Acrocorinth ( el, Ακροκόρινθος), "Upper Corinth", the

acropolis An acropolis was the settlement of an upper part of an ancient Greek city, especially a citadel, and frequently a hill with precipitous sides, mainly chosen for purposes of defense. The term is typically used to refer to the Acropolis of Athens, ...

ancient Corinth Corinth (American English: ) (British English: ) ; grc-gre, Κόρινθος ; grc, label= Doric Greek, Ϙόρινθος; la, label= Latin, Corinthus) was a city-state ('' polis'') on the Isthmus of Corinth, the narrow stretch of land that ...

, is a monolithic rock overseeing the ancient city of Corinth,

Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders wi ...

. In the estimation of George Forrest, "It is the most impressive of the acropolis of mainland Greece." With its secure water supply, Acrocorinth's

fortress A fortification is a military construction or building designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is also used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from Latin ''fortis'' ("strong") and ''facere'' ...

was repeatedly used as a last line of defense in southern Greece because it commanded the

Isthmus of Corinth The Isthmus of Corinth ( Greek: Ισθμός της Κορίνθου) is the narrow land bridge which connects the Peloponnese peninsula with the rest of the mainland of Greece, near the city of Corinth. The word " isthmus" comes from the Anci ...

, repelling foes from entry by land into the Peloponnese peninsula.

History

The Acrocorinth was continuously occupied from archaic times to the early 19th century. Along with Demetrias and

Chalcis Chalcis ( ; Ancient Greek & Katharevousa: , ) or Chalkida, also spelled Halkida (Modern Greek: , ), is the chief town of the island of Euboea or Evia in Greece, situated on the Euripus Strait at its narrowest point. The name is preserved fro ...

, the Acrocorinth during the

Hellenistic period In Classical antiquity, the Hellenistic period covers the time in Mediterranean history after Classical Greece, between the death of Alexander the Great in 323 BC and the emergence of the Roman Empire, as signified by the Battle of Actium in ...

formed one of the so-called “''Fetters of Greece''” – three fortresses garrisoned by the

Macedon Macedonia (; grc-gre, Μακεδονία), also called Macedon (), was an ancient kingdom on the periphery of Archaic and Classical Greece, and later the dominant state of Hellenistic Greece. The kingdom was founded and initially ruled ...

ians to secure their control of the Greek city-states. The city's archaic acropolis was already an easily defensible position due to its geomorphology; it was further heavily fortified during the

Byzantine Empire The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantinopl ...

as it became the seat of the ''

strategos ''Strategos'', plural ''strategoi'', Latinized ''strategus'', ( el, στρατηγός, pl. στρατηγοί; Doric Greek: στραταγός, ''stratagos''; meaning "army leader") is used in Greek to mean military general. In the Helleni ...

'' of the '' thema'' of Hellas and later of the

Peloponnese The Peloponnese (), Peloponnesus (; el, Πελοπόννησος, Pelopónnēsos,(), or Morea is a peninsula and geographic region in southern Greece. It is connected to the central part of the country by the Isthmus of Corinth land bridge which ...

. It was defended against the

Crusaders The Crusades were a series of religious wars initiated, supported, and sometimes directed by the Latin Church in the medieval period. The best known of these Crusades are those to the Holy Land in the period between 1095 and 1291 that were in ...

for three years by Leo Sgouros. Afterwards it became a fortress of the Frankish

Principality of Achaea The Principality of Achaea () or Principality of Morea was one of the three vassal states of the Latin Empire, which replaced the Byzantine Empire after the capture of Constantinople during the Fourth Crusade. It became a vassal of the Kingdom ...

, the Venetians, and the Ottoman Turks. Three circuit walls formed the man-made defense of the hill. The highest peak on the site was home to a temple to Aphrodite. The temple was converted to a church, which in turn was converted to a

mosque A mosque (; from ar, مَسْجِد, masjid, ; literally "place of ritual prostration"), also called masjid, is a place of prayer for Muslims. Mosques are usually covered buildings, but can be any place where prayers ( sujud) are performed, ...

. The American School's Corinth Excavations began excavations on the Acrocorinth in 1929. Currently, it is one of the most important medieval castle sites of

Myths and legends

In a Corinthian myth related in the 2nd century CE to Pausanias, Briareus, one of the Hecatonchires, was the arbitrator in a dispute between

Poseidon Poseidon (; grc-gre, Ποσειδῶν) was one of the Twelve Olympians in ancient Greek religion and myth, god of the sea, storms, earthquakes and horses.Burkert 1985pp. 136–139 In pre-Olympian Bronze Age Greece, he was venerated as ...

and

Helios In ancient Greek religion and mythology, Helios (; grc, , , Sun; Homeric Greek: ) is the god and personification of the Sun (Solar deity). His name is also Latinized as Helius, and he is often given the epithets Hyperion ("the one above") an ...

, between the sea and the sun: His verdict was that the Isthmus of Corinth belonged to Poseidon and the acropolis of Corinth (Acrocorinth) to

. The Upper Pirene spring is located within the encircling walls. "The spring, which is behind the temple, they say was the gift of

Asopus Asopus (; grc, Ἀ̄σωπός ''Āsōpos'') is the name of four different rivers in Greece and one in Turkey. In Greek mythology, it was also the name of the gods of those rivers. Zeus carried off Aegina, Asopus' daughter, and Sisyphus, who h ...

Sisyphus In Greek mythology, Sisyphus or Sisyphos (; Ancient Greek: Σίσυφος ''Sísyphos'') was the founder and king of Ephyra (now known as Corinth). Hades punished him for cheating death twice by forcing him to roll an immense boulder up a hill ...

. The latter knew, so runs the legend, that Zeus had ravished

Aegina Aegina (; el, Αίγινα, ''Aígina'' ; grc, Αἴγῑνα) is one of the Saronic Islands of Greece in the Saronic Gulf, from Athens. Tradition derives the name from Aegina, the mother of the hero Aeacus, who was born on the island an ...

, the daughter of Asopus, but refused to give information to the seeker before he had a spring given him on the Acrocorinthus."

Gallery

Acrocorinth map (EN).jpg, Map of Acrocorinth Carl Anton Joseph Rottmann - Corinth with Akrocorinth - WGA20150.jpg, ''Corinth with Acrocorinth'' by Carl Anton Joseph Rottmann, 1847 Corinth, Acrocorinth.jpg, View of Acrocorinth walled gates, as rebuilt by the Venetians. Κορινθος.jpg, Inner (second) western Gate Apollon Tempel im antiken Korinth.jpg, Temple of Apollo with Acrocorinth in the background

References

External links

* * {{Authority control Corinth Acropoleis in Greece Ancient Greek archaeological sites in Peloponnese (region) Byzantine castles in the Peloponnese Former populated places in Greece Natura 2000 in Greece