Corinth in the ancient sources

Ancient Sources / Figures / Corinth

34 passages from 8 ancient authors that tell of Corinth, in the original with English translation, author by author in the order the Greeks read them. Corinth was a city-state in Ancient Greece, located between its rival states, Sparta and Athens. In Greek mythology, it was founded by Corinthos, who ... For the story in one place, read our article on Corinth.

Apollodorus (2)

Apollodorus, The Library (Bibliotheca), with the Epitome 1.9.23–28Jason and Medea: the Golden Fleece, the return and CorinthAt Colchis Aeetes sets Jason the tasks of yoking the fire-breathing bulls and sowing dragon's teeth, and Medea's drugs bring him through; she then helps him take the fleece. Medea kills her brother Apsyrtus to delay pursuit, and the Argo sails on to Circe, the Sirens, the Phaeacians, Crete (where Talos is killed) and Iolcus. Medea tricks the daughters of Pelias into boiling him, and when Jason marries Glauce at Corinth she destroys the bride and her father and kills her own sons. She flees to Athens and marries Aegeus, bears Medus, and finally returns to Colchis to restore Aeetes.
Apollodorus, The Library (Bibliotheca), with the Epitome 3.7.1–7Creon, Antigone, the Epigoni and AlcmaeonCreon takes the kingdom and forbids the burial of the Argive dead; Antigone buries Polynices and is entombed alive, and Theseus's Athenians recover the dead for Adrastus. Ten years later the sons of the fallen, the Epigoni, take Thebes under Alcmaeon, and the Thebans flee after Tiresias's death. Alcmaeon kills his mother Eriphyle, is driven mad, marries Arsinoe and Callirrhoe, and is killed over Harmonia's necklace and robe; his sons by Callirrhoe avenge him and colonize Acarnania.

Pindar (2)

Pindar, Olympian Odes 13.1–115Olympian 13: for Xenophon — Corinth and BellerophonPindar praises Corinth and the house of Xenophon, victor in the foot-race and pentathlon, and asks who first invented the dithyramb and the bridle. He tells of the Corinthian heroes of the Argo and of Troy, and how Bellerophon slept at Athena's altar, was given the golden bridle and tamed Pegasus at the spring of Peirene. The ode ends with the list of the family's victories at the Isthmus and Nemea and a prayer to Zeus.
Pindar, Nemean Odes 7.1–105Nemean 7: for Sogenes — Neoptolemus at DelphiPindar invokes Eleithyia, goddess of birth, and praises Sogenes of Aegina, boys' pentathlon victor, saying that song gives fame to the deeds of heroes. He tells how Neoptolemus, who sacked Troy, lies buried at Pytho after being struck down in a quarrel over the sacrifice, and defends himself against the charge of having slandered him. He ends by praising the Aeginetan hero's family and warning against idle talk like babbling to babes of 'Corinth, the city of Zeus'.

Sophocles (2)

Sophocles, Oedipus Tyrannus 771–862Third episode (cont.): Oedipus tells of Corinth and the crossroadsOedipus tells of his upbringing in Corinth as the son of Polybus and Merope, of the taunt that he was not their son, and of the oracle at Delphi which said that he would kill his father and marry his mother. He tells how he fled from Corinth, and how at the place where three roads meet he killed a man in a carriage and his attendants. He fears that he is the murderer, and hopes that the surviving servant will say that robbers, and not one man, killed Laius, and Iocasta sends for the servant.
Sophocles, Oedipus Tyrannus 911–998Fourth episode: the Corinthian messengerIocasta comes out to take offerings to Apollo and pray for an escape from their fear. A messenger from Corinth arrives and tells Iocasta and Oedipus that Polybus is dead, and Iocasta mocks the oracles. Oedipus is relieved that he is not his father's killer, but says that he still fears the oracle about his mother, Merope.

