Corinth

There are two versions of how the city of Corinth came into being. According to the first, the city was founded by Corinthos (a descendant of the god Helios). According to the second, the city was founded by the goddess Ephyra (daughter of the titan Okeanos). The inhabited city was then temporarily abandoned before the Dorians settled there at the end of the Mycenaean period. The pottery trade made the city very wealthy, and the phrase "Not everyone can go to Corinth" even became widespread, referring to how expensive life was here.

According to myth, the original king of Corinth was the mythical Sisyphus. And there is another legend that relates to Corinth, which says that it was in this city that Iason left his wife Medea.

During the reign of King Cypsela and his son Periander, many Corinthians were sent overseas, and numerous urban colonies such as Epidamnos, Syracuse and Ambrakia were founded. King Periandros also introduced coinage. The city also developed the Corinthian order at this time, which is the style of classical ancient architecture after the Ionic and Doric orders. The head of the Corinthian column was the most elaborate of the three.

The city of Corinth later took part in the Trojan War, the Battle of Salamis, where the city provided 40 ships, and the Battle of Plataea, involving 5,000 hoplites. Corinth was largely an ally of Sparta and an enemy of Athens. In 394 BC, however, Corinth decided not to tolerate the hegemonic position of Sparta and allied with Athens, Thebes and Argos, resulting in the Corinthian War. In 386 BC, however, the Corinthians were forced to accept the terms of peace. After the end of the war, the aristocrats took power and the city once again sided with Sparta.

Later, Corinth became the base of Macedonian power in southern Greece.