Corinth!--
Whose gorgeous fabrics seem'd to strike the skies,
Whom, though by tyrant victors oft subdued,
Greece, Egypt, Rome, with awful wonder view'd.
Her name, for Pallas' heavenly art renown'd,
Spread like the foliage which her pillars crown'd;
But now in fatal desolation laid,
Oblivion o'er it draws a dismal shade.
This city was situated at the foot of a hill, on which stood the
citadel. To the south it was defended by the hill itself, which is there
extremely steep. Strong and lofty ramparts protected it on three sides.
Corinth was at first subject to the kings of Argos and Mycenæ; at last
Sisyphus made himself master of it. But his descendants were
dispossessed of the throne by the Heraclidæ, about ten years after the
siege of Troy. The regal power, after this, came to the descendants of
Bacchis, under whom the monarchy was changed into an aristocracy; that
is, the reins of government were in the hands of the elders, who
annually chose from amongst themselves a chief magistrate, whom they
called Prytanis. At length Cypselus, having gained the people, usurped
the supreme authority, which he transmitted to his son Periander.
The most celebrated of the Corinthians was a person, who though a
tyrant, was reckoned one of the seven wise men (Periander). When he had
first made himself master of the city, he wrote to Thrasybulus, tyrant
of Miletus, to know what measures he should take with his newly-acquired
subjects. The latter, without any answer, led the messenger into a field
of wheat; where, in walking along, he beat down with his cane all the
ears of corn that were higher than the rest. Periander perfectly well
understood the meaning of this enigmatical answer, which was a tacit
intimation to him, that, in order to secure his own life, he should cut
off the most eminent of the Corinthian citizens. Periander, however, did
not relish so cruel an advice.
He wrote circular letters to all the wise men, inviting them to pass
some time with him at Corinth, as they had done the year before at
Sardis with Croesus. Princes in those days thought themselves much
honoured when they could have such guests in their houses. Plutarch
describes an entertainment which Periander gave these illustrious
guests, and observes, at the same time, that the decent simplicity of
it, adapted to the taste and humour of the persons entertained, did him
much more honour than the greatest magnificence could have done. The
subject of their discourse at table was sometimes grave and serious, at
other times pleasant and gay. One of the company proposed this
question;--Which is the most perfect popular government? That, answered
Solon, where an injury, done to any private citizen, is such to the
whole body: That, said Bias, where the law has no superior: That, said
Thales, where the inhabitants are neither too rich nor too poor: That,
said Anacharsis, where virtue is honoured, and vice detested: Says
Pittacus, where dignities are always conferred upon the virtuous, and
never upon the wicked: Says Cleobulus, where the citizens fear blame,
more than punishment: Says Chilo, where the laws are more regarded, and
have more authority, than the orators. From all these opinions Periander
concluded, that the most perfect popular government would be that which
came nearest to aristocracy, where the sovereign authority is lodged in
the hands of a few men of honour and virtue.
This city standing between two seas, an attempt was made by Periander,
and afterwards by Alexander, Demetrius, Julius Cæsar, Caligula, Nero,
and Herodes Atticus, to unite them; but they all failed in the attempt.
Strabo was in Corinth after its restoration by the Romans. He describes
the site, and says, that its circuit occupied five miles. From the
summit of the Sisyphéum, he continues, is beheld to the north Parnassus
and Helicon, lofty mountains covered with snow; and below both, to the
west, the Crissæan gulf, bounded by Phocis, by Boeotia and the Megaris,
and by Corinthia and Sicyonia. Beyond all these are the Oneian
mountains, stretching as far as Cithæron.
Corinth had temples dedicated to the Egyptian Isis, to Serapis, and
Serapis of Canopus. Fortune, also, had a temple, and her statue was made
of Persian work; and near this temple was another, dedicated to the
mother of all the gods.
Besides the citadel, built upon the mountain, the works of art, which
chiefly displayed the opulence and taste of the people, were the
grottoes, raised over the fountain of Pyrene, sacred to the Muses, and
constructed of white marble. There were, also, a theatre and stadium,
built of the same materials, and decorated in the most magnificent
manner; also a temple of Neptune, containing the chariots of the god,
and of Amphitrite, drawn by horses covered over with gold, and adorned
with ivory hoofs.
