37°54′19″N22°52′49″E / 37.9053455°N 22.8801924°E /37.9053455; 22.8801924
Corinth Κόρινθος Ϙόρινθος | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 900 BC–146 BC | |||||||||
 Silver tridrachm from Corinth,c. 345–307 BC | |||||||||
 Map of ancient Corinth | |||||||||
 Reconstruction of the city of Corinth | |||||||||
| Capital | Corinth | ||||||||
| Common languages | Doric Greek | ||||||||
| Religion | Greek polytheism | ||||||||
| Government | Oligarchy | ||||||||
| Historical era | Classical Antiquity | ||||||||
• Founding | 900 BC | ||||||||
• Cypselus | 657–627 BC | ||||||||
| 146 BC | |||||||||
| |||||||||
Corinth (/ˈkɒrɪnθ/KORR-inth;Ancient Greek:ΚόρινθοςKórinthos;Doric Greek:ϘόρινθοςQórinthos;Latin:Corinthus) was acity-state (polis) on theIsthmus of Corinth, the narrow stretch of land that joins thePeloponnese peninsula to the mainland ofGreece, roughly halfway betweenAthens andSparta. The modern city ofCorinth is located approximately 5 kilometres (3.1 mi) northeast of the ancient ruins. Since 1896, systematic archaeological investigations of theCorinth Excavations by theAmerican School of Classical Studies at Athens have revealed large parts of the ancient city, and recent excavations conducted by the Greek Ministry of Culture have brought to light important new facets of antiquity.
ForChristians, Corinth is well known from the two letters fromPaul the Apostle in theNew Testament, theFirst Epistle to the Corinthians and theSecond Epistle to the Corinthians. Corinth is also mentioned in theActs of the Apostles as part ofPaul the Apostle's missionary travels. In addition, the second book ofPausanias'Description of Greece is devoted to Corinth.
Ancient Corinth was one of the largest and most important cities of Greece, with a population of 90,000 in 400 BC.[1] TheRomans demolished Corinth in 146 BC, built a new city in its place in 44 BC, and later made it the provincial capital of Greece.
The geophysical situation at Corinth is in many ways ideal for human habitation. The city is situated on two large geomorphic terraces, at the southern edge of which is located both arable plains and a number of natural springs.[2] These abundant sources of fresh water are further supplemented by seasonal rivers descending from the Ayios Vasilios valley and Mount Ziria. Natural drainage patterns in the region have formed a broad valley, enabling the movement of wheeled and pedestrian traffic between the terraces.[3]
The geological makeup of Corinth provided the basic materials for the city's construction. Theoolitic limestone of the region’s marine sand bars was used extensively in both domestic and public architecture, and local Corinthian stone was quarried extensively and traded widely across the Aegean.[4] Supplementing this resource are abundant local deposits of calcareous marl, which served as a rich source for the production of ceramics. These marls, when dug, dried, powdered, heated, and mixed with water, made for a highly workable clay, excellent for the production of lightweight ceramic vessels. Pottery created from Corinthian limestone concrete was exported widely in various periods.[5]
 | This sectionneeds additional citations forverification. Please helpimprove this article byadding citations to reliable sources in this section. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.(June 2011) (Learn how and when to remove this message) |
Neolithic pottery suggests that the site of Corinth was occupied from at least as early as 6500 BC, and continually occupied into theEarly Bronze Age,[6] when, it has been suggested, the settlement acted as a centre of trade.[7] However, there is a huge drop in ceramic remains during theEarly Helladic II phase and only sparse ceramic remains in the EHIII[clarification needed] and MH[clarification needed] phases; thus, it appears that the area was very sparsely inhabited in the period immediately before theMycenaean period. There was a settlement on the coast nearLechaion which traded across the Corinthian Gulf; the site of Corinth itself was likely not heavily occupied again until around 900 BC, when it is believed that theDorians settled there.[8]
According to Corinthian myth as reported byPausanias, the city was founded byCorinthos, a descendant of the godZeus.[9] However, other myths hold that it was founded by the goddessEphyra, a daughter of theTitanOceanus, thus the ancient name of the city (also Ephyra).
