Acrocorinth

By N.S. Gill, About.com Guide

Acrocorinth is the name of the high point in Corinth that descends in natural terraces to the area of coastal plain by the Gulf of Corinth. It was a fortified citadel and the best in ancient Greece, although too high to be a normal acropolis. The city of Corinth sat at its base by springs on the hill's northern side.

The Acrocorinth has a water supply that Greek mythology explains as a gift from the river god Asopus to the early king Sisyphus in exchange for Sisyphus' revealing the location of Asopus' daughter. There was a temple of Aphrodite situated on this hill that was replaced by a temple of Apollo whose columnar remains stand. A fortress was first built on the hill probably in the second half of the sixth century B.C.

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References

• _{"Beyond Peirene: Toward a Broader View of Corinthian Water Supply," by Mark E. Landon: Corinth Vol. 20, "Corinth, The Centenary: 1896-1996" (2003), pp. 43-62.}
• _{Antony J. S. Spawforth "Corinth" The Oxford Classical Dictionary. Simon Hornblower and Anthony Spawforth. © Oxford University Press 1949, 1970, 1996, 2005.}
• _{"Corinth: The Ancient City Revealed," by Saul S. Weinberg and Gladys R. Weinberg; The Classical Journal Vol. 42, No. 2 (Nov., 1946), pp. 66-76.}

_{Picture: CC Flickr User taver}