"The six books of Sacred Tales “ are in a class apart. A record of revelations made to Aristides in dreams by the healing god Asclepius…they are of major importance, both as evidence for the practices associated with temple medicine, and as the fullest first-hand report of personal religious experience that survives from any pagan writer.” Modern scholarship has seen a proliferation of theories about the nature of Aristides’ illnesses (real or imagined) and about the meaning of his religious experiences; “a number of scholars have applied psychoanalytical theories to Aristides’ self-presentation” and have come to various conclusions. (Wikipedia article on Aelius Aristides, accessed 12-2016). See also Behr, Aelius Aristides and the sacred tales (Amsterdam: Hakkert, 1968).