The City of Corinth and Urbanism in Late Antique Greece by Amelia Robertson Brown BA

263 Pages·2008·4.5 MB·English

The City of Corinth and Urbanism in Late Antique Greece

by

Amelia Robertson Brown

B.A. (Princeton University) 1999
M.A. (University of California, Berkeley) 2002

A dissertation submitted in partial satisfaction of the

requirements for the degree of

Doctor of Philosophy

in

Ancient History and Mediterranean Archaeology

in the

Graduate Division

of the

University of California, Berkeley

Committee in charge:

Professor Susanna Elm, Chair
Professor Ronald S. Stroud
Professor Christopher H. Hallett
Professor Maria Mavroudi

Fall 2008
Abstract

The City of Corinth and Urbanism in Late Antique Greece

by

Amelia Robertson Brown

Doctor of Philosophy
in
Ancient History and Mediterranean Archaeology
University of California, Berkeley
Professor Susanna Elm, Chair

This dissertation is a history of the city of Corinth
in Late Antiquity, an examination of urban life between the
third and sixth centuries after Christ. Published histories
chart earlier periods of Corinthian civic life, but few
extend into Late Antiquity, though Corinth was then still
central to political, economic and cultural life in the
Roman province of Achaia, modern southern Greece. Beyond
this regional importance, Corinth forms an important
benchmark for other Mediterranean cities in its mix of
Ancient Greek, imperial Roman and developing Christian
institutions. Many relevant Ancient authors have only
recently been analyzed by archaeologists, however, while
published material culture is organized separately from
history in most archaeological field reports. This evidence
has varying utility for the writer of history, and the
genre and biases of Ancient authors, the conditions of the
early excavations at Corinth, and recent academic work on
Late Antique Greece all receive mention.
Beyond an organized account of urban life in the
Agora, city and countryside of Late Antique Corinth, this
dissertation also asks why such life was changing so
dramatically in Late Antiquity, and explores some of the
factors responsible. In Achaia, as elsewhere in the Later
Roman Empire, political, economic and cultural conditions
were undergoing significant change, resulting in new
leaders at Corinth, new products for sale, old buildings
abandoned or reused, and a new religion with its own new
buildings. Some of these changes happened abruptly in the
fifth century, but most were gradual, and emerged from
institutions which existed in the third century. Finally,
many elements essential to urban life such as local
leaders, roads, water supplies and a capacity to recover
after disasters are still present in Late Antiquity, and
confirm that Corinth was a city throughout that era.
2
Table of Contents

I. Introduction 7
II. Sources for Late Antique Corinth 10
III. Corinthian Administration,
Infrastructure, Challenge 57
IV. The Agora and Central Area of Late
Antique Corinth 99
V. The City: Center, North, East, South,
Acrocorinth 142
VI. The Corinthia 168
VII. Conclusions 182
VIIIA. Figures 186
VIIIB. Bibliography 198

3
Table of Figures

1. The Corinthia and Northeastern Peloponnese,
ca. 2008. 186
2. The Corinthia. 186
3. Corinth and Lechaion, in Late Antiquity. 187
4. The Agora, Central Area and Panagia Field,
ca. 2nd-4th c. 188
5. The Agora and Central Area, ca. 3rd-4th c. 189
6. The Agora and Central Area, ca. 5th-6th c. 190
7. The Panagia Field, 3rd-4th c. 191
8. The Panagia Field, 5th-7th c. 191
9. Christian Basilicas excavated at Corinth. 192
10. Isthmia in Late Antiquity. 192
11. Cenchreae in Late Antiquity. 193
12. Acrocorinth and the Corinthia, looking west
from Perdikaria. 194
13. Acrocorinth, looking south from Ancient
Corinth. 194
14. The Gulf of Corinth, Perachora and Boeotia,
looking north from the top of the Theater,
Ancient Corinth. 195
15. The Agora, looking southwest from the site
of the Propylaia, Ancient Corinth. 195
16. The Lechaion Road, looking north from the
Agora and the site of the Propylaia,
Ancient Corinth. 196
17 Ancient Corinth, from the south in the
early 19th c. 196
18 The Main Square (Plateia) of Ancient
Corinth in the early 19th c. 197

4
Preface
For Greek words in this dissertation I use mainly familiar
Latinized or Anglicized forms, with occasional direct
transliteration of Greek; the latter is internally
consistent except for the transliteration of eta (i/e),
ypsilon (y/u/v) and beta (b/v).
I have mainly used AJA or OCD abbreviations, with the
following additions:
Corinth NB = Corinth Excavation Notebook
I- = Corinth Inscription
S- = Corinth Sculpture
A- = Corinth Architecture

