Εμφανίζονται 100 (επί συνόλου 130) τίτλοι με αναζήτηση: Πληροφορίες για τον τόπο στην ευρύτερη περιοχή: "ΚΟΡΙΝΘΙΑ Νομός ΠΕΛΟΠΟΝΝΗΣΟΣ" .
ΞΥΛΟΚΑΣΤΡΟ (Κωμόπολη) ΚΟΡΙΝΘΙΑ
Το κάστρο που δέσποζε στη δυτική Κορινθία
ήταν αναμφίβολα του Ξυλοκάστρου. Σήμερα υπάρχει μόνο ως ανάμνηση στο όνομα της
σημερινής πόλης.
Το κάστρο χτίστηκε την εποχή της Φραγκοκρατίας, περίπου το 1260, ανατολικά
του ποταμού Σύθα, πιθανόν στην περιοχή Τσούκα στο Ζεμενό.
Είχε οπτική επαφή με τον Ακροκόρινθο
και το κάστρο της Πελλήνης,
δέσποζε σε ολόκληρη την περιοχή με ορατότητα μεγάλη στον Κορινθιακό
Κόλπο, προστάτευε την πολίχνη Ζεμενό
όπου υπήρχε λατινική επισκοπή και τους γύρω οικισμούς Ville-douce (σήμερα Στύλια).
Επίσης, είχε άμεση σχέση με τη μονή των Κιστερσιανών μοναχών στο Ζάρακα
της Στυμφαλίας και κρατούσε
σε καταστολή το έντονο σλαβικό στοιχείο που υπήρχε στην περιοχή και ήταν εχθρικό
προς τους κατακτητές Φράγκους.
Το 1402 καταστράφηκε από σεισμό. Στη συνέχεια το βρίσκουμε στους Ενετικούς
καταλόγους των φρουρίων με τις ονομασίες Scilo-castro και Solo-castro, πάντα ανατολικά
του Σύθα, έως το 1640). Οι επόμενοι χάρτες (1791) αναφέρουν το Xilo-castro, δυτικά
του ποταμού Σύθα, διότι η ονομασία Ξυλόκαστρο περιλάμβανε τους σημερινούς οικισμούς
Υψηλά Αλώνια, Μερτικέικα,
Γεωργαντέικα και το χωριό
Ρίζα.
Το κείμενο (απόσπασμα) παρατίθεται τον Ιανουάριο 2004 από τουριστικό φυλλάδιο
του Δήμου Ξυλοκάστρου.
ΣΤΡΑΒΑ (Ορμος) ΛΟΥΤΡΑΚΙ ΠΕΡΑΧΩΡΑΣ
Πευκόφυτη περιοχή με θερινές κατοικίες.
ΛΟΥΤΡΑΚΙ ΠΕΡΑΧΩΡΑΣ (Δήμος) ΚΟΡΙΝΘΙΑ
ΞΥΛΟΚΑΣΤΡΟ (Κωμόπολη) ΚΟΡΙΝΘΙΑ
ΙΣΘΜΟΣ ΚΟΡΙΝΘΟΥ (Ισθμός) ΛΟΥΤΡΑΚΙ ΠΕΡΑΧΩΡΑΣ
Η Διώρυγα Κορίνθου αποτελεί ένα διεθνή κόμβο θαλάσσιων συγκοινωνιών
που εξυπηρετεί πλοία ερχόμενα από την Δυτική Μεσόγειο με κατεύθυνση λιμάνια της
Ανατολικής Μεσογείου και της Μαύρης θάλασσας και αντίστροφα.
Η Διώρυγα Κορίνθου τέμνει κατ' ευθεία γραμμή τον Ισθμό της Κορίνθου
και το μήκος της ανέρχεται στα 6.343 μέτρα. Το ελάχιστο πλάτος της διώρυγας στο
ύψος της θάλασσας είναι 24,6 μέτρα και στον βυθό 21 μέτρα. Το βάθος της Διώρυγας
ανέρχεται στα 8 μέτρα.
Το κείμενο παρατίθεται τον Οκτώβριο 2004 από την ακόλουθη ιστοσελίδα, με φωτογραφίες, της Διαχείρισης Διώρυγας Κορίνθου Περίανδρος Α.Ε.
ΚΟΡΙΝΘΟΣ (Αρχαία πόλη) ΠΕΛΟΠΟΝΝΗΣΟΣ
ΑΡΙΣΤΟΝΑΥΤΑΙ (Αρχαία πόλη) ΞΥΛΟΚΑΣΤΡΟ
The harbour of Pellene was called Aristonautae (Aristonautai), and
was distant 60 stadia from Pellene, and 120 from Aegeira. It is said to have been
so called from the Argonauts having landed there in the course of their voyage.
(Paus. vii. 26. § 14, ii. 12. § 2.) It was probably on the site of the modern
Kamari. (Leake, Morea, vol. iii. p. 384.) A little to the E., near the coast,
was the fortress Olurus (Olouros), dependent upon Pellene; Leake places it at
Xylo-castro. It would thus have stood at the entrance of the gorge leading from
the maritime plain into the territory of Pellene, and would have been a position
of great importance to the safety of that district. (Xen. Hell. vii. 14. 17, 18;
Plin. iv. 6; Mel. iii. 3; Steph. B. s. v.; Leake, vol. iii. p. 224.) Near Aristonautae
was Gonnusa or Gonoessa, to which Homer gives the epithet of lofty (aipeine).
According to Pausanias its proper name was Donussa (Donoussa), which was changed
by Peisistratus into Gonoessa, when he collected the poems of Homer. Pausanias
says that it was a fortress belonging to the Sicyonians, and lay between Aegeira
and Pellene; but from its position we may infer that it was at one time dependent
upon Pellene. Leake places it at Koryfi, the lofty mountain, at the foot of which
is Kamari, the ancient Aristonautae. (Horn. Il. ii. 573; Paus. vii. 26. § 13;
Leake, vol. iii. p. 385.)
This extract is from: Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography (1854) (ed. William Smith, LLD). Cited June 2004 from The Perseus Project URL below, which contains interesting hyperlinks
ΑΣΩΠΟΣ (Ποταμός) ΚΟΡΙΝΘΙΑ
Asopus. River of St. George, a river of Peloponnesus, rising in the mountains
S. of Phlius, and flowing through Sicyonia into the Corinthian gulf. Hence the
plain of Sicyonia was called Asopis or Asopia. Its principal sources are at
the foot of Mt. Gavria. In the upper part of its course it is a clear tranquil
stream, but in passing through Sicyonia it becomes rapid, white, and turbid.
It flows past the city of Sicyon on the east, and joins the sea a little eastward
of a round height in the plain. (Strab. vii., viii., ix.;
Paus. ii. 5.2, 15.1; Plin. iv. 5. s. 6)
This text is from: Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography (1854) (ed. William Smith, LLD). Cited July 2004 from The Perseus Project URL below, which contains interesting hyperlinks
ΙΣΘΜΟΣ ΚΟΡΙΝΘΟΥ (Ισθμός) ΛΟΥΤΡΑΚΙ ΠΕΡΑΧΩΡΑΣ
The most important part of the territory of Corinth was the Isthmus,
both as the place across which merchandise was carried from the eastern to the
western sea, and more especially as hallowed by the celebration of the Isthmian
games. The word Isthmus (Isthmos) probably comes from the root i, which appears
in i-enai to go, and the Latin i-re, and hence originally meant a passage. From
being the proper name of this spot, it came to be applied to the neck of any peninsula.
The situation of the Isthmus, a stony plain lying between the mountain barriers
of the Geraneia on the north and the Oneia on the south, has been already described.
The word was used both in a wider and a narrower signification. In its wider use
it indicated the whole land lying between the two gulfs, and hence Corinth is
said to have been situated on the Isthmus (Korinthos epi toi Isthmoi keimenos,
Strab. viii. p. 380; Corinthum in Isthimo condidit, Vell. Pat. i. 3): in its more
restricted sense it was applied to the narrowest part of the Isthmus, and especially
to the neighbourhood of the Poseideium and the locality of the Isthmian games
ten eis Kenchreas lonton ex Isthmou, Paus. ii. 2. § 3; ta Isthmoi dgalmata,, Philostr.
Vit, Her. 5.) Most of the Greek writers make the breadth of the Isthmus 40 stadia..
(Strab. viii. p. 335; Diod. xi. 16; Scylax, p. 15.) Pliny states it as 5 miles
(iv. 4. s. 5), and Mela 4 miles (ii. 3). The last statement is the most correct,
the real breadth being about 3 1/2 English miles in direct distance. In the Byzantine
time it was called to hexamilion, the name which the village on the Isthmus still
bears, and which was also given to the Isthmus of Mount Athos.
The only town on the Isthmus in ancient times was Schoenus on the
Saronic gulf. (ho Schoinous, viii. p. 380; Portus Schoenitas, Mel. ii. 3.) Situated
at the narrowest part of the Isthmus, it was the port of the Isthmian sanctuary,
and the place at which goods, not intended for the Corinthian market, were transported
across the Isthmus by means of the Diolcos. This harbour, which is now called
Kalamaki, is exposed to the east and south-east: the site of the town is indicated
by a few fragments of Doric columns. The Isthmian sanctuary lies rather less than
a mile south-east of Schoenus. It was a level spot, of an irregular quadrangular
form, containing the temple of Poseidon and other sanctuaries, and was surrounded
on all tides by a strong wall, which can still be clearly traced. The northern
and north-eastern parts of the enclosure were protected by the wall, which extended
across the Isthmus, and of which we shall speak presently. On the other sides
it was shut in by its own walls, which are in some cases more than 12 feet thick.
The enclosure is about 640 feet in length; but its breadth varies, being about
600 feet broad on the north and northeast, but only 300 feet broad at its southern
end. Its form, as well as the way in which it was connected with the Isthmic wall,
is shown in the annexed plan copied from Curtius, which is taken with a slight
improvement from Leake. The interior of the enclosure is a heap of ruins, which
in consequence of earthquakes and other devastating causes have been so mixed,
that it is impossible without extensive excavations to discover the ground-plan
of the different buildings.
Pausanias's account of the Isthmian sanctuary is unusually brief and
unsatisfactory (ii. 1). He came to it from the port. Towards his left he saw the
stadium and theatre, both constructed of white marble, of which there are still
some vestiges. Both lay outside the sacred enclosure, the stadium towards the
south, and the theatre towards the west, Here the Isthmian games were celebrated;
and these buildings were connected with the sacred enclosure by a grove of pine
trees. (Strab. viii. p. 380.) The main gate of the sanctuary appears to have been
in the eastern wall, through which Pausanias entered. The road leading from this
gate to the temple of Poseidon, was lined on one side by the statues of conquerors
in the Isthmian games, and on the other side by a row of pine trees. Upon the
temple, which was not large, stood Tritons, probably serving as weather-cocks,
like the Triton on the Horologium of Andronicus Cyrrhestes at Athens. In the pronaus
Pausanias saw two statues of Poseidon, and by their side statues of Amphitrite
and Thalassa. The principal ornament of the cella was a magnificent gift of Herodes
Atticus, consisting of four gilded horses with ivory hoofs, drawing the chariot
of Poseidon, Amphitrite and Palaemon. The chariot rested upon a base, on which
were represented in bas-relief Thalassa with her child Aphrodite in the centre,
while on either side were the Nereids. The fragments of Doric columns found within
the enclosure may be assigned to this temple. Leake measured the end of the fluting
of one of these shafts, and found it ten inches and a half.
Within the sacred enclosure, to the west, was the Palaemonion, consisting
of two sanctuaries, one above ground, containing statues of Poseidon, Leucothea,
and Palaemon; and a subterraneous adytum, where Palaemon was said to have been
buried. This adytum was the most sacred spot in the Isthmus, since the festival
was originally in honour of Palaemon. Poseidon was subsequently substituted for
this local divinity as the patron god of the festival; but Palaemon continued
to receive special honour, and in his adytum the most sacred oaths were sworn.
Pausanias also mentions an ancient sanctuary, called the altar of the Cyclopes.
Sisyphus and Neleus were said to have been buried here, but the site of their
graves was unknown.
These are all the buildings in the Isthmic sanctuary mentioned by
Pausanias; but we learn, from an inscription discovered by Wheeler in 1676, and
now preserved at Verona, that there were several other buildings besides. (See
the inscription in Bockh, Corp. Inscr. n. 1104.) It contains a list of the Isthmian
edifices erected by Publius Licinius Priscus Juventianus, high priest for life
at Roman Corinth. He built lodgings for the athletae, who came to the Isthmian
games from the whole world. He erected, at his own expense, the Palaemonium, with
its decorations;--the enagisterion, probably the subterraneous adytum, spoken
of by Pausanias;--the sacred avenue;--the altars of the native gods, with the
peribolus and the pronaos (perhaps the sanctuary containing the altars of the
Cyclopes);--the houses in which the athletae were examined;--the temple of Helios,
together with the statue and peribolus;--moreover, the peribolus of the Sacred
Grove, and within it temples of Demeter, Core, Dionysus and Artemis, with their
statues, decorations and pronai. He repaired the temples of Eueteria, of Core,
of Pluto, and the steps and terrace-walls, which had fallen into decay by earthquakes
and antiquity. He also decorated the portico at the Stadium, with the arched apartments
and the decorations belonging to them.
It has been already mentioned that the northern portion of the walls
which surrounded the Isthmic sanctuary belonged to a line of fortification, which
extended at one period across the Isthmus. This wall may still be traced in its
whole extent across the narrowest part of the Isthmus, beginning at the bay of
Lechaeum and terminating at the bay of Schoenus. It was fortified with square
towers on its northern side in the direction of Megaris, showing that it was intended
for the defence of Peloponnesus against attacks from the north. It was not built
in a straight line, but followed the crest of a range of low hills, the last falls
of the Oneian mountains. The length of the wall, according to Boblaye, is 7300
metres, while the breadth of the Isthmus at its narrowest part is only 5950 metres.
At what period this wall was erected, is uncertain. The first Isthmian wall, mentioned
in history, was the one thrown up in haste by the Peloponnesians when Xerxes was
marching into Greece. (Herod. viii. 71; Diod. xi. 66.) But this was a work of
haste, and could not have been the same as the massive walls, of which the remains
are extant. Moreover, it is evident from the military operations in the Corinthia,
recorded by Thucydides and Xenophon, that in their time the Isthmus was not defended
by a line of fortifications: the difficulties of an invading army always begin
with the passes through the Oneian mountains. Diodorus (xv. 68) speaks of a temporary
line of fortifications, consisting of palisades and trenches, which were thrown
across the Isthmus by the Spartans and their allies, to prevent the Thebans from
marching into Peloponnesus (B.C. 369), from which it clearly appears that there
was no permanent wall. Moreover, Xenophon (Hell. vii. 1. § 15, seq.) does not
even mention the palisading and trenches, but places the Lacedaemonians and their
allies upon the Oneian mountains. It is not till we come to the period of the
decline of the Roman empire, that we find mention of the Isthmian wall. It was
then regarded as an important defence against the invasions of the barbarians.
Hence, it was restored by Valerian in the middle of the third century (Zosim.
i. 29), by Justinian towards the end of the sixth (Procop. de Aedif. iv. 2), by
the Greeks against the Turks in 1415, and after it had been destroyed by the Turks
it was rebuilt by the Venetians in 1463. It was a second time destroyed by the
Turks; and by the treaty of Carlowitz, in 1699, the remains of the old walls were
made the boundary line between the territories of the Turks and Venetians.
The Isthmian wall formed with the passes of the Geraneian and with
those of the Oneian mountains three distinct lines of defence, which are enumerated
in the following passage of Claudian (de Bell. Get. 188):
Vallata mari Scironia rupes,
Et duo continuo connectens aequora muro Isthmus,
et angusti patuerunt claustra Lechaei.
A short distance north of the Isthmian wall, where the ground was
the most level, was the Diolcos (diolkos, Strab. viii. p. 335). It was a level
road, upon which smaller vessels were drawn by moving rollers from one sea to
the other. The cargoes of those ships, which were too large for this mode of transport,
were unloaded, carried across, and put on board other vessels upon the opposite
coast Hence we find the expressions diisthmein tas naus, huperisthmein (Pol. iv.
19), huperpherein (Thus. viii. 7), dielkuein (Diod. iv. 56). In some seasons of
the year there was an uninterrupted traffic upon the Diolcos, to which allusion
is made in one of the jokes of Aristophanes (Thesmoph. 647).
The narrow breadth of the Isthmus, and the important traffic across
it, frequently suggested the idea of cutting a canal through it. This project
is said to have been formed by Periander (Diog. Laert. i. 99), Demetrius Poliorcetes
(Strab. i. p. 54), Julius Caesar (Dion Cass. xliv. 5; Suet. Caes. 44; Plut. Caes.
58), Caligula (Suet. Calig. 21), Nero, and Herodes Atticus (Philostr. Vit. Soph.
ii. 6). But the only one who actually commenced the work was Nero. This emperor
opened the undertaking with great pomp, and cut out part of the earth with his
own hands; but the work had advanced only four stadia, when he was obliged to
give it up, in consequence of the insurrection of Julius Vindex in Gaul. (Dion
Cass. lxv. 16; Suet. Ner. 19; Paus. ii. 1, § 5; Plin. iv. 4. s. 5; Lucian, de
Fossa Isthmi.) The canal was commenced upon the western shore close to the Diolcos,
and traces of it may still be seen at right angled to the shore. It has now little
depth; but it is 200 feet wide, and may be traced for about 1200 yards. It ceased
where the rocky ground begins to rise; for even the Isthmus is not a perfect level,
but rises gradually from either shore, and steeper from the eastern than the western
side. Curtius says that the highest point is 246 feet above. the level of the
sea. The existing remains of the canal leave no doubt respecting its position;
but since it was said by some authorities to commence apo tou Lechaiou, Chandler
erroneously concluded that it commenced at the port of Lechaeum. Leake, however,
has shown that the bay of the Corinthian gulf at the Isthmus bore the name of
Lechaeum, and that we are to understand the bay, and not the port, in the passages
referred to.
