In Macedonia Asklepios was worshipped as a major deity from earliest times, probably under the name of Darron or Tharron (he who gives courage). With his associates Apollo and Hygeia, he was the giver of health and of material and spiritual prosperity to the people of the kingdom.
The Macedonian kings held the god of healing in particular veneration and evinced great interest in the progress of medicine; Philip II, for example, elevated the priests of Asklepios to the position of 'eponymous' magistrate (the one after whom each calendar year is named).
Among the dozens of Asklepios' sanctuaries the most renowned were at Dion, Beroia, Morrylos (in Central Macedonia), and Amphipolis.
See Also
