| CORINTH Corinth (Ephyra) (Mycenaeans) :
The Greek city state of Corinth was located on the Isthmus of Corinth. The site was first occupied in the fifth millennium BC. The early settlement grew into a town which according to Greek legend was named Ephyra, after the goddess of the same name who supposedly founded it. This town may have been destroyed by an earthquake around 2000 BC. The city that grew from the ashes was named Korinthos in the Pelasgian language of the pre-Hellenic peoples of Greece.
Ancient Corinth was positioned about five kilometres south-west from the modern town of the same name, and is now inland from the Gulf of Corinth by about the same distance (the coastline was formerly close to the city and its two important harbours). Ancient Mycenae was a short distance to the south while Corinth's rival, Athens, was about ninety kilometres (fifty-five miles) to the north-east.
Corinth founded many colonies along the Mediterranean of which the most famous and most powerful was Syracuse on the island of Sicily. Before the period of its greatness from the seventh century onwards, there was a Mycenaean aristocracy which probably had a fortress at Corinth (which was known to them as Ephyra) and which took part in the Trojan War. Most of the names are mythical at best, although they probably reflect real people, however dimly.
fl c.1230s BC :
Aeites / Aeëtes / Æëtes : Father of Medea. Gave Corinth to Bonos and took Kolkis.
c.1230s BC :
Some versions of Greek myth state that Aeëtes of Corinth (Ephyra) gives his kingdom to Bonos and takes the land of Kolkis as his birthright, founding a new colony there by building Aea near the mouth of the River Phasis.
Bonos / Bunus / Bounos : Son of Hermes & Alkidameia.
Epopeus : Nephew of Aeëtes. Ruler of Sicyon.
Marathon
Corinthus : City founder according to Greek myth.
In Greek myth, Corinthus is the founder of Corinth, giving his name to the city. As the settlement long pre-predated the appearance of Corinthus, it is more likely that the city is simply renamed, with its old name of Ephyra falling out of favour or fashion (although it apparently remains in use for Glaucus, below). Local tradition proclaims Corinthus to be a son of Zeus, a normal claim for some of the more extraordinary Greek kings, but one that is not repeated elsewhere.
Construction of the Corinth canal was started during the Classical period before being abandoned, while the modern version seen here was only completed in 1883 Polybos : Husband of Merope or Periboea.
Polybos raises Oedipus as his adopted son after the boy's parents, Laius and Jocasta of Thebes, abandon him.
Creon : Killed by Medea.
fl c.1220 BC :
Medea : Wife of Jason of Iolkos. Abandoned in Corinth by him.
After his return to Iolkos, Jason's new wife, Medea, kills Pelias and the couple flee to Corinth. There, Jason leaves her after Creon offers his own daughter, Glauce. Euripides' play Medea describes how she gains her revenge by sending a dress and golden coronet laced with poison to Glauce which not only kills her but her father too. Rumoured also to be responsible for the death of her own two children by Jason (accidental or otherwise), Medea flees to Thebes and then Athens.
Hippotes : Son of Creon.
Sisyphus : Founder of the ancient kings of Corinth according to myth.
Sisyphus, king of Thessaly, is condemned to roll a giant bolder uphill, watch it roll down, and then roll it up again, to be repeated for all eternity. This is in punishment for his avariciousness and for the regular killing of guests to allow him to remain dominant. He also seduces his niece and takes his brother's throne in the kingdom of Elis.
Glaucus : Son.
Bellerophon / Chrysaor : Son. Also king of Lycia.
Ornytion
Thoas
c.1193 - 1183 BC :
Agamemnon of Mycenae calls to arms the forces of his allied Achaean kingdoms, including Corinth, to take part in the Trojan War. Bellerophon's grandsons, Sarpedon and Glaucus take part, but on the side of Troy, as Sarpedon is king of Lycia, a traditional Trojan ally.
Oinopion
Damophon
Propodas
c.1100 BC :
The Dorian invasion of Greece from the north takes place between about 1200-1140 BC, with the Mycenaean city states north of Corinth falling between those dates, and with domination being achieved by about 1140 BC. Greece enters a Dark Age lasting about four hundred years out of which Corinth emerges as a backwater city dominated by Dorians. The list of names shown here does not guarantee an unbroken line of rulers. Indeed, there almost certainly is a break when the Mycenaean nobility is swept away. Rulers who are certainly Doric emerge in the tenth century BC.
Doridas
Ianthidas : Co-ruler?
c.1000 BC :
Doridas and Ianthidas appear to be the last Mycenaean rulers of Corinth, which is subjugated by the invading Dorians.
