Day 9 – 1/20/2020 – Corinth

We were up, breakfasted, packed and out of our room by 8:45 this morning. We loaded the bus and were on our way to the Peloponnese Peninsula. First Stop: Corinth.

Actually the first stop was the Corinth Canal.

Completed in 1893 the canal is 4 miles long, but only 70’ wide at its base. As such it’s too narrow for modern ships. That coupled with frequent landslides from the steep sides (Haven’t they heard of Angle of Repose?) means its only use now days is for tourist entertainment.

Apparently not all tourist entertainment happens on the water.

Back in the day, ships were dragged overland across the isthmus between the Saronic Sea and the Aegean Sea.

Along the way we passed by the straight where the battle of Salamis was fought. I know I’ve mentioned this before (lots) but it’s really significant. It’s one of those events that was a critical turning point in world history. If the Persians had won that battle we’d likely be speaking some form of Farsi and have a much different history.

Shortly after the canal we arrived at the site of ancient Corinth.

Like every self-respecting town the had a temple (or two); this one dedicated to Apollo.

We traipsed around the site for a bit, Michaela and Mark pointing out various significant structures.

This is the place where the tribunal met and Gallio refused to pass judgement on Paul. (“This sounds like a Jewish religion problem to me, so work it out yourselves.”)

We saw ‘Main Street’ Corinth. Note the Stoa on the left. On the right, well…

This is a Roman latrine – a 3 holer, complete with indoor plumbing.

At one point we stopped while I got to read 1 Corinthians 13 – a letter Paul wrote to the Christians who walked these very paths.

For reference, on the top of the hill behind Corinth is the Acrocorinth – the Acropolis of ancient Corinth.

Next stop was the small but interesting Corinth Archaeological Museum. Their collection was mainly devoted to finds at the site. Here are a few.

Column capital showing the Jewish presence in the community

Central panel from tessellated floor of a Roman villa. In the center, head of Dionysius with fruit and ivy in his hair; 150-300 AD

Tessellated mosaic representing a pastoral scene; 150-200 AD

Head of Tyche from the Temple of Octavia; 50 – 100 AD. Check out the city depicted in his crown.

Portrait of Emperor Caracalla; 211-217 AD. Note the beard!

After a brief lunch stop the bus took us part way up the hill to the base of the Acrocorinth.

It’s quite an impressive fortress with 3 levels of walls and a 700 foot climb from the bottom gate to the top of the hill.

And killer views – to the southwest across the peninsula towards Mt. Olympus

And to the north across Corinth to the sea

Leaving the area we encountered a very familiar site.

We proceeded on to our hotel in Nafplion. This sleepy harbor town (at least in winter) was an important seaport throughout Greek history it was actually the capital of the Kingdom of Greece from 1821 – 1834. We checked in and set out to wander a bit – checking out the old town and finding a great restaurant that served swordfish souvlaki.