Corinth (ancient)

Corinth (ancient), city of ancient Greece, near the southern extremity of the Isthmus of Corinth, southwest of the modern city of Corinth. Discoveries of pre-Mycenaean pottery in Corinth indicate the existence of a settlement there in ancient times. The city flourished under the Dorians, who conquered it before 1000 bc. With harbors on both the Gulfs of Corinth and Saronikós, it was well situated for trading and by about 650 bc was the chief commercial center of Greece. Among the many colonies founded by Corinth during this period were Corcyra (now Corfu) and Syracuse in the 8th century and Potidaea in the 7th century.

With the rise of Athens as a rival commercial and naval power, Corinth joined Sparta against Athens in the Peloponnesian War (431-404 bc). After the fall of Athens, the Corinthians formed an alliance with that city and warred against Sparta in the Corinthian War (395-86 bc). In 338 bc, Corinth was occupied by the Macedonians. The city joined the Achaean League in 224 bc, soon becoming the leading member. In 146 bc, following absorption of the league by the Romans, the Roman army destroyed Corinth. Julius Caesar rebuilt the city about 44 bc, and it afterward became capital of the Roman province of Achaea. Corinth was ravaged by the Goths in ad 395. In the following centuries, it was successively captured by the Ottomans (1458), by the Venetians (1687), and again by the Ottomans (1715), who held it until Greek insurgents recaptured it in 1822. In 1858 the city was completely destroyed by an earthquake. Since 1896, numerous archaeological discoveries have been made among the ruins of Corinth, including Greek and Roman sculpture and remnants of some of the principal Greek and Roman buildings, including the Greek temple of Apollo and a Roman amphitheater.