Society, Medicine and Religionin the Sacred Tales of Aelius Aristides -- Copyright -- Detication -- Contents -- Acknowledgements -- Introduction -- Chapter One: Aelius Aristides and the Sacred Tales -- Introduction -- 1. The Composition of the Sacred Tales -- Date of Composition -- Method of Composition -- Motives for Composition -- 2. The Sacred Tales as an Autobiography -- 3. The Ancient Readers of the Sacred Tales -- 4. A Narrative of Redemption -- Conclusion -- Chapter Two: Society, Disease and Medicine in the Sacred Tales of Aristides -- Introduction -- 1. 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 -- 2. 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 -- 3. Towards a Medical History of Aelius Aristides -- Falling Ill -- Aristides and Asclepius -- Wider Contexts -- Conclusion -- Chapter Three: Reconsidering Private Religions -- Religion and Religious Experience in the Sacred Tales of Aelius Aristides -- Introduction -- 1. Theology -- 2. The Myth of Asclepius -- 3. Divination, Oracles and Dreams -- Dreams -- Oracles -- 4. Visual Culture and Social Forms of Cult-Organisation -- Cult, Festivals and Games -- The Power of Images -- Conclusion -- Conclusion -- Bibliography -- Index.