Euripides (5)

Euripides, Medea 1–130Prologue: the Nurse laments Medea's plightThe Nurse wishes the ship Argo had never sailed and tells how Medea, who followed Jason from Colchis, has been betrayed now that he has married the daughter of King Creon. The children's Attendant tells her what he has heard, that Creon means to banish Medea and her sons, and the Nurse sends the boys inside. Medea's cries of grief and anger are heard from within the house, and the Nurse fears what she may do.
Euripides, Medea 627–758Second choral song; Aegeus promises Medea refuge in AthensThe Chorus prays that love may come in moderation and that it may never be exiled from its own country, since no sorrow is worse than the loss of a fatherland. Aegeus, on his way home from the oracle at Delphi where he asked how he might have a child, meets Medea and hears her story. She offers to cure his childlessness, and he swears by Earth and the sun-god Helios to give her refuge and never to give her up to her enemies.
Euripides, Medea 131–212Parodos: the women of Corinth hear Medea's criesThe Chorus of Corinthian women hear Medea's cries from the house and ask the Nurse what is wrong. Medea, still inside, calls on Themis and Zeus as guardians of oaths and prays for the ruin of Jason and his bride. The Chorus asks the Nurse to bring her out, and the Nurse goes in to try, while the Chorus hears Medea invoke Themis again.
Euripides, Medea 214–356First episode: Creon banishes Medea but grants her one dayMedea comes out and speaks to the women of Corinth about the hard lot of wives and of a foreigner, and asks for their silence about her revenge. Creon enters and orders her out of the country at once, for he fears her cleverness and her threats. After she pleads on her knees, he grants her a single day, and she turns the delay to her purpose.
Euripides, Medea 1361–1419Exodos: Jason mourns and Medea foretells his deathJason begs to be allowed to touch and bury his dead sons, and Medea refuses. She says that she will bury them herself in Hera's sacred field and found a yearly rite in Corinth to atone for the murder, and that she will go to Athens to live with Aegeus. She foretells Jason's death, struck by a piece of the Argo, and the Chorus ends the play on the unexpected ways of the gods.

Aristophanes (3)

Aristophanes, The Knights 498–623aParabasis: the Chorus speaks for the poet, then praises Poseidon, Athena and the KnightsThe Chorus wish the Sausage-seller luck and then turn to the audience, explaining why their poet did not ask for a chorus earlier, since training a comedy is the hardest of tasks. They recall the fortunes of earlier poets, Magnes whom the audience deserted in his grey hairs, Cratinus swept along like a river and now drivelling, and Crates who held out to the end. They ask for a hearty welcome for the poet, invoke Poseidon and Pallas and praise the Knights who fought with them afloat. The Sausage-seller then returns, and the Chorus ask him to tell what happened.
Aristophanes, Birds 959–1019bEpisode: the Oracle-monger and MetonAn Oracle-monger tries to stop the sacrifice and quotes an oracle of Bakis that promises him sandals, a cloke and a share of the inwards. Peisthetaerus answers by reading from his own oracle of Apollo, which tells him to hit any impostor between the ribs, and he beats him away. Meton then comes with rods and compasses to measure the air and lay out a market-place and streets like the rays of a star, and Peisthetaerus gets rid of him by saying that the people are about to beat every quack.
Aristophanes, Lysistrata 77–180Prologue: Lampito arrives; the plan to abstainLampito of Sparta arrives with women from Boeotia and Corinth, and Lysistrata asks whether they miss their husbands, who are away at the war. She reveals her plan, that the women must abstain from love until the men make peace, and Calonice and Myrrhina recoil from the idea. Lampito is won over, and Lysistrata says that the older women will seize the Acropolis, with its treasure, that very morning.

