CORINTH CORIOLANUS. 



4.55 



has varied accordingly. Only a few ruins remain 

 to attest the rnagnincence of the ancient city; but 

 much might undoubtedly be obtained by excavation. 

 Capitals and bass-reliefs are found, in great numbers, 

 in the houses of the bey and other Turks formerly 

 residing here ; the latter, however, are put to the use 

 of ordinary pieces of marble, having the figured side 

 turned inwards. The northern harbour, Lochaeon, on 

 the gulf of Corinth, is choked with sand, as is like- 

 wise the eastern harbour, Cenchrea, on the Saronic 

 gulf. Of the shallow harbour Schcenos, on the north 

 of the city, where was a quay in ancient times, there 

 nardly remains a trace. All these harbours are 

 now morasses, and corrupt the air of the city. The 

 mosques and churches, and the palaces formerly be- 

 longing to Turks of high rank, are built partly out 

 of the ruins of the ancient city. The Turks did 

 nothing for the city or the harbours ; they only paid 

 a little attention to the Acrocorinthus. (q. v.) 



Corinth derived, in ancient times, great advantages 

 from its situation on the isthmus, between two bays, 

 belonging to what may be called two different seas, 

 if we consider the poor state of navigation in ancient 

 times; and a great exchange of Asiatic and Italian 

 goods took place there. The duty paid on these 

 goods afforded a great revenue to the state ; and the 

 citizens accumulated such wealth, that Corinth be- 

 came one of the most magnificent, but at the same 

 time, most voluptuous cities of Greece. 



Venus was the goddess of the city, and courtezans 

 were her priestesses, to whom recourse was often 

 had, that they might implore the protection of the 

 goddess in times of public danger ; and a certain num- 

 ber of new priestesses were consecrated to her at the 

 commencement of important enterprises. Lais and 

 several other females of the same profession were 

 distinguished by their great accomplishments and 

 beauty, and the high price which tiiey set on their 

 charms : hence the old proverb, Ron cuivis homini 

 licet adire Corinthum. The virtuous women celebrat- 

 ed a feast to Venus apart from the others. 



The famous Sisyphus was the founder of Corinth. 

 His family was succeeded by the Heraclides (who 

 were dethroned after several centuries), and the go- 

 vernment intrusted to 200 citizens, called Bacchiades. 

 Heeren thinks that they were, at least several of 

 them, merchants. To this oligarchy followed a 

 monarchical form of government, which was succeed- 

 ed by a constitution approaching nearer to oligarchy 

 than to democracy. In the sequel, Corinth became 

 the head of the Achaean league, and was conquered 

 and destroyed by the consul Mummius, 146 B. C. 

 Julius Caesar, twenty-four years later, rebuilt it ; but 

 its commerce could not be restored : the productions 

 of the East now took the road to Rome. St Paul 

 lived here a year and a half. The Venetians received 

 the place from a Greek emperor; Mohammed II., 

 took it from them in 1458 ; the Venetians recovered 

 it in 1687, and fortified the Acrocorinthus again ; but 

 the Turks took it anew in 1715, and retained it until 

 the late revolution of the Greeks, during which it 

 was the seat of the soi-disant Greek government. 

 Against any enemy invading the Morea from the 

 north, Corinth is of the highest military importance. 

 It is described at some length in Lieber's Journal of 

 his stay in Greece, in 1822 (Leipsic, 1823). 



The situation of Corinth is one of the most charm- 

 ing that can be imagined, surrounded as it is by the 

 beauties of nature and the charms of poetic and his- 

 torical associations. The Acrocorinthus, on its pic- 

 turesque and beautiful cone, seems like an observa- 

 tory for surveying the whole field of Grecian glory. 

 The waters of two bays wasli the olive groves, which 

 border the city ; and from every hill in it, you can 

 survey the noble Helicon and Parnassus, or let your 



eye wander over the isthmus, where, in happier ages, 

 the Isthmian games were celebrated, even to the 

 mountains and shores of Megara anil Attica. Nero 

 began to dig a canal through the isthmus, but hi? 

 successors were ashamed to complete a work which 

 had been undertaken by such a monster, though it 

 happened to be a good one. The luxury of ancient 

 Corinth was greater than that of any other place in 

 Greece. At the court of the Byzantine emperors, 

 there were officers called Corinthiarii, who were 

 keepers of the ornaments and furniture of the pa- 

 laee. 



A certain mixture of various metals was called 

 Corinthian brass, and was very dear. The story that 

 it had its origin in the accidental melting together of 

 different metals at the time of the conflagration of 

 Corinth, when taken by Mummius, is a fable, the 

 brass having been in nse long before. For farther 

 information on the political history of Corinth, see 

 Timolenn. 



CORINTHIAN ; with some of the earlier Eng- 

 lish writers, was used to signify a person of a loose, 

 licentious character, in allusion to the voluptuous and 

 corrupt state of society in ancient Corinth. It has 

 very recently been applied to express a person in high 

 life, and of fashionable manners. This usage is 

 drawn from the Corinthian capital in architecture, 

 which is distinguished for its elegance and ornament. 

 The latter usage, particularly when it is applied to a 

 lady, is rather offensive to the ear of one familiar with 

 the older application. 



CORINTHIAN ORDER. See Architecture. 



CORIOLANUS; the name given to an ancient 

 Roman, Caius Martius, because the city of Corioli, 

 the capital of the kingdom of the Volsci, was taken 

 almost solely by his exertions. His valour in the 

 victory over the Antiates was rewarded by the con- 

 sul Cominius with a golden chain. Coriolanus, how- 

 ever, lost his popularity when, during the famine 

 which prevailed in Rome 491 B. C., he placed him- 

 self at the head of the patricians, in order to deprive 

 the plebeians of their hard-earned privileges, and 

 even made the proposition to distribute the provisions 

 obtained from Sicily among them only on condition 

 that they would agree that the tribuneship should be 

 abolished. Enraged at this, the tribunes commanded 

 him to be brought before them ; and, when he did 

 not appear, they endeavoured to seize his person, 

 and, failing in this attempt, condemned him to be 

 thrown from the Tarpeian rock. But the patricians 

 rescued him ; and it was finally determined that his 

 cause should be brought before the tribunal of the 

 whole people. Coriolanus appeared, and made 

 answer to tlie complaints alleged against him by the 

 tribunes (who accused him of tyranny, and of en- 

 deavouring to introduce a regal government), by the 

 simple narration of his exploits, and his services to- 

 wards his country. He showed the scars on his 

 breast, and the whole multitude were affected even 

 to tears. But, notwithstanding all this, he was un- 

 able to repel the accusations against him, particular- 

 ly that of distributing the spoils of war among the 

 soldiers, instead of delivering them to the questors, 

 as the laws of Rome required ; and the tribunes were 

 enabled to procure his bunishment. 



Coriolanus now resolved to revenge himself upon 

 his country, and immediately went to the Volsci, the 

 bitterest enemies of Rome, and prevailed upon them 

 to go to war with her before the expiration of the 

 truce. He himself was joined with Attius in the 

 command of their army, which immediately made it- 

 self master of the cities of Latium. The Volscian 

 camp was pitched in sight of Rome before troops 

 could be raised for the defence of the city. The en- 

 voys sent by the senate returned with the answer. 



