The city of Corinth was one of the most famous places in ancient Greece, playing a major role throughout Greece’s history. It even participated in the Trojan War, according to Homer’s Iliad. What can we learn about the origin of Corinth from archaeological research? Furthermore, what did the ancient Greeks believe about the origin of Corinth in their mythological tales?
The myth of Corinthus
Our primary source for Corinth’s origin comes from Pausanias. He was an ancient Greek geographer who wrote a description of the world at that time. In Description of Greece 2.1.1, he wrote:
“The Corinthian land is a portion of the Argive, and is named after Corinthus. That Corinthus was a son of Zeus I have never known anybody say seriously except the majority of the Corinthians.”
According to this brief account, the city of Corinth was named after a certain Corinthus, or Korinthos. Pausanias does not say who he was, but he was a king of the city-state early in its history. Perhaps he was instrumental in expanding or building up the city.
Some modern sources claim that Corinthus was supposedly the founder of Corinth. However, as we can see, Pausanias does not state this. He states that Corinth was named after this early figure.
It is interesting to note that Pausanias remarks that he was not aware of anyone else (aside from the Corinthians themselves) who claimed that Corinthus was the son of Zeus. This reveals that the figure of Corinthus was known among the Greeks, albeit not as the son of Zeus, although there are almost no surviving traces of him today.
The myth of the origin of Corinth
As for the actual origin of Corinth, Pausanias goes on to explain what it was in the passage immediately following the quotation above. He wrote:
“Eumelus, the son of Amphilytus, of the family called Bacchidae… says in his Corinthian History… that Ephyra, the daughter of Oceanus, dwelt first in this land; that afterwards Marathon, the son of Epopeus, the son of Aloeus, the son of Helius, fleeing from the lawless violence of his father migrated to the sea coast of Attica; that on the death of Epopeus he came to Peloponnesus, divided his kingdom among his sons, and returned to Attica; and that Asopia was renamed after Sicyon, and Ephyraea after Corinthus.”
Far from being a separate myth from the one about Corinthus, we can see that this is part of the same story. According to this account, a daughter of Oceanus called Ephyra was the true founder of Corinth. It was called Ephyraea in her honor. Later, it was renamed Corinth in honour of Corinthus.
What archaeology shows about Corinth’s origins
What does archaeological research reveal about the origin of Corinth? The earliest signs of habitation at Corinth date to the Early Neolithic Period. Archaeologists estimate that these traces date to approximately 6000 BCE.
During the Mycenaean Era in the Bronze Age, there is some evidence for limited activity at Corinth. However, there is no evidence of any permanent settlement at the site. This is also the case during the early part of the Greek Dark Ages.
Evidence for a permanent settlement at this site did not appear until around 1000 BCE. Therefore, we can trace the true origin of Corinth to this period, which marks the Protogeometric Period in ancient Greece.
Early Corinth in the Geometric and Archaic Periods
The Protogeometric Period was followed directly by the Geometric Period, beginning around 900 BCE. During this era, evidence of a well at the site indicates habitation. Additionally, archaeologists have discovered domestic pottery and graves.
Archaic Corinth followed this in the second half of the eighth century BCE. We see a cultural shift occur during this period. Graves were placed away from the residential part of the site. It was also at this same time, the second half of the eighth century BCE, that we see the first traces of stone architecture at Corinth.
Furthermore, the inhabitants dug water channels from the natural springs in the area. This shows that the settlement was advancing significantly. Based on this evidence and that of ancient documents, historians recognize that it was principally in the eighth and seventh centuries BCE that Corinth matured into a significant city-state.