Acknowledgements
I wish to thank several people and natural forces who
supported my work on this dissertation, especially and
first of all my husband Graham. My advisors at Berkeley
have all been great sources of wisdom and encouragement,
and I thank them warmly as well, along with all my other
incredible professors, colleagues and staff in AHMA. I also
express my deep appreciation to the scholars, staff and
students at Corinth, particularly the Director, Guy D.R.
Sanders, and the Curator, Ioulia Tzonou-Herbst. My family
were always behind me and excited to discuss my work, and I
thank them too. Academically I would never be where I am
today without the mentoring and inspiration of Mrs.
Bloomberg and Mrs. Siemon at Dana Hall School, who taught
me about mythology, Latin, Greek, Alcibiades, Cyrus and
Ancient History; Professors Kolbaba, Curcic and Gondicas at
Princeton University, who welcomed me into Hellenic Studies
and introduced me to Byzantium; and President Jackson and
Drs. Bakirtzis and Bakirtzis of Thessaloniki. I feel
immensely grateful to have learned from such great minds;
errors of fact and interpretation in the following work
are, of course, my own. Lastly special thanks must be
extended, as always, to Helena, without whom this would not
be possible.
5
For Graham, Jimmy and the Captain.
6
I. Introduction
The city of Corinth provides a unique opportunity to
investigate the urban life of a Roman provincial capital of
Greece in Late Antiquity, and draw new conclusions on the
wider implications of that urban life for Greek history
during the eventful third to sixth centuries after Christ.1
Although a few modern works of history consider Roman
Corinth, none extends very deeply into Late Antiquity.2
However the textual and archaeological sources exist for
writing the history of the city in that era, and current
scholarship provides important parallels and provocative
theories for interpreting that history.
Corinth was throughout Late Antiquity central to
civic, commercial and cultural activities in her territory
of the Corinthia, in the Peloponnese and in the entire
Roman province of Achaia, modern southern Greece. The city
forms an important benchmark for other cities of Roman
Achaia in its shifting mix of ancient Greek, imperial Roman
and developing Christian institutions, illuminated by
uniquely extensive modern excavation. Outside of Corinth,
many cities of southern Greece still fail to attract much
interest even in their Roman phases, and Greece as a whole
often slips through the gap in scholarship between Late
Antiquity in West and East. Thus besides filling in a gap
on scholarship about Corinth, this dissertation also makes
an important contribution to the study of Greek cities
under the Later Roman Empire.
In Late Antiquity Corinth was always a city, a
community of people living in close proximity and