Corinth :
After the initial Dorian attempt to settle the Corinthian Gulf failed, the Dorian leader, Aletes followed a different path to enter the region and secured it from Mycenaean rule. It is not clear how many of the names before this event were his Dorian predecessors, but Aletes was claimed as the one who expelled the descendants of Sisyphus, suggesting that Aletes himself heralded the start of the Dorian rule of the city. He is sometimes claimed as the son of Hippotes, clearly an attempt to establish the legitimacy of his rule. With the invasion, Corinth entered a Dark Age along with much of Greece at this time.
(Additional information from External Link: Encyclopædia Britannica.)
Aletes
fl c.975 BC :
Ixion
fl c.950 BC :
Agelas I
fl c.925 BC :
Promnes / Prymnes
c.900 BC :
The rise to power of the Doric Bacchiades clan sees Corinth begin a slow climb from obscurity.
fl c.900 BC :
Bacchus / Bacches : Founder of the Bacchiades, a Doric clan.
889 - 859 BC :
Agelas II
859 - 834 BC :
Eudemos / Eudaemus
834 - 799 BC :
Aristomedos / Aristomedes
799 - 783 BC :
Agemon
783 - 758 BC :
Alexander
758 - 747 BC :
Telestis / Telestes
747 BC :
Automenes
747 - 657 BC :
The year 747 BC is the traditional date for the aristocratic revolution which ousts the last Bacchiad king. It is the Bacchiades clan itself which achieves this, establishing in its place a republic which they govern. Each year a prytanis, essentially a governor, is elected by the clan to fulfil the kingly duties. During this period Corinth becomes stronger and is fully unified, and large public buildings are erected. The elements of the Bacchiades that wish to continue to rule reputedly find refuge in the hills of Upper Macedonia where they eventually lead the Lyncestae tribe of Molossians.
743 - 734 BC :
The colony of Syracuse is founded by Corinth on the island of Sicily. Traditionally this is done by the exiled Bacchiades. Like Corinth itself, the colony is governed by a select number of the most powerful Greeks, but as an oligarchy.
733 BC :
Chersicrates, a member of the Bacchiades clan, establishes a trading settlement on Corcyra, off the Illyrian coast of the Adriatic. This island is either home now to the Corcyreni tribe or will become its home, possibly after the Corinthian expansion into Epidamnus around 600 BC. The Corinthians find a good deal of prosperity in their new trading arrangements.
657 or 656 BC :
Kypselos, the former head of the army, seizes power to rule Corinth as tyrant. The Bacchiades are forced out and flee the city. One of these is Demaratus, who flees to Italy and becomes the father of the Etruscan king of Rome, Lucius Tarquinius Priscus. Kypselos rules for three decades and builds temples to Apollo and Poseidon. This period is a golden age for the city which sees it reach the heights of wealth and power, with colonies being founded all along the northern Mediterranean coast.
657/56 - 627 BC :
Kypselos / Cypselus : Former head of the army. First tyrant of Corinth.
627 - 585 BC :
Periandros / Periander : Son. Struck the first Corinthian coins.
c.600 BC :
Although long since forced out of the Dyrrah region and, specifically, the port of Epidamnus, the Taulantii tribe of Illyrians retain a great deal of influence within the port. Corinthian colonists arrive around this time and begin to make themselves at home - although they never quite manage to turn it into a fully Greek port in the face of strong Illyrian influences. Soon they are thrown out by the Liburnians and have to call on the support of the Taulantii to help them return. Having previously dominated the entire Dalmatian coast, the Liburnians appear to be expelled from the immediate territory around the port close to this point in time, allowing the Corcyreni to aid the Greeks in fully establishing a trading port.
585 - 582 BC :
Psammitichos / Psammetichus : Nephew. Named after the pro-Hellenic Egyptian pharaoh.
582 - 392 BC :
Psammitichos is assassinated, bringing the period of the tyrants to an end. An oligarchic republic is formed which sees a few powerful families rule the city. By now, Corinth is trading extensively, not only with Greek and eastern Mediterranean cities, but also with the settlements of Magna Graecia and the Etruscans.
480 BC :
The colony of Syracuse is plunged into a war with Carthage when the latter lands a huge army in Sicily.
480 - 479 BC :
Leonidas of Sparta achieves everlasting fame as a result of the events in the Battle of Thermopylae against the Persians in 480 BC. The 300 Spartans of Leonidas' personal guard leads a force totalling no more than 7,000 Greeks which includes Corinthians, Thebans, Helots, Athenians, and Thespians. The Persian army is held up long enough for the Athenians to prepare their navy for a seaborne engagement with the Persian fleet. (These events are depicted somewhat colourfully - but no less impressively for that - in the 2007 film, 300.)
