Healing Through Sport in Antiquity: The Administrative and Psychological Dimensions of the Pergamon Asclepieion

Abstract

This study examines the role of exercise within the ancient therapeutic culture at the Pergamon Asclepieion and how this movement-based regimen integrated with complementary practices such as hydrotherapy, diet, incubation, and music. The research was conducted within an interdisciplinary framework based on archival research. Data sources included PubMed/PMC, Google Scholar, DergiPark, YÖK Theses, selected publisher catalogs, and institutional websites searches were conducted using the keywords “Sports,” “Sports Management,” and “Pergamon.” The studies included in the research scope are those that directly address the pergamon/bergama asclepieion, consisting of medical history texts explaining the asclepieion’s therapeutic repertoire and archival studies discussing the relationship between exercise and psychological well-being. The research findings indicate that exercise at the Pergamon asclepieion was not merely a supportive practice but was evaluated as a spatially organized behavioral treatment component at the core of the regimen. Hydrotherapy, dietary regimens, and bathing practices reinforce the physical regulation dimension; incubation, suggestion, and music, on the other hand, strengthen psychosocial dimensions such as subjective experience, hope, and morale. For this reason, the pergamon asclepieion conceives of healing not as a singular treatment protocol, but as a therapeutic environment that integrates physical, spatial, and psychosocial elements. Consequently, the historical continuity of the exercise-based healing paradigm in the ancient world.