios Floros in Messenia.[21] The marshes in the area of Haghios Floros
are caused by the many springs, which Strabo (8.4.6) calls dacil®w,
meaning abundant, and, together, form the river Pamisos. Pausanias (4.31.4) reports that these
springs of Pamisos are where children go to be cured. With this therapeutic function of the springs of the river in
mind, it is significant that offerings in the cella of the temple of Pamisos
include two bronze figurines of Herakles (plate 2).[22]
One figurine, dated
to the Archaic period, is easily identified as Herakles fighting the Lernean
Hydra. The second statuette may
represent Herakles as well, if the object in the right upraised hand is a
club. The crude style prevents an
absolutely "water tight" identification.
Valmin,
the excavator, suggests that the votive presence of the Herakles and Hydra
group was meant to represent "the hostile nature of the river subjugated
by Herakles."[23] Additionally, he conjectures that the hero
may have taught the inhabitants the management of their marshy fields, or,
given the healing qualities attributed to the river god, Herakles may have
given the inhabitants some remedy against fever. Valmin is certainly on the right track. The worship of Herakles at Elis will further demonstrate the
point.
Although
the Eleans bore a grudge against Herakles for destroying their city, Athenaios
reports that they finally abandoned this hatred when the Spartan Lykourgos persuaded them to sacrifice to
Herakles, and by doing so, avert a deadly plague in their city. In another version of the story (Paus.
5.4.6), it was Iphitos, after asking the Pythia how to eliminate the plague in
Greece, who encouraged the Eleans to sacrifice to their former enemy as a
god. It is Philostratus, in his life of
Apollonios of Tyana (8.7.9), who clarifies how Herakles eliminated the plague. He says, "Herakles once purged of the
plague the city of Elis by washing away with the river tide the foul
exhalations which the land sent up under the tyranny of Augeias." This is, of course, an interpretation of the
Augeian Stables Labor from the perspective of sanitary engineering and seems to
be referring to a clearing of a swamp.
Significantly,
Herakles is known throughout antiquity for his swamp-draining efforts[24],
a talent that may provide the mythological background for his development into
a curative god. Ancient authors were
not unaware of the connection between ill health and swamps: Herodotos derives
the word for fever, "puretos" from "porata", a river delta,
and although a false etymology, it demonstrates a realization of the possible
connection between pooled water and disease.
In Pseudo-Aristotle's Problems
(1.8.21) there is a discussion that damp, marshy places are unhealthy, a
sentiment which is repeated several times in Hippokrates' Airs, Waters, and Places.
Strabo (5.1.7) marvels that although Alexandria is marshy, it is free of
fever. In the Peloponnesos, his six
labors all occur in areas where control of water sources is essential to
prevent the formation of marshland and the preserved stories of these exploits
can be viewed as veiled references to hydraulic engineering.[25]
The
Lernean Hydra Labor is a case in point.
It is not difficult to discover the refracted image of the multiple
sources of a marshy area in the polykephalic[26]
form of the Hydra; a multitude of writhing snakes is enough to suggest a swamp,
but the nature of her destruction is specified as agricultural and her blood is
poisonous (Eur. Her. 422, 1188; Soph.
Trach. 572 - 577), both qualities are
apt metaphors for the stagnant and invasive waters of a swamp. Herakles cannot kill the monster with
ordinary weapons but must resort to the use of firebrands, fire being the
antithesis of water[27],
and Apollodoros (Bibl. 2.5.2) preserves a version of the myth that
Herakles could not kill one immortal head of the Hydra but had to bury it
underground, a description which sounds like retraining of a watercourse. Later scholiasts , Lactantius and Servius,
are explicit about the interpretation of the myth, that the Lernean Hydra was a
swamp (Si veram quaeramus historiam,
Lerna palus fuit), the waters of which Hercules dried up.[28] The Lernean Hydra is characterized as the
bane of Argos (Eur. Phoen. 1137) and
it is likely that the marshy geology of the entire Argive plain contributed to
the creation of a legendary swamp creature.[29]
New
work in the Argive plain also provides the possibility that the myth has its
origins in a geographical reality.