Greek victory at the Battle of Salamis leaves much of the Persian navy destroyed and Xerxes is forced to retreat to Asia, leaving his army in Greece (with the naval battle, and the preceding one at Artemisium, being shown to superb graphic effect in the 2014 sequel film, 300: Rise of an Empire, although it does contain a great many historical inaccuracies). The following year, the Spartans, now at full strength, lead a pan-Greek army at the Battle of Plataea in 479 BC which decisively defeats the Persians and ends the Greco-Persian War.
431 - 404 BC :
The Second Peloponnesian War pitches Sparta against Athens in all-out war. Fortunes swing either way, but Athens' failure to take the Corinthian colony of Syracuse and the subsequent loss of thousands of troops almost brings the city and its empire to its knees. Sparta is soon established as the greatest Greek power.
This rather indistinct photo shows two sides of a Corinthian coin which was minted in the fifth century BC, a time of momentous events for Greece 395 - 387 BC :
The Corinthian War erupts, with Sparta facing a coalition of four allied states; Thebes, Athens, Corinth, and Argos; all initially backed by Persia. During the war, Corinth's oligarchic republic is replaced by a democratic republic, in 392 BC.
386 - 338 BC :
Corinth's experiment in democracy is brought to an end just one year after the end of the Corinthian War, with the oligarchic republic being reformed in 386 BC.
c.383 - 367 BC :
Carthage renews the bitter war against Syracuse, something which only comes to an end with the death of the Greek ruler, Dionysius.
c.365 BC :
Timophanes : Seized Corinth and was put to death.
c.365 BC :
When Timophanes seizes control of the city, his brother Timoleon protests against the act, although not forcefully. Timoleon's comrades put Timophanes to death, much to the acclaim of the city's populace. Timoleon fares well in public opinion for the act, but his mother curses him and he retires for a period of twenty years.
345 - 340 BC :
Syracuse is no longer the supreme power it had once been in the Mediterranean. Many small powers, war bands and tribal princes seek to control their part of the island. The Carthaginians launch their own military campaign on Sicily, but Corinth assists its daughter city, sending troops under the able commander Timoleon who drives out the invaders and assumes command of the city.
338 - 309 BC :
Philip of Macedonia defeats the Greek states at the Battle of Chaeronea and gains overlordship over all of Greece, including Athens, Corinth and Sparta. Athens and other city states join the Corinthian League (or Hellenic League) which is formed by Phillip to unify the military forces at his command so that he can pressure Persia.
314 - 311 BC :
The Third War of the Diadochi results because the Antigonids have grown too powerful in the eyes of the other generals, so Antigonus is attacked by Ptolemy (of Egypt), Lysimachus (of Phrygia and Thrace), Cassander (of Macedonia), and Seleucus (hoping to recover Babylonia). The latter does indeed secure Babylon and the others conclude peace terms with Antigonus in 311 BC.
314 - 309 BC :
Kratisipolis : Female ruler who also controlled Sicyon.
309 - 200 BC :
The Fourth War of the Diadochi breaks out, with Ptolemy of Hellenic Egypt initially claiming Corinth among his territories. It switches hands in 303 BC, with Cassander of Macedonia securing Greece for himself. The war ends in the death of Antigonus at the Battle of Ipsus in 301 BC. Macedonia retains control of Corinth until 200 BC.
200 - 196 BC :
The Second Macedonian War is triggered by claims made by Pergamon and Rhodes of a secret treaty between Macedonia and the Seleucid empire that is designed to carve up Egypt's possessions. Rome launches an attack and after a spell of indecisive conflict, Philip V of Macedonia is defeated at the Battle of Cynoscephalae in 197 BC, while his general, Androsthenes, is defeated near Corinth.
200 - 197 BC :
Androsthenes : A general under Philip V of Macedonia.
197 - 146 BC :
Corinth becomes the capital of the Achaean League of Greek states in 197 BC. In 148 BC the league rises up to prevent the Romans establishing a permanent presence in Greece and is swiftly destroyed. Roman General L Mummius also destroys Corinth as an object lesson, leveling the city (in the same year that Rome is responsible for destroying another of the greatest cities of the age, Carthage). Greece and Macedonia are annexed to Rome, being incorporated into the province of Macedonia. Corinth remains uninhabited for a century before being refounded as a Roman colony in 46 BC by Julius Caesar.
Source :
https://www.historyfiles.co.uk/ |
