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Corinth (Kórinthos) was a city-state
(polis) on the Isthmus of Corinth, the narrow stretch of land that joins the
Peloponnese to the mainland of Greece, roughly halfway between Athens and
Sparta. The modern city of Corinth is located approximately 5 kilometres (3.1
mi) northeast of the ancient ruins. Since 1896, systematic archaeological
investigations of the Corinth Excavations by the American 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. For Christians, Corinth is well known from
the two letters of Saint Paul in the New Testament, First and Second
Corinthians. Corinth is also mentioned in the Acts of the Apostles as part of
Paul the Apostle's missionary travels. In addition, the second book of
Pausanias' 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 . The Romans demolished Corinth in 146, built a new city in its place in
44, and later made it the provincial capital of Greece.
Neolithic pottery suggests that the site of Corinth was occupied from at least
as early as 6500 , and continually occupied into the Early Bronze Age, when, it
has been suggested, the settlement acted as a centre of trade. However, there
is a dramatic drop in ceramic remains during the Early Helladic II phase and
only sparse ceramic remains in the EHIII and MH phases; thus, it appears that
the area was very sparsely inhabited in the period immediately before the
Mycenaean period. There was a settlement on the coast near Lechaion which
traded across the Corinthian Gulf; the site of Corinth itself was likely not
heavily occupied again until around 900 , when it is believed that the Dorians
settled there. According to Corinthian myth as reported by Pausanias, the city
was founded by Corinthos, a descendant of the god Zeus. However, other myths
suggest that it was founded by the goddess Ephyra, a daughter of the Titan
Oceanus, thus the ancient name of the city (also Ephyra). There is evidence
that the city was destroyed around 2000 . Some ancient names for the place are
derived from a pre-Greek "Pelasgian" language, such as Korinthos. It
seems likely that Corinth was also the site of a Bronze Age Mycenaean
palace-city, like Mycenae, Tiryns, or Pylos. According to myth, Sisyphus was
the founder of a race of ancient kings at Corinth. It was also in Corinth that
Jason, the leader of the Argonauts, abandoned Medea.
During the Trojan War, as portrayed in the Iliad, the Corinthians participated
under the leadership of Agamemnon. In a Corinthian myth recounted to Pausanias
in the 2nd century AD, Briareus, one of the Hecatonchires, was the arbitrator
in a dispute between Poseidon and Helios, between the sea and the sun. His
verdict was that the Isthmus of Corinth belonged to Poseidon and the acropolis
of Corinth (Acrocorinth) belonged to Helios. Thus, Greeks of the Classical age
accounted for the archaic cult of the sun-titan in the highest part of the
site.[citation needed] The Upper Peirene spring is located within the walls of
the acropolis. "The spring, which is behind the temple, they say was the
gift of Asopus to Sisyphus. The latter knew, so runs the legend, that Zeus had
ravished Aegina, the daughter of Asopus, but refused to give information to the
seeker before he had a spring given him on the Acrocorinthus." (Pausanias,
2.5.1).
Corinth under the Bacchiadae:
Main article: Bacchiadae:
The Bacchiadae (Ancient Greek: Bakkhiadai) were a tightly-knit Doric clan and
the ruling kinship group of archaic Corinth in the 8th and 7th centuries, a
period of expanding Corinthian cultural power. In 747 (a traditional date), an
aristocratic ousted the Bacchiadai Prytaneis and reinstituted the kingship,
about the time the Kingdom of Lydia (the endonymic Basileia 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 of Sisyphos) in Corinth). The Bacchiads
dispensed with kingship and ruled as a group, governing the city by annually
electing a prytanis (who held the kingly position for his brief term), probably
a council (though none is specifically documented in the scant literary
materials), and a polemarchos to head the army. During Bacchiad rule from 747
to 650 , Corinth became a unified state. Large scale public buildings and
monuments were constructed at this time. In 733, Corinth established colonies
at Corcyra and Syracuse. By 730, Corinth emerged as a highly advanced Greek
city with at least 5,000 people. Aristotle tells the story of Philolaus of
Corinth, a Bacchiad who was a lawgiver at Thebes. He became the lover of
Diocles, 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. In 657 ,
polemarch Cypselus obtained an oracle from Delphi which he interpreted to mean
that he should rule the city. He seized power and exiled the Bacchiadae.
