Corinthia
Corinthia General Information
The prefecture of Corinthia, joining Central Greece with the
Peloponnese is the first prefecture that welcomes all visitors who are
coming from Athens. It provides the first glimpses of the beauty,
history, excitement and interest that can be found here in the
Peloponnese. The capital of Corinthia is Corinth.
The northern areas and the eastern coast of the prefecture are made up
of pasture lands and farmlands where olives, grapes, tomatoes and
vegetables are cultivated. The rest of prefecture is dominated by
mountains. Its tallest mountain is Kyllini to its west and the largest
lake is Lake Stymphalus situated in the southwest.
Towns & Sights
Corinth, the
capital of the prefecture which was repeatedly levelled by earthquakes,
is a modern seaside resort, with a selection of shops, tavernas, bars
and cafes. It was a city-state, on the Isthmus of Corinth, the narrow
stretch of land that joins the Peloponnesus to the mainland of Greece.
To the west of the isthmus lies the Gulf of Corinth, to the east lies
the Saronic Gulf. Ancient Corinth is one of the most visited ancient
sites in the region.
Located at the foot of the huge rock of Acrocorinth
which towers at 500m above Ancient Corinth, you will find an abundance
of ancient sites and ruins. The past glory of the city, which thrived
from the 5th century BC to the 3rd AD are there for all to see and
admire. One of the highlights of the ancient site is the Temple of
Apollo, which has seven of it's original 38 Doric columns intact. The
temple, dating from the 6th century BC is truly a sight to behold.
Other ruins include the site of the Agora, the foundations of the huge
Stoa and the ancient theatres. There is also the museum where you can
see the displays of Roman mosaics and statues, as well as other
important findings. The dominating Acrocorinth rock is a splendid
sight. With it's Byzantine fortress on top, the views from here are
both magical and inspirational. The acropolis of Corinth stood here on
top during the ancient and medieval times. The huge fortress shows
signs of ancient Greek, Roman, Frankish and Turkish claims to it's
supremacy. At the summit of the Acrocorinth, there are a number of
temples and shrines. Slightly lower down is the Upper Peirene Spring,
which legend tells us was named after a woman named Peirene, who was
transformed into the spring by the tears that she had cried over the
death of her son, who had been killed by Artemis.
The Corinth Canal,
carrying ship traffic between the western Mediterranean and the Aegean
Sea, is about 4 km east of the city, cutting through the Isthmus of
Corinth. Originally intended as a shipping route, cutting the time of
reaching the port of Piraeus in Athens by several days, it is today
more of a landmark. Today's modern vessles are too wide for the canal,
though small vessles and cruise ships still use the canal.
Work on the canal began in 1882 by a French company, and was completed
approximately 11 years later by Greeks. It is 6.34km in length, and 23m
wide. The canal is passed over by three bridges, the old national
highway, the new national highway and the train bridge.
Loutraki
in Corinthia is a very popular destination for Greeks and visitors from
abroad, and offers a wealth of facilities and natural spas. It is a
very cosmopolitan area, and is home to the famous Loutraki casino,
which many people visit.
Corinthia History
Corinthia has been inhabited since the Neolithic Age, circa 6000 BC.
During the 7th century BCCorinthians developed the Corinthian order,
the third order of the classical architecture after the Ionic and the
Doric. The Corinthian order was the most complicated of the three,
showing the accumulation of wealth and the luxurious lifestyle in the
ancient city-state, while the Doric order was analogous to the strict
and simplistic lifestyle of the older Dorians like the Spartans, and
the Ionic was a balance between those two following the philosophy of
harmony of Ionians like the Athenians.
After the end of the Peloponnesian War (404 BC), Corinth and Thebes,
which were former allies with Sparta in the Peloponnesian League, had
grown dissatisfied with the hegemony of Sparta and started the
Corinthian War against it, which further weakened the city-states of
the Peloponnese. This weakness allowed for the subsequent invasion of
the Macedonians of the north and the forging of the Corinthian League
by Philip II of Macedon against the Persian Empire.
During the reign of Byzantine emperor Justinian I (527 AD- 565 AD), a
large stone wall was erected from the Saronic to the Corinthian gulf,
protecting the Peloponnesean peninsula from the barbarian invasions of
the north. The stone wall was about six miles (10 km) long and was
named Examilion.
In late 2006, the prefect of Corinthia announced the construction of a
new dam located 5 to 7 km south of Kiato and Sicyon, near Stimanika,
over the Elissos River. It will become the second largest body of water
(lakes, reservoirs) in the prefecture and also the first prefecture in
the Peloponnese peninsula to built a reservoir. The dam will be
designed to withstand earthquakes and natural disasters including
flooding.
On Tuesday July 17, 2007, a forest fire struck the area around the
historic Acrocorinth and its castle. It started on a slope near
Acrocorinth and the fires spread quickly enough to burn a large number
of Greek Fir, pine and cypress trees in the surrounding area and reach
the new GR-7 (E65) superhighway, causing traffic to be rerouted. It
took a significant number of firefighters, fire trucks, two helicopters
and a few planes to contain and stop the blaze from spreading. The fire
was finally put out the next day. On July 19 however, two more fires
started near Chiliomodi and Mapsos. They started in the late afternoon
hours and burnt several forests and groves during the night.
