GREECE PELOPONNESE KORINTHIA ACROCORINTH

With its height of 575 m the isolated limestone hill of Acrocorinth can be seen from far away. - Above left: View from Gyriza in the East. - Above right: Seen from the West on the highway. - Below: Views from ancient Corinth.

Settled already in Mycenaean times, as indicated by remains of a Cyclopean wall built of large boulders, Acrocorinth reached its peak importance in the 6th - 4th century BC. At the highest point of the hill was the sanctuary of Aphrodite where more than 1000 temple prostitutes were on duty to satisfy the pilgrims. Later it was the location of a Christian church and then of a Turkish mosque.

Until more recent years Acrocorith has ever been the most important defensive work of the area. Its history has always been closely related to that of Corinth, from where a modern road leads up to the hill and reaches the fortress on the western side, the only one that seems accessible.

Sections of the wall are discernible from ancient pre-Christian times, the Byzantine period, the Frankish domination, the Venetian domination and finally the Turkish occupation. During the Greek war of liberation the fortress of Acrocorinth was finally conquered in 1822.

The fortress is secured by a system of three massive circuit walls reinforced by towers. These have been restored and conserved from time to time since 1930. Excavations were carried out by the American School in 1926 on the highest part of Acrocorinth which demonstrated the continuous use of the place from Archaic times down to the beginning of the 19th century. - Below left: The entry to the fortress in the West. - Below right: the views from Acrocorinth to the plains below are simply superb.