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The Sacred Way, now a 2,700 ft. long colonnaded street, originally connected the Asklepion with the Acropolis
Today, all that's left of the city of Pergamum are ruins. But when the Apostle John wrote his letter to the church there, it was one of the most influential cities in the Roman Empire. One of the main attractions in Pergamum was a healing center called the Asklepion, built in honor of Asklepios, the Greek god of healing. In the first century, the Asklepion was a cross between a hospital and a health spa, where one could get anything from a healing mud bath to major surgery.
Asklepios was the god who healed with moving water. Hospitals or treatment centers were frequently located in conjunction with his temples. People from all over the world, including Roman officials and, yes, Caesars, flocked to Pergamum to seek healing at the large Asklepion there. The healing process was a mixture of religious ceremony and health practices—especially diet, water, herbs and exercise.
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A note of interest: A temple to Asklepios was uncovered in Jerusalem at the Pools of Bethesda. That may explain the cripple man’s desire to get into the “moving” [troubled] water for healing [see John 5]. It makes the story even more dramatic, as Jesus healed the man by the power of His word, not angelically moved waters.
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