Page:Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography Volume I Part 1.djvu/699

 COBINTHUS. Lechaenm, ntnsaiiias mentions near the Pdrene a itfttae of Apollo ; and next along the road a statue of Hermes with a ram, and statues also of Poeeldon, I^eucothea, and Palaemon upon a dolphin. Near the statue of Poseidon were the baths constructed bj Enrjcles, the Laoonian, which were the most splendid in all Corinth, and were adorned with va^ rions kinds of marble, particularlj with that which came from Croceae, in Laconia. Further on was the most remarkable of all the fountains in Corinth; it represented Bellerophon mounted on Pegasus, through whose hoof the water flowed (iL 3. §§ 3 — 5). Pansanias next describes the monuments in the street leading from the Agon to Sicyon. (Comp. " Porta, quae fert Sicyonem," LW. zzzii. 23.) These ^^trere, iu suooessUHi, the Temple of Apollo, with a V^bronxe statue of the god; the fountain of Glance ; the Odeinm, probablj the ooVMed Utetre, builFBy HenDdes Atticus, in imitation of the one he had oected at Athens, but of smaller die (pkerpw ^rwp6<ptor, Philostr. ViL Soph. 236, Kays.); the tomb of Medea's children; the temple of Athena Chalinitis, so called because she gave Bellerophon the bridle bj which he secured Pegasus ; the theatre (comp. Plut Arat. 23; Polyb. v. 27); the temple of Jupiter Capitolinus; the ancient gymna^ ainm muH tJiafiypnt^in <*^^] «d ^ ^ .crn^ suTTounded with columns andTseats; and close to the gymnasium two temples sacred to Zeus and Ascleptus respectively (u. 8. § 6j»fk 4. §§ 1-5). Pausaiuas then ascends the AcrocorinUius. In Boman Corinth no part of the Acrocorinthus appeais to have been inhabited: there were only a few public buildings by the side of the road leading up to the summit. Pausanias mentions in the ascent two aacred enckisures of Isis, and two oi Sarapis; altars of the Sun, and a sanctuary of Necessity and Force, which 00 one was allowed to enter; a temple of the Mother of the Gods, containing a pillar and a throne, both made of stone; a temple of Juno Bunasa; and upon the summit a temple of Aphro- dite, to whom the whole mountun was sacred (ii. 4. §§ ^f 7)* Pausanias does not mention the Sisy* phdum, which Strabo describes (viii. p. 379) as situated below the Petrane. This building is men- tioned by INodonis Sicnlus (xz. 103), who says that part of the garrison of Cauander took refuge in the Acrocorinthus, and part in the Sisypheium,when Demetrius was adinitted into the town by a part of the citizens. From this narrative it is clauc that the Sisypfaeium was near the fountain issuing at the foot of the Acrocorinthus, and not near the one upon the top of the mountain: from Strabo's words above, it is not clear which of the two fountains ad- joined the Sisypheium. From its name wo may ooDclnde that it was r^arded as the ancient palace of the kings of the race (^ Sbyphus. On deeceoding from the Acrocorinthus, Pausanias did not go back to the lower city, but turned to the south, and quitted Corinth by the Teneatic gate, near which was a temple of Eileithyia. All the other gates of the city led towards the sea; but tliis one ooodocted into tlw mountainous country in the iaterior. Hence it is described as the gate behind the mountain (^ Tcycorud^ irvAif, Pans. ii. 5. f 4; oi furii Kopv^^ a^Aoi, Polyaen. iv. 17. § 8). Scarcely any thing remains of ancient Corinth. The most important relics are seven Doric columns ' on the western outskirts of the modem town. Five of these odumns belonged to one of the fronts of a . temple^ and three (ooonting the angujar, column CORINTHU& 681 twice) to one of the sides of the peristyle. The diameter of the columns, 5 feet 10 inches, is greater tlian that of any other columns of the same order now existing in Greece. When Wlieeler visited Greece in 1 676, there were twelve columns stand- ing; and the ruin was in the same state when de- scribed by Stuart 90 years afterwards. It was in its present condition when visited by Mr. Hawkins in 1795. This temple appears to have had origi- nally six columns in frmt. It is conjectured by ^ Leake to hiive been the temple of Athena Chalinitis. ;ft At a short distance to the northward of these seven columns, on the brow of the cliffis overlookiag tiie plain and buy of Lechaeum, Leake remarked upon an artificial level, the foundations of a large build- ing, and some fragments of Dcric columns, sufficient, in his opinion, to prove that in this spot there stood another of the principal edifices of Grecian Corinth. He supposes that it was a hexastyle temple, about 75 feet in breadth, and that from its dimensions and position, it was one of the chief temples of the , lower city. He further conjectures that this was the temple of Apollo, which Pausanias describes as on the road to Sicyon; and that as the temple of Aphrodite was the chief sanctuary on the Acroco- rinthus, so this of Apollo was the principal sacred building in the lower city. This seems to be sup- ported by the fact mentitmed by Herodotus, that in the edict issued by Periander, whoever held any con- %'erse with his sim, Lycophron, was to pay a fine to Apollo. (Herod, iu. 52.) Besides these remains of Gredan Corinth, there « are ruins of two buildings of Boman Corinth. The Boman remains are: — 1. A large mass of brick- work on the northern side of the bazaar of modem Corinth, perliaps a part of one of the baths built by Hadrian. 2. An amphitheatre, excavated in the rock on the eastern side of the modem town. As this amphitheatre is not noticed by Pausanias, it is possibly a work posterior to his time. The area below is 290 feet by 190: the thickness of the re- maining part of the cavea b 100 feet At one end of the amphitheatre are the remuns of a subterra- neous entrance for the wild beasts, or gladiators. This amphitheatre is apparently the place of meeting of the Corinthians, described in a passage of Dion Chiysoetom, to which Leake has directed attention (l{« TTis wiXM9os iv x^V^n '''f'h *'^^s t*^ 5vva- fA4y^ b4^air$€Uj ri/vtp t^ fvnap^ iKSms^ Or. Jakod,, p. 347, Morell; Leake, Pehpormesiaoay p. 393). The most important of the isolated antiquities of Corinth is the 'wtpun6fuoy or mouth of an ancient .well, the exterior of which is sculptured with ten figures of divinities in veiy low relief. This beauti- ful work of art, which was seen by Dodwell, Leake and others in the garden of Notary's house at Corinth, is now in London, in the collection of the Earl of Guildford. The subject represents the introduction of Aphrodite into Olympus. (Dodwell, Clauioal Towj voL ii. p. 200; Leaike, Morea, vol. iii. p. 264; Welcker, AUe Denkm&ler, vol ii. p. 27.) Curtius noticed before the present govemment buildings a fine torso oi Aphrodite. It has been asserted, but without proof, that the foiur bronze horbcs of St» Mark at Venice, came from Corinth. Corinth is now a small town, but is extremely un« healthy in the summer and autumn in consequence of the malaria, for which it is difiScult to account, aa it receives the sea breezes from either side. It is called by the inhabitants GorthOf which is only a oonruption of the audent name. r -