Diodorus Siculus (2)

Diodorus Siculus, Library of History, Books 4 to 6 (the Greek myths) 4.54.1–4.56.8Jason and Medea at Corinth; the Argonauts' alleged return routeAfter ten years Jason takes Glauce, daughter of Creon, and Medea burns the palace and kills her children before escaping to Heracles at Thebes. The historian gives the later fortunes of Medea and her son Medus, remarks on the invented marvels of the tragic poets, and records the Argonauts' alleged return route by way of the Tanaïs and the ocean, with place-names in Italy and Libya that are said to prove it.
Diodorus Siculus, Library of History, Books 4 to 6 (the Greek myths) 4.50.1–4.53.7The Argonauts III: Medea, Pelias and the return to IolcusWhile the Argonauts are away Pelias puts Jason's father and brother to death, and Jason's mother kills herself. Medea promises to kill Pelias by a trick: she fashions a hollow image of Artemis and, appearing as an old woman made young by drugs, persuades his daughters to boil their father, and the Argonauts then take the palace. Jason gives the kingdom to Acastus, marries Pelias' daughters to notable men, dedicates the Argo at the Isthmus and settles at Corinth, and as the chiefs part Heracles proposes an oath of mutual aid and the games at the Alpheius that he names Olympia.

Pausanias (17)

