Corinth and a trip to Olympia

Greetings from Olympia Greece!!

It has been a good day. We visited the site of Corinth. Corinth is an important mainly because of its location near the isthmus with mainland Greece. It had 2 important harbors which it controlled Cenchrea and Lechaion. A great deal of trade traveled through the city. So it control important land and sea routes. This is a site with a long occupation, dating from the Bronze Age like Mycenae. It flourished from the 7th to the 4th centuries BC. It was destroyed by the Roman General Mummius in 144BC. The Romans punished Corinth because they rebelled against Roman authrity. The leveled every building in the town except for the Temple to Apollo.

The town was restructured as a Roman city and it was this town that Paul visited in the first century. He founded a church at the city and wrote 2 letters to the Christians there.

The most impressive structure on the site is the Temple to Apollo it has 7 Doric columns still standing and it is one of the earliest temples in Greece. (it is pictured above).

The remains of a Greek stadium, which the Romans built over while constructing their Forum, is visible in the center of the site. An interesting feature of the site was a a secret staircase where a priest could hide behind a wall and "perform a miracle" by making wine come forth out of the fountain when prompted.

We also saw the Bema of the city which is the likely location of Gallio's address as recorded in Acts when Paul is taken before him and charged with crimes against the Jews of the city. The AcroCorinth rising above the city was the home to the Temple to Aprodite. Her priestess served as Temple prostitutes in the city. The mobile population and this temple led to many of the problems in the Corinth church.

The main road to Lechaion is well preserved and has a large fountain, several shops and even public toliet on either side of the street.

The museum has many important statues and frescos. It also has an inscription from a 5th century synagogue in the city. Corinth had an Askelpion healing center and some of the votive offerings of models of body parts offered to god for healing are on display.

The odeon and theater of the site were closed. But you have a good view of the harbor area from the site. The theater has the important Erastus Inscription which mentions that Erastus a leader in the city paid for a pavement on the east side of the theater.

We ate lunch at a little resturant near the site and then drove about 3-4 hours to this hotel near Olympia. It had a nice view of the valley and water in the distance. I had a Donner Kabab platter which is grilled meat, vegetables, a great yogart, and a few french fries.

I got news when I arrived at the hotel that my bag is in a village about 11 km away. But to get it would cost 30 euro for the cab. 15 there and back. So I talked to the bus driver and he said we could pick it up tomorrow on our way to Olympia. So I decided to be one more day with out my bag. Anyway I am glad that it is hear. I just hope it is my bag, I guess I will find out tomorrow.

Tomorrow we visit Olympia and give a presentation on altars and sacrifice

My new camera worked well and I think it will be fine. I just have to solve the storage problem of all those images I will collect I am thinking of transfering them to an IPOD.

I hope all is well wirtie to me when you get a chance at wineland@kcu.edu

John Wineland, Olympia Greece