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Corinth
(Corinthia), Stater (silver coin replica) 400 - 350 BC.
OBV: Pegasos w. pointed wing, flying l. koppa beneath.
R: Head of Athena l., wearing Corinthian helmet, Δ in lower
field, behind hd. flying bird within the wreath.
The wealth of Corinth
rested largely on control of trade in western Mediterranean. In the late
6th century Corinth sought to maintain this commercial hegemony by
mediating conflicts arising between its neighbors, specifically Athens,
Thebes and Sparta, and by contributing to the Pan Hellenistic efforts
against Persian attempts to subdue Greece.
Corinth, or Korinth
(Κόρινθος) is a Greek
city, on the Isthmus of
Corinth, the original isthmus, the narrow
stretch of land that joins the Peloponnesus to the
mainland of Greece. To the west of the isthmus lies the Gulf of Corinth.
Corinth is about 48 miles
(78 km) west of Athens. The isthmus,
which was in ancient times traversed by hauling ships over the rocky
ridge on sledges, is now cut by a canal. It is also the capital of the
prefecture of Corinthia. The city is
surrounded by Lechaio, Kalamaki,
Loutraki,
Geraneia
mountains, and the southern mountains.
History
Some very ancient names
for places, such as Korinthos derive from a pre-Greek, "Pelasgian"
language; it seems likely that Corinth was also the site of a Bronze
Age Mycenean
palace-city, like Mycenae, Tiryns or Pylos. Myth
made Sisyphus
the founder of a race of ancient kings at Corinth. In Corinth, Jason
abandoned Medea.
Later, in classical times
the ancient city rivalled Athens and Thebes in wealth,
based on the isthmian traffic and trade. Until the mid-6th century
Corinth was a major exporter of black-figure
pottery to cities around the Greek world. Athenian potters later
came to dominate the market. Corinth's great temple on its acropolis
was dedicated to Aphrodite. According
to most sources, there were more than one thousand temple prostitutes
employed at the Temple of Aphrodite. Corinth was also the host of the Isthmian Games.
In the 7th century BC,
when Corinth was ruled by the tyrants Cypselus and Periander,
the city sent forth colonists to found new settlements: Syracuse, Ambracia,
and with Corcyra,
itself perhaps the site of an early Corinthian settlement, Apollonia and
Anactorium. The city was a major participant in the Persian
Wars, but afterwards was frequently an enemy of Athens and an ally
of Sparta
in the Peloponnesian
League. In 431 BC, one of the
factors leading to the Peloponnesian War
was the dispute between Corinth and Athens over the Corinthian colony of
Corcyra.
The Romans under Lucius
Mummius destroyed Corinth following a siege in 146 BC; when he entered
the city Mummius put all the men to the sword and sold the women and
children into slavery before he torched the city, for which he was given
the cognomen
Achaicus as the conqueror of the Achaean League.
While there is archeological evidence of some minimal habitation in the
years afterwards, Julius Caesar
refounded the city as Colonia laus Iulia Corinthiensis in 44 BC
shortly before his assassination. According to Appian, the
new settlers were drawn from freedmen of Rome. Under
the Romans it became the seat of government for Southern Greece or Achaia (Acts
18:12-16). It was noted for its wealth, and for the luxurious, immoral
and vicious habits of the people. It had a large mixed population of
Romans, Greeks, and Jews.
When Paul first
visited the city (AD
51 or 52), Gallio,
the brother of Seneca,
was proconsul.
Paul resided here for eighteen months (18:1-18). Here he first became
acquainted with Aquila and Priscilla,
and soon after his departure Apollos came from Ephesus.
Although he intended to pass through Corinth the second time before he
visited Macedonia, circumstances were such, in the absence of Titus,
that he went from Troas to Macedonia, and then likely passed into
Corinth for a "second benefit" (2 Corinthians 1:15), and
remained for three months, according to Acts 20:3.
During this second visit
in the spring of 58
it is likely the Epistle to the
Romans was written. Paul's First
Epistle to the Corinthians reflects the difficulties of maintaining
a Christian community in such a cosmopolitan city.
During Alaric's
invasion of Greece, in 395–396, Corinth was one of the
cities he despoiled, selling many of its citizens into slavery.
(Source: WIKIPEDIA) |
