Bottle, originally for Evian water, containing water from the medicinal well of the temple of Asklepios (Asclepius; Latin: Aesculapius) at Epidomos (Epidaurus), Greece, collected in 1930

The typed label pasted to the side of the bottle on the right gives us its source – the well at the temple of Asklepios (Asclepius; Latin: Aesculapius) at Epidaurus, Greece. Asklepios was the Greco-Roman god of healing and medicine. At the temple, those experiencing illness were cured in their dreams by the god as they slept, or had their dreams interpreted to get a treatment that would cure them. This was known as incubation.

Epidaurus, in southern Greece, was one of the most famous sites of a temple dedicated to Asklepios. Deserted since the 700s CE, the ruins can still be visited today.

The bottle was collected by Captain P Johnston-Saint, one of Henry Wellcome’s collecting agents. The water is shown here with a similar example collected from the temple of Asklepios at Athens (A79498).