There were a multitude of statues, also; amongst which were those of
Bacchus, and Diana of Ephesus. These were of wood; others were of
bronze; amongst which were those of Apollo Clarius; a Venus by
Hermogenes of Cythera; two Mercuries; three statues of Jupiter; and a
Minerva. This last was mounted on a pedestal, the basso-relievos of
which represented the Nine Muses.
Such, indeed, were its wealth, magnificence, and excellent situation,
that it was thought by the Romans equally worthy of empire with Carthage
and Capua; and this induces me to say a few words in regard to its war
with the Romans.
Metellus[198] having received advice in Macedonia of the troubles in
Peloponnesus, departed thither with Romans of distinction, who arrived
in Corinth at the time the council was assembled there. They spoke in it
with abundance of moderation, exhorting the Achaians not to draw upon
themselves, by imprudent levity and weakness, the resentment of the
Romans. They were treated with contempt, and ignominiously turned out of
the assembly. An innumerable crowd of workmen and artificers rose about
them, and insulted them. All the cities of Achaia were at the time in a
kind of delirium; but Corinth was far more frantic than the rest, and
abandoned themselves to a kind of madness. They had been persuaded that
Rome intended to enslave them all, and absolutely to destroy the Achaian
league.
The Romans, having chosen Mummius for one of the consuls, charged him
with the management of the Achaian war. When Mummius had assembled all
his troops, he advanced to the city, and encamped before it. A body of
his advanced guard being negligent of duty upon their post, the besieged
made a sally, attacked them vigorously, killed many, and pursued the
rest almost to the entrance of their camp. This small advantage very
much encouraged the Achaians, and thereby proved fatal to them. Diæus
offered the consul battle. The latter, to augment his rashness, kept his
troops within the camp, as if fear prevented him from accepting it. The
joy and presumption of the Achaians rose in consequence to an
inexpressible height. They advanced furiously with all their troops,
having placed their wives and children upon the neighbouring eminence,
to be spectators of the battle, and caused a great number of carriages
to follow them, to be laden with the booty they should take from the
enemy; so fully did they assure themselves of the victory.
Never was there a more rash or ill-founded confidence. The faction had
removed from the service and councils all such as were capable of
commanding the troops, or conducting affairs; and had substituted others
in their room, without either talents or ability, in order to their
being more absolutely masters of the government, and ruling without
opposition. The chiefs, without military knowledge, valour, or
experience, had no other merit than a blind and frantic rage. They had
already committed an excess of folly in hazarding a battle, which was to
decide their fate, without necessity, instead of thinking of a long and
brave defence in so strong a place as Corinth, and of obtaining good
conditions by a vigorous resistance. The battle was fought near
Leucopetra, and the defile of the isthmus. The consul had posted part of
his horse in ambuscade, which they quitted at a proper time for charging
the Achaian cavalry in flank; who, surprised by an unforeseen attack,
gave way immediately. The infantry made a little more resistance; but,
as it was neither covered, nor sustained by the horse, it was soon
broken and put to flight. Diæus, upon this, abandoned himself to
despair. He rode full speed to Megalopolis, and having entered his
house, set fire to it; killed his wife, to prevent her falling into the
hands of the enemy; drank poison; and in that manner put an end to his
life, worthy of the many crimes he had committed.
After this defeat, the inhabitants lost all hope of defending
themselves; so that all the Achaians who had retired into Corinth, and
most of the citizens, quitted it the following night, to save themselves
how they could. The consul having entered the city, abandoned it to be
plundered by the soldiers. All the men who were left in it were put to
the sword, and the women and children sold; and after the statues,
paintings, and richest moveables were removed, in order to their being
carried to Rome, the houses were set on fire, and the whole city
continued in flames for several days. From that time the Corinthian
brass became more valuable than ever, though it had been in reputation
long before. It is pretended that the gold, silver, and brass, which
were melted, and ran together in this conflagration, formed a new and
precious metal. The walls were afterwards desolated, and razed to their
very foundations. All this was executed by order of the Senate, to
punish the insolence of the Corinthians, who had violated the law of
nations, in their treatment of the ambassadors sent to them by Rome.
