Sanctuary of Isthmian Poseidon, Isthmia

About

Isthmia is an ancient sanctuary of Poseidon and important archaeological site and museum located on the Isthmus of Corinth in Greece. Situated on the territory of the ancient city-state of Corinth, it was famous in antiquity for the Isthmian Games and its Temple of Poseidon.

Isthmia is located on the key land route connecting Athens and central Greece with Corinth and the Peloponnese. Its location on the Isthmus, between the major Corinthian ports of Lechaeum on the Gulf of Corinth and Cenchreae on the Saronic Gulf, made Isthmia a natural site for the worship of Poseidon, god of the sea and also of mariners. Isthmia sits on a very active fault line, and Poseidon's role as "Earth-holder" in causing and averting earthquakes is another reason Isthmia became the center of athletic and religious festivals in his honor. The Games at Isthmia were second in significance only to those at Olympia.

Stone artifacts found on the site have been dated and indicate that humans have inhabited Corinthia since the Neolithic Era. Small samples of pottery dating to the last era of the Bronze Age (1600-1200 BC) show that people were still living in Isthmia during this time. During the Greek Dark Ages, the population declined throughout Greece, and with it came a deterioration of material wealth in Isthmia.

As Greece moved into the Archaic period, writing, material culture, and population all increased. The people of Isthmia began constructing large stone monuments and religious sanctuaries. In the year 481 BC, the Persian Empire attempted to invade Greece. Isthmia was not a major battlefield, but its central location made it a preferred site for Greek conferences and pre–battle meetings. The Archaic temple at Isthmia was badly burned in a fire in 480 BC, and the Doric -style temple remains were repaired using Classical architecture style elements.

In 390 BC, during the Corinthian War, the Spartan king Agesilaus encamped at the sanctuary and the archaic temple of Poseidon was burned down in uncertain circumstances. The lack of pottery found at the site after the fire indicates that Isthmia entered a period of decreased prosperity at this time.

After Philip II, King of Macedon won the Battle of Chaeronea in 338 BC, he united the Greek city-states into the League of Corinth, which was formed at a council at Isthmia. Philip's successor, Alexander the Great called a meeting in Isthmia between the Greek city–states to discuss his war with Persia. During the Wars of the Diadochi after Alexander's death, several successors tried to use Isthmia as a central place in short-lived attempts to unify the Greeks under their control - first Ptolemy I in 308 BC and then Demetrius Poliorcetes, who refounded the League of Corinth at Isthmia in 302 BC.

A permanent settlement was established on the Rachi hill to the south of the temple at the end of the fourth century BC. This settlement lasted until it was destroyed by the Roman Republic in 198 BC, during the Second Macedonian War. After the Romans defeated Macedon in that war, Titus Quinctius Flamininus declared the "Freedom of the Greeks" at Isthmia, cementing the location's status as a symbol of Greek unity and freedom.

In 146 BC, rising tensions between the Greek states and the increasingly hegemonic Romans resulted in a last attempt by the Achaean League to maintain its independence. The Achaean War ended in a quick Roman victory, and consul Lucius Mummius Achaicus ordered the complete destruction of Corinth as an example to all Greeks. The sanctuary was destroyed and control of the Isthmian Games was transferred to Sicyon.

The Isthmian Games were returned to Corinth after its refoundation as a Roman colony by Julius Caesar in 44 BC. However, it appears that the games were held in Corinth itself and there is little evidence for activity at Isthmia until the mid-first century AD. The Emperor Nero visited the site on his tour of Greece in AD 67 and performed in the musical events at the Isthmian Games. A new round of construction in the second century AD was presided over by the local aristocrat, Licinius Priscus Juventianus.

Late Antique, Medieval, and Early Modern periods

In the 4th century AD, Emperor Constantine the Great banned all pagan religions and artifacts from Isthmia. The Temple of Poseidon fell into disuse and its material was partly re-used for the building of the Hexamilion wall which was used as protection against invading barbarians in the 5th century.

The Ottoman Empire captured Isthmia in 1423, and permanently in 1458. Isthmia was fought over by the Turks, Venetians, and local potentates for over three centuries. In 1715, the Venetians were expelled, and the Ottoman Empire controlled southern Greece for a hundred years until the Greek War of Independence.

The site was originally found by Oscar Broneer in 1952 and he then led excavations funded by the University of Chicago which continued until 1967. He excavated the temple, theater, two caves used for dining, and the two stadia used for the Isthmian Games. Broneer's findings were published in a series of three volumes starting in 1971, and in articles in the Hesperia Journal.

Elizabeth Gebhard took over management of the University of Chicago finds from Oscar Broneer in 1976. Between August 16 and November 29, 1989, she led new excavations in the central area of the sanctuary under the auspices of the University of Chicago, mostly to clear up disputes that had arisen over the conclusions Broneer had drawn from his finds. The first report of the 1989 findings was published in Hesperia in 1992, with subsequent reports following in later years. These excavations helped to uncover evidence relating to all the areas of development of Isthmia from the Bronze Age to the Roman period, but in particular focused on the Archaic temple, partly because this is the most complete of the buildings found at the site despite being one of the oldest.

From 1967, a second set of excavations were undertaken on the northern and eastern parts of the site, led by Paul A. Clement and funded by UCLA. He was succeeded by Timothy E. Gregory of Ohio State University in 1987, who was himself succeeded by Jon Frey of Michigan State University in 2020. These excavations focussed largely on the Roman bathing complex and the Byzantine fortress.

Stone artifacts found on the site have been dated and indicate that humans have inhabited Corinthia since the Neolithic Era. Small samples of pottery dating to the last era of the Bronze Age (1600-1200 BC) show that people were still living in Isthmia during this time. During the Greek Dark Ages, the population declined throughout Greece, and with it came a deterioration of material wealth in Isthmia.

As Greece moved into the Archaic period, writing, material culture, and population all increased. The people of Isthmia began constructing large stone monuments and religious sanctuaries. In the year 481 BC, the Persian Empire attempted to invade Greece. Isthmia was not a major battlefield, but its central location made it a preferred site for Greek conferences and pre–battle meetings. The Archaic temple at Isthmia was badly burned in a fire in 480 BC, and the Doric -style temple remains were repaired using Classical architecture style elements.

In 390 BC, during the Corinthian War, the Spartan king Agesilaus encamped at the sanctuary and the archaic temple of Poseidon was burned down in uncertain circumstances. The lack of pottery found at the site after the fire indicates that Isthmia entered a period of decreased prosperity at this time.

After Philip II, King of Macedon won the Battle of Chaeronea in 338 BC, he united the Greek city-states into the League of Corinth, which was formed at a council at Isthmia. Philip's successor, Alexander the Great called a meeting in Isthmia between the Greek city–states to discuss his war with Persia. During the Wars of the Diadochi after Alexander's death, several successors tried to use Isthmia as a central place in short-lived attempts to unify the Greeks under their control - first Ptolemy I in 308 BC and then Demetrius Poliorcetes, who refounded the League of Corinth at Isthmia in 302 BC.

A permanent settlement was established on the Rachi hill to the south of the temple at the end of the fourth century BC. This settlement lasted until it was destroyed by the Roman Republic in 198 BC, during the Second Macedonian War. After the Romans defeated Macedon in that war, Titus Quinctius Flamininus declared the "Freedom of the Greeks" at Isthmia, cementing the location's status as a symbol of Greek unity and freedom.