Asclepius. Throughout the ancient world, belief in the healing powers of the great god Asclepius, son of Apollo, probably drew the most devout support among the general public. Hundreds of shrines to Asclepius have been identified across the Mediterranean, and the cult flourished from its official establishment in the fourth century B.C.E. well into Roman and early Christian times. Central to Asclepiadic therapy was the so-called dream cure. After ritual offerings and purifications, the pious patient would sleep in a special dormitory attached to the shrine, and there would be visited in dreams by the god himself. Asclepius would either prescribe a remedy for the patient to purchase later from priests who took care of the temple, or else he might even directly effect the cure.

Man of Torone. The results, advertised on dozens of stone tablets...