Corinthian

Corinthian refers to anything connected with Corinth, an ancient city-state on the Isthmus of Corinth in the Peloponnese, Greece. The term applies to the people of Corinth (the Corinthians), the city’s dialect and culture, and to various architectural and artistic styles associated with Corinth.

In ancient Greece, Corinth was a major commercial center with strong naval power and extensive trade networks across the Aegean and western Mediterranean. It played a significant role in the politics, art, and religion of the Classical world, and it founded several colonies abroad, contributing to its influence.

Architecturally, the Corinthian order is the last of the three classical orders, characterized by slender fluted columns and a capital decorated with acanthus leaves and small volutes. Traditionally attributed to Callimachus of Corinth, the order was developed in the late classical period and became widely used by the Romans and in later Western architecture.

In the Christian New Testament, the term appears in the two epistles to the Corinthians, 1 Corinthians and 2 Corinthians, authored by Paul the Apostle to address church issues, ethics, and theology in the Corinthian community.

Beyond architecture and literature, "Corinthian" is used as an ordinary adjective for things relating to Corinth, including style and design, and has contemporary usage to describe ornate or elaborate forms in certain contexts.