When night comes the sick man brings his bed-clothing into the abaton, and reposes on his pallet, putting usually some small gift on the table or altar. The Nakoroi having come round to light the sacred lamps, the priest enters and recites the evening prayers to the god, entreating divine help and divine enlightenment for all the sick assembled there; he then collects the gifts which had been deposited on altars and tables; later the Nakoroi enter, put out the lights, enjoin silence, and command everyone to fall asleep and to hope for guiding visions from the god. The abaton was a lofty and airy sleeping chamber, its southern side being an open colonnade. It is singularly like the ‘shelter balcony’ or _Liegehalle_, now used in treating phthisis. This provision of abundance of pure fresh air for the sick by day and night, which is so beneficial now, was undoubtedly so then also, and probably brought much credit to the god and his shrine. According to the inscriptions the god frequently appeared in person, or in visions, speaking to the sick man or woman concerning their ailments. Whether these visitations were merely hallucinations in individuals whose imaginations had been excited, or whether some priest in the dim light, accompanied by a serpent, acted the part of Asklepios; whether the patient was put under the influence of opium or some other drug provocative of dreams; or whether, by some acoustic trick, the priests caused the sick to hear spoken words which they attributed to the deity, it is difficult now to say. The valley of the Hieron was the habitat of a large yellow serpent, perfectly harmless, and susceptible, like most snakes, of domestication. Pausanias tells us it is found in the Epidaurian country alone. I am afraid it is now extinct, though it has been seen during the present century. A number of these creatures dwelt in the sanctuary, perhaps in the vaults of the Tholos. They were reverenced as the incarnation of the god. The sick were delighted and encouraged when one of these creatures approached them, and were in the habit of feeding them with cakes. The serpents seem to have been trained to lick with their forked tongue any ailing part. The dog also was sacred to Asklepios, and the temple dogs in like manner were trained to lick any injured or painful region of the body. It will be remembered that in the _Plutus_ of Aristophanes, the blind Plutus enters the abaton of the Asklepieion at Athens in order to be cured. Asklepios with his daughters, Iaso and Panakeia, appear in person; they whistle to the sacred serpents, which at once approach, lick the blind eyes, and vision is restored. [Illustration: PLATE XXV—Restoration of the Interior of the Abaton at Epidauros Patient Sacrificing and having Injured Leg licked by the Sacred Serpent (R.C.)]