Monuments of Ancient Corinth
The Buildings and Shrines of a Powerful Greek City-State
Corinth was home to many landmarks and monuments that proved historically significant from Ancient times through the Christian era.
Having an advantageous location on the Isthmus of Corinth was not the only thing that helped Corinth achieve its illustrious status as one of ancient Greece’s greatest city-states. It also had a rocky, built in fortification known as the Acrocorinth. Acrocorinth was the acropolis of Corinth, and it served much the same purpose as the Athenian Acropolis. Throughout the city-state’s history, this stone outcropping served as a fortress, as fortification, and as the site for several important monuments.
Among the most important monuments of acrocorinth was the Temple of Aphrodite, dedicated to the Greek goddess of love. The temple was built on the highest point of acrocorinth, and must have been quite a showpiece for Corinth. Following the Roman period, the temple became a Christian church, and was then converted into a mosque.
Another temple located on acrocorinth was the Temple of Apollo. One of several monuments to Apollo in Corinth, this temple was built around the middle of the sixth century B.C. on acrocorinth. When the Romans arrived and re-established Corinth, they restored the temple to use (the Romans also worshipped Apollo).
Throughout the rest of Corinth, there are many other noteworthy monuments. These include a sacred spring, used by the Corinthians until around the fifth century B.C., when construction covered it up. Archaeologists have uncovered the spring, along with a nearby secret passage that leads to a small sanctuary, perhaps used by priests.
The Bema was located within Corinth’s Roman-era forum. This was the speaker’s or judge’s platform, from which a judge would sit and here the evidence for and against an individual being tried for a crime. Notably, the bema located in Corinth was the one at which Paul stood to face the Romans in A.D. 52 when accusations were made against him.
Also located in the forum of Corinth was the Fountain of Peirene. This was the main source of water for the city, as well as a popular gathering place for the Corinthian people. According to Greek legend, the pool of water came from the tears of a devastated mother, Peirene, whose son had been killed by Artemis.
Corinth was also home to a large amphitheater, built in the fifth century B.C. This amphitheater held almost 15,000 people, who would have been able to watched staged comedies and dramas with impeccable acoustics. Later, the theater was remodeled and expanded by the Roman Emperor Hadrian, and it remains one of the finest examples of ornate Roman architecture.
One of the most famous (and well-used) monuments in Corinth was the Asklepieion. This was a sanctuary to the Greek god of healing, Asklepios. Built in the fourth century B.C., this was a place for the sick and maimed to go to be healed. An ill person would go to the Asklepieion and offer a terra cotta figurine. These figurines were usually in the shape of genitalia, heads, eyes, hands, or whatever particular body part was failing. After bathing in the sea and offering honey cakes at the god’s altar, the patient would then be taken to be cleaned in an inner room (an abaton). The patient would then lie down on a mat on the floor and go to sleep, awaiting the god to visit during sleep (often in the form of a snake), and cure the illness.
These monuments, most of which offer only scant remains today, offer a glimpse into the way of life in one of Ancient Greece's most important and influential city-states.
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 12 April 2007.
"Corinth, Greece". Retrieved from http://www.sacred-destinations.com/greece/corinth.html on 12 April 2007.
"The Greek God Asklepios in Myth and Art". Retrieved from http://www.loggia.com/myth/asklepios.html on 16 April 2007.
"Peirene". Retrieved from http://www.mythweb.com/encyc/entries/peirene.html on 16 April 2007.
"Temple of Apollo, Corinth". Retrieved from http://gbgm-umc.org/umw/corinthians/apollo.stm on 16 April 2007.