Pausanias, Description of Greece 2.4.1–7Corinth: Athena the Bridler, the kings of Corinth and the road up to Acro-CorinthNear the tomb of Medea’s children is the sanctuary of Athena the Bridler, which leads Pausanias to Bellerophon and Pegasus and to the lineage of Corinth’s kings from Sisyphus to the Dorian Aletes, the Bacchids and the tyrant Cypselus. He describes the theatre, the Daedalic Hercules, the spring Lerna and the temples of Zeus and Asclepius, and the shrines of Isis, Serapis, the Mother of the Gods, the Fates, Demeter and Bunaean Hera on the way up to Acro-Corinth.
Pausanias, Description of Greece 2.2.1–8Corinth: Palaemon’s shrine, the ports, the tomb of Lais and the market-placeWithin the Isthmian precinct Pausanias describes the temple of Palaemon and the altar of the Cyclopes, and the conduct of the Isthmian games after Mummius. He then describes Lechaeum and Cenchreae with their sanctuaries and the bath of Helen, and on the road to Corinth the tomb of Diogenes and the Craneum, where the grave of Lais lies. In the market-place he lists images of Artemis, Dionysus and others, with the story of the images made from Pentheus’ tree.
Pausanias, Description of Greece 2.1.1–9Isthmus of Corinth: early Corinth, the robbers of Theseus and the temple of PoseidonPausanias opens the Corinthian book with the origins of Corinth, the Roman destruction by Mummius and the later refoundation. He notes Cromyon and the sow Phaea, the pine-tree and altar of Melicertes, and the robber Sinis killed by Theseus, and discusses attempts to cut through the Isthmus. He then describes the sanctuary of Poseidon, its theatre and stadium, the statue groups given by Herodes and the Nereids.
Pausanias, Description of Greece 2.3.1–11Corinth: the agora, the spring Pirene and the children of MedeaPausanias continues through Corinth: the bronze Athena, the temple of Octavia, the portal with chariots of the Sun, and the spring Pirene with its link to Corinthian bronze. He lists images of Hermes, Poseidon and Palaemon, the baths and fountains, and the road to Sicyon with the Glauce basin and the tomb of Medea’s children. He recounts the varied stories of Medea, Jason and her children, drawn from the Naupactia, Eumelus and others.
Pausanias, Description of Greece 2.5.1–8Acro-Corinth, the Asopus and the early kings of SicyonOn the summit of Acro-Corinth stands a temple of Aphrodite with a spring said to be a gift of Asopus to Sisyphus. Pausanias discusses the river Asopus, its daughters and the stories that rivers flow underground from distant places, then notes Tenea and a temple burnt in Corinthian territory. He starts the Sicyonian king list with Aegialeus and Apis, through Peratus, Plemnaeus and Orthopolis to Corax and Lamedon.
Pausanias, Description of Greece 7.8.1–9Achaia: the League, Rome and the defeat of PhilipPausanias tells how Flamininus took Eretria and Corinth with Achaean help, so that the Achaeans became allies of Rome and fought against Philip, the Aetolians and Antiochus. The Achaeans brought Lacedaemon into their confederacy after the fall of Nabis, razed the walls of Sparta and abolished the Spartan training of the lads. Philip was defeated at Cynoscephalae and made a nominal peace. The section ends with a Sibylline oracle on the two Philips and the fall of the Macedonian empire to the men of West and East.
Pausanias, Description of Greece 7.14.1–7Achaia: the Roman decree and Critolaus' war on RomePausanias tells how the Roman commissioner Orestes announced that Sparta, Corinth, Argos, Heraclea under Oeta and Arcadian Orchomenus were to be released from the Achaean League. The Achaeans seized every Spartan in Corinth and imprisoned them. Critolaus, the new general, stalled the Roman commissioners at Tegea and persuaded the Achaeans to declare war on Rome, encouraged by Pytheas and the Thebans, whom Metellus had fined.
Pausanias, Description of Greece 1.29.1–16Athens: the road to the Academy and the public gravesNear the Areopagus stands the ship of the Panathenaic procession. On the road to the Academy Pausanias notes shrines of Artemis and Eleutherian Dionysus, then the state burial ground with the graves of Thrasybulus, Pericles, Chabrias, Phormio and the fallen of many campaigns, among them Thrace, Tanagra, Corinth and Sicily. He explains the omission of Nicias’ name and the alliance with Argos, and lists the tombs of Conon, Timotheus, Chrysippus, Harmodius and Aristogiton, Ephialtes and Lycurgus, with Lycurgus’ public works.
Pausanias, Description of Greece 1.44.1–10Megara to the Isthmus: Nisaea, Pagae and the Sciron roadPausanias notes the grave of Orsippus, the sanctuary of Tutelary Apollo, the old gymnasium and the port of Nisaea with the tomb of Lelex. He describes Pagae, with its Saviour Artemis and the shrine of Aegialeus, and Aegosthena, with the sanctuary of Melampus and the tomb of Autonoe. The Sciron road leads past the Molurian rock, with the story of Ino and Melicertes, the rocks of Sciron, the temple of Zeus the Hurler and the tomb of Eurystheus, to the border with Corinth.
Pausanias, Description of Greece 7.16.1–10Achaia: Mummius and the sack of CorinthPausanias describes how Mummius joined the Roman army at the Isthmus with Orestes and routed the Achaean horse and foot. Diaeus fled to Megalopolis, killed his wife and drank poison. Corinth was stormed and burned, its people were massacred or sold, and its art was carried off, partly to Pergamus. Mummius dismantled the walls of the cities that had fought and abolished the national confederacies, which the Romans later restored.
Pausanias, Description of Greece 2.8.1–6Sicyon: the tyrants and Aratus’ liberation of the cityBeside the sanctuary of Persuasion is a precinct of the emperors, once the house of the tyrant Cleon, and in front of it the shrine of Aratus. Pausanias traces the tyrants of Sicyon from Cleon to Abantidas, Paseas and Nicocles and describes how Aratus overthrew Nicocles, restored the exiles and brought Sicyon into the Achaean League. As general he took Corinth from the Macedonians, won over other cities and bought the Piraeus and neighbouring forts from the Macedonian commander.
Pausanias, Description of Greece 3.10.1–8Sparta: Agesilaus’ last campaigns, Archidamus III and the roads into LaconiaPausanias summarises Agesilaus’ later actions, from Corinth and the Amyclaean battalion destroyed by Iphicrates to Aetolia and his death returning from Egypt. He then turns to Archidamus III, the Sacred War and the Phocian seizure of Delphi, Archidamus’ death in Italy, and his sons Agis and Eudamidas. He ends with the road to Sparta past the oak woods of Scotitas, a trophy of Hercules, Caryae with Artemis Caryatis, Sellasia and Thornax.

5 more passages of Pausanias that name Corinth

Parthenius of Nicaea (1)

Parthenius of Nicaea, Love Romances 16.1–17.6Laodice and Acamas; Periander and his motherLaodice falls in love with the young Acamas, who has come with Diomedes to ask for Helen; with the help of Philobia and Perseus she is put at his side at a banquet and bears him Munitus, who later dies of a snake bite. Periander's mother loves him and takes the place of an imagined lady in his bed. When he reveals her by a hidden light he is held back from killing her, and from then on he is a madman and a savage tyrant.