The booty taken at Corinth was sold, and considerable sums raised from
it. Amongst the paintings there was a piece drawn by the most celebrated
hand in Greece, representing Bacchus, the beauty of which was not known
to the Romans, who were at that time entirely ignorant of the polite
arts. Polybius, who was then in the country, had the mortification to
see the painting serve the soldiers for a table to play at dice upon. It
was afterwards sold to Attalus for £3625 sterling. Pliny mentions
another picture by the same painter, which the same Attalus purchased
for 110 talents. The consul, surprised that the price of the painting in
question should rise so high, interposed his authority, and retained it
contrary to public faith, and notwithstanding the complaints of Attalus,
because he imagined there was some hidden virtue in the prize, unknown
to him. He did not act in that manner for his private interest, nor with
the view of appropriating it to himself, as he sent it to Rome, to be
applied in adorning the city. When it arrived at Rome, it was set up in
the temple of Ceres, whither the judges went to see it out of curiosity,
as a masterpiece of art; and it remained there till it was burned with
that temple.
Mummius was a great warrior, and an excellent man; but he had neither
learning, knowledge of arts, nor taste for painting or sculpture. He
ordered particular persons to take care of transporting many of the
paintings and statues of the most excellent masters to Rome. Never had
loss been so irreparable, as that of such a deposite, consisting of the
masterpieces of those rare artists, who contributed almost as much as
the great captains, to the rendering of their age glorious to posterity.
Mummius, however, in recommending the care of that precious collection
to those to whom he confided them, threatened them very seriously, that
if the statues, paintings, and other things with which he charged them,
should be either lost or destroyed by the way, he would oblige them to
find others at their own cost[199];--a saying deservedly ridiculed by
all persons of sense, as a most egregious solecism in taste and
delicacy[200].
It is amusing to observe the difference between Mummius and Scipio;--the
one the conqueror of Corinth, the other of Carthage; both in the same
year[201]. Scipio, to the courage and virtue of ancient heroes, joined a
profound knowledge of the sciences, with all the genius and ornaments of
wit. His patronage was courted by every one who made any figure in
learning. Panætius, whom Tully calls the prince of the Stoics, and
Polybius the historian, were his bosom friends, the assisters of his
studies at home, and the constant companions of his expeditions abroad.
To which may be added, that he passed the more agreeable hours of his
life in the conversation of Terence, and is even thought to have taken
part in the composition of his comedies.
The period in which the Isthmian games were to be celebrated being at
hand, the expectation of what was to be transacted drew thither an
incredible multitude of people, and persons of the highest rank. The
conditions of peace, which were not yet entirely made public, were the
topic of all conversations, and various constructions were put upon
them; but very few could be persuaded that the Romans would evacuate all
the cities they had taken. All Greece was in this uncertainty, when the
multitude being assembled in the stadium to see the games, a herald
comes forward, and publishes with a loud voice:--"The senate and people
of Rome, and Titus Quintius the general, having overcome Philip and the
Macedonians, ease and deliver from all garrisons and taxes and imposts,
the Corinthians, the Locrians, the Phocians, the Euboeans, the Phthiot
Achaians, the Magnesians, the Thessalians, and the Perrhoebians; declare
them free, and ordain that they shall be governed by their respective
laws and usages."
At these words all the spectators were filled with excessive joy. They
gazed upon and questioned one another with astonishment, and could not
believe either eyes or ears; so like a dream was what they saw and
heard. But being at last assured of their happiness, they abandoned
themselves again to the highest transports of joy, and broke out into
such loud acclamations, that the sea resounded them to a distance; and
some ravens, which happened to fly that instant over the assembly, fell
down into the stadium; so true it is, that of all the blessings of this
life, none are so dear as that of liberty!