Corinth under the tyrants:
Main article: Cypselus:
Cypselus or Kypselos (Greek) was the first tyrant of Corinth in the 7th century
. From 658–628 , he removed the Bacchiad aristocracy from power and ruled
for three decades. He built temples to Apollo and Poseidon in 650 . Apollo
Temple has been built in Doric style on the ruins of earlier temple, being a
good example of peripteral temple, supported by 38 columns, 7 of which are
still in place. The Theater could seat around 15000 spectators. Aristotle
reports that "Cypselus of Corinth had made a vow that if he became master
of the city, he would offer to Zeus the entire property of the Corinthians.
Accordingly, he commanded them to make a return of their possessions." The
city sent forth colonists to found new settlements in the 7th century , under
the rule of Cypselus (r. 657–627 ) and his son Periander (r. 627–587
). Those settlements were Epidamnus (modern day Durrës, Albania),
Syracuse, Ambracia (modern day town of Lefkas), Corcyra (modern day town of
Corfu), and Anactorium. Periander also founded Apollonia in Illyria (modern day
Fier, Albania) and Potidaea (in Chalcidice). Corinth was also one of the nine
Greek sponsor-cities to found the colony of Naukratis in Ancient Egypt, founded
to accommodate the increasing trade volume between the Greek world and
pharaonic Egypt during the reign of Pharaoh Psammetichus I of the 26th dynasty.
Greek city-states tended to overthrow their traditional hereditary
priest-kings, with increased wealth and more complicated trade relations and
social structures. Corinth led the way as the richest archaic polis. The
tyrants usually seized power at the head of some popular support, like the
signori of late medieval and Renaissance Italy. Often the tyrants calmed the
populace by upholding existing laws and customs and strict conservatism in cult
practices. A cult of personality naturally substituted for the divine right of
the former legitimate royal house, as it did in Renaissance Italy. Cypselus was
the son of Eëtion and a disfigured woman named Labda. He was a member of
the Bacchiad kin and usurped the power in archaic matriarchal right of his
mother. According to Herodotus, the Bacchiadae heard two prophecies from the
Delphic oracle that the son of Eëtion 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, and the men could not find him once they
had composed themselves and returned to kill him. (Compare the infancy of
Perseus.) Cypselus grew up and fulfilled the prophecy. Corinth had been
involved in wars with Argos and Corcyra, and the Corinthians were unhappy with
their rulers.
Cypselus was polemarch at the time (around 657 ), the archon 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 up colonies in
northwestern Greece. He also increased trade with the colonies 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. He ruled for thirty years and was
succeeded as tyrant by his son Periander in 627. The treasury that Cypselus
built at Delphi was apparently still standing in the time of Herodotus, and the
chest of Cypselus was seen by Pausanias at Olympia in the 2nd century AD.
Periander brought Corcyra to order in 600. Periander was considered one of the
Seven Wise Men of Greece. During his reign, the first Corinthian coins 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 the
Diolkos instead (a stone-built overland ramp). The era of the Cypselids was
Corinth's golden age, and ended with Periander's nephew Psammetichus, 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 to Corcyra. 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.
Archaic Corinth after the tyrants 581:
Periander's nephew and successor was assassinated, ending the tyranny.
581 : the Isthmian Games were established by leading families.
570 : the inhabitants started to use silver coins called 'colts' or 'foals'.
550 : Construction of the Temple of Apollo at Corinth (early third quarter of
the 6th century ).
550 : Corinth allied with Sparta.
525 : Corinth formed a conciliatory alliance with Sparta against Argos.
519 : Corinth mediated between Athens and Thebes.
Around 500 : Athenians and Corinthians entreated Spartans not to harm Athens by
restoring the tyrant. Just before the classical period, according to
Thucydides, the Corinthians developed the trireme which became the standard
warship of the Mediterranean until the late Roman period. Corinth fought the
first naval battle on record against the Hellenic city of Corcyra. 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.
Classical Corinth:
In classical times, Corinth rivaled Athens and Thebes in wealth, based on the
Isthmian traffic and trade. Until the mid-6th century, Corinth was a major
exporter of black-figure pottery to city-states around the Greek world, later
losing their market to Athenian artisans. In classical times and earlier,
Corinth had a temple of Aphrodite, the goddess of love, employing some thousand
hetairas (temple prostitutes) (see also Temple 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"). Corinth was also the host of the Isthmian Games.