This extract is from: Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography (1854) (ed. William Smith, LLD). Cited June 2004 from The Perseus Project URL below, which contains interesting hyperlinks
ΚΕΓΧΡΕΑΙ (Αρχαία πόλη) ΚΟΡΙΝΘΟΣ
Kenchreai, Kenchreia, Kenchreiai, Kerchnis, Cenchreis or Cenchris.
The port of the Saronic gulf, was distant from Corinth about 70 stadia, and was
the emporium of the trade with Asia. (Strab. viii. p. 380.) This port was not
simply an artificial one, like that of Lechaeum. It is a bay protected by two
promontories on the north and south, from which the Corinthians carried out moles,
as the existing remains prove, in order to render the harbour more secure. On
a Corinthian coin of Antoninus Pius (figured below) the port of Cenchreae is represented
as inclosed between two promontories, on each of which stands a temple, and between
them at the entrance of the harbour a statue of Poseidon, holding a trident in
one hand and a dolphin in the other. This agrees with the description of Pausanias,
from whom we learn that the brazen Poseidon stood upon a rock in the sea, that
to the right of the entrance was the temple of Aphrodite, and to the left, in
the direction of the warm springs, were the sanctuaries of Asclepius and of Isis.
(Paus. ii. 2. § 3, in which passage instead of rheumati, we ought either to adopt
Leake's emendation, hermati, or else chamati.)
Cenchreae is mentioned in the history of St. Paul (Act. Apost. xviii.
18; Ep. ad Rom. xvi. 1.) It is now deserted, but it retains its name in the form
Kekhries. The ancient town, stood upon the slopes of the hill above the town,
as the numerous remains of its foundations prove. Between this hill and the heights
to the right and the left there were two small plains, through one of which ran
the road leading to Schoenus, and through the other the road leading to Corinth.
This extract is from: Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography (1854) (ed. William Smith, LLD). Cited June 2004 from The Perseus Project URL below, which contains interesting hyperlinks
ΚΛΕΩΝΑΙ (Αρχαία πόλη) ΝΕΜΕΑ
Kleonai: Eth. Kleonaios. A city in Peloponnesus, described by writers
of the Roman period as a city of Argolis, but never included in the Argeia or
territory of Argos, in the flourishing period of Greek history. Cleonae was situated
on the road from Argos to Corinth, at the distance of 120 stadia from the former
city, and 80 stadia from the latter. (Strab.viii. p.377.) The narrow pass through
the mountains, called Tretus, leading from Argos to Cleonae, is described elsewhere.
Cleonae stood in a small plain upon a river flowing into the Corinthian gulf a
little westward of Lechaeum. This river is now called Longo: its ancient name
appears to have been Langeia. In its territory was Mt. Apesas, now called Fuka,
connected with the Acro-Corinthus by a rugged range of hills. Both Strabo and
Pausanias describe Cleonae as a small place; and the former writer, who saw it
from the Acrocorinthus, says that it is situated upon a hill surrounded on all
sides by buildings, and well walled, so as to deserve the epithet given to it
by Homer (II. ii. 570):--euktimenas Kleonas. Statius also speaks of ingenti turritae
mole Cleonae. (Theb. iv. 47.) The existing ruins, though scanty, justify these
descriptions. They are found at a hamlet still called Klenes, not far from the
village Kurtesi. According to Dodwell, they occupy a circular and insulated hill,
which seems to have been completely covered with buildings. On the side of the
hill are six ancient terrace walls rising one above another, on which the houses
and streets are situated.
Cleonae possessed only a small territory. It derived its chief importance
from the Nemean games being celebrated in its territory, in the grove of Nemea,
between Cleonae and Phlius. Hence the festival is called by Pindar agon Kleonaios
(Nem. iv. 27). Hercules is said to have slain Eurytus and Cteatus, the sons of
Actor, near Cleonae; and Diodorus mentions a temple of Hercules erected in the
neighbourhood of the city in memory of that event. (Paus. v. 2. § 1, seq.; Pind.
Ol. x. 36; Diod. iv. 33.)
Cleonae is said to have derived its name either from Cleones, the
son of Pelops, or from Cleone, the daughter of the river-god Asopus. (Paus. ii.
15. § 1.) It was conquered by the Dorians, whereupon some of its inhabitants,
together with those of the neighbouring town of Phlius, are said to have founded
Clazomenae in Asia Minor. (Paus. vii. 3. § 9.) In the Dorian conquest, Cleonae
formed part of the lot of Temenus, and in early times was one of the confederated
allies or subordinates of Argos. Indeed in the historical period, Cleonae was
for the most part closely connected with Argos. After the Persian wars, the Cleonaeans
assisted the Argives in subduing Mycenae (Strab. viii.); and they fought as. the
allies of Argos at the battle of Mantineia, B.C. 418. (Thuc. v. 67.) Of their
subsequent history nothing is known, though their city is occasionally mentioned
down to the time of Ptolemy.
This text is from: Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography (1854) (ed. William Smith, LLD). Cited June 2004 from The Perseus Project URL below, which contains interesting hyperlinks
ΚΟΡΙΝΘΟΣ (Αρχαία πόλη) ΠΕΛΟΠΟΝΝΗΣΟΣ
ΚΡΟΜΜΥΩΝ (Αρχαία πόλη) ΚΟΡΙΝΘΙΑ
Krommuon, Kromuon, Cromyon, Kremmuon, Cremmyon, Eth. Krommuonios.
A village of the Corinthia on the Saronic gulf, but originally the last town of
Megaris. It was the chief place between the isthmus, properly so called, and Megara;
whence the whole of this coast was called the Crommyonia (he Krommuonia, Strab.
viii.). Crommyon was distant 120 stadia from Corinth (Thuc. iv. 45), and appears
to have therefore occupied the site of the ruins near the chapel of St. Theodorus.
The village of Kineta, which many modern travellers suppose to correspond to Crommyon,
is much further from Corinth than 120 stadia. Crommyon is said by Pausanias to
have derived its name from Crommus, the son of Poseidon. It is celebrated in mythology
as the haunt of the wild boar destroyed by Theseus. (Paus. ii. 1. § 3; Strab.
l. c.; Plut. Thes. 9; Ov. l. c.) It was taken by the Lacedaemonians in the Corinthian
War, but was recovered by Iphicrates. (Xen. Hell. iv. 4. 13, iv. 5. § 19.)
This text is from: Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography (1854) (ed. William Smith, LLD). Cited June 2004 from The Perseus Project URL below, which contains interesting hyperlinks
ΛΕΧΑΙΟΝ (Αρχαίο λιμάνι) ΚΟΡΙΝΘΙΑ
to Lechaion, Lecheae, Lecheum. The port on the Corinthian gulf connected
with the city by means of the Long Walls, 12 stadia in length. already mentioned.
(Strab. viii. p. 380; Xen. Hell. iv. 4. 17) The Long Walls ran nearly due north,
so that the wall on the right hand was called the eastern, and the one on the
left hand the western or Sicyonian. The space between them must have been considerable;
since, as we have already seen, there was sufficient space for an army to be drawn
up for battle. The flat country between Corinth and Lechaeum is composed only
of the sand washed up by the sea; and the port must have been originally artificial
(chostos limen, Dionys.), though it was no doubt rendered both spacious and convenient
by the wealthy Corinthians. The site of the port is now indicated by a lagoon,
surrounded by hillocks of sand. Lechaeum was the chief station of the Corinthian
ships of war; and during the occupation of Corinth by the Macedonians, it was
one of the stations of the royal fleet. It was also the emporium of the traffic
with the western parts of Greece, and with Italy and Sicily. The proximity of
Lechaeum to Corinth prevented it from becoming an important town like Peiraeeus.
The only public buildings in the place mentioned by Pausanias (ii. 2. § 3) was
a temple of Poseidon, who is hence called Lechaeus by Callimachus. (Del. 271.)
The temple of the Olympian Zeus was probably situated upon the low ground between
Corinth and the shore of Lechaeum. (Paus. iii. 9. § 2; Theophr. Cans. Plant. v.
14.)
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ΝΕΜΕΑ (Αρχαίο ιερό) ΚΟΡΙΝΘΙΑ
he Nemea, Ion. Nemee: Adj. Nemeios, Nemeaios, Nemeaeus. The name of
a valley in the territory of Cleonae, where Hercules slew the Nemean lion, and
where the Nemean games were celebrated every other year. It is described by Strabo
as situated between Cleonae and Phlius (viii. p. 377). The valley lies in a direction
nearly north and south, and is about two or three miles long, and from half to
three quarters of a mile in breadth. It is shut in on every side by mountains,
and is hence called by Pindar a deep vale (bathupedos, Nem. iii. 18.) There is
a remarkable mountain on the NE., called in ancient times Apesas, now Fuka, nearly
3000 feet high, with a flat summit, which is visible from Argos and Corinth. On
this mountain Perseus is said to have first sacrificed to Zeus Apesantius. (Paus.
ii. 15. § 3; Steph. B. s. v. Apesas; Stat. Theb. iii. 460, seq.) Theocritus gives
Nemea the epithet of well-watered (euudrou Nemees choros,, Theocr. xxv. 182).
Several rivulets descend from the surrounding mountains, which collect in the
plain, and form a river, which flows northward through the ridges of Apesas, and
falls into the Corinthian gulf, forming in the lower part of its source the boundary
between the territories of Sicyon and Corinth. This river also bore the name of
Nemea (Strab. viii. p. 382; Diod. xiv. 83; Liv. xxxiii. 15); but as it was dependent
for its supply of water upon the season of the year, it was sometimes called the
Nemean Charadra. (Aesch. de Fals. Leg. § 168, ed. Bekker; he Charadra, Xen. Hell.
iv. 2. 15) The mountains, which enclose the valley, have several natural caverns,
one of which, at the distance of 15 stadia from the sacred grove of Nemea, and
on the road named Tretus, from the latter place to Mycenae, was pointed out as
the cave of the Nemean lion. (Paus. ii. 15. § 2.)
The name of Nemea was strictly applied to the sacred grove in which
the games were celebrated. Like Olympia and the sanctuary at the Corinthian Isthmus,
it was not a town. The sacred grove contained only the temple, theatre, stadium,
and other monuments. There was a village in the neighbourhood called Bembina,
of which, however, the exact site is unknown. (Strab. viii. p. 377; Steph. B.
s. v.) The haunts of the Nemean lion are said to have been near Bembina. (Theocr.
xxv. 202.)
The chief building in the sacred grove was the temple of Zeus Nemeius.
the patron god of the place. When visited by Pausanias the roof had fallen, and
the statue no longer remained (ii. 15. § 2). Three columns of the temple are still
standing, amidst a vast heap of ruins. Two of these columns belonged to the pronaos,
and were placed as usual between antae; they are 4 feet 7 inches in diameter at
the base, and still support their architrave. The third column, which belonged
to the outer range, is 5 feet 3 inches in diameter at the base, and about 34 feet
high, including a capital of 2 feet. Its distance from the corresponding column
of the pronaos is 18 feet. The total height of the three members of the entablature
was 8 feet 2 inches. The general intercolumination of the peristyle was 7 feet;
at the angles, 5 feet 10 inches. From the front of the pronaos to the extremity
of the cell within, the length was 95 feet; the breadth of the cell within, 31
feet; the thickness of the walls, 3 feet. The temple was a hexastyle, of about
65 feet in breadth on the upper step of the stylobate, which consisted of three
steps: the number of columns on the sides, and consequently the length of the
temple, I could not ascertain. (Leake.) Though of the Doric order, the columns
are as slender as some of the specimens of the Ionic, and are so different from
the older Doric examples, that we ought probably to ascribe to the temple a date
subsequent to the Persian wars.
Among the other monuments in the sacred grove were the tombs of Opheltes,
and of his father Lycurgus. The former was surrounded with a stone enclosure,
and contained certain altars; the latter was a mound of earth. (Paus. ii. 15.
§ 3.) Pausanias also mentions a fountain called Adrasteia. The latter is, doubtless,
the source of water near the Turkish fountain, which is now without water. At
the foot of the mountain, to the left of this spot, are the remains of the stadium.
Between the stadium and the temple of Zeus, on the left of the path, are some
Hellenic foundations, and two. fragments of Doric columns. Near the temple are
the ruins of a small church, which contains some Doric fragments.
(Leake, Morea, vol. iii. p. 327, seq.; Curtius, Peloponnesos, vol. ii. p. 505,
seq.)
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ΟΡΝΕΙΑΙ (Αρχαία πόλη) ΝΕΜΕΑ
Orneai: Eth. Orneates. A town in the Argeia, mentioned in the Iliad
(ii 571), which is said to have derived its name from Orneus, the son of Erechtheus.
Orneae retained its ancient Cynurian inhabitants, when Argos was conquered by
the Dorians. It continued independent of Argos for a long time; but it was finally
conquered by the Argives, who removed the Orneatae to their own city. (Paus. ii.
25. § 6, viii. 27. § 1.) Thucydides mentions (v. 67) the Orneatae and Cleonaei
as allies (summachoi) of the Argives in B.C. 418; and the same historian relates
(vi. 7) that Orneae was destroyed by the Argives in B.C. 416. (Comp. Diod. xii.
81.) It might therefore be inferred that the destruction of Orneae by the Argives
in B.C. 416 is the event referred to by Pausanias. But Muller concludes from a
well-known passage of Herodotus (viii. 73) that Orneae had been conquered by Argos
long before; that its inhabitants were reduced to the condition of Perioeci; and
that all the Perioeci in the Argeia were called Orneatae from this place. But
the Orneatae mentioned by Thucydides could not have been Perioeci, since they
are called allies; and the passage of Herodotus does not require, and in fact
hardly admits of, Muller's interpretation. The Cynurians, says Herodotus, have
become Doricized by the Argives and by time, being Orneatae and Perioeci. These
words would seem clearly to mean that, while the other Cynurians became Perioeci,
the Orneatae continued independent,--an interpretation which is in accordance
with the account of Thucydides. (Muller, Aeginetica, p. 48, seq., Dorians, iii.
4. § 2; Arnold, ad Thuc. v. 67.)
With respect to the site of Orneae we learn from Pausariias (v. 25.
§ 5) that it was situated on the confines of Phliasia and Sicyonia, at the distance
of 120 stadia from Argos, being 60 stadia from Lyrceia, which was also 60 stadia
from Argos. Strabo (viii. p. 382) says that Orneae was situated on a river of
the same name above the plain of the Sicyonians; for the other passage of Strabo
(viii. p. 578), which states that Orneae lay between Corinth and Sicyon, and that
it was not mentioned by Homer, is probably an interpolation. Orneae stood on the
northern of the two roads, which led from Argos to Mantineia. This northern road
was called Climax, and followed the course of the Inachus. Ross supposes Orneae
to have been situated on the river, which flows from the south by the village
of Lionti and which helps to form the western arm of the Asopus. Leake places
it too far to the east on the direct road from Argos to Phlius.
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ΠΕΛΛΑΝΑ (Αρχαία πόλη) ΞΥΛΟΚΑΣΤΡΟ
Dor. Pellana, Pellina. Eth. Pelleneus, Pellenensis, Pellenaeus. (Tzerkovi,
nr. Zugra). A town of Achaia, and the most easterly of the twelve Achaean cities,
whose territory bordered upon that of Sicyon on the E. and upon that of Aegeira
on the W. Pellene was situated 60 stadia from the sea, upon a strongly fortified
hill, the summit of which rose into an inaccessible peak, dividing the city into
two parts. Its name was derived by the inhabitants themselves from the giant Pallas,
and by the Argives from the Argive Pellen, a son of Phorbas. (Herod. i. 145; Pol.
ii. 41; Strab. viii. p. 386; Paus. vii. 26. § § 12 - 14; Apoll. Rhod. i. 176.)
Pellene was a city of great antiquity. It is mentioned in the Homeric catalogue;
and according to a tradition, preserved by Thucydides, the inhabitants of Scione
in the peninsula of Pallene in Macedonia professed to be descended from the Achaean
Pallenians, who were driven on the Macedonian coast, on their return from Troy.
(Horn. Il. ii. 574; Thuc. iv. 120.) At the commencement of the Peloponnesian War,
Pellene was the only one of the Achaean towns which espoused the Spartan cause,
though the other states afterwards followed their example. (Thuc. ii. 9.) In the
time of Alexander the Great, Pellene fell under the dominion of one of its citizens
of the name of Chaeron, a distinguished athlete, who raised himself to the tyranny
by Alexander's assistance. (Paus. vii. 27. § 7.) In the wars which followed the
re-establishment of the Achaean League, Pellene was several times taken and re-taken
by the contending parties. (Pol. ii. 52, iv. 8, 13; Plut. Cleom. 17, Arat. 31,
32.). The buildings of Pellene are described by Pausanias (Vii. 27). Of these,
the most important were a temple of Athena, with a statue of the goddess, said
to have been one of the earlier works of Pheidias; a temple of Dionysus Lampter,
in whose honour a festival, Lampteria, was celebrated; a temple of Apollo Theoxenius,
to whom a festival, Theoxenia, was celebrated; a gymnasium, &c. Sixty stadia from
the city was the Mysaeum (Musaion), a temple of the Mysian Demeter; and near it
a temple of Asclepius, called Cyrus (Kuros): at both of these places there were
copious springs. The ruins of Pellene are situated at Zugra, and are now called
Tzesrkovi. The two temples of Mysaeum and Cyrus are placed by Leake at Trikkala,
SE. of the ancient city. (Leake, Morea, vol. iii. p. 215, Peloponnesiaca, p. 391.)
Between Aegium and Pellene, there was a village also called Pellene,
celebrated for the manufacture of a particular kind of cloaks, which were given
as prizes in the agonistic contests in the city. (Strab. viii. p. 386; Pind. Ol.
ix. 146, with Schol.; Aristoph. Av. 1421, with Schol.; Hesych. and Phot. s. v.
