Corinth Museums and Historical Sites

Corinth is an ancient city of Peloponnese, located about 78 kilometers (48 mi) west of Athens. Corinth is famous for its archaeological site and the history of ancient Corinth.

Natural features around the city include the Isthmus of Corinth cut by its canal and the monolithic rock of Acrocorinth, where the medieval acropolis was built.

The modern town of Corinth derives its name from Ancient Corinth, a city-state of antiquity. The site has been occupied for over 5000 years. Historical sources from the early 8th century BC, document Corinth as an important commercial center.

In about 550 BC, Corinth allied with Sparta and the Peloponnesian League, and Corinth participated in the Persian Wars and Peloponnesian War against Athens as an ally of Sparta.

In 146 BC, Corinth was captured and destroyed by Roman armies. As a Roman colony in 44 BC, Corinth flourished and became the administrative capital of the Roman province of Achaea.

In 1858, the old city was destroyed by a magnitude 6.5 earthquake. New Corinth was then built to the north-east of it, on the coast of the Gulf of Corinth.

Corinth Canal

The Corinth Canal, carrying ship traffic between the western Mediterranean Sea and the Aegean Sea, cuts through the Isthmus of Corinth that connects the Peloponnesian peninsula to the Greek mainland.

The canal was mooted in classical times, and an abortive effort was made to build it in the 1st century AD. Construction in the modern era started in 1881 but was not completed until 1893, today it is mainly used for tourist traffic.