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Corinth

Port in Greece, on the Isthmus of Corinth connecting the Peloponnese with the mainland; population (2003 est) 32,000. The rocky isthmus is bisected by the 7 km/4 mi Corinth canal, opened in 1893. Founded in 1858 after the destruction of Old Corinth by an earthquake, it was rebuilt after another earthquake in 1928. It is a major export centre for tobacco and local fruit. The site of the ancient city-state of Corinth, now a village, lies 7 km/4 mi southwest of the port. Corinth was one of the largest, wealthiest, and most powerful cities of ancient Greece.

History

Ancient Corinth was first established by the Dorians under the leadership of Aletes, the first recorded king of Corinth, in around 1000-900 BC, and became both the richest port and the largest city of ancient Greece. It was one of the pioneers in the production of copper utensils and vessels, which were largely exported to all the markets of the Mediterranean between 650 and 550 BC. At the end of the 6th century BC it joined the Spartan-led Peloponnesian League, and took a prominent part in the Persian and the Peloponnesian Wars. In 146 BC it was destroyed by the Romans. It was established as a Roman colony by Julius Caesar in 44 BC, and became the capital of the Roman province of Achaea. St Paul visited Corinth in AD 51 and addressed two epistles to its churches. After many changes of ownership it became part of independent Greece in 1822. Corinth's ancient monuments include the ruined temple of Apollo (c. 550 BC), the marketplace, fountains, and a Roman amphitheatre.

Corinth attained its importance from its strategic location on the isthmus near the ports of Lechaeum, the western harbour in the Corinthian Gulf, and a trading port to Italy and Sicily; and Cenchreae, the eastern harbour in the Saronic Gulf, and port for the eastern Mediterranean countries. The ports were only 7 km/4 mi apart, and although Periander in the 5th century BC, and the Romans in the 1st century BC, had attempted to improve the transport and cargo link, the canal was not built until the 19th century.

Argos Korinthos