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Corinth (Municipality, Greece)
Κόρινθος
Last modified: 2024-01-13 by randy young
Keywords: greece | corinth | assos-lechaio | solygeia | tenea | pegasus | corinthian column | column | scroll |
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![[Corinthian municipal flag]](../images/g/gr-pw-ko.gif)
image by Olivier Touzeau, 20 October 2013
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The municipality of Corinth (58,192 inhabitants in 2011; 61,102 ha) was formed in the 2011 local government reform by the merger of the five former municipalities of Corinth: Assos-Lechaio Άσσος-Λέχαιο, 6,993 inh.), Saronikos (Σαρωνικός, 5,260 inh.), Solygeia (Σολυγεία, 2,723 inh.), and Tenea (Τενέα, 5,084 inh.).
Corinth is surrounded by the narrow coastal plain of Vocha, Corinthian Gulf, Corinth Canal, the Isthmus of Corinth, Saronic Gulf, Oneia Mountains, and the monolithic rock of Acrocorinth, where the medieval acropolis was built.
Corinth derives its name from Ancient Corinth. In 1858, the old city of Corinth (now known as Archaia Korinthos [Αρχαία Κόρινθος], located 3 km southwest of the modern city), was totally destroyed by an earthquake. This led to the establishment of Nea or New Corinth, on the coast of the Gulf of Corinth. New Corinth was rebuilt after a further earthquake in 1928 and again after a great fire in 1933.
Corinth is a major industrial hub at a national level. Copper cables, petroleum products, leather, medical equipment, marble, gypsum, ceramic tiles, salt, mineral water and beverages, meat products, and gums are produced nearby. But as of 2005, a period of deindustrialization has commenced as a large pipework complex, a textile factory and a meat packing facility disrupted their operations.
The Corinth Canal, carrying ship traffic between the western Mediterranean Sea and the Aegean Sea, is about 4 km east of the city, cutting through the Isthmus of Corinth that connects the Peloponnesian peninsula to the Greek mainland, thus effectively making the former an island. It is 6.4 km in length and only 21.3 metres wide at its base, making it impassable for most modern ships. It now has little economic importance.
The canal was mooted in classical times and an abortive effort was made to build it in the 1st Century AD. Construction finally got under way in 1881 but was hampered by geological and financial problems that bankrupted the original builders. It was completed in 1893, but due to the canal's narrowness, navigational problems and periodic closures to repair landslips from its steep walls, it failed to attract the level of traffic anticipated by its operators. It is now used mainly for tourist traffic.
Olivier Touzeau, 20 October 2013
The flag of Corinth (Kokkonis website) is light blue with the municipal emblem. The new municipality uses the same flag as the former one.
The emblem features a Corinthian column. The Corinthian order is the last chronologically of the three principal classical orders of ancient Greek and Roman architecture. The other two are the Doric order, which was the earliest, followed by the Ionic order. Corinthian is stated to be the most ornate of the orders, characterized by slender fluted columns and elaborate capitals decorated with acanthus leaves and scrolls. The Corinthian order is named for the city-state of Corinth; however, according to the architectural historian Vitruvius, the column was created by the sculptor Callimachus, probably an Athenian, who drew acanthus leaves growing around a votive basket.
The emblem also features Pegasus, refering to Bellerophon's myth, as reported in the Iliad with an embedded narrative told by Bellerophon's grandson Glaucus, named for his great-grandfather, Bellerophon's father, Glaucus, who was the king of Corinth and the son of Sisyphus. Bellerophon's myth includes the capturing of Pegasus near the the never-failing Pirene well on the citadel of Corinth, and the slaying of the Chimera by Bellerophon while riding on Pegasus.
Olivier Touzeau, 20 October 2013
![[Flag of former Assos-Lechaio municipality]](../images/g/gr-pw-k1.gif)
image by Olivier Touzeau, 3 February 2013
The former municipality of Assos-Lechaio had its seat in Perigiali (Περιγιάλι, 1,760 inh.).
Its flag (Kokkonis website) was white with the municipal emblem and the writing "Municipality of Ássos-Léchaio" below.
The emblem (photo) pictures a column behind the scroll, on which is a depiction of the multiple-arched aqueduct (photo) that was constructed during
the Second Venetian period (1687-1715) near Ássos. The scroll is inscribed with the names of the four municipal departments (clockwise starting from upper left: ΛΕΧΑΙΟ (Lechaio) / ΠΕΡΙΓΙΑΛΙ (Perigiali) / Κ.(ΑΤΩ) ΑΣΣΟΣ (Lower Assos) / ΑΣΣΟΣ (Assos).
Olivier Touzeau and Paraskevas Renesis, 6 February 2013
![[Flag of former Solygeia municipality]](../images/g/gr-pw-k4.gif)
image by Olivier Touzeau, 14 January 2015
The flag of Solygeia (Kokkonis website) was white with the municipal emblem.
Olivier Touzeau, 14 January 2015
![[Flag of former Tenea municipality]](../images/g/gr-pw-k5.gif)
image by Olivier Touzeau, 25 January 2015
Ancient Tenea was established shortly after the Trojan War. It is believed that the first inhabitants were Trojans prisoners of war to whom Agamemnon permitted to build their own town. Corinthians and Teneans in 734 or 733 BC under the leadership of Archias established the joint colony of Syracuse in Sicily, the homeland of Archimedes.
The municipality of Tenea had its seat in Chiliomodi (Χιλιομόδι, 1,699 inh.). Its flag (Kokkonis website) was blue with the municipal emblem.
Olivier Touzeau, 25 January 2015