Lechaeum
The flat country between Corinth and Lechaeum is composed only of the sand washed up by the sea; and the port must have been originally artificial, though it was no doubt rendered both spacious and convenient by the wealthy Corinthians. Lechaeum was the chief station of the Corinthian ships of war; and during the occupation of Corinth by the Macedonians, it was one of the stations of the royal fleet. It was also the emporium of the traffic with the western parts of Greece, and with Italy and Sicily. The proximity of Lechaeum to Corinth prevented it from becoming an important town like Piraeus. The only public buildings in the place mentioned by Pausanias, who visited in the 2nd century, was a temple of Poseidon, who is hence called Lechaeus by Callimachus. The temple of the Olympian Zeus was probably situated upon the low ground between Corinth and the shore of Lechaeum.
Its site is located near the modern village of Lechaio.
References
- ^ Pliny. Naturalis Historia. Vol. 4.4.5.
- ^ Statius Silvae 4.3.59.
- ^ Strabo. Geographica. Vol. viii. p.380. Page numbers refer to those of Isaac Casaubon's edition.
- ^ Xenophon. Hellenica. Vol. 4.4.17.
- ^ Xenophon. Hellenica. Vol. 4.4.18-19.
- ^ Diodorus Siculus. Bibliotheca historica (Historical Library). Vol. 14.86.
- ^ Besl, J. (13 March 2024). "Ancient Greece's Biggest Port Is Older Than We Thought". Hakai Magazine. Retrieved 2024-03-17.
- ^ Chabrol, Antoine; Delile, Hugo; Baron, Sandrine; Bouras, Catherine; Athanasopoulos, Panagiotis; Lovén, Bjørn (November 2023). "Harbour geoarchaeology of Lechaion (Corinth area, Greece) sheds new light on economics during the Late Bronze Age/Early Iron Age transition". Marine Geology. 465. doi:10.1016/j.margeo.2023.107167 – via Elsevier Science Direct.
- ^ χωστὸς λίμην, Dionys.
- ^ Pausanias (1918). "2.3". Description of Greece. Vol. 2. Translated by W. H. S. Jones; H. A. Ormerod. Cambridge, Massachusetts; London: Harvard University Press; William Heinemann – via Perseus Digital Library.
- ^ Callimachus Del. 271.
- ^ Pausanias (1918). "9.2". Description of Greece. Vol. 3. Translated by W. H. S. Jones; H. A. Ormerod. Cambridge, Massachusetts; London: Harvard University Press; William Heinemann – via Perseus Digital Library.
- ^ Theophr. Cans. Plant. 5.14.
- ^ Lund University. Digital Atlas of the Roman Empire.
- ^ Richard Talbert, ed. (2000). Barrington Atlas of the Greek and Roman World. Princeton University Press. p. 58, and directory notes accompanying. ISBN 978-0-691-03169-9.
This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Smith, William, ed. (1854–1857). "Corinthus". Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography. London: John Murray.