 Eshmun 's cult enjoyed a particular importance at Sidon as he was the chief deity after 500 BC . Aside from the <unk> sanctuary at <unk> el @-@ Sheikh , Eshmun also had a temple within the city . The <unk> Eshmun Temple was associated with purification and healing ; ritual <unk> ablutions were performed in the sanctuary 's sacred basins supplemented by running water from the Asclepius River and the " Ydll " spring water which was considered to have a sacred character and therapeutic quality . The healing <unk> of Eshmun were combined with his divine consort Astarte 's <unk> powers ; the latter had an annex chapel with a sacred paved pool within the Eshmun sanctuary . <unk> from all over the ancient world flocked to the Eshmun Temple leaving votive traces of their devotion and proof of their cure . There is evidence that from the 3rd century BC onwards there have been attempts to <unk> the cult of Eshmun and to associate him with his Greek counterpart Asclepius , but the sanctuary retained its <unk> function . 
