This studium was used for the athelic contest during the Asklepieia, a festival dedicated to Asklepius.
The field and seats were constructed taking advantage of the natural cavity of the terrain.
The contests were attested already in the early 5th century BC and probably held here, but the construction of the stadion dates back probably to the 4th century BC.
The length of track is ca.180 m and the width is ca. 21.5 m.
This studium is linked to the neighbouring Gymnasion (or Palaistra) by a vaulted passage which seems to be constructed in the Hellenistic period.
There is a curious record of female running contest held here in AD 45 in which Dionysia of Tralles won.
Reference
- Nicos Papahatzis, Mycenae, Epidaurus, Tiryns, Nauplion. Athens : Clio, 1978, pp. 128-151.
- R.A. Tomlinson, Epidauros. St. Albans: Granada, 1983, pp. 90-92.
- Robin Barber, Greece (Blue Guide), London- N.Y. 2001 (Revised reprint of the 6th edition of 1995), p. 248
- Christopher Mee & Antony Spawforth, Greece (An Oxford Archaeological Guide). Oxford/ OUP, 2001, p. 207.
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