DEI SYMBÓMOI, DEI PATROÍOI E DIVINITÀ MINORI NELL’ASKLEPIEION DI KOS NELLA PRIMA ETÀ ELLENISTICA

Abstract

Starting with the analysis of the epigraphic and archaeological evidence from the sanctuary of Asklepios on
Kos, the present contribution aims to reconstruct the complex cult system of the sacred site. If, in fact, it is
possible to witness the definition and canonisation of a public and official cult from the mid-3rd century
BC, with Asklepios, Igea and Epione as the main recipients of the cult (in association with Apollo), a series
of testimonies allows us to identify the other symbomoí gods.
Epigraphic sources, associated with archaeological remains, also attest to the presence, at least from the 4th
century B.C. onwards, of a cult of a gentilitial type or linked to institutionalised social groups (for the patroíoi
gods), as well as specific practices aimed at the sanctuary’s “minor” deities.