Pellenikai chlainai.) K. O. Muller (Dor. vol. ii. p. 430), however, questions
this second Pellene: he supposes that Strabo is describing Pellene as both citadel
and village, and he corrects the text, keitai de metaxu Aigiou kai Kullenes, instead
of Pellenes; but the context renders this conjecture improbable.
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ΣΙΔΟΥΣ (Αρχαία κωμόπολη) ΚΟΡΙΝΘΙΑ
Sidus (Sidous, Sidountias kome, Hesych.: Eth. Sidountios), a village in the Corinthia,
on the Saronic gulf, between Crommyon and Schoenus. It was taken by the Lacedaemonians
along with Crommyon in the Corinthian War, but was recovered by Iphicrates. (Xen.
Hell. iv. 4. 13, iv. 5. § 19.) It probably stood in the plain of Susaki.
ΣΤΥΜΦΑΛΟΣ (Αρχαία πόλη) ΚΟΡΙΝΘΙΑ
Stumphalos, Stumphelos, Stumphelon, Stymphalum, Stymphala, Eth. Stumphalios,
Stumphelios. The name of a town, district, mountain, and river in the NE. of Arcadia.
The territory of Stymphalus is a plain, about six miles in length, bounded by
Achaia on the N., Sicyonia and Phliasia on the E., the territory of Mantineia
on the S., and that of Orchomenus and Pheneus on the W. This plain is shut in
on all sides by mountains. On the N. rises the gigantic mass of Cyllene, from
which a projecting spur, called Mt. Stymphalus, descends into the plain. (Stumphalos
oros, Ptol. iii. 16. § 14; Hesych. s. v.; nivalis Stymphalus, Stat. Silv. iv.
6. 100.) The mountain at the southern end of the plain, opposite Cyllene, was
called Apelaurum (to Apelauron, Polyb. iv. 69) , and at its foot is the katavothra
or subterraneous outlet of the lake of Stymphalus (he Stumphalis limne, Strab.
viii. p. 371; he Stumphelie limne, Herod. vi. 76). This lake is formed partly
by the rain-water descending from Cyllene and Apelaurum, and partly by three streams
which flow into it from different parts of the plain. From the west descends a
small stream, which rises in Mount Geronteium in the neighbourhood of Kastania;
and from the east comes another stream, which rises near Dusa. But the most important
of the three streams is the one which rises on the northern side of the plain,
from a copious kefalovrysi. In summer it flows about two miles through the plain
into the katavothra of Apelaurum; but in winter it becomes almost immediately
a part of the waters of the lake, though its course may be traced through the
shallower water to the katavothra. This stream was called Stymphalus by the ancients;
it was regarded by them as the principal source of the lake, and was universally
believed to make its reappearance, after a subterranean course of 200 stadia,
as the river Erasinus in Argolis. (Herod. vi. 76; Paus. ii. 3. § 5, ii. 24. §
6, viii. 22. § 3; Strab. viii. p. 371) The Stymphalii worshipped the Erasinus
and Metope (Metope, Aelian, V. H. ii. 33), whence it has been concluded that Metope
is only another name of the river Stymphalus. Metope is also mentioned by Callimachus
(Hymn. in Jov. 26), with the epithet pebbly (polusteios), which, as Leake observes,
seems not very appropriate to a stream issuing in a body from the earth, and flowing
through a marsh. (Peloponnesiaca, p. 384.) The water, which formed the source
of the Stymphalus, was conducted to Corinth by the emperor Hadrian, by means of
an aqueduct, of which considerable remains may still be traced. The statement
of Pausanias, that in summer there is no lake, is not correct, though it is confined
at that time to a small circuit round the katavothra. As there is no outlet for
the waters of the lake except the katavothra, a stoppage of this subterraneous
channel by stones, sand, or any other substance occasions an inundation. In the
time of Pausanias there occurred such an inundation, which was ascribed to the
anger of Artemis. The water was said to have covered the plain to the extent of
400 stadia; but this number is evidently corrupt, and we ought probably to read
tessarakonta instead of tetrakosious. (Paus. viii. 22. § 8.) Strabo relates that
Iphicrates, when besieging Stymphalus without success, attempted to obstruct the
katavothra, but was diverted from his purpose by a sign from heaven (viii. p.
389). Strabo also states that originally there was no subterraneous outlet for
the waters of the lake, so that the city of the Stymphalii, which was in his time
50 stadia from the lake, was originally situated upon its margin. But this is
clearly an error, even if his statement refers to old Stymphalus, for the breadth
of the whole lake is less than 20 stadia.
The city derived its name from Stymphalus, a son of Elatus and grandson
of Areas; but the ancient city, in which Temenus, the son of Pelasgus, dwelt,
had entirely disappeared in the time of Pausanias, and all that he could learn
respecting it was, that Hera was formerly worshipped there in three different
sanctuaries, as virgin, wife, and widow The modern city lay upon the southern
edge of the lake, about a mile and a half from the katavothra, and upon a rocky
promontory connected with the mountains behind. Stymphalus is mentioned by Homer
(Il. ii. 608), and also by Pindar (Ol. vi. 169), who calls it the mother of Arcadia.
Its name does not often occur in history, and it owes its chief importance to
its being situated upon one of the most frequented routes leading to the westward
from Argolis and Corinth. It was taken by Apollonides, a general of Cassander
(Diod. xix. 63), and subsequently belonged to the Achaean League (Polyb. ii. 55,
iv. 68, &c.). In the time of Pausanias it was included in Argolis (viii. 22. §
1). The only building of the city, mentioned by Pausanias, was a temple of Artemis
Stymphalia, under the roof of which were figures of the birds Stymphalides; while
behind the temple stood statues of white marble, representing young women with
the legs and thighs of birds. These birds, so celebrated in mythology, the destruction
of which was one of the labours of Heracles, are said by Pausanias to be as large
as cranes. but resembling in form the ibis, only that they have stronger beaks,
and not crooked like those of the ibis (viii. 22. § 5). On some of the coins of
Stymphalus, they are represented exactly in accordance with the description of
Pausanias.
The territory of Stymphalus is now called the vale of Zaraka, from
a village of this name, about a mile from the eastern extremity of the lake. The
remains of the city upon the projecting cape already mentioned are more important
than the cursory notice of Pausanias would lead one to expect. They cover the
promontory, and extend as far as the fountain, which was included in the city.
On the steepest part, which appears from below like a separate hill, are the ruins
of the polygonal walls of a small quadrangular citadel. The circuit of the city
walls, with their round towers, may be traced. To the east, beneath the acropolis,
are the foundations of a temple in antis; but the most important ruins are those
on the southern side of the hill, where are numerous remains of buildings cut
out of the rock. About ten minutes N. of Stymphalus, are the ruins of the medieval
town of Kronia.
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ΤΕΝΕΑ (Αρχαία πόλη) ΚΟΡΙΝΘΙΑ
Eth. Teneates. The most important place in the Corinthia after the
city of Corinth and her port towns, was situated south of the capital, and at
the distance of 60 stadia from the latter, according to Pausanias. The southern
gate of Corinth was called the Teneatic, from its leading to Tenea. Stephanus
describes Tenea as lying between Corinth and Mycenae. The Teneatae claimed descent
from the inhabitants of Tenedos, who were brought over from Troy as prisoners,
and settled by Agamemnon in this part of the Corinthia; and they said that it
was in consequence of their Trojan origin that they worshipped Apollo above all
the other gods. (Pans. ii. 5. § 4.) Strabo also mentions here the temple of Apollo
Teneates, and says that Tenea and Tenedos had a common origin in Tennis, the son
of Cycnus. (Strab. viii. p. 380.) According to Dionysius, however, Tenea was of
late foundation. (Cic. ad Att. vi. 2. 3) It was at Tenea that Oedipus was said
to have passed his childhood. It was also from this place that Archias took the
greater number of the colonists with whom he founded Syracuse. After the destruction
of Corinth by Mummius, Tenea had the good fortune to continue undisturbed, because
it is said to have assisted the Romans against Corinth. We cannot, however, suppose
that an insignificant place like Tenea could have acted in opposition to Corinth
and the Achaean League; and it is more probable that the Teneatae were spared
by Mummius in consequence of their pretended Trojan descent and consequent affinity
with the Romans themselves. However this may be, their good fortune gave rise
to the line: eudaimon ho Korinthos, ego d eien Teneates.
Tenea lay in the mountain valley through which flows the river that
falls into the Corinthian gulf to the east of Corinth. In this valley are three
places at which vases and other antiquities have been discovered, namely, at the
two villages of Chilimodi and Klenia, both on the road to Nauplia, and the latter
at the very foot of the ancient road Contoporia, and at the village of Athiki,
an hour east of Chilimodi, on the road to Sophiko. In the fields of Athiki there
was found an ancient statue of Apollo, a striking confirmation of the prevalence
of the worship of this god in the district. The Teneatae would therefore appear
to have dwelt in scattered abodes at these three spots and in the intervening
country; but the village of Tenea, properly so called, was probably at Chilimodi,
since the distance from this place to Corinth corresponds to the 60 stadia of
Pausanias.
Since one of the passes from the Argeia into the Corinthia runs by
Klenia and Chilimodi, there can be little doubt that it was by this road that
Agesilaus marched from the Argeia to Corinth in B.C. 391. (Xen. Hell. iv. 5. 19)
In the text of Xenophon the words are ekeithen huperbalon es Korinthon, but Tnean
ought to be substituted for Tegean, since it is impossible to believe that Agesilaus
could have marched from the Argeia to Corinth by way of Tegea. Moreover, we learn
from Strabo (viii. p. 380) that the well-known name of Tegea was in other cases
substituted for that of Tenea. In the parallel passage of the Agesilaus of Xenophon
(ii. 17), the pass by Tenea is called kata ta stena.
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ΤΙΤΑΝΗ (Αρχαία πόλη) ΣΙΚΥΩΝ
Titana, Eth. Titanios. A place in the Sicyonia, upon the left bank
of the Asopus, distant 60 stadia from Sicyon, and 40 from Phlius. It was situated
upon the summit of a hill, where Titan, the brother of the Sun, is said to have
dwelt, and to have given his name to the spot. It was celebrated for a temple
of Asclepius, reported to have been built by Alexander, the son of Machaon, the
son of Asclepius. This temple still existed in the time of Pausanias, in the middle
of a grove of cypress trees, in which the servants of the god attended to the
patients who came thither for the recovery of their health. Within the temple
stood statues of Asclepius and Hygieia, and of the heroes Alexanor and Euamerion.
There was also a temple of Athena at Titane, situated upon a hill, and containing
an ancient wooden statue of the goddess. In descending from the hill there was
an altar of the Winds. (Paus. ii. 11. § § 5 - 8, ii. 12. § 1, ii. 27. § 1.) Stephanus
B. refers the Titanoio te leuka karena of Homer (Il. ii. 735) to Titane, but those
words indicate a mountain in Thessaly. The ruins of Titane were first discovered
by Ross. Leake heard that there were some ancient foundations on the summit of
the hill above Liopesi, which he supposed to be the remains of the temple of Asclepius
at Titane; but although Hellenic remains exist at this site, there can be no doubt
that Titane is represented by the more important Paleokastron situated further
S., and a few minutes N. of the village of Voivonda. This Paleokastron stands
upon a projecting spur of the mountains which run eastward towards the Asopus,
and terminate just above the river in a small hill, which is surrounded by beautiful
Hellenic walls, rising to the height of 20 or 30 ft. on the S. and SW. side, and
flanked by three or four quadrangular towers. On this hill there stands a chapel
of St. Tryphon, containing fragments of Doric columns. This was evidently the
acropolis of the ancient city, and here stood the temple of Athena mentioned by
Pausanias. The other parts of this projecting ridge are covered with ancient foundations;
and upon this part of the mountain the temple of Asclepius must have stood. (Leake,
Morea, vol. iii. p. 354, seq.; Ross, Reisen im Peloponnes, p. 49, seq.; Curtius,
Peloponnesos, vol. ii. p. 500, seq.)
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ΦΕΝΕΟΣ (Αρχαία πόλη) ΦΕΝΕΟΣ
Pheneos (Hom. Il. ii. 605); Pheneos (Steph. B. s. v.): Eth. Pheneates.
The territory (he Pheneatike, Paus.; he Pheneatis, Alciphr. iii. 48; (e Phenike,
Polyb.). A town in the NE. of Arcadia, whose territory was bounded on the N. by
that of the Achaean towns of Aegeira and Pallene, E. by the Stymphalia, W. by
the Cleitoria, and S. by the Caphyatis and Orchomenia. This territory is shut
in on every side by lofty mountains, offshoots of Mt. Cyllene and the Aroanian
chain; and it is about 7 miles in length and the same in breadth. Two streams
descend from the northern mountains, and unite their waters about the middle of
the valley; the united river is now called Foniatiko, and bore in ancient times
the name of Olbius and Aroanius. (Paus. viii. 14. § 3.) There is no opening through
the mountains on the S.; but the waters of the united river are carried off by
katavothra, or subterranean channels in the limestone rocks, and, after flowing
underground, reappear as the sources of the river Ladon. In order to convey the
waters of this river in a single channel to the katavothra, the inhabitants at
an early period constructed a canal, 50 stadia in length, and 30 feet in breadth.
(Paus. l. c.; comp. Catull. lxviii. 109.) This great work, which was attributed
to Hercules, had become useless in the time of Pausanias, and the river had resumed
its ancient and irregular course; but traces of the canal of Hercules are still
visible, and one bank of it was a conspicuous object in the valley when it was
visited by Lake in the year 1.806. The canal of Hercules, however, could not protect
the valley from the danger to which it was exposed, in consequence of the katavothra
becoming obstructed, and the river finding no outlet for its waters. The Pheneatae
related that their city was once destroyed by such an inundation, and in proof
of it they pointed out upon the mountains the marks of the height to which the
water was said to have ascended. (Pans. viii. 14. § 1.) Pausanias evidently refers
to the yellow border which is still visible upon the mountains and around the
plain: but in consequence of the great height of this line upon the rocks, it
is difficult to believe it to be the mark of the ancient depth of water in the
plain, and it is more probably caused by evaporation, as Leake has suggested;
the lower parts of the rock being constantly moistened, while the upper are in
a state of comparative dryness, thus producing a difference of colour in process
of time. It is, however, certain that the Pheneatic plain has been exposed more
than once to such inundations. Pliny says that the calamity had occurred five
times (xxxi. 5. s. 30); and Eratosthenes related a memorable instance of such
an inundation through the obstruction of the katavothra, when, after they were
again opened, the water rushing into the Ladon and the Alpheius overflowed the
banks of those rivers at Olympia. (Strab. viii. p. 389.)
The account of Eratosthenes has been confirmed by a similar occurrence
in modern times. In 1821 the katavothra became obstructed, and the water continued
to rise in the plain till it had destroyed 7 or 8 square miles of cultivated country.
Such was its condition till 1832, when the subterraneous channels again opened,
the Ladon and Alpheius overflowed, and the plain of Olympia was inundated. Other
ancient writers allude to the katavothra and subterraneous course of the river
of Pheneus. (Theophr. Hist. Plant. iii. 1; Diod. xv. 49.)
Pheneus is mentioned by Homer (Il. ii. 605), and was more celebrated
in mythical than in historical times. Virgil (Aen. viii. 165) represents it as
the residence of Evander; and its celebrity in mythical times is indicated by
its connection with Hercules. Pausanias found the city in a state of complete
decay. The acropolis contained a ruined temple of Atliena Tritonia, with a brazen
statue of Poseidon Hippius. On the descent from the acropolis was the stadium;
and on a neighbouring hill, the sepulchre of Iphicles, the brother of Hercules.
There was also a temple of Hermes, who was the principal deity of the city. (Paus.
viii. 14. § 4, seq.)
The lower slope of the mountain, upon which the remains of Pheneus
stand, is occupied by a village now called Fonia. There is, however, some difficulty
in the description of Pausanias compared with the existing site. Pausanias says
that the acropolis was precipitous on every side, and that only a small part of
it was artificially fortified; but the summit of the insulated hill, upon which
the remains of Pheneus are found, is too small apparently for the acropolis of
such an important city, and moreover it has a regular slope, though a very rugged
surface. Hence Leake supposes that the whole of this hill formed the acropolis
of Pheneus, and that the lower town was in a part of the subjacent plain; but
the entire hill is not of that precipitous kind which the description of Pausanias
would lead one to suppose, and it is not impossible that the acropolis may have
been on some other height in the neighbourhood, and that the hill on which the
ancient remains are found may have been part of the lower city.
There were several roads from Pheneus to the surrounding towns. Of
these the northern road to Achaia ran through the Pheneatic plain. Upon this road,
at the distance of 15 stadia from the city, was a temple of Apollo Pythius, which
was in ruins in the time of Pausanias. A little above the temple the road divided,
the one to the left leading across Mt. Crathis to Aegeira, and the other to the
right running to Pellene: the boundaries of Aegeira and Pheneus were marked by
a temple of Artemis Pyronia, and those of Pellene and Pheneus by that which is
called Porinas ho kaloumenos Porinas), supposed by Leake to be a river, but by
Curtius a rock. (Paus. viii. 15. § § 5-9.)
On the left of the Pheneatic plain is a great mountain, now called
Tiurtovana, but which is not mentioned by Pausanias. He describes, however, the
two roads which led westward from Pheneus around this mountain,--that to the right
or NW. leading to Nonacris and the river Styx, and that to the left to Cleitor.
(Paus. viii. 17. § 6.) Nonacris was in the territory of Pheneus. The road to Cleitor
ran at first along the canal of Hercules, and then crossed the mountain, which
formed the natural boundary between the Pheneatis and Cleitoria, close to the
village of Lycuria, which still bears its ancient name. On the other side of the
mountain the road passed by the sources of the river Ladon. (Paus. viii. 19. §
4, 20. § 1.) This mountain, from which the Ladon springs, was called Penteleta
(Penteleia, Hesych. and Phot. s. v.) The fortress, named Penteleium (Penteleion),
which Plutarch says was near Pheneus, must have been situated upon this mountain.
