Ancient Corinth

        The ruins of ancient Corinth are spread out at the foot of the huge rock of Acrocorinth. The monuments are mainly Roman; only a few are Greek. You can trace the Long Walls which began at the summit of Acrocorinth and descended all the way to Lechaion (Leheo), the artificial harbour on the Corinthian Gulf. Lechaion was the start of Lechaion road which led to the ancient agora. This was paved with flagstones and line with sidewalks, arcades and shops.
The area of the marketplace was filled with imposing buildings, temples and business emporia .

      The Doric temple of Apollo (6th c. BC with 1st c. AD restorations) stands on a knoll to the north of the agora; it is the most important monument of that period.
To the northwest of the agora lie the ruins of the 4th century BC theatre - which underwent some changes in the Roman era - and the Roman Odeon. The museum is in the southwest sector of the site. It contains mosaic floors, Mycenaean and Corinthian pottery, terra cotta sphinxes, statues of two supernatural beings, relief plaques, the Roman head of the Goddess Tyche and small objects of various kinds. On the north side of the building one can see the remains of the fountain of Glauke hewn out of the rock .

          Glauke, daughter of King Creon, was the reason why Jason deserted Medea. In revenge Medea sent her as a wedding gift a poisoned mantle which enveloped the girl in flames the moment she put it on. In order to save herself she leapt into the fountain which since then has borne her name.

           Acrocorinth

The imposing mass of Acrocorinth (Akrokorinthos) rises out of the ground at the edge of the ancient city .At the top of the pinnacle, at an altitude of 575 metres, stood the acropolis of Corinth during ancient and medieval times. This is the largest and oldest fortress in the Peloponnese. The Franco-Byzantine-Venetian fortifications (built atop the ancient walls) and Turkish additions have left deep signs of their successive claims to supremacy.
At the summit, which offers a magnificent view, there were a vast number of shrines and temples dominated by the Temple of Aphrodite. Lower down is the Upper Peirene Spring. Pausanias mentions that Peirene was a woman who was transformed into a spring by the tears she shed for her son who had been killed by Artemis .

The mountains of Corinthia

            From Acrocorinth the road continues on to Nemes. Here the soil is yellow, dry, ideal for the cultivation of grapes. The whole district is covered with vines.
The neighbouring village of Herakleio is a silent witness to the passing of the mighty Herakles. lt was in this area that the legendary hero slew the fearme Lion of Nemea. T here is not much left of ancient Nemea: three columns from the temple of Zeus, a few foundations, the outline of a palaestra and, 500 metres down road, the stadium. It was here that the Pan-Hellenic Nemean Games were held, in honour of some local hero. They took place every two years and the victors' reward was a crown of wild celery.
From Nemea the road leads to Stimfalia, a mountain village in the region of Ziria. The lake no longer harbours man-eating, iron-winged birds; they were destroyed by Herakles. All that is left is the ruined temple of Artemis and the walls that encircled the old city.

            In the region there is also a Frankish church (13th C.) and ruins of a Frankish castle.
At the foothills of Ziria (Mt. Killini, where Pausanias had seen white blackbirds), between the villages of Goura and Feneos, every year on the second Sunday of September a big fair is held. The road proceeds to Kastania, a charming mountain village (alt. 920 m.), surrounded by fir trees. It is one of the most popular places in Corinthia for a winter holiday. One more revelation amongst the pine - and fir-clad slopes of Ziria is the village of Trikala (alt. 1,300 m.). The Ziria mountaineers' hostel lies 5 km. from here .

         Back in Nemea you come next to the pass of Dervenakia where the "Old Man of the Morea", Kolokotronis, routed a Turkish army. The road for Argos runs through it, while another road leads to Hiliomodi, Klenia and Agionori, where there is a medieval castle and a church with lovely frescoes.