It seems likely that Corinth was also the site of a Bronze Age Mycenaean palace-city, likeMycenae,Tiryns, orPylos. According to myth,Sisyphus was the founder of a race of ancient kings at Corinth. It was also in Corinth thatJason, the leader of theArgonauts, abandonedMedea.[10] TheCatalogue of Ships in theIliad lists the Corinthians amid the contingent fighting in theTrojan War under the leadership ofAgamemnon.
In a Corinthian myth recounted toPausanias in the 2nd century AD,[11] Briareus, one of theHecatonchires, was the arbitrator in a dispute betweenPoseidon andHelios, respectively gods of the sea and the sun. His verdict was that theIsthmus of Corinth, the area closest to the sea, belonged to Poseidon, and the acropolis of Corinth (Acrocorinth), closest to the sky, belonged to Helios.[12]
TheUpper Peirene spring is located within the walls of the acropolis. Pausanias (2.5.1) says that it was put there byAsopus, repayingSisyphus for information about the abduction ofAegina by Zeus.[13] According to legend, the winged horsePegasus drank at the spring,[14] and was captured and tamed by the Corinthian heroBellerophon.
Corinth had been a backwater in Greece in the 8th century BC.[15] TheBacchiadae (Βακχιάδαι,Bakkhiádai) were a tightly-knitDoric clan and the ruling kinship group of archaic Corinth in the 8th and 7th centuries BC, a period of expanding Corinthian cultural power. In 747 BC (a traditional date), anaristocracy ousted the Bacchiadai Prytaneis and reinstituted the kingship, about the time the Kingdom of Lydia (theendonymicBasileia Sfard) was at its greatest, coinciding with the ascent of Basileus Meles, King of Lydia. The Bacchiadae, numbering perhaps a couple of hundred adult males, took power from the last king Telestes (from the House ofSisyphos) in Corinth.[16] The Bacchiads dispensed with kingship and ruled as a group, governing the city by annually electing aprytanis (who held the kingly position[17] for his brief term),[18] probably a council (though none is specifically documented in the scant literary materials), and apolemarchos to head the army.
During Bacchiad rule from 747 to 650 BC, Corinth became a unified state. Large scale public buildings and monuments were constructed at this time. In 733 BC, Corinth established colonies atCorcyra andSyracuse. By 730 BC, Corinth emerged as a highly advanced Greek city with at least 5,000 people.[19]
Aristotle tells the story of Philolaus of Corinth, a Bacchiad who was a lawgiver at Thebes. He became the lover ofDiocles, the winner of the Olympic games. They both lived for the rest of their lives in Thebes. Their tombs were built near one another and Philolaus' tomb points toward the Corinthian country, while Diocles' faces away.[20]
In 657 BC, polemarchCypselus obtained an oracle fromDelphi which he interpreted to mean that he should rule the city.[21]Heseized power and exiled the Bacchiadae.[22]
Cypselus (Κύψελος,Kýpselos) was the firsttyrant ofCorinth in the 7th century BC. From 658–628 BC, he removed the Bacchiad aristocracy from power and ruled for three decades. He built temples toApollo and Poseidon in 650 BC.
Cypselus was the son ofEëtion and a disfigured woman namedLabda. He was a member of the Bacchiad kin and usurped the power in archaic matriarchal right of his mother. According toHerodotus, the Bacchiadae heard two prophecies from theDelphicoracle that the son ofEëtion would overthrow their dynasty, and they planned to kill the baby once he was born. However, the newborn smiled at each of the men sent to kill him, and none of them could bear to strike the blow.
Labda then hid the baby in a chest,[23] and the men could not find him once they had composed themselves and returned to kill him. (Compare the infancy ofPerseus.) Theivory chest of Cypselus was richly worked and adorned withgold. It was a votive offering atOlympia, wherePausanias gave it a minute description in his 2nd century AD travel guide.[24]
Cypselus grew up and fulfilled the prophecy. Corinth had been involved in wars withArgos andCorcyra, and the Corinthians were unhappy with their rulers. Cypselus waspolemarch at the time (around 657 BC), thearchon in charge of the military, and he used his influence with the soldiers to expel the king. He also expelled his other enemies, but allowed them to set upcolonies in northwestern Greece.
