Temple of Apollo at Ancient Corinth: The Columns of a Wealthy City

The Story of the Temple of Apollo at Ancient Corinth

Ancient Corinth sat in one of the most valuable spots in Greece. Controlling the narrow Isthmus that links the Peloponnese to mainland Greece, it had harbors on two seas, one facing west toward Italy and one facing east toward the Aegean. Trade, shipping and craft made the city fabulously wealthy, and its potters, bronze workers and merchants were famous across the Mediterranean. On a low hill above the marketplace, the Corinthians built a great temple to Apollo.

The temple was built around the middle of the 6th century BC, making it one of the oldest Doric temples in Greece. It had 6 columns across each end and 15 along each side. What makes it special is that each column was carved from a single block of limestone, rather than stacked from separate drums. These monolithic columns, about 7 meters tall, were originally covered in white stucco, giving the temple a brilliant appearance above the busy city below.

Corinth's power and wealth were legendary. Early on, the Corinthians founded colonies such as Syracuse in Sicily and Corfu, and under its tyrants, especially Periander around 600 BC, the city became a major sea power. Towering over the city was the mountain fortress of Acrocorinth, on whose summit stood a famous temple of Aphrodite. Corinth also had a reputation for luxury, and there was an old Greek saying that not every man could afford a trip to Corinth.

Corinth's history took a dramatic turn in 146 BC, when it led a revolt of Greek cities against Rome. The Roman general Lucius Mummius captured the city, killed or enslaved its people and destroyed much of it. For about a century the site lay largely abandoned, yet the Temple of Apollo survived among the ruins.

In 44 BC, Julius Caesar refounded Corinth as a Roman colony, and it soon became the capital of the Roman province of Achaea and a bustling commercial city once more. The Romans rebuilt the marketplace around the old temple, adding shops, fountains, basilicas and temples. The Peirene fountain, a source of water linked in myth with the winged horse Pegasus, was beautifully remodeled. Corinth was again one of the great cities of Greece.

It was to Roman Corinth that the apostle Paul came in the middle of the 1st century AD. He lived and worked in the city for about a year and a half, founding a Christian community to which he later wrote the letters known as First and Second Corinthians. Visitors can still see the bema, the raised speaking platform in the forum, where Paul is said to have been brought before the Roman governor Gallio.

Today the seven standing columns of the Temple of Apollo are the symbol of Ancient Corinth, about 80 kilometers west of Athens. Walk through the Roman forum, see the Peirene fountain and the bema, and visit the archaeological museum with its fine pottery and Roman sculpture. If you have time, drive up to Acrocorinth, where the castle walls and the views over the gulfs reveal why this city on the Isthmus was so powerful.