In the ancient city of Aspendos, in the Antalya region of southern Turkey, archaeologists have brought to light a marble statue group depicting the Greek god of medicine and his young companion. Announced in August 2026, the roughly 1,800-year-old sculpture has been hailed by cultural officials as one of the season’s most striking finds.
The figure represents Asclepius, the deity the ancient world associated with healing, standing alongside a much smaller figure of his attendant. The pairing captures an entire idea about sickness and recovery in stone, offering a vivid window into how a Roman-era community imagined the practice of medicine.
A discovery announced at a famous ruin
The statue came to light during ongoing excavations at Aspendos, a site best known for its exceptionally preserved Roman theater. The find was announced by Turkey’s culture and tourism minister as part of a national program supporting archaeological work and restoration across the country.
According to the excavation team, the sculpture was uncovered among the remains of the northern wing of a monumental gateway on the western side of one of the city’s squares. Its location within a grand architectural setting suggests it once stood on prominent public display in a city that flourished under Roman rule.
Aspendos itself lends the find added weight. The city was one of the most important settlements of ancient Pamphylia and grew prosperous through trade and agriculture, leaving behind monuments that rank among the best preserved in the region. A discovery of this quality fits the profile of a place that could afford accomplished sculptors and grand public spaces.
The god of medicine and his small companion
The marble group stands about 2.2 meters, or roughly 7 feet, tall. Asclepius is shown as a mature, bearded man standing upright, his weight resting on his left leg while his right leg bends slightly forward, a relaxed pose common in classical sculpture.
At the front of his left foot stands a much smaller figure identified as Telesphoros, portrayed as a childlike form wrapped in a long, hooded garment that covers the body and gives him an almost column-like shape. Reporting gathered by HeritageDaily notes that the two were carved together as a single group rather than as separate statues.
Carved from marble, the group would have demanded both fine raw stone and considerable expense to produce at such a size. The survival of the two figures together, rather than as scattered fragments, is fortunate, since ancient statues were often broken up, reused or burned for lime in later centuries. That the pairing endured largely intact gives researchers a rare chance to study the composition as its makers intended it to be seen.
Reading a story of illness and recovery
The two figures were not paired at random. In the ancient imagination, Asclepius embodied medicine itself, the diagnosis and treatment of disease, while his hooded companion represented convalescence, the slow return to health after an illness had passed.
Together they present a complete narrative in stone: the confrontation with sickness and the gradual recovery that could follow. For worshippers, such an image would have conveyed both the hope of a cure and the reassurance of healing, embodied in a father-and-son pairing that made the abstract process of getting well tangible.
The quality of the carving is part of what impressed the excavators. The folds of the drapery, the treatment of the hair and beard, and the confident modeling of the body point to a skilled workshop rather than provincial imitation. Such craftsmanship suggests the statue was a significant commission, meant to be seen and admired in a prominent civic setting.
Dating the marble to the Roman Imperial age
Specialists place the carving in the final quarter of the second century, during the Roman Imperial period, which fits the roughly 1,800-year age assigned to the piece. Aspendos was a thriving center in that era, wealthy enough to commission monumental architecture and fine sculpture.
Statues of Asclepius were common across the Greek and Roman worlds, often installed at sanctuaries and healing sites where the sick came seeking relief. Finding a well-preserved example in its architectural context helps researchers understand how such images were used and displayed within a living city.
Placement adds another layer of meaning. A statue of the healing god set near a monumental gateway would have greeted visitors as they entered an important public space, associating the city with health and divine protection. That deliberate positioning helps researchers reconstruct how religious imagery was woven into the everyday fabric of a Roman town.
Why the find matters for the site
The discovery adds to Aspendos’s reputation as one of the richest archaeological sites in the region, extending its story beyond the celebrated theater to the everyday religious life of its inhabitants. A statue of the healing god speaks to the concerns of ordinary people who once walked the city’s streets.
Cultural authorities have presented the find as a milestone for the wider program of excavation and conservation underway across Turkey, with additional coverage from outlets such as Proto Thema. Careful study and preservation of the marble are expected to follow, keeping the sculpture intact for future research and display.
This article was produced with the assistance of AI and reviewed by Morning Overview editors prior to publication.
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