Ancient Corinth was a very important city among the Greek city-states, controlling a most of the communications and passage of trade ships and merchants in its heyday.
Fortuitously located on the Isthmus of Corinth (a narrow tract of land that connects mainland Greece to the lower peninsula known as the Peloponnesus), Corinth was a rich and influential polis with great power over the waters surrounding it. First settled in the Neolithic Period (the "New Stone Age", around 5000 B.C.), Corinth became a major player among the Greek cities during the 8th century B.C., thanks to its position, its navy, and its commercial trade.
Corinth’s location on the Isthmus helped the city to develop a powerful navy and develop a very successful trade industry with its own products, which included pottery and stylized bronze works. Most importantly, though, the city-state’s location gave them the ability to control the waters and land route in their region. In other words, no ship or merchant could pass through the area without the Corinthians knowing, a fortunate position to be in for them, and not so fortunate for rival poleis such as Athens. At its height, Corinth was the king of communications and information.
The founding of Corinth, as is the case with other Ancient Greek city-states, is steeped in legend and mythology. According to Greek legend, Corinth was founded and ruled under an order of legendary kings, notably Sisyphus, who in this particular telling of Greek myth, was an important and wily king who helped to launch Corinth as a major Greek power (the most recognized idea of Sisyphus comes from Homer’s Odyssey, where we see him pushing a boulder up a hill for all eternity in the Underworld).
The era of the Corinthian kings ended in 747 B.C., when the Bacchiadae seized power. These 200 supposed descendants of Heracles changed the way Corinth was ruled. Their form of government was made up of annually elected officials, including a Polemarch (the military leader), and a Prytanis (a council). Eventually, the Bacchiadae fell in 657 B.C., and a new order of rule came to Corinth.
Upon the fall of the Bacchiadae, Kypselos, an elected Polemarch, took over as tyrant after following an Oracle from Delphi. He was ruler for Corinth for 30 years, and during his reign he established colonies on Sicily and Kerkyra, thus cementing Corinth as a true trade and commerce power. Following Kypselos as tyrant was his son Periander. Under Periander, Corinth became even more powerful. His iron-fist type of rule (which lasted 40-plus years) was meant to keep Corinthians busy with their daily tasks, the arts, and civic duty lest they decide to revolt. Under Periander, the diolkos was constructed. The diolkos was a stone road the proved to be a very important land-based route for merchants that connected the Saronic and Corinthian Gulfs. Not only did this offer quick passage for traders and their cargo, but it was also used to transport ships on wheeled carts from one gulf to the other.
Following the time of the tyrants, Corinth was governed by an 80-member council. This group of men, who ruled from the late 6th century B.C. until Roman times, established Corinth as a friendly city-state. Belonging to the Peloponnesian League, Corinth had amicable ties to Athens and was the wealthiest polis. When Pericles took control of Athens and elevated its status and wealth, relations between the two crumbled. Corinth eventually helped Sparta defeat Athens in the Peloponnesian War.
Corinth was ruled under an oligarchy (rule by the elite), until Philip of Macedon conquered it in 338 B.C. Corinth was eventually destroyed by the upstart Romans in 146 B.C., ceasing to exist for more than a century. In 46 B.C. Julius Caesar established it as a Roman colony, and new wealth and prosperity came to the city. In A.D. 51, Saint Paul went to Corinth, and remained there for almost two years, working to convert pagans to Christianity. Christianity continued to prosper in Corinth afterward.
For further information on Corinth, read Monuments of Corinth.
Sources consulted:
Burn, A.R. and Mary. The Living Past of Greece. New Yourk, Harper Collins, 1980.
"Ancient Korinth". Retrieved from http://sikyon.com/Korinth/korinth_eg.html on 15 April 2007.
"Corinth, Greece". Retrieved from http://www.sacred-destinations.com/greece/corinth.html on 15 April 2007.
