Ancient Corinth

The site of Ancient Corinth was first inhabited in the Neolithic period (5000-3000 B.C.). The peak period of the town, though, started in the 8th century B.C. and lasted until its destruction by the Roman general Mummius in 146 B.C. Representative of its wealth is the Doric Temple of Apollo, which was built in 550 B.C.
The city was reinhabited in 44 B.C. and gradually developed again. In 51/52 A.D., Apostle Paul visited Corinth. The centre of the Roman city was organized to the south of the temple of Apollo and included shops, small shrines, fountains, baths, and other public buildings.
The invasion of the Herulians in A.D. 267 , initiated the decline of the city though it remained inhabited for many centuries through successive invasions and destructions, until it was liberated from the Turks in 1822.

Limited excavations were conducted in 1892 and 1906 by the Archaeological Society of Athens under the direction of A. Skias. The systematic excavations of the area, initiated by the American School of Classical Studies in 1896, are still continuing today and have brought to light the agora, temples, fountains, shops, porticoes, baths and various other monuments.

Doric Temple of Apollo

Fountains, baths, and other public buildings

Archaeological Museum of Ancient Corinth

The museum was built in 1931/32 by the architect W. Stuart Thompson and was extended towards the east in 1950. It contains collections of prehistoric finds, various items ranging from the Geometric to the Hellenistic period, Roman and Byzantine finds, excavation finds from the Asklepieion of Corinth, and a collection of sculptures and inscriptions.

Some of the most important items of the exhibition are:

Large Mycenaean krater Corinthian amphora with a lid

Large Mycenaean krater decorated with a painted representation of warriors on a chariot. Dated to 1200 B.C.

Corinthian amphora with a lid. It bears a representation of two heraldic cocks and a double palmette at the centre. Dated to ca. 600 B.C.

Mosaic, pebbled floor, with a representation of griffins devouring a horse. It is one of the earliest preserved Greek mosaics, dated to ca. 400 B.C.

Mosaic floor decorated with the head of Dionysos framed by ornaments. It comes from a Roman villa and dates to the 2nd century A.D.

Marble statue of a youth. Roman portrait, possibly of Lucius Caesar, son of Augustus, dated to the end of the 1st century B.C. or the beginning of the 1st century A.D. It imitates a Greek original of the first half of the 4th century B.C.

Marble sphinx from a funerary monument. It is resting on the hind legs and standing on the fore. Traces of painted decoration are preserved on the torso and the wings. Corinthian product, dated to the middle of the 6th century B.C.

Byzantine glazed plate. It is decorated with a representation of Digenis Acritas and a princess, and dates from the 12th century A.D. It belongs to a series of imported Byzantine vases, spanning the period from the end of the 9th until the end of the 14th century A.D.

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