Aelius Aristides and the sacred tales
Introduction
The composition of the sacred tales
Date of composition
Method of composition
Motives for composition
The sacred tales as an autobiography
The ancient readers of the sacred tales
A narrative of redemption
Society, disease and medicine in the sacred tales of Aristides
Introduction
The Graeco-Roman health-care system
Towards a definition of a medical discourse
Medicine in the Graeco-Roman world
Roman medicine and its Greek influences
Dreams
The sick, medicine and physicians in the world of the sacred tales
The place of the sick in society
Medical discourse in the sacred tales
The physicians in the sacred tales
Towards a medical history of Aelius Aristides
Falling ill
Aristides and Asclepius
Wider contexts
Reconsidering private religions; religion and religious experience in the sacred tales of Aelius Aristides
Introduction
Theology
The myth of Asclepius
Divination, oracles and dreams
Dreams
Oracles
Visual culture and social forms of cult-organisation
Cult, festivals and games
The power of images.