Corinth

On March 14, we visited the excavations at Corinth.

Corinth has a long and distinguished history.

Corinth was Greece’s largest and wealthiest city before The Roman Era—it is estimated that Corinth had at least 800,000 inhabitants, five times the population of Athens, before the Romans destroyed the city in 146 B.C.—and was for centuries the political and economic capital of The Peloponnese.

In 44 B.C., 102 years after the city’s destruction, Julius Caesar decided to reestablish Corinth, planning a Roman city atop the Greek ruins. Within fifty years, Corinth was once again the primary city of The Peloponnese, with a population exceeding 100,000 persons.

The Greek Temple Of Apollo is the only structure from pre-Roman times that continues to stand in Corinth. Corinth’s Temple of Apollo was erected in 580 B.C., approximately 100 years before similar Greek structures, making it one of the oldest temples to be seen in Greece. Seven of the original 38 pillars remain standing.


All other Corinth structures uncovered after more than a century of excavations date from The Roman Era.

The square in the photograph below, with a Roman fountain in its center, lies in the very center of Roman-Era Corinth.


The Apostle Paul surely walked this very square almost two thousand years ago.