The sanctuary is located at the southernmost edge of the Marathon plain in the Small Marsh (Mikro Elos). To date, it is the largest building complex of an Egyptian sanctuary in Greece, which was founded by Herodes Atticus in the middle years of the second century AD, inside his huge estate. Surviving from the complex are the sanctuary proper, the bath installation-balneum and a large elliptical pool. In the sanctuary proper, statues of Isis and Osiris, busts of emperors and a bust of Herodes Atticus were brought to light. According to the testimony of Philostratos (2nd-3rd c. AD) and the inscriptions recovered in the excavation, the sanctuary was dedicated to Sarapis of Canopus. Herodes Atticus had constructed a drainage ditch all around the sanctuary, so forming an island. The ‘Island’ recalled the Nile Delta, where the Ptolemies had founded the renowned Sarapeion of Canopus, to which sick pilgrims flocked in hope of a cure. The sanctuary was investigated in the years 2001-2004, as a systematic excavation of the Hellenic Ministry of Culture. Since 2009, the sanctuary has been included in the excavations conducted under the auspices of the Archaeological Society at Athens.
Image source: Archive of the Archaeological Society of Athens – Dr. If. Dekoulakou
