Ancient Corinth- more ‘ancient’ Greek stones!

Ancient Corinth was once the capital of the Roman Empire.  Destroyed by the Romans in 146 BC, it was later rebuilt in 44 BC under Julius Caesar. It was a key centre for both the Greek and Roman worlds as possession meant control of trade between northern Greece and the Peloponnese and resulted in many invasions and power struggles over the years.  The guide books say that the ruins of Ancient Corinth are an impressively excavated city and is one of the high points of a visit to the Peloponnese. So, we were keen to visit – even though we had seen quite a few ancient stones now in Greece!

The camper stop is only a 400m walk to the village, which sits right next to the ancient site.  Entry is only €4 and that includes a visit to the museum as well. However, if you want to save you hard earned cash and are not bothered about going inside the museum you can see nearly all of through the fence that surrounds it or from the road that leads up to the castle.

I am not sure if we have seen too many ancient stones now in Greece but we are getting rather cynical about it all and as we went around the site we started to wish we hadn't bothered.  The site's fairly large but if I had to sum it up it consisted of half a Doric Temple, an old fountain, remains of an old market place and an array of scattered stones everywhere.  Outside the main site are remains of 2 theatres – one Roman and a larger Greek Theatre, used by the Romans for gladiator battles – although there is very little left of either and leaves a lot to the imagination.  It's a shame there isn't more information around the site that helps bring it to life, rather than seeing a pile of old stones!

Temple of Apollo – where 7 austere Doric columns still stand

The Acropolis towering over the Ancient city

Remains of an old market place

The Bema sits the marble platform used by St Paul in his defence against the charges brought against him by the Corinthians for illegal teachings. St Paul stayed in Corinth for 18 months (51-52 AD) attempting to change the ways of the citizens - mostly regarding the loose living, at one time over 1,000 prostitutes lived within the city. 

Inside The Bema

Random Statues scattered around, not sure why they are always headless!

Inside the museum is a collection of excavated items.  Mostly domesticated items such as ceramic pots, jugs etc, women’s jewellery and accessories and various household items, numerous Roman headless statues, and a couple of mosaics.

Head of Dionysos covered with fruit and ivy

Ceramic pot depicting a battle

War was an integral part of Greek life. Every soldier wore a helmet, carried a spear, sword and shield.  Once the battle ended a truce was called, the dead buried and the victors of the battle set up a trophy to commemorate their victory. 

Corinthian women were renowned for their beauty and much sought after as courtesans – beauty products that were found in the ground

Roman Fountain of Peirene – you can hear the water flowing through the underground cisterns that now supply the modern village

The modern village of Ancient Corinth is small but full of souvenir shops, coffee shops and tavernas – all touting for the tourist's money. There were a couple of coach loads in – one group of Americans and the other Japanese, presumably come of the cruise ships at the Port of Korinthos.

The following day we took a scooter ride up to the castle (Acorinth), that towers 565 metres above Ancient Corinth.  You get an amazing view over the Gulf of Corinth and the Saronic Gulf and can just about make out the Corinth canal that links them.  It sits on a mass of rock and is largely encircled by 3kms of wall. It was free to get in and there was some restoration work being carried out, so not sure who is funding that!  There are a lot of remains – a jumble of chapels, mosques, houses, Turkish bathhouses, and a Frankish tower - all erected over time by Greeks, Romans, Byzantines, Frankish crusaders, Venetians and Turks.

View over the Gulf's from the top

The inner remains of the castle

Having a daft moment!

The camper stop has some long-termers stopping on it - 4 overwintering Germans, and a couple of Brits who organised a BBQ late yesterday afternoon. Vasilis, the owner has a relative that makes wine that comes in plastic bottles and it's lovely.  Needless to say, much food and drink was consumed! 

I promise my next blog won't consist of any ancient stones lying on the ground!

Sally x