During this era, Corinthians developed the Corinthian order, the third main
style of classical architecture after the Doric and the Ionic. 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 lay Lechaion, which
connected the city to its western colonies (Greek: apoikiai) and Magna Graecia,
while to the east on the Saronic Gulf the port of Kenchreai served the ships
coming from Athens, Ionia, Cyprus and the Levant. Both ports had docks for the
city's large navy. In 491, Corinth mediated between Syracuse and Gela in
Sicily. During the years 481–480, the Conference at the Isthmus of Corinth
(following conferences at Sparta) established the Hellenic League, which allied
under the Spartans to fight the war against Persia. The city was a major
participant in the Persian Wars, sending 400 soldiers to defend Thermopylae and
supplying forty warships for the Battle of Salamis under Adeimantos and 5,000
hoplites with their characteristic Corinthian helmets in the following Battle
of Plataea. The Greeks obtained the surrender of Theban collaborators with the
Persians. Pausanias took them to Corinth where they were put to death.
Following the Battle of Thermopylae and
the subsequent Battle of Artemisium, which
resulted in the captures of Euboea, Boeotia, and Attica,[the Greco-Persian Wars
were at a point where now most of mainland Greece to the north of the Isthmus
of Corinth had been overrun.
Corinthian order:
Herodotus, who was believed to dislike the Corinthians, mentions that they were
considered the second best fighters after the Athenians. In 458, Corinth was
defeated by Athens at Megara.
Peloponnesian
War:
In 435, Corinth and its colony Corcyra went to war over Epidamnus. In 433,
Athens allied with Corcyra against Corinth. The Corinthian war against the
Corcyrans was the largest naval battle between Greek city states until that
time. In 431, one of the factors leading to the Peloponnesian War was the
dispute between Corinth and Athens over Corcyra, which probably stemmed from
the traditional trade rivalry between the two cities. Three Syracusan generals
went to Corinth seeking allies against Athenian invasion. The Corinthians
"voted at once to aid [the Syracusans] heart and soul". They also
sent a group to Lacedaemon to rouse Spartan assistance. After a convincing
speech from the Athenian renegade Alcibiades, the Spartans agreed to send
troops to aid the Sicilians. In 404, Sparta refused to destroy Athens, angering
the Corinthians. Corinth joined Argos, Boeotia, and Athens against Sparta in
the Corinthian War. 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, yet they bore no malice whatever.
Corinthian War:
In 395 , 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 the Corinthian War. 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 the Long Walls of Corinth in 392.
379–323 In 379 , Corinth, switching back to the Peloponnesian League,
joined Sparta in an attempt to defeat Thebes and eventually take over Athens.
In 366 , the Athenian Assembly ordered Chares to occupy the Athenian
ally and install a democratic government. This failed when Corinth, Phlius and
Epidaurus allied with Boeotia. 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.”
These conflicts further weakened the city-states of the Peloponnese and set the
stage for the conquests of Philip 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. In 338 , after having defeated Athens and
its allies, Philip II created the League of Corinth to unite Greece (included
Corinth and Macedonia) in the war against Persia. Philip was named hegemon of
the League. In the spring of 337 , the Second congress of Corinth established
the Common Peace.
Hellenistic period:
By 332, Alexander the Great was in control of Greece, as hegemon. During the
Hellenistic period, Corinth, like many other Greece cities, never quite had
autonomy. Under the successors of Alexander the Great, Greece was contested
ground, and Corinth was occasionally the battleground for contests between the
Antigonids, based in Macedonia, and other Hellenistic powers. In 308, 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 by
Demetrius in 304 . Corinth remained under Antigonid control for half a century.
After 280 , it was ruled by the faithful governor Craterus; but, in 253/2 , his
son Alexander of Corinth, moved by Ptolemaic subsidies, resolved to challenge
the Macedonian supremacy and seek independence as a tyrant. He was probably
poisoned in 247; after his death, the Macedonian king Antigonus II Gonatas
retook the city in the winter of 245/44 . The Macedonian rule was short-lived.
In 243 , Aratus of Sicyon, using a surprise attack, captured the fortress of
Acrocorinth and convinced the citizenship to join the Achaean League. Thanks to
an alliance agreement with Aratus, the Macedonians recovered Corinth once again
in 224 ; but, after the Roman intervention in 197 , the city was permanently
brought into the Achaean League. Under the leadership of Philopoemen, the
Achaeans went on to take control of the entire Peloponnesus and made Corinth
the capital of their confederation.
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