The archaelogical site
Corinth remained a
thriving city in Late Antiquity and the early Christian era. After the earthquakes
in the 4th century and Gothic raids in 395/6, the city appears to have changed.
Over the following centuries the space it occupied was confined within the
so-called Late Roman or Early Byzantine wall, while the earlier walled link to
Acrocorinth was cut off.
The
5th and 6th centuries saw the building of numerous large
Christian basilicas with substantial sculpture decoration in Corinth and its environs,
such as those at Lechaion, Kechrees, Kraneion, Kodratos and Skoutela. Furthermore, parts of a building attributed to
a centrally planned Martyrion have been identified to the northwest of the
basilica at Kraneion.
Extensive cemeteries dating to the 6th and 7th century
have been excavated in areas outside the walls, at the Asclepeion and the
basilicas at Kodratos and Kraneion.
Excavated building remains from the transitional centuries indicate habitation
around the above basilicas and in the area called Diabatiki, while the Roman
forum was used for burials.
In
the mid-Byzantine period Corinth
emerged as an important administrative and commercial centre, as indicated by
coins. The trade in olive oil, the famed local currants and locally produced
silk, all of which are mentioned in sources, appears to have flourished in this
period. Archaeological finds from the Roman Forum reveal a bustling city that
boasted houses, baths, shops and monasteries, as well as potters’ workshops,
goldsmiths and brass workers. Commercial activity in the city does not seem to have
waned when the Franks arrived in the 13th century, while the number of Italian
imported vessels found in the so-called Frankish quarter is impressive. From
the 14th century onwards, in the wake of several blows to the city,
the last remaining population appears to have moved into Acrocorinth Castle.
Glossary (1)
basilica:
type of large church, divided internally into three or more naves. The central nave was usually covered by a raised roof with windows that illuminated the space.
Information Texts (1)
Goths:
German tribe that
probably came from Scandinavia. Around the 1st
century they migrated south along the Vistula River
to settle in Scythia (modern Ukraine). In
the 3rd century they were divided into the Visigoths and the Ostrogoths.
Several Goth generals seem to have gained considerable influence in the Byzantine
imperial court, to the discontent of the aristocracy and the people. Early in
the 5th century a large-scale massacre of soldiers in Constantinople
aimed to exclude the Goths from army ranks. This eventually cost the empire dearly,
as it was deprived of particularly skilful military personnel.
Bibliography (10)
1. Pallas D., Korinth, 1990
2. G. D. R. Sanders, ‘Corinth’ in The Economic History of Byzantium from the Seventh Through the Fifteenth Century, Washington D.C., 2002
3. G. D. R. Sanders, Recent Developments in the Chronology of Byzantine Corinth, Princeton, 2003
4. Williams II C. K, Frankish Corinth: an Overview, Princeton, 2003
5. G. D. R. Sanders, ‘Archaeological Evidence for Early Christianity and the End of Hellenistic Religion in Corinth’ in Urban Religion in Roman Corinth: Interdisciplinary Approaches , D. N. Schowalter and S. J. Friesen, Cambridge, 2005
6. Slane K. W., G. D. R. Sanders, Corinth: Late Roman Horizons, 2005
7. Αθανασούλης Δ. , Αθανασούλα Μ. , Μανωλέσσου Ε. , gr// Μελέτη Μ., Σύντομη επισκόπηση της αρχαιολογικής έρευνας μεσαιωνικών καταλοίπων Κορίνθου, Athens, 2010
8. Αθανασούλης Δ. , Μανωλέσσου Ε. , Η μεσαιωνική Κορινθία
9. Penna, V., ‘Numismatic Circulation in Corinth from 976 to 1024’ in The Economic History of Byzantium 2: From the Seventh through the Fifteenth Century, Washington D.C., 2002
10. Pettegrew D. K., ‘The End of Ancient Corinth? Views from the Landscape’ in Archaeology and history in Roman, Medieval and Post-Medieval Greece: Studies on method and meaning in honour of Timothy E. Gregory, Aldershot, 2008
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