File:Sanctuary of Asclepius at Epidaurus - Hestiatorion or Banqueting Hall.jpg

English: The Banqueting Hall (or Hestiatorion) was built around 300 BC. It is arranged as a huge peristyle courtyard measuring 69 x 75 metres overall. On all four sides it was surrounded by long colonnaded halls and enclosed rooms of various sizes. The peristyle court was originally surrounded by a colonnade with 16 Doric columns on each side. The court was used for performances and shared ritual. Several hearths were located in the court, and their original use pre-dates the construction of the huge hall. The northern wing was a two-aisled stoa bordered by a long hall with niches that displayed statues of Asclepius and his family. Offerings to the gods were made along this northern wing.

The original northern entrance and the wide stoa could accommodate wheeled chariots. A simple exit on the far eastern end of this stoa allowed the empty chariots to depart while the guests remained within the hall. The many rooms on the western and eastern side of the courtyard were built as private dining rooms. Their lower walls were in stone and the main upper walls in brick. Dining couches were arranged in the rooms to allow important guests to recline while feasting. The elaborate propylon on the northern side of the Banqueting Hall was added at a later date. Pottery and coins found beneath the monumental entrance date it to around 210 BC. It is offset towards the western end of the building to align with the processional route from the main Sanctuary. Visitors would enter from the Sacred Way with the laden chariots and beasts for sacrifice via a wide ramp. The façade of the gateway resembled a temple with the three-stepped crepidoma and six prostyle columns supporting an elaborate entablature. A smaller entrance through a vestibule towards the south-eastern corner provided access to a water fountain, and may also have been added at this later date. The Banquet Hall suffered extensive damage during raids by Cilician pirates in the 1st century BC. The Roman Odeum was built within the central peristyle in the 2nd century AD. During the later Roman period, around the late 3rd or early 4th century, the monumental entrance was converted into a small temple of Hygieia. During this time, it appears as though use of the complex had dramatically changed and it’s function during the Roman period may not have been related to ritualised dining. The elaborate propylon has been restored and visitors can see the marble ramp and crepidoma. Several standing columns have also been restored to their full height including the decorative entablature. The arrangement of the inner courtyard has been obscured by the later Roman Odeum, however the outer dining rooms and long colonnaded halls remain clearly visible. The walls here remain standing to a height of around 1 metre. The water fountain alongside the south-eastern entrance is displayed under a protective shelter.

Source: ©Timetravelrome