(Plut. Arat. 39, Cleom. 17.)
The southern road from Pheneus led to Orchomenus, and was the way
by which Pausanias came to the former city. The road passed from the Orchomenian
plain to that of Pheneus through a narrow ravine (pharanx); in the middle of which
was a fountain of water, and at the further extremity the village of Caryae. The
mountains on either side were named Oryxis (Oruxis), and Sciathis (Skiathis),
and at the foot of either was a subterraneous channel, which carried off the water
from the plain. (Paus. viii. 13. § 6, 14. § 1.) This ravine is now called Gioza,
from a village of this name, which occupies the site of Caryae. The mountains
on either side are evidently the Oryxis and Sciathis of Pausanias, and at the
foot of either there is a katavothra, as he has remarked. The eastern road from
Pheneus led to Stymphalus, across Mt. Geronteium (now Skipezi), which formed the
boundary between the territories of the two cities. To the left of Mt. Geronteium
near the road was a mountain called Tricrena (Trikrena), or the three fountains;
and near the latter was another mountain called Sepia (Sepia), where Aepytus is
said to have perished from the bite of a snake (Paus. viii. 16. § § 1, 2.)
This text is from: Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography (1854) (ed. William Smith, LLD). Cited June 2004 from The Perseus Project URL below, which contains interesting hyperlinks
ΦΛΙΟΥΣ (Αρχαία πόλη) ΝΕΜΕΑ
Eth. Phliasios, the territory Phliasia. An independent city in the
north-eastern part of Peloponnesus, whose territory was bounded on the N. by Sicyonia,
on the W. by Arcadia, on the E. by Cleonae, and on the S. by Argolis. This territory
is a small valley about 900 feet above the level of the sea, surrounded by mountains,
from which streams flow down on every side, joining the river Asopus in the middle
of the plain. The mountain in the southern part of the plain, from which the principal
source of the Asopus springs, was called Carneates (Karneates) in antiquity, now
Polyfengo. (Strab. viii. p. 382.) The territory of Phlius was celebrated in antiquity
for its wine. (Athen. i. p. 27, d.) According to Strabo (viii. p. 382), the ancient
capital of the country was Araethyrea (Araithurea) on Mt. Celosse, which city
is mentioned by Homer (Il. ii. 571); but the inhabitants subsequently deserted
it and built Phlius at the distance of 30 stadia. Pausanias (ii. 12. § § 4, 5),
however, does not speak of any migration, but says that the ancient capital was
named Arantia (Arantia), from its founder Aras, an autochthon, that it was afterwards
called Araethyrea from a daughter of Aras, and that it finally received the name
of Phlius, from Phlias, a son of Ceisus and grandson of Temenus. The name of Arantia
was retained in the time of Pausanias in the hill Arantinus, on which the city
stood. Hence the statement of grammarians that both Arantia and Araethyrea were
ancient names of Phlius. (Steph. B. s. vv. Phlious, Arantia; Schol. ad Apoll.
Rhod. i. 115.) According to Stephanus B. (s. v. Phlious) Phlius derived its name
from Dionysus and Chthonophyle. Phlius was subsequently conquered by Dorians under
Rhegnidas, who came from Sicyon. Some of the inhabitants migrated to Samos, others
to Clazomenae; among the settlers at Samos was Hippasus, from whom Pythagoras
derived his descent. (Paus. ii. 13. § 1, seq.) Like most of the other Doric states,
Phlius was governed by an aristocracy, though it was for a time subject to a tyrant
Leon, a contemporary of Pythagoras. (Diog. Laert. i. 12, viii. 8; Cic. Tusc. v.
3) Phlius sent 200 soldiers to Thermopylae (Herod. vii. 202), and 1000 to Plataea
(ix. 28). Daring the whole of the Peloponnesian War it remained faithful to Sparta
and hostile to Argos. (Thuc. v. 57, seq., vi. 105.) But before B.C. 393 a change
seems to have taken place in the government, for in that year we find some of
the citizens in exile who professed to be the friends of the Lacedaemonians. The
Phliasians, however, still continued faithful to Sparta) and received a severe
defeat from Iphicrates in the year already mentioned. So much were they weakened
by this blow that they were obliged to admit a Lacedaemonian garrison within their
walls, which they had been unwilling to do before, lest their allies should restore
the exiles. But the Lacedaemonians did not betray the confidence placed in them,
and quitted the city without making any change in the government. (Xen. Hell.
iv. 4. 15, seq.) Ten years afterwards (B.C. 383) the exiles induced the Spartan
government to espouse their cause; and with the fate of Mantineia before their
eyes, the Phliasians thought it more prudent to comply with the request of the
Spartans, and received the exiles. (Xen. Hell. v. 2. 8, seq.) But disputes arising
between returned exiles and those who were in possession of the government, the
former again appealed to Sparta, and Agesilaus was sent with an army in B.C. 380
to reduce the city. At this period Phlius contained 5000 citizens. Agesilaus laid
siege to the city, which held out for a year and eight months. It was at length
obliged to surrender through failure of provisions in B.C. 379; and Agesilaus
appointed a council of 100 members (half from the exiles and half from the besieged),
with powers of life and death over the citizens, and authorised to frame a new
constitution. (Xen. Hell. v. 3. 10, seq.; Plut. Ages. 24; Diod. xv. 20.) From
this time the Phliasians remained faithful to Sparta throughout the whole of the
Theban War, though they had to suffer much from the devastation of their territory
by their hostile neighbours. The Argives occupied and fortified Tricaranum above
Phlius, and the Sicyonians Thyamia on the Sicyonian frontier. (Xen. Hell. vii.
2. 1) In B.C. 368 the city was nearly taken by the exiles, who no doubt belonged
to the democratical party, and had been driven into exile after the capture of
the city by Agesilaus. In this year a body of Arcadians and Eleians, who were
marching through Nemea to join Epaminondas at the Isthmus, were persuaded by the
Phliasian exiles to assist them in capturing the city. During the night the exiles
stole to the foot of the Acropolis; and in the morning when the scouts stationed
by the citizens on the hill Tricaranum announced that the enemy were in sight,
the exiles seized the opportunity to scale the Acropolis, of which they obtained
possession. They were, however, repulsed in their attempt to force their way into
the town, and were eventually obliged to abandon the citadel also. The Arcadians
and Argives were at the same time repulsed from the walls. (Xen. Hell. vii. 2.
5--9) In the following year Phlius was exposed to a still more formidable attack
from the Theban commander at Sicyon, assisted by Euphron, tyrant of that city.
The main body of the army descended from Tricaranum to the Heraeum which stood
at the foot of the mountain, in order to ravage the Phliasian plain. At the same
time a detachment of Sicyonians and Pellenians were posted NE. of the Acropolis
before the Corinthian gate. to hinder the Phliasians from attacking them in their
rear. But the main body of the troops was repulsed; and being unable to join the
detachment of Sicyonians and Pallenians in consequence of a ravine (Pharanx),
the Phliasians attacked and defeated them with loss. (Xen. Hell. vii. 2. 11, seq.)
After the death of Alexander, Phlius, like many of the other Peloponnesian
cities, became subject to tyrants; but upon the organisation of the Achaean League
by Aratus, Cleonymus, who was then tyrant of Phlius, voluntarily resigned his
power, and the city joined the league. (Polyb. ii. 44.)
Phlius is celebrated in the history of literature as the birthplace
of Pratinas, the inventor of the Satyric drama, and who contended with Aeschylus
for the prize at Athens. In the agora of Phlius was the tomb of Aristias, the
son of Pratinas. (Paus. ii. 13. § 6.)
Pausanias says that on the Acropolis of Phlius was a temple of Hebe
or Ganymeda, in a cypress grove, which enjoyed the right of asylum. (Comp. Strab.
viii. p. 382.) There was also a temple of Demeter on the Acropolis. On descending
from the citadel there stood on the right a temple of Asclepius, and below it
the theatre and another temple of Demeter. In the agora there were also other
public buildings. (Paus. ii. 13. § 3, seq.) The principal place at present in
the Phliasia is the village of St. George, situated at the southern foot of Tricaranum,
a mountain with three summits, which bounds the plain to the NE. The ruins of
Phlius are situated three quarters of an hour further west, on one of the spurs
of Tricaranum, above the right bank of the Asopus. They are of considerable extent,
but present little more than foundations. On the south-western slope of the height
stands the church of our Lady of the Hill (Eanagia Hpachiotissa), from which the
whole spot is now called s ten Hpachiotissan. It probably occupies the site of
the temple of Asclepius. Ross found here the remains of several Doric pillars.
Five stadia from the town on the Asopus are some ruins, which Ross considers to
be those of Celeae (Keleai), where Demeter was worshipped. (Paus. ii. 14. § 1.)
Leake supposed Phlius to be represented by some ruins on the western side of the
mountain, now called Polyfengo; but these are more correctly assigned by Ross
to the ancient city of Araethyrea; and their distance from those already described
corresponds to the 30 stadia which, according to Strabo, was the distance from
Araethyrea to Phlius.
On Mt. Tricaranum are the remains of a small Hellenic fortress called
Paleokastron, which is probably the fortress erected by the Argives on this mountain.
(Xen. Hell. vii. 2. 1, 5, 11, 13; Dem. Megal. p. 206; Harpocrat. s. v. Trikaranon;
Steph. B. s. v. Trikarana.) Thyamia, which the Sicyonians fortified, as already
narrated (Xen. Hell. vii. 2. 1), is placed by Ross on the lofty hill of Spiria,
the northern prolongation of Tricaranum, between the villages Stimanga and Skrapani;
on the summit are the remains of a large round tower, probably built by the Franks
or Byzantines. In the southern part of the Phliasia is the Dioscurion (Dioskourion),
which is mentioned only by Polybius (iv. 67, 68, 73), and which lay on the road
from Corinth over the mountain Apelauron into the Stymphalia.
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Araethyrea (Araithurea), the ancient capital of Phliasia, is said by Pausanias to have been originally named Arantia (Arantia), after Aras, its founder, and to have been called Araethyrea after a daughter of Aras of this name. The name of its founder was retained in the time of Pausanias in the hill Arantinus, on which it stood. Homer mentions Araethyrea. (Horn. Il. ii. 571; Strab. viii. p. 382; Paus. ii. 12. § § 4, 5.) We learn from Strabo that its inhabitants quitted Araethyrea, and founded Phlius, at the distance of 30 stadia from the former town. Hence the statement of the grammarians, that Araethyrea and Arantia were both ancient names of Phlius. (Steph. B. s. vv. Phlious, Arantia; Schol. ad Apoll. Rhod. i. 115.) Ross supposes the ruins on Mt. Polyfengo to be those of Araethyrea. Leake had erroneously supposed them to be the ruins of Phlius. (Ross, Reisen im Peloponnes, vol. i. p. 27, seq.; Leake, Morea, vol. iii. p. 339, seq.)
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ΑΚΡΟΚΟΡΙΝΘΟΣ (Κάστρο) ΚΟΡΙΝΘΟΣ
A high hill overhanging the city of Corinth, on which was erected a citadel, called also by the same name. This situation was so important a one as to be styled by Philip the fetters of Greece.
ΑΣΩΠΟΣ (Ποταμός) ΚΟΡΙΝΘΙΑ
A river of Achaea flowing into the Corinthian Gulf near Sicyon.
ΙΣΘΜΟΣ ΚΟΡΙΝΘΟΥ (Ισθμός) ΛΟΥΤΡΑΚΙ ΠΕΡΑΧΩΡΑΣ
An isthmus between the Saronicus Sinus and Corinthiacus
Sinus, and uniting the Peloponnesus to the northern parts of Greece. Its breadth,
in the narrowest part, was less than six miles (or not quite five miles). It
has lately (1893) been cut by a canal. Ships were drawn, by means of machinery,
from one sea to the other, near the town of Schoenus, over the narrowest part
of the isthmus, which was called Diolkos. This could only be accomplished, however,
with the vessels usually employed in commerce, or with lemboi, which were light
ships of war, chiefly used by the Illyrians and Macedonians. The tediousness
and expense attending this process, and still more probably the difficulty of
circumnavigating the Peloponnesus, led to frequent attempts, at various periods,
for effecting a junction between the two seas; but all proved equally unsuccessful.
Demetrius Poliorcetes abandoned the enterprise, because it was found that the
two gulfs were not on the same level. We read of the attempt having been made
before his time by Periander and Alexander, and, subsequently to Demetrius,
by Iulius Caesar, Caligula, Nero, and Herodes Atticus. Dio Cassius tells nearly
the same story about digging through the isthmus as that which is related to
travellers at this day. He says that blood issued from the ground; that groans
and lamentations were heard, and terrible apparitions seen. In order to stimulate
the perseverance of the people, Nero took a spade and dug himsel . Lucian informs
us, that Nero was said to have been deterred from proceeding, by a representation
made to him, similar to that which Demetrius received respecting the unequal
levels of the two seas. The Isthmus of Corinth derived great celebrity from
the games which were celebrated there every five years in honour of Palaemon
or Melicerta, and subsequently of Poseidon. These continued in vogue when the
other gymnastic exercises of Greece had fallen into neglect and disuse; and
it was during their solemnization that the independence of Greece was proclaimed,
after the victory of Cynoscephalae, by order of the Roman Senate and people.
After the destruction of Corinth, the superintendence of the Isthmian Games
was committed to the Sicyonians by the Romans; on its restoration, however,
by Iulius Caesar, the presidency of the games again reverted to the Corinthian
settlers.
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ΚΕΓΧΡΕΑΙ (Αρχαία πόλη) ΚΟΡΙΝΘΟΣ
The eastern harbour of Corinth on the Saronic Gulf, important for its trade and commerce with the East.
ΚΟΡΙΝΘΟΣ (Αρχαία πόλη) ΠΕΛΟΠΟΝΝΗΣΟΣ
A famous city of Greece, situated on the isthmus of the same
name. Commanding by its position the Ionian and the Aegean seas, and holding,
as it were, the keys of the Peloponnesus, Corinth, from the pre-eminent advantages
of its situation, was already the seat of opulence and the arts, while the rest
of Greece was sunk in comparative obscurity and barbarism. Its origin is, of
course, obscure; but we are assured that it already existed under the name of
Ephure before the siege of Troy. According to the assertions of the Corinthians
themselves, their city received its name from Corinthus, the son of Zeus; but
Pausanias does not credit this popular tradition, and cites the poet Eumelus
to show that the appellation was really derived from Corinthus, the son of Marathon.
Homer certainly employs both names indiscriminately. Pausanias reports that
the descendants of Sisyphus reigned at Corinth until the invasion of their territory
by the Dorians and the Heraclidae, when Doridas and Hyanthidas, the last princes
of this race, abdicated the crown in favour of Aletes, a descendant of Heracles,
whose lineal successors remained in possession of the throne of Corinth during
five generations, when the crown passed into the family of the Bacchiadae, so
named from Bacchis, the son of Prumnis, who retained it for five other generations.
After this the sovereign power was transferred to annual magistrates, still
chosen, however, from the line of the Bacchiadae, with the title of prutaneis.
The oligarchy so long established by this rich and powerful
family was at length overthrown, about B.C. 629, by Cypselus, who banished many
of the Corinthians, depriving others of their possessions, and putting others
to death. Among those who fled from his persecution was Demaratus, of the family
of the Bacchiadae, who settled at Tarquinii in Etruria, and whose descendants
beame sovereigns of Rome. The reign of Cypselus was prosperous, and the system
of colonization, which had previously succeeded so well in the settlements of
Corcyra and Syracuse, was actively pursued by that prince, who added Ambracia,
Anactorium, and Leucas to the maritime dependencies of the Corinthians.
Cypselus was succeeded by his son Periander. On the death
of this latter (B.C. 585), after a reign of forty-four years, according to Aristotle,
his nephew Psammetichus came to the throne, but lived only three years. At his
decease Corinth regained its independence, when a moderate aristocracy was established,
under which the Republic enjoyed a state of tranquillity and prosperity unequalled
by any other city of Greece. We are told by Thucydides that the Corinthians
were the first to build war-galleys or triremes; and the earliest naval engagement,
according to the same historian, was fought by their fleet and that of the Corcyreans,
who had been alienated from their mother-State by the cruelty and impolicy of
Periander. The city is believed to have had at this time a population of 300,000
souls.
The arts of painting and sculpture, more especially that
of casting in bronze, attained to the highest perfection at Corinth, and rendered
this city the ornament of Greece, until it was stripped by the rapacity of a
Roman general. Such was the beauty of its vases, that the tombs in which they
had been deposited were ransacked by the Roman colonists whom Iulius Caesar
had established there after the destruction of the city; and these, being transported
to Rome, were purchased at enormous prices.
When the Achaean League became involved in a destructive
war with the Romans, Corinth was the last hold of their tottering Republic;
and had its citizens wisely submitted to the offers proposed by the victorious
Metellus, it might have been preserved; but the deputation of that general having
been treated with scorn and even insult, the city became exposed to all the
vengeance of the Romans L. Mummius, the consul, appeared before its walls with
a numerous army, and after defeating the Achaeans in a general engagement, entered
the town, now left without defence and deserted by the greater part of the inhabitants.