He also increased trade with thecolonies in Italy and Sicily. He was a popular ruler and, unlike many later tyrants, he did not need a bodyguard and died a natural death.Aristotle reports that "Cypselus of Corinth had made a vow that if he became master of the city, he would offer toZeus the entire property of the Corinthians. Accordingly, he commanded them to make a return of their possessions."[25]
The city sent forth colonists to found new settlements in the 7th century BC, under the rule of Cypselus (r. 657–627 BC) and his sonPeriander (r. 627–587 BC). Those settlements wereEpidamnus (modern dayDurrës,Albania),Syracuse,Ambracia,Corcyra (modern daytown of Corfu), andAnactorium. Periander also foundedApollonia in Illyria (modern dayFier, Albania) andPotidaea (inChalcidice). Corinth was also one of the nine Greek sponsor-cities to found the colony ofNaukratis inAncient Egypt, founded to accommodate the increasing trade volume between the Greek world and pharaonic Egypt during the reign of PharaohPsammetichus I of the26th Dynasty.
He ruled for thirty years and was succeeded as tyrant by his sonPeriander in 627 BC.[26] The treasury that Cypselus built atDelphi was apparently still standing in the time of Herodotus, and thechest of Cypselus was seen by Pausanias at Olympia in the 2nd century AD.Periander brought Corcyra to order in 600 BC.
Periander was considered one of theSeven Wise Men of Greece.[27] During his reign, the first Corinthiancoins were struck. He was the first to attempt to cut across the Isthmus to create a seaway between the Corinthian and the Saronic Gulfs. He abandoned the venture due to the extreme technical difficulties that he met, but he created theDiolkos instead (a stone-built overland ramp). The era of the Cypselids was Corinth's golden age, and ended with Periander's nephewPsammetichus (Corinthian tyrant) [de], named after the hellenophile Egyptian Pharaoh Psammetichus I (see above).
Periander killed his wife Melissa. His son Lycophron found out and shunned him, and Periander exiled the son toCorcyra.[28] Periander later wanted Lycophron to replace him as ruler of Corinth, and convinced him to come home to Corinth on the condition that Periander go to Corcyra. The Corcyreans heard about this and killed Lycophron to keep away Periander.[29][30]
581 BC: Periander's nephew and successor was assassinated, ending the tyranny.
581 BC: theIsthmian Games were established by leading families.
570 BC: the inhabitants started to use silver coins called 'colts' or 'foals'.
550 BC: Construction of the Temple of Apollo at Corinth (early third quarter of the 6th century BC).[31]
550 BC: Corinth allied withSparta.
525 BC: Corinth formed a conciliatory alliance with Sparta against Argos.
519 BC: Corinth mediated between Athens andThebes.
Around 500 BC: Athenians and Corinthians entreated Spartans not to harm Athens by restoring the tyrant.[32]
Just before the classical period, according toThucydides, the Corinthians developed thetrireme which became the standard warship of theMediterranean until the late Roman period. Corinth fought the first naval battle on record against the Hellenic city ofCorcyra.[33] The Corinthians were also known for their wealth due to their strategic location on the isthmus, through which all land traffic had to pass en route to the Peloponnese, including messengers and traders.[34]
Inclassical times, Corinth rivaledAthens andThebes in wealth, based on the Isthmian traffic and trade. Until the mid-6th century, Corinth was a major exporter ofblack-figure pottery to city-states around the Greek world, later losing their market to Athenian artisans.
Inclassical times and earlier, Corinth hada temple of Aphrodite, the goddess of love, employing some thousandhetairas (temple prostitutes) (see alsoTemple prostitution in Corinth). The city was renowned for these temple prostitutes, who served the wealthy merchants and the powerful officials who frequented the city.Lais, the most famous hetaira, was said to charge tremendous fees for her extraordinary favours. Referring to the city's exorbitant luxuries, Horace is quoted as saying: "non licet omnibus adire Corinthum" ("not everyone is able to go to Corinth").[35]
Corinth was also the host of theIsthmian Games. During this era, Corinthians developed theCorinthian order, the third main style of classical architecture after theDoric and theIonic. The Corinthian order was the most complicated of the three, showing the city's wealth and the luxurious lifestyle, while the Doric order evoked the rigorous simplicity of the Spartans, and the Ionic was a harmonious balance between these two following the cosmopolitan philosophy of Ionians like the Athenians.
