03-01-2012, 09:20 AM
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#11
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Moderator -
Join Date: Sep 2004
Location: Twin Cities, Minnesota
Posts: 4,639
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Quote:
Originally Posted by mountainman
Quote:
Originally Posted by outhouse
im not sure but this is about as good as it gets
Some scholars have suggested that the narrative is actually part of a deliberate polemic against the Asclepius cult, an antagonism possibly partly brought on by the fact that Asclepius was worshipped as Saviour (Greek: Soter), in reference to his healing attributes
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pool_of_Bethesda
I think Ben has his timing off a bit, there really isnt any proof the pool was first Built for Asclepius, ony after mid first century do we start getting it named after renovation |
The following from the WIKI link:
Quote:
In the 1st century BC, natural caves to the east of the two pools were turned into small baths, as part of an asclepieion;[23][26] however, the Mishnah implies that at least one of these new pools was sacred to Fortuna,[27] the goddess of fortune, rather than Asclepius, the god of healing.[28] Scholars think it likely that this development was founded by the Roman garrison of the nearby Antonia Fortress,[23] who would also have been able to protect it from attack[26] the location of the asclepieion, outside the then city walls, would have made its presence tolerable to the Jews, who might otherwise have objected to a non-Jewish religious presence in their holy city.[26]
In the mid 1st century AD, Herod Agrippa expanded the city walls, bringing the asclepieion into the city. When Hadrian rebuilt Jerusalem as Aelia Capitolina, he placed a roadway along the dam, and expanded the asclepieion into a large temple to Asclepius and Serapis.[23] In the Byzantine era, the asclepieion was converted to a church
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Thanks for this. It's spot on what I wanted to see.
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