It was then given up to plunder and finally set on fire; the walls also were
razed to the ground, so that scarcely a vestige of this once great and noble
city remained (B.C. 146). Polybius, who saw its destruction, affirmed that he
had seen the finest paintings strewed on the ground, and the Roman soldiers
using them as boards for dice or draughts. Pausanias reports that all the men
were put to the sword, the women and children sold, and the most valuable statues
and paintings removed to Rome. Strabo observes that the finest works of art
which adorned that capital in his time had come from Corinth. He likewise states
that Corinth remained for many years deserted and in ruins. Iulius Caesar, however,
not long before his death, sent a numerous colony thither, by means of which
Corinth was once more raised from its state of ruin, and renamed Colonia Iulia
Corinthus. It was already a large and populous city and the capital of Achaia,
when St. Paul preached the Gospel there for a year and six months. It is also
evident that when visited by Pausanias it was thickly adorned by public buildings
and enriched with numerous works of art, and as late as the time of Hierocles
we find it styled the metropolis of Greece. In a later age the Venetians received
the place from a Greek emperor; Mohammed II. took it from them in 1458; the
Venetians recovered it in 1699, and fortified the Acrocorinthus again; but the
Turks took it anew in 1715, and retained it until driven from the Peloponnesus
in 1822. In 1858, it was wholly destroyed by an earthquake, since which time
it has been rebuilt upon a site three miles to the northeast.
An important feature of the scenery around Corinth was the
Acrocorinthus, a mention of which has been made in a previous article. On the
summit of this hill was erected a temple of Aphrodite, to whom the whole of
the Acrocorinthus, in fact, was sacred. In the times of Corinthian opulence
and prosperity, it is said that the shrine of the goddess was attended by no
less than one thousand female slaves, dedicated to her service as courtesans.
These priestesses of Aphrodite contributed not a little to the wealth and luxury
of the city, whence arose the well-known expression, ou pantos andros eis Korinthon
est ho plous, or, as Horace expresses it, "Non cuivis homini contingit
adire Corinthum," in allusion to its expensive pleasures.
Corinth was famed for its three harbours--Lechaeum, on the
Corinthian Gulf, and Cenchreae and Schoenus, on the Saronic. Near this last
was the Diolkos, where vessels were transported over the isthmus by machinery.
The city was the birthplace of the painters Ardices, Cleophantus, and Cleanthes;
of the statesmen Periander, Phidon, Philolaus, and Timoleon; and of Arion, who
invented the dithyramb.
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ΚΥΛΛΗΝΗ (Βουνό) ΚΟΡΙΝΘΙΑ
The highest mountain in the Peloponnesus, on the frontiers of Arcadia and Achaia, sacred to Hermes, who had a temple on the summit, was said to have been born there, and was hence called Cyllenius.
ΝΕΜΕΑ (Αρχαίο ιερό) ΚΟΡΙΝΘΙΑ
((Nemea) or Nemee (Nemee). A valley in Argolis between Cleonae and Phlius, celebrated in mythical story as the place where Heracles slew the Nemean lion. In this valley there was a splendid temple of Zeus Nemeus surrounded by a sacred grove, in which the Nemean Games were celebrated every other year.
ΟΡΝΕΙΑΙ (Αρχαία πόλη) ΝΕΜΕΑ
An ancient town of Argolis, near the frontier of the territory of Phlius, subdued by the Argives in the Peloponnesian War, B.C. 418.
ΠΕΛΛΑΝΑ (Αρχαία πόλη) ΞΥΛΟΚΑΣΤΡΟ
The most easterly of the twelve cities of Achaia, near the frontiers of Sicyonia, and situated on a hill sixty stadia from the city. The inhabitants of the peninsula of Pallene, in Macedonia, professed to be descended from the Pellenaeans in Achaia, who were shipwrecked on the Macedonian coast on their return from Troy.
ΣΙΚΥΩΝΙΑ (Αρχαία περιοχή) ΚΟΡΙΝΘΙΑ
A small district in the northeast of the Peloponnesus, whose
area was probably somewhat less than one hundred square miles. It consisted
of a plain near the sea with mountains in the interior. Its rivers, which ran
in a northeasterly direction, were Sythas on the frontier of Achaia, Helisson,
Selleis, and Asopus in the interior, and Nemea on the frontier of the territory
of Corinth. The land was fertile, and produced excellent oil. Its almonds and
its fish were also much prized.
Its chief town was Sicyon (Sikuon, "cucumbertown"),
which was situated a little to the west of the river Asopus. The ancient city,
which was situated in the plain, was destroyed by Demetrius Poliorcetes, and
a new city, which bore for a short time the name of Demetrius, was built by
him on the high ground close to the Acropolis. The harbour, which, according
to some, was connected with the city by means of long walls, was well fortified,
and formed a town of itself. Sicyon was one of the most ancient cities of Greece.
It is said to have been originally called Aegialea or Aegiali (Aigialeia, Aigialoi),
after an ancient king, Aegialeus; to have been subsequently named Mecone (Mekone,
"poppy-town"), and to have been finally called Sicyon from an Athenian
of that name. Sicyon is represented by Homer as forming part of the empire of
Agamemnon; but on the invasion of Peloponnesus it became subject to Phalces,
the son of Temenus, and was henceforward a Dorian State. The ancient inhabitants,
however, were formed into a fourth tribe called Aegialeis, which possessed equal
rights with the three tribes of the Hylleis, Pamphyli, and Dymanatae, into which
the Dorian conquerors were divided. Sicyon, on account of the small extent of
its territory, never attained much political importance, and was generally dependent
either on Argos or Sparta. At the time of the Second Messenian War it became
subject to a succession of tyrants, who administered their power with moderation
and justice for a hundred years. The first of these tyrants was Andreas, who
began to rule B.C. 676. He was followed in succession by Myron, Aristonymus,
and Clisthenes, on whose death, about 576, a republican form of government was
established. Clisthenes had no male children, but only a daughter, Agariste,
who was married to the Athenian Megacles. In the Persian Wars the Sicyonians
sent fifteen ships to the battle of Salamis, and three hundred hoplites to the
battle of Plataea. In the interval between the Persian and the Peloponnesian
Wars the Sicyonians were twice defeated and their country laid waste by the
Athenians, first under Tolmides in 456, and again under Pericles in 454. In
the Peloponnesian War they took part with the Spartans. From this time till
the Macedonian supremacy their history requires no special mention; but in the
middle of the third century Sicyon took an active part in public affairs in
consequence of its being the native town of Aratus, who united it to the Achaean
League in 251. Under the Romans it gradually declined; and in the time of Pausanias,
in the second century of the Christian era, many of its public buildings were
in ruins. These ruins have been of late carefully studied by the members of
the American School at Athens, who have excavated the tiers of seats and supports
of the stage of a theatre. The position of the Acropolis, the temple of the
Dioscuri, and the Stadium can also still be traced.
Sicyon was for a long time the chief seat of Grecian art.
It gave its name to one of the great schools of painting, which was founded
by Eupompus, and which produced Pamphilus and Apelles. It is also said to have
been the earliest school of statuary in Greece, which was introduced into Sicyon
by Dipoenus and Scyllis from Crete about 560; but its earliest native artist
of celebrity was Canachus. Lysippus was also a native of Sicyon.
This text is cited Sep 2002 from The Perseus Project URL below, which contains interesting hyperlinks
ΣΤΥΜΦΑΛΟΣ (Αρχαία πόλη) ΚΟΡΙΝΘΙΑ
A town in the northeast of Arcadia, the territory of which
was bounded on the north by Achaia, on the east by Sicyonia and Phliasia, on
the south by the territory of Mantinea, and on the west by that of Orchomenus
and Pheneus. The town itself was situated on a mountain of the same name, and
on the north side of Lake Stymphalis (Zaraka), on which dwelt, according to
tradition, the celebrated birds, called Stymphalides, destroyed by Heracles.
This text is cited Sep 2002 from The Perseus Project URL below, which contains interesting hyperlinks
ΣΧΟΙΝΟΥΣ (Αρχαίο λιμάνι) ΛΟΥΤΡΑΚΙ ΠΕΡΑΧΩΡΑΣ
A harbour of Corinth at the narrowest part of the Isthmus.
ΦΕΝΕΟΣ (Αρχαία πόλη) ΦΕΝΕΟΣ
An ancient town in the northeast of Arcadia, at the foot of Mount Cyllene.
ΦΛΙΟΥΣ (Αρχαία πόλη) ΝΕΜΕΑ
The chief town of a small province in the northeast of Peloponnesus, whose territory, Phliasia, was bounded by Sicyonia, Arcadia, and Argos. It was usually allied with Sparta, and under Cleonymus joined the Achaete.
ΚΟΡΙΝΘΙΑ (Αρχαία περιοχή) ΠΕΛΟΠΟΝΝΗΣΟΣ
ΙΣΘΜΙΑ (Αρχαίο ιερό) ΛΟΥΤΡΑΚΙ ΠΕΡΑΧΩΡΑΣ
ΙΣΘΜΟΣ ΚΟΡΙΝΘΟΥ (Ισθμός) ΛΟΥΤΡΑΚΙ ΠΕΡΑΧΩΡΑΣ
ΚΟΡΙΝΘΟΣ (Αρχαία πόλη) ΠΕΛΟΠΟΝΝΗΣΟΣ
Corinthos, Ephyraea, Korinth, Korinthos, Korinthians
ΚΡΟΜΜΥΩΝ (Αρχαία πόλη) ΚΟΡΙΝΘΙΑ
ΚΟΡΙΝΘΙΑ (Αρχαία περιοχή) ΠΕΛΟΠΟΝΝΗΣΟΣ
ΛΙΜΝΗ ΒΟΥΛΙΑΓΜΕΝΗΣ ΛΟΥΤΡΑΚΙΟΥ (Λιμνοθάλασσα) ΛΟΥΤΡΑΚΙ ΠΕΡΑΧΩΡΑΣ
Near the W end of the promontory is Lake Eschatiotis (modern Vouliagmene) along whose W shore there are remains of an ancient road that Swings W past a 4th c. B.C. fountain-house and through the town of Heraion. Below and N of the fortified acropolis are foundations of archaic and Classical houses.
ΠΕΛΛΑΝΑ (Αρχαία πόλη) ΞΥΛΟΚΑΣΤΡΟ
Total results on 19/4/2001: 108 for Pellene, 1 for Pallenians, 7 for Pellenian, 10 for Pellenians.
ΠΕΝΤΕΣΚΟΥΦΙ (Κάστρο) ΚΟΡΙΝΘΟΣ
Total results on 3/7/2001: 4
ΤΕΝΕΑ (Αρχαία πόλη) ΚΟΡΙΝΘΙΑ
Total results: 23 Tenea, 1 Teneans, 1 Tenean
ΑΝΘΗΔΟΣ (Αρχαίο λιμάνι) ΣΟΛΥΓΕΙΑ
Anthedos, a port on the Saronic Gulf, is named only by Pliny (HN 4.5)
in a list of significant coastal toponyms: the Spiraion promontory and the ports
Anthedos, Boukephalos, and Kenchreai. The progression in the list is from S to
N. The narrow cove at the mouth of the Sellondas river (ancient Sellanys) on the
S side of the Bay of Sophikon is the probable location of the harbor.
J. R. Wiseman, ed.
This text is from: The Princeton encyclopedia of classical sites,
Princeton University Press 1976. Cited Nov 2002 from
Perseus Project URL below, which contains bibliography & interesting hyperlinks.
ΑΣΑΙ (Αρχαία πόλη) ΚΟΡΙΝΘΙΑ
Theopompos (apud Steph. Byz., s.v. Asai) recorded that Asai and Mausos
were large and populous towns. The ancient name of the former may be reflected
in the name of the modern town of Assos on the Corinthian Gulf not far W of Corinth.
A large ancient site, occupied at least from the 6th c. B.C. to the 5th-6th c.
A.D., which is located ca. one km S of Assos near a Church of Haghios Charalambos.
A Roman bath was excavated there in the 1950s and extensive remains of walls of
houses and larger buildings as well as poros sarcophagi can be seen in the vicinity.
J. R. Wiseman, ed.
This text is from: The Princeton encyclopedia of classical sites,
Princeton University Press 1976. Cited Nov 2002 from
Perseus Project URL below, which contains 89 image(s), bibliography & interesting hyperlinks.
ΑΣΠΙΣ (Νησάκι) ΚΟΡΙΝΘΟΣ
Aspis. An island in the Saronic Gulf. A well-preserved mediaeval castle crowns
the sloping ridge that runs the length of the island, and remains are also known
of the Mycenaean (Late Helladic III C) to late Roman times. The island is named
by Pliny (HN 4.57) who locates it 7 (Roman) miles from Kenchreai. The Athenian
fleet must have anchored there briefly after the battle of Solygia in 425 B.C.
while heralds were sent back to recover the only two Athenian casualties of the
engagement before sailing to Krommyon
J. B. Wiseman, ed.
This text is from: The Princeton encyclopedia of classical sites,
Princeton University Press 1976. Cited Nov 2002 from
Perseus Project URL below, which contains bibliography & interesting hyperlinks.
ΒΟΥΚΕΦΑΛΟΣ (Αρχαίο λιμάνι) ΚΟΡΙΝΘΟΣ
Named both by Pliny (HN 4.5) and the geographer Ptolemy (3.16.12)
as the next port S of Kenchreai on the Saronic coast of the Corinthia. Herodianus
(Pros. 2) has an entry for Boukephalos as a harbor of Argolis and the name of
the horse given to Alexander the Great by the Corinthian Demaratus. The Corinthian
port is probably the broad, deep-water harbor now called Frankolimano at the SE
edge of the Bay of Kenchreai opposite the island known in antiquity as Aspis.
J. R. Wiseman, ed.
This text is from: The Princeton encyclopedia of classical sites,
Princeton University Press 1976. Cited Nov 2002 from
Perseus Project URL below, which contains bibliography & interesting hyperlinks.
ΔΕΡΒΕΝΑΚΙΑ (Οικισμός) ΝΕΜΕΑ
One of the most important passes leading S from the Corinthia (Polyb.
16.16.4-5). Ptolemy Euergetes recorded that he drank from a spring "colder
than snow" at the top of the pass although his soldiers were afraid of being
frozen if they drank from it (Ptol. apud Athenaeus: FGrH 234 F6). The road through
the pass, which connected Argolis and the Corinthia, was evidently steep in parts
since the Kontoporeia ("staff-road") implies that a walking staff would
be useful.
The Kontoporeia has been identified by most commentators as the pass
of Haghionorion which leads S from ancient Tenea, but that route is in no part
steep. The Kontoporeia is more likely the track that ascends a narrow gorge under
the walls of the Frankish castle of Haghios Vasileios to the W of the pass of
Hagionorion. At the top of the pass is the spring of Kephalari whose copious waters
are cold even in midsummer. Near the spring is a polygonal tower and the ruined
walls of what was probably a small military station or border post in the 5th-4th
c. B.C. The route S descends from the spring to Mycenae and the Argive plain.
J. R. Wiseman, ed.
This text is from: The Princeton encyclopedia of classical sites,
Princeton University Press 1976. Cited Nov 2002 from
Perseus Project URL below, which contains bibliography & interesting hyperlinks.
ΕΠΙΕΙΚΙΑ (Αρχαία τοποθεσία) ΣΙΚΥΩΝ
The Spartan army invaded the Corinthia by way of Epieikia in 394 B.C.
to fight the opening battle of the Corinthian War along the nearby Longopotamos
river. Two years later Epieikia was fortified by the Spartan Praxitas following
another invasion of the region (Xen. Hell. 4.2.14, 4.13). The site is probably
to be identified with the ruins of a small outpost above the F side of Kondita
Ravine, where the Corinthian stream farthest W is located.
J. R. Wiseman, ed.
This text is from: The Princeton encyclopedia of classical sites,
Princeton University Press 1976. Cited Nov 2002 from
Perseus Project URL below, which contains bibliography & interesting hyperlinks.
ΗΡΑΙΟΝ (Αρχαίο ιερό) ΛΟΥΤΡΑΚΙ ΠΕΡΑΧΩΡΑΣ
A large promontory at the E end of the Corinthian Gulf N of the Isthmus
and opposite ancient Corinth. On the summit of Lutraki Mountain, which commands
the promontory, are remains of a small Classical building, perhaps a temple. Other
sites in the region include Therma (modern Lutraki) where a stone lion now in
Copenhagen was found; the Classical fort of Oinoi on the N side of Mt. Gerania;
a large ancient cemetery at the modern village of Perachora, the finding-place
of a stone lion now in Boston; a small Classical settlement with cemetery at Monasteri;
a larger one at Asprocampo with several archaic inscriptions. The most important
site in Perachora is Heraion, a fortified town with Sanctuaries of Hera. It has
been excavated. Finds are in the National Museum of Athens.
Originally in Megarian hands, the promontory and Heraion were taken
over by Corinth ca. 750-725 B.C. Argive imports are prominent in the earliest
deposits at Heraion. A flourishing center until the end of the Classical period,
Heraion's shrines received vast quantities of rich dedications. In the Corinthian
War, 391-390 B.C., Perachora served as grazing land and a supply center of sufficient
importance to merit an attack by Agesilaus. Both 4th c. and Hellenistic buildings
attest considerable activity at Heraion, but after the Roman sack of 146 B.C.
the site almost died out. Only a few Roman houses occupied it.
Near the W end of the promontory is Lake Eschatiotis (modern Vouliagmene)
along whose W shore there are remains of an ancient road that Swings W past a
4th c. B.C. fountain-house and through the town of Heraion. Below and N of the
fortified acropolis are foundations of archaic and Classical houses. Beyond the
town a valley falls off towards the sea, at the E end of which is the Temenos
of Hera Limenia, a rectangular enclosure with a temple lacking porch and colonnade
and built ca. 750 B.C. Inside the temple was a small altar with four low curbstones,
three of which were reused stelai inscribed in the early Corinthian alphabet with
dedications to Hera and originally carrying votive spits. This temenos, which
produced the greatest deposits of votive objects until ca. 400 B.C., is one of
the richest minor sanctuaries in Greece. West of the temenos is a circular pool
in which 200 bronze phialai of the 6th c. B.C. were found, probably indicating
the presence of an oracle (cf. Strab. 8.380). West of the pool is a large Hellenistic
cistern with apsidal ends and a row of stone piers down the center. South of this
lies a contemporary building with three large rooms, one of which contains couches.