The city had two main ports: to the west on the Corinthian Gulf layLechaion, which connected the city to its western colonies (Greek:apoikiai) andMagna Graecia, while to the east on the Saronic Gulf the port ofKenchreai served the ships coming from Athens,Ionia,Cyprus and theLevant. Both ports had docks for the city's large navy.
In 491 BC, Corinth mediated betweenSyracuse andGela in Sicily.
During the years 481–480 BC, the Conference at the Isthmus of Corinth (following conferences at Sparta) established the Hellenic League, which allied under the Spartans to fight thewar againstPersia. The city was a major participant in the Persian Wars, sending 400 soldiers to defendThermopylae[36] and supplying forty warships for theBattle of Salamis underAdeimantos and 5,000hoplites with their characteristicCorinthian helmets[citation needed]) in the followingBattle of Plataea. The Greeks obtained the surrender of Theban collaborators with the Persians. Pausanias took them to Corinth where they were put to death.[37]
Following theBattle of Thermopylae and the subsequentBattle of Artemisium, which resulted in the captures ofEuboea,Boeotia, andAttica,[38] theGreco-Persian Wars were at a point where now most of mainland Greece to the north of theIsthmus of Corinth had been overrun.[39]
Herodotus, who was believed to dislike the Corinthians, mentions that they were considered the second best fighters after the Athenians.[40]
In 458 BC, Corinth was defeated by Athens atMegara.
In 435 BC, Corinth and its colonyCorcyra went to war overEpidamnus.[41] In 433 BC, Athens allied with Corcyra against Corinth.[42] The Corinthian war against the Corcyrans was the largest naval battle between Greek city states until that time.[43] In 431 BC, one of the factors leading to thePeloponnesian War was the dispute between Corinth and Athens over Corcyra, which possibly stemmed from the traditional trade rivalry between the two cities or, as Thucydides relates – the dispute over the colony of Epidamnus.[44]
The Syracusans sent envoys to Corinth and Sparta to seek allies againstAthenian invasion.[45] The Corinthians "voted at once to aid [the Syracusans] heart and soul".[46] The Corinthians also sent a group to Lacedaemon to rouse Spartan assistance. After a convincing speech from the Athenian renegadeAlcibiades, the Spartans agreed to send troops to aid the Sicilians.[46]
In 404 BC, Sparta refused to destroy Athens, angering the Corinthians. Corinth joinedArgos,Boeotia, and Athens against Sparta in theCorinthian War.[citation needed][clarification needed]
Demosthenes later used this history in a plea for magnanimous statecraft, noting that the Athenians of yesteryear had had good reason to hate the Corinthians and Thebans for their conduct during the Peloponnesian War,[47] yet they bore no malice whatever.[48]
In 395 BC, after the end of the Peloponnesian War, Corinth and Thebes, dissatisfied with the hegemony of their Spartan allies, moved to support Athens against Sparta in theCorinthian War.[49][50]
As an example of facing danger with knowledge, Aristotle used the example of the Argives who were forced to confront the Spartans in the battle at theLong Walls of Corinth in 392 BC.[51]
In 379 BC, Corinth, switching back to thePeloponnesian League, joinedSparta in an attempt to defeat Thebes and eventually take over Athens.[citation needed][clarification needed]
In 366 BC, theAthenian Assembly orderedChares to occupy the Athenian ally and install a democratic government. This failed when Corinth, Phlius and Epidaurus allied withBoeotia.
