7 January ’05, Friday. There are days when I have a tough time getting a journal together, and this is one of them. It’s not because we have nothing to write about. Believe it or not, it’s because what we have had the chance to visit, has been so spectacular, that it is tough to put into words just what our experience and feelings have been. I know, that would seem like it would make it easier, but for me???..No…
Thursday I had told you about the Corinth Canal and a little bit of history on it. After I had a chance to look at my pictures, I was very disappointed so we headed back to Corinth (ko-rin-thoss) to see the canal again and then go onto Ancient Corinth and see the ruins. During the 6th century BC, Corinth was one of ancient Greece’s richest cities. It owed its wealth to its position on the Isthmus of Corinth, that is having a seaport on both sides of the Isthmus…Aegean Sea and the Ionian Sea. They could carry on trade between both seas having a port to handle all cargo sent their way. That lasted until 146 BC as Rome got tired of them thumbing their nose at them and invaded Corinth and took over. That wasn’t the first or the last “sacking” that Corinth went through. It also suffered from devastating earthquakes which destroyed just about everything. In the ruins we saw another good example of the Temple to Apollo, an unusual fountain (The Peirene Fountain) which still furnishes the water supply to the village of Old Corinth, and the “agora” (forum) which was just OK.
All the invasions and earthquakes compelled the Corinthians to retreat to “Acrocorinth”. This sheer bulk of limestone was one of the finest natural fortifications in Greece. Now here is what I got so excited about… This fortress sits high (and I mean HIGH !!!) above the Ancient City and seems impossible that it could be attacked and sacked, because of the steep mountain it sits on top of. Our steepness of our ride up meant that “Bumble Bee” had to be in 2nd gear all the way. It was a thrilling ride, very narrow road, and no shoulders or guardrails. From down below it seemed like a large fortress, but when we approached the top, you couldn’t believe just how large it was…it was incredible… This was a “FORTRESS” to beat all fortresses… The strange thing about this fortress, it had been sacked so many times and rebuilt by those that did the sacking, that it reads like a “Who’s who” list…Roman, Byzantine, Frankish, Venetian and Turkish. On the higher of Acrocorinth’s two summits (and we made it all the way up there…), is the Temple of APHRODITE where the sacred courtesans, who so raised the ire of St Paul, catered to the desires (if you know what I mean…) of the insatiable Corinthians. Anyway, the fortress was an exciting place to visit, and we “hiked” our bodies into a mass of jelly that will take at least a week to get back to normal…
Thursday I had told you about the Corinth Canal and a little bit of history on it. After I had a chance to look at my pictures, I was very disappointed so we headed back to Corinth (ko-rin-thoss) to see the canal again and then go onto Ancient Corinth and see the ruins. During the 6th century BC, Corinth was one of ancient Greece’s richest cities. It owed its wealth to its position on the Isthmus of Corinth, that is having a seaport on both sides of the Isthmus…Aegean Sea and the Ionian Sea. They could carry on trade between both seas having a port to handle all cargo sent their way. That lasted until 146 BC as Rome got tired of them thumbing their nose at them and invaded Corinth and took over. That wasn’t the first or the last “sacking” that Corinth went through. It also suffered from devastating earthquakes which destroyed just about everything. In the ruins we saw another good example of the Temple to Apollo, an unusual fountain (The Peirene Fountain) which still furnishes the water supply to the village of Old Corinth, and the “agora” (forum) which was just OK.
All the invasions and earthquakes compelled the Corinthians to retreat to “Acrocorinth”. This sheer bulk of limestone was one of the finest natural fortifications in Greece. Now here is what I got so excited about… This fortress sits high (and I mean HIGH !!!) above the Ancient City and seems impossible that it could be attacked and sacked, because of the steep mountain it sits on top of. Our steepness of our ride up meant that “Bumble Bee” had to be in 2nd gear all the way. It was a thrilling ride, very narrow road, and no shoulders or guardrails. From down below it seemed like a large fortress, but when we approached the top, you couldn’t believe just how large it was…it was incredible… This was a “FORTRESS” to beat all fortresses… The strange thing about this fortress, it had been sacked so many times and rebuilt by those that did the sacking, that it reads like a “Who’s who” list…Roman, Byzantine, Frankish, Venetian and Turkish. On the higher of Acrocorinth’s two summits (and we made it all the way up there…), is the Temple of APHRODITE where the sacred courtesans, who so raised the ire of St Paul, catered to the desires (if you know what I mean…) of the insatiable Corinthians. Anyway, the fortress was an exciting place to visit, and we “hiked” our bodies into a mass of jelly that will take at least a week to get back to normal…