Bordering the small harbor on the NE is an L-shaped stoa of the late
4th c. B.C. The building had two stories and is the earliest known stoa with an
Ionic order standing above a normal Doric. A large, archaic triglyph altar at
the Wend of the stoa served the Temple of Hera Akraia. Ionic columns built round
the altar ca. 400 B.C. probably supported a canopy. North of the altar are the
meager traces of a late 9th c. B.C. Temple of Hera Akraia, the earliest on the
site, which survived until ca. 725 B.C. Among the finds in the Geometric deposit
were clay models of buildings imported from Argos. To the W is the 6th c. B.C.
Temple of Hera Akraia, a long, narrow structure consisting of a simple cella with
a Doric porch at the E, and divided longitudinally by two low walls which supported
two rows of Doric columns. A cross-wall runs in front of the base for the cult
statue. The base is later, as shown by a foundation deposit of the early 4th c.
B.C. The roof was of marble tiles decorated with lateral acroteria of flying Nikai.
South of the temple is an enclosed court with an L-shaped portico of wooden and
stone pillars, which remained in use ca. 540-146 B.C. Built diagonally across
it was a Roman house of the 2d c. On the lighthouse rock are cisterns, a Classical
house, and a long stretch of Classical fortification wall on the N.
R. Stroud, ed.
This text is from: The Princeton encyclopedia of classical sites,
Princeton University Press 1976. Cited Nov 2002 from
Perseus Project URL below, which contains bibliography & interesting hyperlinks.
ΙΣΘΜΙΑ (Αρχαίο ιερό) ΛΟΥΤΡΑΚΙ ΠΕΡΑΧΩΡΑΣ
In ancient literature, the name refers to the Isthmian Festival, held
every two years in the Sanctuary of Poseidon on the Isthmus of Corinth. As a geographical
designation "Isthmia," with accent on the second syllable, is a modern
form.
The Corinthians credited their king Sisyphos with the founding of
the Isthmian Games at the funeral of the boy Melikertes-Palaimon, who was drowned
in the Saronic Gulf and brought to the Isthmus on the back of a dolphin; the Athenians
claimed that their hero Theseus was the founder. In the 49th Olympiad, 582-578
B.C., the games were reorganized as a Panhellenic festival and were thenceforth
held biennially in the spring, in even years B.C. and in odd years A.D. The Corinthians
had charge of the games except for a time after the destruction of Corinth in
146 B.C., when the Sikyonians assumed management and possibly transferred the
games to Sikyon.
The cult of Poseidon was established as early as the 8th c. B.C. The
first temple, built about 700 B.C., was a Doric building with 7 x 19 wooden columns.
The walls were of stone, with painted panels on the exterior. East of the temple
was a large sacrificial area, now strewn with ash, burned animal bones, and smooth
pebbles, the latter probably brought by worshipers to be used for symbolic participation
in the slaying of the victims. The archaic temple was destroyed by fire about
470 B.C. and a new temple, also Doric, with 6 x 13 columns, was erected before
450 B.C. Severely damaged by fire in 390 B.C., it was restored and remained standing
until Early Christian times. A marble torso of a colossal female figure, found
in the temple, is probably from a cult statue of Amphitrite, worshiped together
with Poseidon. A later cult group, described by Pausanias, consisted of chryselephantine
statues of Poseidon and Amphitrite standing in a four-horse chariot flanked by
tritons. There was also a statue of Palaimon nearby. An altar, 40 m long, stood
E of the temple. Pebbles like those from the sacrificial area of earlier times
lie scattered along the front of the altar foundation.
A little to the SW of the temple but outside the precinct proper,
is an immense well, ca. 5 in in diameter and nearly 20 in deep. Abandoned as a
well about the middle of the 5th c. B.C., it was subsequently used as a refuse
pit.
Little remains of the precinct wall from the Greek period except foundations
of two propylons, one on the E, the other on the N. In the 1st c. A.D. a precinct
of smaller size was built with a gateway at the E end and probably one at the
W. A new altar of more modest dimensions was then constructed. Still later the
temenos was enlarged as a quadrangle with stoas of the Ionic order on the S, E,
and W, and a precinct wall on the N. No altar from that period has been discovered;
it may have stood on the earlier altar foundation close to the temple. There was
a monumental propylon in the SE corner and two smaller gateways, one at the E
end, the other at the W.
Adjacent to the SE corner of the Precinct of Poseidon was the Palaimonion,
an extensive cult area covering the NW end of the abandoned earlier stadium. All
the buildings are of Roman date. The precinct contained three sacrificial pits
and a circular temple, underneath which is a crypt in which oaths were administered.
Terracotta lamps, found scattered in front of the temple, would have been used
in the nocturnal rites of the mystery cult, at which black bullocks were sacrificed
to the hero. In the temple was a statue of Melikertes-Palaimon lying on a dolphin.
The earlier stadium, which was close to the Temple of Poseidon, measured
ca. 192 m in length. It had 16 lanes with unique starting gates (balbides) of
wood erected on a stone sill. In its second period the racecourse was shortened
to ca. 181 m. A new starting line was made of stone with a single groove and with
wooden posts set in lead. In Hellenistic times this stadium was abandoned and
a new stadium built in a natural hollow some 250 m from the Precinct of Poseidon.
The theater is located some fifty m to the NE of the Precinct of Poseidon.
Its original construction, with rectilinear orchestra, goes back to about 400
B.C. It was twice rebuilt in Greek times and twice by the Romans, first probably
for Nero's visit in A.D. 67 and again a century later. Both Roman reconstructions
remained unfinished.
Above the theater is a cult cave divided into two compartments, each
provided with dining couches. The chambers were entered through open courts in
which meals were prepared to be served inside, probably to members of some sacred
guild. The cave fell into disuse about 350 B.C. In the NE corner of the Poseidon
precinct was a similar cave, also with two chambers, and close to it a raised
area which probably held an altar. West of the Temple of Poseidon are the W waterworks,
containing a small room with a water tank; this may have functioned as a baptisterion
in some cult of Chthonic deities. There is a well-preserved underground reservoir
a little NW of the temple. South of the sanctuary is a prominent ridge, on which
are ruins of a textile establishment dating from Hellenistic times.
Some 400 m SW of the Poseidon precinct was the Sacred Glen, which
contained shrines of Artemis, Dionysos, Demeter and Kore, and Eueteria. About
2 km W of the temple is a pi-shaped foundation which must have supported some
unroofed structure, perhaps the cult place of some deity or hero worshiped in
connection with the horse races. The hippodrome may have been close to the monument.
The movable finds from the excavations are to be exhibited in a museum,
now being constructed close to the modern road S of the Precinct of Poseidon.
It will house the antiquities from the Isthmian sanctuary as well as those from
Kenchreai and from other nearby sites. Among the sculptures from Isthmia is a
large marble bowl, perirrhanterion, carried on the heads of four female figures,
each standing on a lion and holding its tail in one hand and a leash in the other.
This sophisticated piece from about 650 B.C. stood at the entrance into the archaic
temple and served worshipers and priests for the ritual washing of hands.
O. Broneer, ed.
This text is from: The Princeton encyclopedia of classical sites,
Princeton University Press 1976. Cited Nov 2002 from
Perseus Project URL below, which contains 35 image(s), bibliography & interesting hyperlinks.
ΙΣΘΜΟΣ ΚΟΡΙΝΘΟΥ (Ισθμός) ΛΟΥΤΡΑΚΙ ΠΕΡΑΧΩΡΑΣ
Neck of land, 5,857 m wide at its narrowest point, joining the Peloponnesos
to the mainland of Greece. Neolithic and Bronze Age pottery discovered in several
places there shows early occupation of the area. East of it an inscribed stele
marked the boundary between Corinth and Megara. Mythology tells of a dispute between
Poseidon and Helios for possession of the land; Briareos, who was appointed arbitrator,
decided in favor of Poseidon.
The Isthmus formed a bridge for land traffic and a barrier to E-W
shipping, and attempts were made early to facilitate passage from sea to sea.
In the 6th c. B.C. a causeway (diolkos), 3.60-4.20 m wide, was constructed, the
pavement of which has been exposed for a distance of nearly 1 km near the Corinthian
Gulf. On it ships were hauled on cradles, as shown by deep wheel ruts, 1.50 m
apart. The diolkos was still in use in the 9th c. A.D.
Plans to dig a canal were conceived by Periander, Demetrios Poliorketes,
Julius Caesar, Caligula, Nero, and Herodes Atticus. Nero broke ground for a canal
during his visit to Greece in A.D. 67. Two of his trenches, 2,000 and 1,500 m
long but nowhere reaching water level, and several pits, 37-42 m deep, were clearly
visible before the modern canal was dug in 1881-93. Traces of Nero's work still
remain.
To protect themselves and the Peloponnesos from attacks by land, the
Corinthians fortified the Isthmus. The earliest of the walls, which dates back
to about 1200 B.C., may have been planned to stem the recurrent waves of Dorian
invaders at the end of the Mycenaean period. It was probably left unfinished when
the decisive invasion took place. The next line of defense, built in haste in
480 B.C. against an expected Persian attack that never materialized, has left
no sure traces. There are extensive remains of a later fortification, built probably
in 279 B.C., when the Gauls, who overran the N of Greece, threatened invasion
of the Peloponnesos. This wall crossed the Isthmus so far to the W as to leave
the Precinct of Poseidon (see Isthmia) and large parts of Corinthian territory
open to the attackers. There are also references to a wall built in the reign
of Valerian (A.D. 253-60). The Wall of Justinian, which can be followed through
most of its course, had originally 153 towers on the N side, spaced at intervals
of about 40 m. Near the E end, close to the Sanctuary of Poseidon, there is a
massive fortress whose walls abut against the trans-Isthmus wall. The fortress
and much of the Isthmus wall are constructed largely out of reused material from
the sanctuary. Recent excavations (1967-69) tend to show that these walls are
earlier than Justinian; if this is correct, they must have been rebuilt during
his reign. The fortress has three gates: the NE Gate, incorporating an earlier
Roman gateway; the S Gate, built or repaired by Justinian's engineer Victorinus;
and a smaller gate in the W wall. Repairs were again made in the reign of Manuel
II (1391-1425). Until the fall of Constantinople in 1453, the trans-Isthmus wall
and the fortress remained a bulwark against invasions from the N.
O. Broneer, ed.
This text is from: The Princeton encyclopedia of classical sites,
Princeton University Press 1976. Cited Nov 2002 from
Perseus Project URL below, which contains 3 image(s), bibliography & interesting hyperlinks.
ΚΕΓΧΡΕΑΙ (Αρχαία πόλη) ΚΟΡΙΝΘΟΣ
Probably to be identified with a site SW of Argos near the village
of Paleo Skaphidaki, where Frazer saw marble fragments and foundation walls. Pausanias
speaks of several polyandreia near Kenchreai, mass graves of the Argives fallen
in the battle against the Spartans at Hysiai. The socalled Pyramid of Kenchreai
at Helleniko near Cephalan has frequently been proposed as one of these tombs;
it was apparently converted in antiquity to a fort or guard post. About 8.6 x
14.7 m, the limestone walls are preserved in some places to their full height
of 3.4 m. The masonry is polygonal, arranged more or less in courses; above a
low vertical base, the outer surface is dressed to a plane surface in the shape
of a truncated pyramid. The interior was divided into rooms with an entrance passageway
at one side; the outer and inner doors were barred on the inside and there are
cuttings at the top of the wall for ceiling or roof beams.
Pausanias specifically describes another pyramid near the church of
Haghia Marina 1.5 km W of Ligourio on the ancient road from Argos to Epidauros.
There are only two courses remaining, also of limestone, but both show the slope
of the pyramid; the plan, about 12.5 x 14 m overall, is similar to that at Helleniko.
Pausanias says it was decorated with carved shields of Argive (round) shape. The
masonry of both tombs has been dated in the 4th c. B.C. and the unusual shape
explained by the traditional close connection between Egypt and the Argives from
the time of their legendary conqueror Danaos, king of Libya; that 3000 Argive
mercenaries were sent to Egypt in 349 B.C. is still more persuasive evidence.
M. H. Mc Allister, ed.
This text is from: The Princeton encyclopedia of classical sites,
Princeton University Press 1976. Cited Nov 2002 from
Perseus Project URL below, which contains bibliography & interesting hyperlinks.
ΚΟΡΙΝΘΟΣ (Αρχαία πόλη) ΠΕΛΟΠΟΝΝΗΣΟΣ
On the S coast of the Gulf of Corinth, some 9 km W of the Isthmus
of Corinth. Principal city of the region, whose territory extended W to the river
Nemea (adjacent to the territory of Sikyon), E across the Isthmus to Krommyon
(modern Haghioi Theodoroi), and S to an uncertain line in the mountains bordering
on the lands of Mycenae and Epidauros; due N of the city, across the SE bay of
the Gulf, the peninsula of Peraion (modern Perachora) with its Sanctuaries of
Hera was also under Corinthian control. The ancient city lay on the slopes of
its fortified acropolis (Akrokorinthos), some 3.5 km from the shore and from the
harbor town of Lechnion, which served the maritime traffic to and from the West.
A second harbor town, Kenchreai, 10 km distant toward the SE on the shore of the
Saronic Gulf, enabled Corinth to enjoy also the benefits of trade with the East.
A stone-paved portage road, built across the narrowest part of the Isthmus in
the 6th c. B.C., made it possible to transport whole ships (with their cargos?)
between the Gulf of Corinth and the Saronic Gulf.
Human occupation of the late Neolithic period is found at various
mounds lying W, N, and E of the Classical city; on the hill of Korakou, near the
shore at Lechaion, appear extensive remains of domestic habitation of all three
phases of the Bronze Age. Within the area of the Classical city there is evidence
of almost uninterrupted occupation from the Late Neolithic period through the
Bronze and the Early Iron Age; but no significant architectural remains of those
periods have yet appeared.
The earliest architectural monument is to be associated with the Bacchiad
kings. About 700 B.C. a primitive temple (middle or 3d quarter of 7th c.) was
built on the so-called Temple Hill which dominates the center of the city. Its
walls were of small limestone blocks from ground to eaves; the roof, hipped at
one end, was covered with the earliest known Corinthian terracotta tiles. There
was probably no peristyle. This temple was destroyed ca. 580 B.C., possibly in
the violence attending the fall of the tyranny and the establishment of the oligarchy
which was to control Corinth for the next four centuries. The temple, sacred probably
to Apollo Pythios, was replaced ca. 560-540 B.C. by a larger, peripteral (6 x
15) temple of limestone; only seven columns survive in situ. The cella of the
temple is divided: the smaller, W chamber contained a basis probably used for
a chryselephantine or bronze image of Apollo of the 5th-4th c.; the more ancient
image of Apollo (xoanon or sanis) would have been located in the larger, E chamber;
a tank for holy water was located beneath the floor of the pronaos (cf. the Temple
of Apollo Pythios at Gortyn in Crete).
With the construction of the second temple the Temenos of Apollo was
enlarged to the N and a ramp or stairway led from the lower ground at the N up
through the temenos wall to the sanctuary. SE of the temple another stair led
down to the area of a shrine (Athena Hellotis?) with semicircular mudbrick altar,
a sacred spring, an apsidal building (of oracular function), and a racecourse.
From there a road led N past the Fountainhouse of Peirene (the city's main public
water supply) toward the sea and the harbor town of Lechaion. Immediately N of
Peirene was a shrine, possibly of Artemis. A small Doric temple (A; distyle in
antis) of the 5th c. B.C. was replaced in the 4th c. by a tetrastyle baldachino
(covering a cult image?); at the same time the circular altar of the sanctuary
was also covered with a baldachino. Beyond this shrine to the N lay a cleaning
and dyeing works, with vats and concrete drying floors. Across the street to the
W of Temple A lay a commercial building, a stoa of the 5th c., possibly a fish
market. To the N of the archaic Temple of Apollo Pythios a stoa and a hot bath
were constructed in the 5th c.; W of the temple a public road led NW toward Sikyon.
Thus at a relatively early date constructions of civic and secular use encroached
upon the great temple on the W, N, and E; to the S lay the Sanctuary of Athena
Hellotis and the racecourse. The location of the civic center or agora of Greek
times is by no means certain, though scholars have long tended to place it S of
Temple Hill, on the site of the Roman forum. It is not clear just what civic buildings
were required for the processes of the oligarchic government of Greek Corinth
or what open meeting places (if any) were used by its popular assembly. A public
archives must have existed for the preservation of documents on papyrus or parchment
(the Corinthians appear not to have recorded public documents on stone, probably
because of the lack of local marble quarries to supply a material suitable for
the inscribing of long texts). None of the Greek buildings so far excavated can
be associated with specifically civic functions.
During the 5th and 4th c. the irregular terrain dominated by the sacred
spring and oracular building was gradually filled in until a broad floor, rising
slightly toward the S, covered the whole valley that lay to the S of Temple Hill.
At the S limit of this valley, a large stoa of the Doric order (165 m long) was
built toward the end of the 4th c. This S Stoa consisted of a single order on
the N facade; but in the rear half of the interior the 33 two-room shops were
covered by as many rooms on a mezzanine level. Each of the ground-floor shops
but two was provided with a well; many of these shops apparently served as establishments
for eating and drinking. Broneer believes the building was constructed by Philip
II after the battle of Chaironeia in order to provide food and accommodations
for the delegates of the various Greek states to the meetings in Corinth of the
Hellenic League which Philip founded. For the construction of the S Stoa there
were sacrificed several private houses of the 5th c. and two shrines, one of Aphrodite
and the other probably for a hero cult, connected with the sacred races run on
the nearby racecourse.
Towards the end of the 4th c. the racecourse was redesigned, its orientation
changed so as to create a wider open area N of the S Stoa. At the W end of this
open area, and on a rock ledge rising about 7 m above the racecourse level, lay
an old shrine, perhaps rebuilt at this time and certainly enclosed now by a large
peribolos measuring about 93 x 130 m. In Roman times this temple was replaced
by the heavy rubble-concrete basement of a podium temple (E) which completely
obscures the Greek or Hellenistic construction.