Demosthenes recounts how Athens had fought the Spartans in a great battle near Corinth. The city decided not to harbor the defeated Athenian troops, but instead sent heralds to the Spartans. But the Corinthian heralds opened their gates to the defeated Athenians and saved them. Demosthenes notes that they “chose along with you, who had been engaged in battle, to suffer whatever might betide, rather than without you to enjoy a safety that involved no danger.”[52]
These conflicts further weakened thecity-states of the Peloponnese and set the stage for the conquests ofPhilip II of Macedon.
Demosthenes warned that Philip's military force exceeded that of Athens and thus they must develop a tactical advantage. He noted the importance of a citizen army as opposed to a mercenary force, citing the mercenaries of Corinth who fought alongside citizens and defeated the Spartans.[53]
In 338 BC, after having defeated Athens and its allies,Philip II created theLeague of Corinth to unite Greece (included Corinth and Macedonia) in the war against Persia. Philip was namedhegemon of the League.
In the spring of 337 BC, the Second congress of Corinth established theCommon Peace.
By 332 BC,Alexander the Great was in control of Greece, as hegemon.
During theHellenistic period, Corinth, like many other Greece cities, never quite had autonomy. Under the successors ofAlexander the Great, Greece was contested ground, and Corinth was occasionally the battleground for contests between theAntigonids, based inMacedonia, and other Hellenistic powers. In 308 BC, the city was captured from the Antigonids by Ptolemy I, who claimed to come as a liberator of Greece from the Antigonids. However, the city was recaptured byDemetrius in 304 BC.[54]
Corinth remained under Antigonid control for half a century. After 280 BC, it was ruled by the faithful governorCraterus; but, in 253/2 BC, his sonAlexander of Corinth, moved byPtolemaic subsidies, resolved to challenge the Macedonian supremacy and seek independence as a tyrant. He was probably poisoned in 247 BC; after his death, the Macedonian kingAntigonus II Gonatas retook the city in the winter of 245/44 BC.
The Macedonian rule was short-lived. In 243 BC,Aratus of Sicyon, using a surprise attack, captured the fortress of Acrocorinth and convinced the citizenship to join theAchaean League.
Thanks to an alliance agreement with Aratus, the Macedonians recovered Corinth once again in 224 BC; but, after the Roman intervention in 197 BC, the city was permanently brought into the Achaean League. Under the leadership ofPhilopoemen, the Achaeans went on to take control of the entire Peloponnesus and made Corinth the capital of their confederation.[55]
In 146 BC, Rome declaredwar on the Achaean League. A series of Roman victories culminated in theBattle of Corinth, after which the army ofLucius Mummius besieged, captured, and burned the city. Mummius killed all the men and sold the women and children into slavery; he was subsequently given thecognomenAchaicus as the conqueror of the Achaean League.[56] There is archeological evidence of some minimal habitation in the years afterwards, but Corinth remained largely deserted untilJulius Caesar refounded the city asColonia Laus Iulia Corinthiensis ("colony of Corinth in honour of Julius") in 44 BC, shortly before hisassassination. At this time, anamphitheatre was built (37°54′35″N22°53′31″E / 37.909824°N 22.892078°E /37.909824; 22.892078 (Corinth (Corinth))).
Under the Romans, Corinth was rebuilt as a major city in SouthernGreece orAchaia. It had a large[57] mixed population of Romans, Greeks, andJews. The city was an important locus for activities ofThe Roman Imperial Cult, and both Temple E[58] and the Julian Basilica[59] have been suggested as locations of imperial cult activity.
Corinth is mentioned many times in theNew Testament, largely in connection withPaul the Apostle's mission there, testifying to the success of Caesar's refounding of the city. Traditionally, theChurch of Corinth is believed to have been founded by Paul, making it anApostolic See.
The apostle Paul first visited the city in AD 49 or 50, whenGallio, the brother ofSeneca, wasproconsul of Achaia.[60] Paul resided here for eighteen months (seeActs 18:11). Here he first became acquainted withPriscilla and Aquila, with whom he later traveled. They worked here together as tentmakers (from which is derived the modern Christian concept oftentmaking), and regularly attended thesynagogue.