Corinth, nevertheless, remained after this in a ruined and desolate
state many years. At length, Cæsar, after he had subdued Africa, and
while his fleet lay at anchor at Utica, gave order for rebuilding
Carthage; and soon after his return to Italy, he likewise caused Corinth
to be rebuilt. Strabo and Plutarch agree in ascribing the rebuilding of
Carthage and Corinth to Julius Cæsar; and Plutarch remarks this singular
circumstance with regard to these cities, viz.--that as they were taken
and destroyed in the same year, they were rebuilt and repeopled at the
same time.
Under the eastern emperors, Corinth was the see of an archbishop,
subject to the patriarch of Constantinople. Roger, king of Naples,
obtained possession of it under the empire of Emanuel. It had,
afterwards, its own sovereign, who ceded it to the Venetians; from whom
it was taken by Mahomet II., A.D. 1458. The Venetians retook it in
1687, and held it till the year 1715, when they lost it to the Turks,
in whose possession it remained till, a few years since, Greece was
erected into an independent state. The grand army of the Turks[202] (in
1715) under the prime vizier, to open themselves a way into the heart of
the Morea, attacked Corinth, upon which they made several attacks. The
garrison being weakened, and the governor, seeing it was impossible to
hold out against a force so superior to their own, beat a parley; but
while they were treating about the articles, one of the magazines in the
Turkish camp, wherein they had 600 barrels of powder, blew up by
accident, whereby between 600 and 700 men were killed; which so enraged
the infidels, that they would not grant any capitulation, but stormed
the place with so much fury that they took it, and put most of the
garrison, with the governor, Signior Minotti, to the sword. The rest
they made prisoners of war. This subject formed the foundation of Lord
Byron's poem of the Siege of Corinth.
The natural consequences of an extensive commerce were wealth and
luxury. Fostered in this manner, the city rose in magnificence and
grandeur; and the elegant and magnificent temples, palaces, theatres,
and other buildings, adorned with statues, columns, capitals, and bases,
not only rendered it the pride of its inhabitants and the admiration of
strangers, but gave rise to that order of architecture which still bears
its name.
Corinth has preserved but few monuments of its Greek or Roman citizens.
The chief remains are at the southern corner of the town, and above the
bazaar; eleven columns, supporting their architraves, of the Doric
order, fluted, and wanting in height near half the common proportion to
the diameter. Within them, to the western end, is one taller, though
entire, which, it is likely, contributed to sustain the roof. They are
of stone. This ruin is probably of great antiquity, and a portion of a
fabric, erected mostly before the Greek city was destroyed, but before
the Doric order had attained to maturity.
Mr. Dodwell, nevertheless, observed no remains of the order of
architecture which is said to have been invented at Corinth, nor did he
perceive in any part of the isthmus the acanthus plant, which forms the
principal distinctive character of the Corinthian capital.
Corinth*, says Mr. Turner, contains, within its walls, remains of
antiquity, but some small masses of ruined walls and seven columns, with
part of the frieze of a temple, of which some columns were pulled down
to make room for a Turkish house to which it joins.
As there is nothing approaching to an intelligible building of
antiquity, we may exclaim with the poet--
Where is thy grandeur, Corinth! shrunk from sight,
Thy ancient treasures, and thy ramparts' height,
Thy god-like fanes and palaces! Oh where,
Thy mighty myriads and majestic fair!
Relentless war has poured around thy wall,
And hardly spared the traces of thy fall.
There are several shapeless and uninteresting masses of Roman remains
composed of bricks, one of which seems to have been a bath, resembling,
in some respects, that of Dioclesian at Rome, but little more than the
lower walls and foundations are remaining. The only Grecian ruin which,
at present, remains at Corinth, is that of a Doric temple. When Du Loir
travelled there (1654), there were twelve columns of this temple
standing. In the time of Chandler there were also eleven; but now there
are only seven. To what god this temple was dedicated is unknown. The
columns are each composed of one black calcareous stone, which being of
a porous quality, were anciently covered with stucco of great hardness
and durability. From its massive and inelegant proportions, Mr. Dodwell
is disposed to believe, that this ruin is the most ancient remaining in
Greece.