By 300 B.C. the valley S of Temple Hill had acquired the form it was
to retain until the Roman sack in 146. Meanwhile other areas of the ancient city
had been developed. The fortifications of Corinth may go back in part to the 6th
c.; by the 4th c. they had reached their maximum extent, enclosing an area two
and one-half times as great as that of Classical Athens. From the fortress of
Akrokorinthos at the S, walls extended N to enclose the city; the N city wall
lay along the top of a rock ledge, which gave strategic advantage to the defenses.
From the N wall two long walls (patterned after those of 5th c. Athens) extended
to the sea and enclosed the harbor town of Lechaion. Within the main city enclosure
were not only public buildings and residential structures, but also extensive
farming and grazing lands. Cemeteries (burials of Geometric to Hellenistic times)
occur at several points within the city. These are for the most part small; the
largest cemeteries were outside the walls at the N and E.
The athletes who competed in the sacred contests on the racecourse
in the center of the city had at their disposal one gymnasium (frequented in the
4th c. by Diogenes the Cynic) located in the suburb of Kraneion to the SE and
another at the N, referred to by Pausanias as the ancient gymnasium. Recent excavations
on the supposed site of the latter have revealed only the constructions of the
gymnasium of Roman times. Between that and the N city wall there had existed,
as early as the 6th c. B.C., a Sanctuary of Apollo; in the 4th c. Asklepios took
over this shrine, where a temple was constructed on a rock terrace; at a lower
level to the W a colonnaded court with fitted banquet rooms and abundant water
supply served the physical needs of the worshipers. Some distance to the W lay
a Sanctuary of Zeus; the exact site is not yet identified, but architectural fragments
from the shrine indicate a late archaic Doric temple, greater in size than any
other at Corinth (or in the entire Peloponnesos). A road connected the gymnasium
and Asklepieion area with the center of the city further S. Adjacent to the W
side of this road lay a theater. The stone seats and stairways of the cavea (capacity
ca. 15,000) and the earliest (wooden) skene were laid out at the end of the 5th
or in the early 4th c. B.C.; the skene was rebuilt in stone about a century later.
Pausanias records many small sanctuaries lying beyond the center of
the city; some of these clearly had their origins in Greek times. The important
cult of Aphrodite had its center in a shrine on Akrokorinthos; the architectural
remains are meager, but the sanctuary appears to have originated at least in the
period of the tyrants. Recent excavations have brought to light one of the ten
sanctuaries which Pausanias noted on the road leading up to Akrokorinthos--the
Sanctuary of Demeter and Kore. A small, popular rather than civic, shrine, it
was founded in the early 7th c. B.C. It is marked by no distinctive temple building
but has an open-air meeting place (seats cut as steps in the rock); a stoa below
at the N perhaps constituted a skene. Several dining rooms with couches point
to communal religious banquets. Extremely fine examples of terracotta sculpture
of the 6th through the 3d c. have been found here. To the NW of the city, on the
ancient road just outside the Sikyonian Gate, has appeared a stela-shrine where
hundreds of votive terracotta figurines of the 5th and 4th c. were offered (by
travelers?); many of the figurines represent groups of women dancing about a central
figure of a flute player.
Residential buildings always crowded close to the civic and commercial
buildings of the city. Private houses lay near the central area at E and S. East
of the theater, just across the road that connected the center with the gymnasium,
lie the remains of a private house with an early and unusual pebble-mosaic floor.
Further W other houses of the 5th and 4th c. and of Hellenistic times are known
to exist, but all have been damaged by Roman or later rebuilding and no complete
Greek house plan has yet been exposed in Corinth. Ancient sources record that
the suburb of Kraneion, lying to the SE of the civic center, on a hillock between
the Kenchreai and Argos gates, was marked by a grove of cypresses and by luxurious
residences: no excavations have been carried out here.
The Corinthians of Greek and Roman times have left many monuments
of their understanding of hydraulic engineering. Rain water, penetrating the porous
upper limestone beds, was trapped (at levels varying from 2 to 30 m below the
surface) by the lower, impervious clay deposit. This water made its appearance
naturally at many points where a vertical rock scarp exposed both the upper limestone
and the lower clay. The Fountain of Peirene near the center of the city is the
best example of this type of supply; another is the so-called Baths of Aphrodite
below the N city wall E of the Asklepieion. At both these points tunnels dug back
into the clay, just below the overlying limestone, served to augment the water
supply and to draw it forward to the rock scarp. The tunnels dug for the Peirene
system extend S, SE, and SW in a network well over a km in length. Manholes dug
at varying distances from one another served for the initial tunnel construction
and subsequently as a means of drawing water for public and private use. The Peirene
tunnels may have been initiated in the period of the tyrants. From a natural water
source at the foot of Akrokorinthos a tunnel, excavated in the late 5th c. or
earlier, carried water NW to serve private houses, farmsteads, and small industries
(a pottery?), and to provide water for irrigation. The tunnel of this system has
been investigated over a length of more than 1 km. Here the manholes were dug
generally at intervals of ca. 60 m. Other similar tunnels are known to have existed
in the ancient city but have not yet been explored.
Cisterns of many forms were used by the Corinthians: large chambers
dug into the rock (one, excavated in 1962, had a storage capacity of ca. 245,000
liters); long, narrow, rock-cut tunnels connecting two or three manholes (one
such tunnel cistern had a capacity of ca. 100,000 liters); a series of tunnels
intersecting in a pattern not unlike that of the so-called Hippodamian city plan;
small bottle-shaped cisterns dug in rock near the surface of the ground (this
type, common in Athens, is infrequent in Corinth). Although many of these cisterns
and tunnels were in use in Roman times, it seems almost certain that most represent
engineering feats of the Greek period. They are generally coated with a fine,
creamy-yellow hydraulic cement which is typical of Greek times. Throughout the
city, wells (independent of cisterns and tunnels) provided water to individual
private and public buildings; the earliest so far excavated is of the Late Geometric
period.
The public water supply of the center of the city was provided by
the Fountain of Peirene, to the E of the archaic Temple of Apollo, and by the
Fountain of Glauke, W of the same temple. Glauke consisted of a series of three
storage chambers cut into the rock of the W extension of Temple Hill; the N slope
of the hill provided access to an architectural facade, cut from the living rock,
just in front of the storage chambers. Water was brought to the chambers in terracotta
pipes from some source lying far away to the S. Another and important water supply
existed on Akrokorinthos, where a natural spring welled up among the rocks. This
was doubtless in use in the time of the tyrants; in the Hellenistic period the
collecting basin was covered by a concrete vault, which survives today.
The building material of Greek Corinth was almost exclusively native
limestone (poros). Marble, of which there was no local source, was used very rarely
in Greek times, though Roman builders employed it extensively from the 1st c.
A.D. Limestone was obtained from quarries some 4 km to the E of Corinth or even
from the rock outcrops within the city itself. Quarrying of the W extension of
Temple Hill (begun at least as early as the 4th c. B.C. and terminated in early
Roman times) eventually isolated the Fountain of Glauke from the hillside of which
it had been an integral part and left the monument, as it stands today, a lonely
cube of living rock rising about 6 m above the surrounding terrain.
In 146 B.C. a Roman army, led by the consul L. Mummius (Achaicus),
sacked Corinth, then the leading city of the Achaian League. All the citizens
were killed or enslaved; the buildings, to a large extent, demolished. The site
lay waste for a century; such land as was not turned over to the people of Sikyon
was declared ager publicus. In 44 B.C., on the initiative of Julius Caesar, a
Roman colony (Laus Julia Corinthiensis) was established at Corinth. The purpose
of the foundation was in part commercial, in part political--Corinth became the
administrative center of the senatorial province of Achaia.
In the first quarter of the 1st c. A.D. an extensive building program
was begun. The designers made use of some Greek structures whose ruins were substantial
enough to permit repair (the Temple of Apollo Pythios, S Stoa, Fountains of Peirene
and Glauke, theater, Asklepieion), but otherwise they created a Roman city. Within
75 years of the foundation of the colony the plan of the new city was well established.
A Roman arch (ornamental rather than triumphal) marked the S end of the stone-paved
road from Lechaion, where it entered the forum. Adjacent to the arch at the W
a basilica was constructed, with shops in the basement level opening out onto
Lechaion Road. Two other basilicas, almost identical with one another in plan
and elevation, were built at the E end and on the S side of the forum; a third
similar structure apparently existed at the W. The S basilica was entered through
the reconstructed S Stoa, into which were now incorporated also a horseshoe-shaped
meeting room for the members of the local senate and several large administrative
rooms. A row of one-story shops extending E-W through the center of the forum
area was interrupted at its midpoint by a speakers' platform designated rostra
(inscription of 2d c. A.D.) or bema (Nov. Test., Act. Ap. xviii.12). All these
structures served the administrative needs of the colony itself and of the provincial
governor and his considerable staff. A rectangular structure built in the early
1st c. A.D. in the SE corner of the forum has been identified tentatively as the
tabularium.
Across the W end of the forum, in front of and below the peribolos
of temple E (see supra), were built six small podium temples and a circular monopteros
(the last, dedicated by Gn. Babbius Philinus before the middle of the 1st c.,
perhaps housed a statue of Aphrodite). This architectural complex, developed between
the years A.D. 35 and 190, included a pantheon and Temples of Venus-Fortuna, Herakles,
and the emperor Commodus. Between the NW corner of the forum and the Fountain
of Glauke a Temple of Hera Akraia (?) with peribolos was built during the 1st
c.
North of Peirene the Greek Shrine of Artemis was replaced in early
Roman times by a peribolos, sacred to Apollo but apparently serving as a place
of meeting and of business for those engaged in shipping; a row of shops separated
the peribolos from the colonnaded sidewalk of Lechaion Road to the W. The N flank
of Temple Hill was quarried away in the early 1st c. to create space for a large
quadrangular marketplace enclosed on all sides by colonnades. Another commercial
structure, of like width, opened onto the W side of Lechaion Road.
Roman Corinth boasted at least three great public baths. The thermae
built by Eurykles in the late 1st or early 2d c. are probably to be identified
with the ruins just N of the Peribolos of Apollo. Another great bath is being
excavated at a point some 200 m N of the forum (its ground area may surpass 10,000
sq. m); it is probably the Thermae of Hadrian mentioned by Pausanias. The third
large bath is located due N of the theater. At least four other small public baths
of the later Roman period are known within the city.
For the entertainment of the populace the Romans rebuilt the Greek
theater, constructing a typical Roman scenae frons. In later times the orchestra
was redesigned for use as an arena and even for aquatic performances. A smaller
odeum was constructed in the 1st c. A.D. S of the theater; a colonnaded court
of trapezoidal plan joined the two structures. In the 2d c. the odeum was remodeled
at the expense of Herodes Atticus (as was also the court of the Fountain of Peirene).
For more typically Roman performances, an amphitheater (the only one in the province
of Achaia) was laid out (3d or 4th c.) in the NE quarter of the city.
Traces of Roman private houses are found throughout the city area.
Two have been excavated. One, lying some 750 m W of the odeum, was built in the
early 1st c. and was remodeled several times. A dining room, redesigned in the
last quarter of the 1st c. to accommodate nine couches, was provided with a splendid
mosaic floor in which many tesserae of glass were employed; adjacent to this room
was a small, Italianate atrium. A house of the 3d c., built just outside the city
wall at the NW, beside the road to Sikyon, is distinguished by numerous well-preserved
mosaics with mythological and pastoral scenes; this house, too, had an atrium.
It is clear that Herodes Atticus possessed a villa in or near Corinth; it may
have been N of the suburb of Kraneion. An elaborate villa near the shore, just
E of Lechaion, is probably of the 3d c.; it is marked by extensive and complex
provisions for the supply of water.
In Roman times the Sanctuary of Aphrodite on Akrokorinthos continued
to flourish, and Romans inscribed their names on the walls of the subterranean
chamber that gave access to the natural fountain on the citadel. The fortifications
of the hill, however, as well as those of the lower town, demolished by Mummius,
were not needed in the Early Imperial period and were not rebuilt. There is no
evidence of a rebuilding prior to the invasion of the Heruli in A.D. 267; but
traces of N-S lines of rubble-concrete walls some 1,000 m W and a like distance
E of the forum may perhaps represent the post-Herulian fortifications of a smaller
area than that covered by the Greek and early Roman city. The major repairs to
the walls of Akrokorinthos are to be attributed to the Byzantines and their successors.
Excavations at Corinth were begun in 1896. A museum at the site (built
1932, enlarged 1950) houses almost all finds from the excavations as well as chance
finds from the vicinity.
H. S. Robinson, ed.
This text is from: The Princeton encyclopedia of classical sites,
Princeton University Press 1976. Cited Nov 2002 from
Perseus Project URL below, which contains 99 image(s), bibliography & interesting hyperlinks.
The site of an Early Christian basilica of the first quarter of the 6th c. ca. 2 km NW of ancient Corinth. Some fine marble architectural fragments excavated in the basilica are in the Corinth Museum. That Skoutela, which lies in the plain below the N cemetery, was inhabited in ancient times is clear from archaic and Classical pottery under the basilica, from a Classical grave nearby, and from Roman coins found in the excavations.
R. Stroud, ed.
This text is from: The Princeton encyclopedia of classical sites,
Princeton University Press 1976. Cited Nov 2002 from
Perseus Project URL below, which contains bibliography & interesting hyperlinks.
ΚΡΟΜΜΥΩΝ (Αρχαία πόλη) ΚΟΡΙΝΘΙΑ
The ancient town on the Isthmus is mentioned by Kallimachos (Sosibiou
Nike, 1. 12; cf. Tzetzes schol. on Lycophron 532). It is located at the base of
Haghios Dimitrios Ridge, W of the Isthmian Sanctuary of Poseidon, where extensive
habitational ruins were discovered in 1960. There are also large cemeteries nearby
and chance finds have led to the excavation of several burials. An inscription
found in the area records the name of Agathon Kromnites. Pottery from the cemeteries
and the town site dates from the mid 7th c. B.C. to the 4th c. A.D. Ancient stone
quarries extend from Kromna some 2 km W to the modern town of Examilia.
J. R. Wiseman, ed.
This text is from: The Princeton encyclopedia of classical sites,
Princeton University Press 1976. Cited Nov 2002 from
Perseus Project URL below, which contains bibliography & interesting hyperlinks.
ΛΕΧΑΙΟΝ (Αρχαίο λιμάνι) ΚΟΡΙΝΘΙΑ
The port of Corinth on the Corinthian Gulf ca. 3 km N of the ancient
city and joined to it by double long walls and a broad paved avenue. Established
by at least the time of the Kypselid tyrants and a thriving port in the Roman
period, it was one of the largest harbors in Greece, occupying an area of ca.
10 hectares. Two outer harbors protected by moles lay on the shore and communicated
with a spacious inner harbor through a narrow channel bordered by stone jetties.
In the middle of the W half of the inner harbor stands the masonry core of a Roman
monument. The prominent mounds of sand near the shore were probably heaped up
by Roman engineers when clearing out the inner harbor. At the town of Lechaion
there were ship-sheds (Xen. Hell. 4.4.12) and Sanctuaries of Poseidon (Paus. 2.2.3)
and Aphrodite (Plut. Mor. 146 D). The site has never been excavated and our best
evidence for its ancient buildings is a coin of Corinth under Caracalla. A small
Classical cemetery and a Roman villa have been excavated to the S of the ancient
harbor.
R. Stroud, ed.
This text is from: The Princeton encyclopedia of classical sites,
Princeton University Press 1976. Cited Nov 2002 from
Perseus Project URL below, which contains 1 image(s), bibliography & interesting hyperlinks.
ΝΕΜΕΑ (Αρχαίο ιερό) ΚΟΡΙΝΘΙΑ
The site of the Panhellenic Games, of which the Sanctuary of Nemean
Zeus formed the dominant element, lies at the head of the valley of the Nemea
river, ca. 19 km N of Argos and 18 km from the Gulf of Corinth. Originally the
games were local and under the control of Kleonai. In 573 B.C. the games were
incorporated into the Panhellenic schedule and held every other year. By the middle
of the 5th c. the games were presided over by Argos. In the first half of the
4th c. the games appear to have been transferred to Argos itself. Aratos of Sikyon
tried to restore the games to their original site on the Nemea river in 235 B.C.,
but without success (Plut. Arat. 28). In 145 B.C. Mummius appears to have revived
the games on their original site; Argos succeeded in becoming, however, the home
of the games during the Roman period. There is no archaeological evidence that
winter games were held within the limits of the ancient Nemean sanctuary during
the Hadrianic period. The site of Nemea was reoccupied in the 4th and 5th c. A.D.
by the Christians, when a basilica and baptistery were erected there, largely
with blocks from the Temple of Zeus.
The site has been excavated intermittently since 1884. The pottery
and small finds are stored in the archaeological museum in ancient Corinth; coins
from the early American excavations are in the National Museum of Athens.
The 4th c. Temple of Zeus lies on the E bank of the Nemea river. It
is built of limestone, on the foundations of the S side of an earlier temple,
probably erected in the archaic period. The later temple, of which three columns
still stand, was completed in the twenties of the 4th c. It is peripteral, with
6 columns across the ends, 12 along the flanks. The columns are extremely attenuated,
with a height 7.34 times their lower diameter. The temple had no opisthodomus.
Inside, the cella had freestanding Corinthian columns along both side walls and
across its W end. These were surmounted by Ionic half-columns applied to piers.
The cella had a reserved area or adyton at its W end, in which stairs led down
into a crypt. The floor of the crypt appears to have been the ground level of
the earlier temple. The only marble used in the temple was the sima, in design
slightly resembling that of the Temple of Athena Alea at Tegea. There are other
stylistic resemblances between the two temples; these are not strong enough, however,
to demand the conclusion that a single architect designed both buildings.