In AD 51/52, Gallio presided over thetrial of the Apostle Paul inCorinth.Silas andTimothy rejoined Paul here, having last seen him inBerea (Acts 18:5).Acts 18:6 suggests that Jewish refusal to accept his preaching here led Paul to resolve no longer to speak in the synagogues where he travelled: "From now on I will go to the Gentiles".[61] However, on his arrival inEphesus (Acts 18:19), the narrative records that Paul went to the synagogue to preach.
Paul wrote at least twoepistles to the Christian church, theFirst Epistle to the Corinthians (written from Ephesus) and theSecond Epistle to the Corinthians (written fromMacedonia). Both canonical epistles occasionally[where?] reflect the conflict between the missionary ambitions of the thriving Christian church and a strong desire to remain separate from the surrounding community.[62]
Some scholars believe that Paul visited Corinth for an intermediate "painful visit" (see2 Corinthians 2:1) between the first and second epistles. After writing the second epistle, he stayed in Corinth for about three months[63] in the late winter, and there wrote hisEpistle to the Romans.[64]
Based on clues within the Corinthian epistles themselves, some scholars have concluded that Paul wrote possibly as many as fourepistles to the church at Corinth.[65] Only two are contained within theChristian canon (First andSecond Epistles to the Corinthians); the other two letters are lost. (The lost letters would probably represent the very first letter that Paul wrote to the Corinthians and the third one, and so the First and Second Letters of the canon would be the second and the fourth if four were written.) Many scholars think that the third one (known as the "letter of the tears"; see 2 Cor 2:4) is included inside the canonicalSecond Epistle to the Corinthians (it would be chapters 10–13). This letter is not to be confused with the so-called "Third Epistle to the Corinthians", which is a pseudepigraphical letter written many years after the death of Paul.
There are speculations from Bruce Winter that the Jewish access to their own food in Corinth was disallowed after Paul's departure. By this theory, Paul had instructed Christian Gentiles to maintain Jewish access to food according to their dietary laws. This speculation is contested by David Rudolph, who argues that there is no evidence to support this theory. He argues instead that Paul had desired the Gentile Christians to remain assimilated within their Gentile communities and not adopt Jewish dietary procedures.[66]
The city was largely destroyed in the earthquakes of AD 365 and AD 375, followed byAlaric's invasion in 396. The city was rebuilt after these disasters on a monumental scale, but covered a much smaller area than previously. Four churches were located in the city proper, another on the citadel of theAcrocorinth, and a monumentalbasilica at the port ofLechaion.[67]
During the reign ofEmperorJustinian I (527–565), a large stone wall was erected from the Saronic to the Corinthian gulfs, protecting the city and the Peloponnese peninsula from the barbarian invasions from the north. The stone wall was about six miles (10 km) long and was namedHexamilion ("six-miles").
Corinth declined from the 6th century on, and may even have fallen to barbarian invaders in the early 7th century. The main settlement moved from the lower city to the Acrocorinth. Despite its becoming the capital of thetheme ofHellas and, after c. 800, of the theme of thePeloponnese, it was not until the 9th century that the city began to recover, reaching its apogee in the 11th and 12th centuries, when it was the site of a flourishingsilk industry.[67]
In November 856, an earthquake in Corinth killed an estimated 45,000.[68]
The wealth of the city attracted the attention of theItalo-Normans underRoger II of Sicily, who plundered it in 1147, carrying off many captives, most notably silk weavers. The city never fully recovered from the Norman sack.[67]
Following the sack ofConstantinople by theFourth Crusade, a group of Crusaders under theFrench knightsWilliam of Champlitte andGeoffrey of Villehardouin carried out the conquest of the Peloponnese. The Corinthians resisted the Frankish conquest from their stronghold in Acrocorinth, under the command ofLeo Sgouros, from 1205 until 1210. In 1208 Leo Sgouros killed himself by riding off the top of Acrocorinth, but resistance continued for two more years. Finally, in 1210 the fortress fell to the Crusaders, and Corinth became a full part of thePrincipality of Achaea, governed by theVillehardouins from their capital inAndravida inElis. Corinth was the last significant town of Achaea on its northern borders with another crusader state, theDuchy of Athens. The Ottomans captured the city in 1395. The Byzantines of theDespotate of the Morea recaptured it in 1403, and the DespotTheodore II Palaiologos, restored the Hexamilion wall across theIsthmus of Corinth in 1415.
