Fast Facts About Greece > Corinth Article > Corinth Overview
Those interested in Roman, Greek, Biblical, and military history should all be familiar with the ancient city of Corinth, in the northeast corner of the Peloponnese at the head of the Gulf of Corinth.
Significant for its long history, it has been the focus of archaeologists. The American School of Classical Studies at Athens [ASCSA] has been conducting archaeological excavations there since 1896, uncovering remains from as early as the Early Neolithic period (6500-5750 B.C.). [Source: ASCSA] Major figures of ancient Greek mythology passed through or lived in Corinth. The famed mythological Dolphin rider created the Dithyramb there. Paul of Tarsus of New Testament fame is thought to have spent more than a year in the city. An architectural order, named for the city, was developed in the later Classical period but more common during the Hellenistic and Roman periods. [Source: Metropolitan Museum of Art.] It was the site of one of the sets of Panhellenic games (the Isthmian Games). Its geographic position made it an important city in terms of trade and this same geographic position made it strategic militarily. It is said to be Corinth that introduced the battleship known as the trireme. Corinth has been rocked by earthquakes as well as war. Destroyed in 146 B.C., by the Romans, it was rebuilt as a Roman colony a century later.
The city of Corinth sent out settlers to another important area of the ancient Mediterranean, Syracuse, on the island of Sicily.
- Corinth Overview
- Temple of Apollo
- Corinth Article
- Acrocorinth
- Corinthian War