1 All dates are after Christ unless otherwise noted. Late Antiquity is,
for the purposes of this dissertation, contemporary with the era of
ancient history variously called Late Roman, Early Christian, Early
Byzantine or Early Medieval, extending from the end of the Severan
Dynasty of Roman emperors in 235 through the murder of the usurper
emperor Phocas in 610. The subsequent emperor Heraclius founded a new
dynasty, adopted the Greek title Basileus, and lost political control
over the majority of the Later Roman Empire to the Arabs. These
political events along with contemporary changes in material culture
signal a decisive shift to the Byzantine Empire, and the Byzantine or
Medieval era in Greece and the Eastern Mediterranean.
2 There is no surviving Ancient narrative of Greek, Roman or Late
Antique Corinth. Modern historical narratives of Roman Corinth may be
found in Darrow (1906) through Herodes Atticus, Walbank (1986) through
the Antonine Dynasty (death of Commodus, 192), Wiseman (1979) up to the
Herulians in 267, and Engels (1990) with a thematic treatment extending
patchily into the third and fourth centuries. For Late Antiquity itself
there are a number of short historical and archaeological overviews
which also include the Middle Ages: Finley 1932; Scranton 1957 (Corinth
XVI); Rothaus 2000; Sanders 2002 (EHB), 2003 (Corinth XX), 2004, 2005.
7
maintaining common institutions who identified themselves
as Corinthians. But over these centuries they transferred
their civic allegiance and office-holding from a local
council under an imperial governor to a Christian
archbishop under an imperial general. From the third to the
sixth centuries, they changed slightly what they bought and
where, how they decorated their city, and how they honored
their leaders. Then abruptly in the later sixth and early
seventh centuries they ceased to do any of these things in
the traditional way.
Throughout Late Antiquity they continued to patronize
public baths and introduced Christian festivals while
abandoning centuries-old communal gatherings at the
theater, odeum, amphitheater and stadium along with the
artistic, athletic and spectacular events once held there.
And at the same time, connected to all of these but clearly
not the only cause, was the growing practice of
Christianity: the abandonment or destruction of age-old and
relatively new temples, sanctuaries, cults, festivals and
ritual practices of myriad deities, and the emergence of
new basilica church buildings and new rituals. I do not aim
to untangle all these elements from one another in the work
that follows, only as far as possible to indicate what
happened in one city in Late Antiquity, and contribute to
the wider discussion of these issues as they relate to
Greece and the end of Antiquity in the eastern
Mediterranean.
In Chapter II, the relevant primary sources for the
history of Late Antique Corinth are discussed: geographic,
literary, archaeological and epigraphic. Alongside certain
constants of topography, geology and climate, there is
quite a wide range of available textual and archaeological
source material. But some relevant Late Antique authors
have only recently been edited or closely studied, let
alone questioned on their presentation of history by
archaeologists. The published material culture is on the
whole organized separately in catalogues, with chronology
particularly of pottery often subject to revision.
Important new studies have occurred since most of the
material from the city center of Corinth was first
excavated and published in the early twentieth century.
Excavations are also ongoing at the site, and important
discoveries from Late Antiquity have been made in the last
decade. All this available evidence has varying utility for
the writer of history, and the genre and biases of ancient
authors, the conditions of the early excavations, and
recent academic work on Late Antique Greece all receive
mention. In conclusion selected studies of other Late
8
Antique urban areas offer helpful methodologies and
comparative material for the organization of this work.
Chapter III then forms a history of Late Antique
Corinthian civic administration, infrastructure and
external challenges, based on a combination of textual and
archaeological evidence. Part A treats imperial and local
administration, Part B the Christian hierarchy which
gradually grew up alongside this traditional administration
and then to a certain extent absorbed it. Part C examines
the important continuities in civic infrastructure
constructed and maintained by these authorities: networks
of public and private property, roads, water systems and
fortifications. Part D covers the main external human
challenges to the city in Late Antiquity, the barbarian
invasions and the imperial response to them. Part E
concludes by placing the main natural challenges of
earthquakes and plague alongside these.
Finally Chapters IV-VI tour Corinth’s Agora and city
center, periphery, and wider territory as they changed in
Late Antiquity. I examine each area throughout the
centuries, and draw conclusions on the meaning and
importance of those changes. Beyond this organized account
of urban life in Late Antique Corinth, this dissertation
continually asks why that life was changing so dramatically
between the third and sixth centuries, and explores some of
the factors responsible. For while awareness of a civic
identity as Corinthians doubtless remained, by the early
seventh century the components and birth-rights of that
identity were significantly changed.
9
II. Sources for Late Antique Corinth
The sources for the history of the city of Corinth in Late
Antiquity fall into three broad categories. The first body
of evidence is inherent in the landscape itself, and
encompasses the topography, geology, climate and natural
features of the Corinthia. The second set of sources
embraces all those texts relevant to Corinth in Late
Antiquity: the works of Ancient and Late Antique authors,
relevant later Byzantine, Ottoman and Early Modern
accounts, and inscriptions. Finally, there are the material
remains under excavation since the end of the nineteenth
century, and the evolving corpus of modern archaeological
and historical scholarship based at least in part upon
them. Each of these categories of evidence is fragmentary
and partial, yet each also has its own insights to offer
for writing the history of the city in Late Antiquity.
A. Corinthian Landscapes
Geographers, generals, poets and historians alike have long
admired the unique situation of the city of Corinth,
commanding two seas and two landmasses from the shelter of
rocky Acrocorinth (Figs. 1-3, 12-14, 17).3 But basic
topography only scratches the surface of the natural
features of geology and climate relevant for following the
course of Late Antique history there. Stones and sediments,
springs and earthquakes, rainfall, flora and fauna: these
also shape the possibilities and limitations of life on the
Isthmus today as in millennia past.
The Corinthia, the territory of the city of Corinth,
occupies the northeastern corner of the Peloponnesian
peninsula of present-day Greece.4 Here the narrow Isthmus

3 Topography of Corinth: Thucyd. 1.13.2-6; Strabo 8.6.20-22 (378-380);
Paus. 2.1-5; Miliarakis 1886; Fowler and Stillwell 1932 (Corinth I),
18-114; Sakellariou and Faraklas 1971; Wiseman 1978; Kordoses 1981. On
the significance of landscape for Ancient History: Avraméa (1997, 41-
50) on earthquakes and erosion in the Byzantine Peloponnese, based on
Zangger (1996) for the Argolid; also Rackham and Moody 1996 (Crete);
Rackham 1983 (Boeotia); Cary 1949 (Greece).
4 The Corinthia has been a political and administrative entity as well
as a geographic one since Antiquity, always including the Isthmus but
varying in its exact borders in the mountains to north and south. Greek
City-state: O’Neill 1930, 1-58; Will 1955; Salmon 1984. Roman Corinth,
Colonia Laus Iulia Corinthiensis, briefly under the Flavians C. Iulia
Flavia Augusta C.: Earle Fox 1903; Darrow 1906; Broneer 1941; Wiseman
1979; Walbank 1986, 1997; Engels 1990; Romano 2000, 2003. Byzantine
Corinth: Avraméa and Kyrkou 1988; Sanders 2002 (EHB). Ottoman Korintos
or Kordos: Beldiceanu and Beldiceanu-Steinherr 1986; MacKay 1968.
Modern Greek nomos of the Corinthia: Miliarakis 1886; Kordoses 1981.
10