To the E of the temple lies the foundation of an altar 41 m long,
which extends N beyond the limits of the N side of the 4th c. temple. The altar
appears to have been built in two phases; apparently the early altar was centered
on the long axis of the earlier temple and then extended S to go with the later
temple.
Between 33 and 42 m S of the temple is a line of three buildings;
the one farthest E has not been completely excavated. Only foundations of these
structures are preserved. The building farthest W, a large rectangular structure
with two interior columns, may have been a lesche. The two buildings at its E
have wide foundations on their N ends, designed to carry columned facades. The
two buildings may have been treasuries facing the temple.
Farther to the S, about 72 m from the temple, is a building 86 m long,
separated by a space of about 9 m from a rectangular building at its W. The W
structure is a three-roomed bath. The SW corner room still has its basins and
plunge preserved. The room has been roofed and now serves as an archaeological
storeroom for the site. The long building at the E appears to have been divided
into five units which opened onto a roadway running along the S. Each of these
units held facilities for drinking and eating; the building probably served as
a xenon. Both bath and xenon were built in the second half of the 4th c., immediately
after the construction of the later Temple of Zeus. (The xenon was built over
a kiln that made the roof tiles for the temple.) Both xenon and bath were aligned
with the roadway rather than with the temple.
A Christian basilica was erected over the remains of the W end of
the xenon. In form the church is a nave with both N and S side aisles, apse at
the E, and narthex with subsidiary rooms at the W. The baptistery lies against
the N wall of the basilica and has a circular baptismal basin in the center of
the floor.
The roadway at the S of the xenon led to the E slope of the valley
on which today stands the ruin of a Turkish fountain-house. Slightly farther up
the E slope is the water source that once fed it and which is identified as the
Fountain of Adrastos. Here, according to legend, Opheltes, a babe yet unable to
walk, was left by his nurse so that she could draw water for the Seven Warriors
on their way to Thebes. The child was killed by a marauding serpent; the Nemean
Games were then initiated in honor of the dead child. Pausanias (2.15.2-3) mentions
a Temenos of Opheltes in which were altars to the hero, close by which was a tumulus
for Lykourgos, his father. These probably stood close to the fountain. No physical
remains, however, have been identified. A pit filled with votive pottery and terracotta
figurines of the archaic period, apparently dedications to Demeter, was found
on the slope farther to the S.
The stadium for the games was built in a hollow in the E slope of
the Nemean valley, SW of the fountain-house and about 500 m SE of the temple.
This is now partially excavated. The long axis of the stadium is N-S, with the
S end of the track dug into the hillside, the N end built out on an artificial
terrace. The course was lined with water channels and settling basins. Seats for
the spectators appear, however, never to have been built.
C. K. Williams, ed.
This text is from: The Princeton encyclopedia of classical sites,
Princeton University Press 1976. Cited Nov 2002 from
Perseus Project URL below, which contains bibliography & interesting hyperlinks.
ΟΙΝΟΗ (Αρχαίο φρούριο) ΛΟΥΤΡΑΚΙ ΠΕΡΑΧΩΡΑΣ
Oinoi was a fort that overlooked the Halcyonic Bay not far from Megarian
territory (Strab. 8.1.3, 6.22; 9.2.25). The fort was captured by Aigisilaus during
his campaign in Piraion in 390 B.C. but was recovered not long afterwards by Iphikrates
(Xen. Hell. 4.5.5, 19).
The site has long been recognized as the imposing fortified compound
on the hill of Viokastro near the modern village of Schinos. The high (400 m)
hill is difficult of access from the coastal plain and the summit is crowned by
a network of polygonal walls that served both as partial terracing and fortifications.
Some of the walls, which are preserved in places to a height of over 4 m, are
closely parallel and so create a series of narrow corridors. The highest part
of the fort appears to have been a keep and below it to the E is a small plateau,
reached by a stairway, where there is a large cistern. The fort guarded one of
the chief routes from Boiotia to the Peloponnesos and would have been also an
effective coastal watch station for fleet movements.
J. R. Wiseman, ed.
This text is from: The Princeton encyclopedia of classical sites,
Princeton University Press 1976. Cited Nov 2002 from
Perseus Project URL below, which contains bibliography & interesting hyperlinks.
ΠΕΛΛΑΝΑ (Αρχαία πόλη) ΞΥΛΟΚΑΣΤΡΟ
A city on the W side of the Sys, near the modern village of Zougra,
commanding the road from the coast of the Corinthian Gulf at Xylokastro S to Trikkala.
Homeric Pellene, whose site is not known, was destroyed by Sikyon; the Classical
city dates from the 6th c. and was refortified in Late Roman times. Pausanias
mentions a gold-and-ivory statue by Pheidias in the Temple of Athena, as well
as Sanctuaries of Eileithyia, Poseidon, Artemis, Dionysos, and Apollo Theoxenios
(god of strangers). Games called the Theoxenia were limited to native competitors;
the famous Pellene cloaks were at one time given as prizes. Scattered remains
of buildings and walls mark the site, which is divided by a barren ridge, the
main part of the city being on the W side, the smaller on the E. There has been
some controversy over the location of Aristonautai, the port of Pellene: it was
probably at Xylokastro at the mouth of the river. The ruins at Kamari, some 6
km to the W at the mouth of the next river, are perhaps to be identified with
4th c. Oluros, described by Pliny as the fortress of the people of Pellene, but
apparently no longer of any significance in the time of Pausanias. The Sanctuary
(Mysaion) and Sanatorium (Kyros) of Asklepios near Trikkala also belonged to Pellene.
M. H. Mc Allister, ed.
This text is from: The Princeton encyclopedia of classical sites,
Princeton University Press 1976. Cited Nov 2002 from
Perseus Project URL below, which contains bibliography & interesting hyperlinks.
ΠΕΝΤΕΣΚΟΥΦΙ (Κάστρο) ΚΟΡΙΝΘΟΣ
Penteskouphia. A hill surmounted by a Frankish fort ca. 1200 m SW of Akrocorinth.
In a ravine on the N slope of the hill, ca. 3 km SW of ancient Corinth, over 1000
terracotta plaques were illicitly excavated in 1879. Excavation and chance finds
at the site have increased the number of fragments to ca. 1500. The plaques, which
are in Berlin, Paris, and the Corinth Museum, came from a nearby Corinthian Sanctuary
of Poseidon of which no architectural remains have been found. Several plaques
bear dedicatory inscriptions to Poseidon in the Corinthian epichoric alphabet
and representations of the god and of Amphitrite with marine and equestrian attributes.
Also depicted are scenes from everyday life, potters at work with wheels and kilns,
woodcutters, ships, etc. Many plaques are pierced for suspension, perhaps from
trees, and are painted on both sides. A few are as early as ca. 650 B.C. but the
majority belong to the Late Corinthian black-figure style of ca. 570-500 B.C.
R. Stroud, ed.
This text is from: The Princeton encyclopedia of classical sites,
Princeton University Press 1976. Cited Nov 2002 from
Perseus Project URL below, which contains bibliography & interesting hyperlinks.
ΠΕΡΑΙΟΝ (Αρχαία περιοχή) ΛΟΥΤΡΑΚΙ ΠΕΡΑΧΩΡΑΣ
ΠΙΤΣΑ (Χωριό) ΞΥΛΟΚΑΣΤΡΟ
A modern village S of ancient Aigira on the N side of Mt. Chelydorea
(Paus. 7.17.5) near the summit of which a rich votive deposit in a deep cave (Cave
of Saphtoulis) has been excavated. Extending to a depth of over 20 m and divided
into several chambers, the cave was a cult center for the worship of chthonic
deities, especially the nymphs and possibly Demeter, from ca. 700 B.C. into the
Roman Imperial period.
The finds, which remain largely unpublished, are in the nearby museum
of Sikyon and in the National Museum of Athens. They include numerous terracotta
figurines, votive pottery (mainly Corinthian), bronze mirrors and jewelry, Corinthian
and Sikyonian coins, wooden statuettes, bone dice, etc. The cave is famous, however,
for its beautifully painted and well-preserved wooden plaques. Represented on
one plaque in free-style, polychrome technique of ca. 550 B.C. is a sacrificial
procession with dipinto name-labels and the incomplete signature of a Corinthian
painter in the epichoric Corinthian alphabet. Dipinti on this and on another plaque
also show that these objects were dedicated to the nymphs. The four plaques from
the cave are dated ca. 550-500 B.C. and supply almost unique evidence for nonceramic
Corinthian painting of this period.
R. Stroud, ed.
This text is from: The Princeton encyclopedia of classical sites,
Princeton University Press 1976. Cited Nov 2002 from
Perseus Project URL below, which contains bibliography & interesting hyperlinks.
ΣΙΚΥΩΝ (Αρχαία πόλη) ΚΟΡΙΝΘΙΑ
On the Corinthian Gulf about 26 km W of Corinth. Little is known of
the city's earliest history except for close ties with Argos, which were broken
under the Orthagorid tyrants who ruled it ca. 656-556 B.C. Under Kleisthenes the
city enjoyed its greatest power and prosperity and supported a flourishing school
of painting. After the removal of the tyrants by Sparta, Sikyon became a loyal
member of the Peloponnesian League, until Epaminondas made it the center of Theban
power in the Peloponnese after Leuktra in 371 B.C. In the 4th c. B.C. it was again
the home of famous painters and sculptors, including Lysippos. Through the efforts
of Aratos, the city joined the Achaian League in 251 B.C. and became a leading
power in the confederacy until 146 B.C. Following the destruction of Corinth,
Sikyon for a time supervised the Isthmian Games but after the Romans had exacted
a large public debt in 56 B.C. and disastrous earthquakes had struck in the 2d
c., the city was reduced to the half-ruined and depopulated condition in which
Pausanias found it ca. A.D. 160.
Old Sikyon lay in the plain near its port on the Corinthian Gulf,
at modern Kiato, but in 303 B.C. Demetrios Poliorketes moved it to the two lofty
plateaus of the acropolis, which lie ca. 4 km inland. On the upper terrace was
the acropolis proper, while the lower terrace, now partly occupied by the village
of Basiliko, was the site of the agora, several public buildings, and private
houses. The natural strength of the site, which is surrounded by deep ravines
cut by the Asopos and Helisson rivers, was increased by a stone circuit wall,
traces of which survive. Another massive wall separates the acropolis from the
lower terrace.
On the acropolis Pausanias (2.7.5) records Sanctuaries of Tyche Akraia
and the Dioskouroi. Probably to be associated with the former are some meager
foundations and a colossal marble head of Tyche, in the Sikyon Museum, which is
a Roman copy of the famous Tyche of Antioch by Eutychides of Sikyon. Cut into
the N and NE slopes of the acropolis are the seats of a large, unexcavated stadium
and the cavea of the theater, partly excavated. Built probably in the early 3d
c. B.C. and repaired at least twice in Roman times, the theater is one of the
largest on the Greek mainland. Of interest are its vaulted entrances to the lower
diazoma and a Doric colonnade behind the stage building which faces N and terminates
in a fountain-house at the W and at the E in a large, rectangular room. Slight
traces of an adjacent temple, possibly that of Dionysos (Paus. 2.7.5), were seen
by Leake but are no longer visible.
Excavations have revealed several important public and sacred buildings
to the SE and below the theater. Here lies the gymnasium, a square structure of
the 3d c. B.C., which is built on two levels. An open court on the lower level
is framed on three sides by an Ionic colonnade with rooms opening off it; around
three sides of the upper court is a simple Doric colonnade, repaired in Roman
times. Two fountain-houses lie on the lower level, built into the retaining wall
that separates the two terraces. Near the W side of the gymnasium is a spring
in a small rock Sanctuary of the Nymphs.
In the agora, which lies to the SE of the gymnasium, is the bouleuterion,
a square hypostyle hall of Ionic columns built in the 3d c. B.C. and later transformed
into a Roman bath. It opens onto the agora on the N and is separated by a road
on the E from a long Doric stoa, perhaps of the 2d c. B.C., which formed the S
edge of the agora. Behind a double colonnade of 45 x 22 columns the stoa contained
a row of 21 shops, only the foundations of which are preserved. The rest of the
agora is still to be excavated, with the exception of the foundations of a long,
narrow temple on the W side. Constructed in the archaic period, the temple was
renovated in Hellenistic times and later converted into a Christian church. Its
identification is uncertain: the excavators suggest Artemis, but Roux's suggestion
that it was the Temple of Apollo described by Pausanias (2.7.8) as being in the
agora is attractive. A colossal statue of Attalos I, who was a great favorite
at Sikyon, stood beside the temple (Polyb. 17.16).
A large and well-preserved Roman bath of the 2d or 3d c. lies to the
N of the agora and has been partly restored to serve as a museum and storehouse
for the finds from the Greek excavations. Remains of walls running in straight
lines for considerable distances and intersecting at right angles are visible
on the surface of the lower terrace. They indicate that the new city of Demetrios
was laid out on a grid pattern.
On the low hill of Haghia Paraskevi near the ancient port a Christian
basilica has been excavated which is constructed of blocks reused from a Classical
temple. It is possible that the source of this material was the Temple of Athena
reported by Pausanias (2.5.6) as standing on the acropolis of the archaic city.
Attested at Sikyon by Pausanias and other authors are the shrine and
grave of Aratos, Stoas of Kleisthenes and Lamia (Painted Stoa), and Sanctuaries
of Apollo Lykios, Herakles, Asklepios, Aphrodite, Artemis, and Demeter; none of
these has yet come to light.
R. Stroud, ed.
This text is from: The Princeton encyclopedia of classical sites,
Princeton University Press 1976. Cited Nov 2002 from
Perseus Project URL below, which contains bibliography & interesting hyperlinks.
ΣΤΥΜΦΑΛΟΣ (Αρχαία πόλη) ΚΟΡΙΝΘΙΑ
A town of NE Arkadia in antiquity, but presently in the nome of Corinthia.
It was here that Herakles dispatched the fabulous birds. Mentioned by Homer (Il.
2.609) as an Arkadian town, it was said (Paus. 8.22.2) to have been founded by
Temenos (Argive influence?). The town was of little importance in antiquity. Philip
V decisively defeated the army of Euripidas (who had fled) there in 219-218 (Polyb.
4.67-69). It was one of the emperor Hadrian's benefactions to lead spring water
from Stymphalos to Corinth.
The ancient acropolis lay on a promontory extending out toward the
lake. On the highest point there are preserved the remains of a tower in the circuit
wall from which can be observed the walls as they extend out on the landward side:
the course of the wall, with its rounded towers, can be well followed in the plain,
but disappears on the E under the waters of the lake. Descending toward the lake,
one comes upon a small Temple of Polias with an altar in front and a nearly square
building abutting it. Continuing down, one enters the agora (?), partially cut
out of the rock of the acropolis. It contains a peculiar qoppa-shaped structure
of ashlar polygonal masonry (4th c.) in part cut out of bed rock, a spring, and
the remains of another structure (a stoa?) partially submerged in the lake. Also
submerged in the lake are a Hellenistic temple and a palaestra. Farther along
there are some rock-cut steps leading to the acropolis, a large dedication base,
an exedra, the rock-cut cavea of a theater with some lower seats scattered about,
and a rock-cut seat. The city of Pausanias' (8.22) time lay to the N near and
under the ruined Frankish Katholikon.
W. F. Wyatt, Jr., ed.
This text is from: The Princeton encyclopedia of classical sites,
Princeton University Press 1976. Cited Nov 2002 from
Perseus Project URL below, which contains bibliography & interesting hyperlinks.
ΣΧΟΙΝΟΥΣ (Αρχαίο λιμάνι) ΛΟΥΤΡΑΚΙ ΠΕΡΑΧΩΡΑΣ
The diolkos, a paved roadway for transporting ships and cargo across
the Isthmus of Corinth, terminated at Schoinous on the Saronic Gulf (Strab. 8.6.4,
22; 9.1.2; Pompon. 2.48; Ptol. 3.16.13; Plin. HN 4.7). According to Schol. on
Pindar Isthm. Argum., the body of Melikertes, who was worshiped as the god Palaimon
at the Isthmian Sanctuary, was carried here by a dolphin.
J. R. Wiseman, ed.
This text is from: The Princeton encyclopedia of classical sites,
Princeton University Press 1976. Cited Nov 2002 from
Perseus Project URL below, which contains bibliography & interesting hyperlinks.
ΤΕΝΕΑ (Αρχαία πόλη) ΚΟΡΙΝΘΙΑ
Tenea was a city in the S Corinthia where Oedipus was said to have
spent his childhood. The city had a famous Sanctuary of Apollo. It supplied most
of the colonists when Corinth founded Syracuse in the late 8th c. B.C. It became
an independent city, probably in the Hellenistic period and, thanks to its good
relations with the Romans, continued to exist after Lucius Mummius sacked Corinth
in 146 B.C. (The chief ancient sources are Soph. Oed. Tyr. 774, 827, 936, 939;
Xen. Hell. 4.4.19; Cic. Att. 6.2.3; Strab. 8.6.22; Paus. 2.5.4.)
Ruins of the large ancient city extend from the S edge of the modern
town of Chiliomodhion to the village of Klenia, a distance of about 2 km. A dramatic
mountain pass (Haghionorion) opens to the S of Tenea and leads to Argolis. Chance
finds have resulted in the excavation of several burials ranging in date from
the Early Geometric period to late Roman times. There are Roman chamber tombs
on a ridge projecting N from Klenia and a small cloth-dyeing establishment was
excavated near its NW base in 1970. The so-called Tenean Apollo, an archaic kouros,
was found not at Tenea but on a ridge about 20 minutes by foot to the SE of the
modern town of Athikia.
J. R. Wiseman, ed.
This text is from: The Princeton encyclopedia of classical sites,
Princeton University Press 1976. Cited Nov 2002 from
Perseus Project URL below, which contains bibliography & interesting hyperlinks.
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