To the west of the Dionysos theatre and quite close to the cliff of the Acropolis lies the Asklepieion, the sanctuary of the healing god Asklepios dated to 420 BC. Functioning pretty much as hospitals, the asklepieia were of immense importance in ancient Greece, the most popular being the Asklepieion of Epidaurus. Besides the usual facilities for sheltering the pilgrims, the core structures of the Athenian complex were the temple of the god and the enkoimeterion (dormitory). That was a large two-storey stoa for the enkoimesis of the patients, a dream-like and rather hallucinatory state of sleep induction, practised in those shrines. While in hypnotic state, the patients waited to receive a dream vision of the god who would either give medical advice or even miraculously cure them. Votive offerings that came to light from the site often depict healed body parts. Characteristic examples are on display in the Acropolis Museum.
References:House of the Blackheads (Melngalvju nams) is a building situated in the old town of Riga. The original building was erected during the first third of the 14th century for the Brotherhood of Blackheads, a guild for unmarried German merchants in Riga. Major works were done in the years 1580 and 1886, adding most of the ornaments.
The structure was bombed to a ruin by the Germans June 28, 1941 and the remains demolished by the Soviets in 1948. The current reconstruction was erected from 1995 to 1999. Today the House of Blackheads serves as a museum and sometimes concert hall.