Korint

Korint is the Polish name for the ancient Greek city of Corinth, located on the Isthmus of Corinth in central Greece. The city sat on the narrow land bridge that connects the Peloponnese to the Greek mainland, with harbors on two sides that facilitated extensive maritime trade between the Aegean and Ionian seas. Its strategic position helped make Corinth a major commercial and cultural center in the classical world.

In antiquity, Corinth developed as a powerful polis during the Archaic and Classical periods. It controlled two important ports: Lechaeum on the Corinthian Gulf in the west and Cenchreae on the Saronic Gulf in the east. This position fostered wealth from trade, pottery production, and craft industries, and it supported influential political and military alliances. The city was a rival and sometimes ally of Athens and played a significant role in wider Greek affairs, including architectural and cultural developments that spread across the region. The famous Diolkos paved road across the isthmus enabled ships to be hauled overland, shortening voyages between the Aegean and Ionian seas.

Corinth is also associated with the emergence of distinct architectural orders in ancient Greece, particularly the Corinthian order, named after the city. The social and religious life of the city included notable sanctuaries and festivals, and its epigraphic and archaeological record has provided substantial insights into ancient Greek urban planning and commerce.

In 146 BCE, Corinth was destroyed by Rome and later rebuilt as a Roman colony, continuing to influence the region under Roman and later Byzantine rule. Today the site lies near the modern town of Korinthos in Greece. The Corinth Canal, completed in 1893, connects the Gulf of Corinth with the Saronic Gulf and underscores the lasting geographic importance of the isthmus.