Eberhardt Zangger (née Finke), in a geomorphological study of the plain,
has been able to demonstrate that a large lagoon existed to the north of
ancient Lerna, reaching its maximum size in the 5th millenium, almost
completely disappearing by 1100 B.C, and swelling again between the
Helllenistic and Roman periods, persisting in the area until recently (map 2).[30] This decrease in the level of Lake Lerna in
the Late Bronze Age may have been natural or may have been due to the
construction of a Mycenaean water control system. Mycenaean dikes and dam installations have
been described by Jost Knauss in the Kopaic Basin, the Pheneatike, and
Stymphalia[31] and closer
to Lerna, Zangger has recently published the dam at Tiryns which protected the
lower town from flooding.[32] If this decrease in the level of Lake Lerna
was accompanied by a remission of deadly fevers and an increase in agricultural
production, perhaps the myth of Herakles’ destruction of the Lernean Hydra was
created to celebrate the draining of part of the swamp. It seems unlikely, however, that a gradual
natural phenomenon occurring over hundreds or thousands of years would provide
a marked enough change to be observed within one or two generations and
immortalized in legend. However, a
technological improvement in the drainage of such a waterlogged area would be
noted and preserved in song.[33]
Curtius
first postulated such an effort as the motivation for the myth and even
recognized blocks and walls in the town of Myloi as components of a Mycenaean
drainage canal system.[34] Unfortunately, none of those features exists
today. Another possible inspiration for
the myth is the Mycenaean dam at Tiryns.
The dam at Tiryns was probably constructed to prevent flooding in the
lower town.[35] Finke found an alluvial deposit to the north
of the citadel which indicated a shift in the stream from its EBA position
south of Tiryns. The dam diverted the stream to the south again, and alluvial
deposits demonstrate its efficacy. The
Tiryns dam is probably not the
inspiration for the veiled reference to hydraulic efforts in the Lernean Hydra,
but it may be one of many such Mycenaean water control installations that, when
working together, improved the drainage conditions in the entire Argive Plain.[36] A grandiose hydraulic project that would
have improved the lives of many people is one worthy of assignment to
Herakles.
It
is possible that Herakles swamp draining efforts preserve in mythological form
the memory of actual Mycenaean hydraulic projects. In the Classical and Hellenistic periods, as the connection
between pooled, stagnant water and fevers began to be realized, it may well be
that Herakles became a symbol and patron deity of the eradication of the
plagues and epidemics that swamps engender.
The traces of his curative abilities in the Alexikakos epithet, healing
springs and association with Asklepios may all stem from the realization of his
mythic abilities in water control.
Just as a footnote, the cult of Herakles was present in
Lerna in the Hellenistic period, as evidenced by a votive relief (plate 3) to Herakles, now in the National Museum, which
depicts Herakles slaying the Hydra.[37]
His cult may have been initiated at the
site in the Hellenistic period in response to the increase of the lagoon,
perhaps to inhibit the deleterious effects of the newly enlarged marshland. Interestingly enough, the invocation of
Herakles in battle against "creatures from the lagoon" persisted into
the early 20th century when the Society for the Decrease of Swamp Diseases used
him in their emblem (plate 4). Perhaps callling upon him made a difference.
|
Plate 1a: IG V.1119: Votive dedication to Herakles from ancient Geronthrai. Back |
Plate 1b: Anathyrosis of block on which IG V.1119 is inscribed. Back |
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|
|
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Plate 2: Athens, National Archaeological Museum #15276 and #15273 from the sanctuary of the river god, Pamisos, at Haghios Floros. Back
Plate 3: Athens, National Archaeological Museum. Votive relief of Herakles killing the Lernean Hydra from Lerna, 3rd century B.C. Back
Plate 4: Emblem of the Society for the Decrease of Swamp Diseases. Back
Map 1: Peloponnesian Cults of Herakles Back
Map 2: Lake Lerna and the Argive plain (after Zangger) Back