In 1458, five years after the finalFall of Constantinople, the Turks of theOttoman Empire conquered the city and its mighty castle. The Ottomans renamed itGördüs (گوردوس) and made it asanjak (district) centre within theRumelia Eyalet.[69] TheVenetians captured the city in 1687 during theMorean War, and it remained underVenetian control until the Ottomans retook the city in 1715. Corinth was the capital of theMora Eyalet in 1715–1731 and then again asanjak capital until 1821.
During theGreek War of Independence, 1821–1830 the city was contested by the Ottoman forces. At that time, the ChristianAlbanian tribes living to the north of the Isthmus of Corinth attacked the acropolis of the city. They were around 2000 musketeers against the Ottoman troops.[70] The city was officially liberated in 1832 after theTreaty of London. In 1833, the site was considered among the candidates for the new capital city of the recently foundedKingdom of Greece, due to its historical significance and strategic position.Nafplio was chosen initially, thenAthens.
The Acrocorinth (Ἀκροκόρινθος,Akrokórinthos), theacropolis of ancient Corinth, is a monolithic rock that was continuously occupied from archaic times to the early 19th century. The city's archaic acropolis, already an easily defensible position due to its geomorphology, was further heavily fortified during theByzantine Empire as it became the seat of thestrategos of theThema of Hellas. Later it was a fortress of the Franks after theFourth Crusade, the Venetians and the Ottoman Turks. With its secure water supply, Acrocorinth'sfortress was used as the last line of defense in southern Greece because it commanded theisthmus of Corinth, repelling foes from entry into the Peloponnesian peninsula. Three circuit walls formed the man-made defense of the hill. The highest peak on the site was home to atemple toAphrodite which wasChristianized as a church, and then became amosque.[71] The American School began excavations on it in 1929. Currently, Acrocorinth is one of the most important medieval castle sites of Greece.
Corinth had two harbours:Lechaeum on theCorinthian Gulf andCenchreae on theSaronic Gulf. Lechaeum was the principal port, connected to the city with a set oflong walls of about 3 kilometres (1.9 mi) length, and was the main trading station for Italy and Sicily, where there were many Corinthian colonies, while Cenchreae served the commerce with the Eastern Mediterranean. Ships could be transported between the two harbours by means of thediolkos constructed by the tyrantPeriander.
TheCorinth Excavations by theAmerican School of Classical Studies at Athens began in 1896 and have continued with little interruption until today. Restricted by the modern village of Ancient Corinth, which directly overlies the ancient city, the main focus of School investigations has been on the area surrounding the mid-6th century B.C. Temple of Apollo. This dominating monument has been one of the only features of the site visible since antiquity. Archaeologists such asBert Hodge Hill,Carl Blegen,William Dinsmoor Sr.,Oscar Broneer, andRhys Carpenter worked to uncover much of the site before WWII.[72] Since then, under the leadership of directors Henry Robinson (1959–1965), Charles K. Williams II (1965–1997) and Guy D. R. Sanders (1997–present), excavation has clarified the archaeological history of the city. Investigations have revealed remains extending from the Early Neolithic period (6500-5750 B.C.) through to early modern times.
Archaeological work has also been done outside the immediate area of the village center including at the Sanctuary of Demeter and Kore on the slopes ofAcrocorinth, in the Potters’ Quarter, at the sites of the Sanctuary of Asklepios and the Kenchreian Gate Basilica.[73] Current investigations focus on the area of the Panayia Field, located to the southeast of the Forum. School excavations and projects affiliated to the ASCSA have also intensively explored the wider area of the Corinthia including the surrounding settlements of Korakou,Kenchreai andIsthmia. Finds from these works are housed in theArchaeological Museum of Ancient Corinth.
In 1858, the village surrounding the ruins of Ancient Corinth was destroyed by an earthquake, leading to the establishment of NewCorinth 3 km (1.9 mi) north east of the ancient city.
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| National | |
|---|---|
| Geographic | |
| Other | |