In the narrowest part of the isthmus, about three miles from Corinth,
and therefore probably in the place where the games were celebrated, are
seen the spacious remains of a theatre and stadium; and less than a mile
from Corinth, in the same direction, the circuit and arena are still
visible.
The Acropolis, however, is one of the finest objects in Greece, and
before the introduction of artillery, it was deemed almost impregnable,
and had never been taken except by treachery or surprise. In the time of
Aratus it was defended only by four hundred soldiers, fifty dogs, and
fifty keepers. It shoots up majestically from the plain to a
considerable height, and forms a conspicuous object at a great distance;
as it is clearly seen from Athens, from which it is not less than
forty-four miles in a direct line. From its summit is a glorious
prospect. Strabo thus describes it:--"From the summit of the Acropolis,
Parnassus and Helicon are seen covered with snow. Towards the west is
the gulf of Krissa, bordered by Phocis, Boeotia, Megaris, Corinthia, and
Sicyonia. Beyond are the Oneian mountains, extending to Boeotia and
Mount Cithæron." The entire view forms, on the whole, a panorama of the
most captivating features, and of the greatest dimensions, comprehending
six of the most celebrated states of Greece;--Achaia, Locris, Phocis,
Boeotia, Attica, and Argolis[203].
The Corinthian order having been invented at Corinth, we cannot refuse
ourselves the satisfaction of quoting a passage from Dr. Brewster's
treatise on Civil Architecture:--"The artists of Græcia Proper,
perceiving that in the Ionic order the severity of the Doric had been
departed from, by one happy effort invented a third, which much
surpassed the Ionic in delicacy of proportion and richness of
decorations. This was named the Corinthian order. The merit of this
invention is ascribed to Callimachus of Athens, who is said to have had
the idea suggested to him by observing acanthus leaves growing round a
basket, which had been placed with some favourite trinkets upon the
grave of a young lady; the stalks which rose among the leaves having
been formed into slender volutes by a square tile which covered the
basket. It is possible that a circumstance of this nature may have
caught the fancy of a sculptor who was contemporary with Phidias; and
who was, doubtless, in that age of competition, alive to every thing
which promised distinction in his profession. But in the warmth of our
devotion for the inspiration of Greek genius, we must not overlook the
facts, that, in the pillars of several temples in Upper Egypt, whose
shafts represent bundles of reeds or lotus, bound together in several
places by fillets, the capitals are formed by several rows of delicate
leaves. In the splendid ruins of Vellore in Hindostan, the capitals are,
also, composed of similar ornaments; and it is well known, that the
Persians, at their great festivals, were in the habit of decorating with
flowers the tops of their pillars which formed the public apartments. It
is, therefore, not improbable, that these circumstances, after so much
intercourse with other countries, might have suggested ideas to
Callimachus, which enabled him to surpass the capital of Ionia[204]."
At Corinth, too, the art of portrait painting is said to have been first
practised.
"Blest be the pencil! whose consoling power,
Soothing soft Friendship in her pensive hour,
Dispels the cloud, with melancholy fraught,
That absence throws upon her tender thought.
Blest be the pencil! whose enchantment gives
To wounded Love the food on which he lives.
Rich in this gift, though cruel ocean bear
The youth to exile from his faithful fair,
He in fond dreams hangs o'er her glowing cheek,
Still owns her present, and still hears her speak.
Oh! LOVE, it was thy glory to impart
Its infant being to this sweetest art!
Inspired by thee, the soft Corinthian maid,
Her graceful lover's sleeping form portray'd;
Her boding heart his near departure knew,
Yet long'd to keep his image in her view.
Pleased she beheld the steady shadow fall,
By the clear lamp upon the even wall.
The line she traced, with fond precision true,
And, drawing, doted on the form she drew:
Nor, as she glow'd with no forbidden fire,
Conceal'd the simple picture from her sire.
His kindred fancy, still to nature just,
Copied her line, and form'd the mimic bust.
Thus from thy inspiration, LOVE, we trace
The modell'd image, and the pencill'd face!"[205]