Amphiareion of Oropos

The sanctuary was dedicated to Amphiaraos, a seer swallowed by the earth in myth and worshipped afterwards as a healing hero, and it worked by incubation: the sick sacrificed a ram, lay down on its fleece in the long stoa, and told their dreams to the priests, who read the cure from them. Founded in the late fifth century BC, the site occupies a narrow ravine shaded by plane trees and pines beside a stream. The remains are unusually legible: a Doric temple with its altar, a stoa 110 metres long where patients slept, a small theatre with five surviving marble thrones for officials, rows of statue bases inscribed with the names of the grateful, and a bathing complex fed by the sacred spring, into which cured patients threw coins.

What you actually see

• The incubation stoa - the long hall where the sick slept for their dreams.
• The theatre - a small auditorium with marble seats of honour intact.
• The temple and altar - the Doric core of the sanctuary.
• The sacred spring - the water source and bath complex below.

When to go

Spring and autumn; the ravine holds shade and running water, which makes it bearable in early summer. Opening hours are limited and the gate can be closed outside the posted times.

Honest expectations

Reaching it needs a car, and the site sees so few people that facilities amount to a ticket booth. The layout is clear but explanatory signs are old. Bring water; there is nothing nearby.

Nearby

The Oropos coast and ferry to Eretria on Euboea lie north; Marathon is east.