Corinth – serie

After a discussion of the fragmentary evidence for several buildings of the Greek period which were swept to construct it, the South Stoa at Corinth is treated in detail. Careful description of all the remains, both those in situ and reused blocks, forms the basis of the reconstruction of this extensive two-story building of the third quarter of the 4th century B.C. which stretched the full length of the south side of the Corinthian Agora and, more than any other single building, established the size and shape of the center of the Hellenistic and Roman city. One of the largest secular buildings in Greece, the South Stoa appears to have been planned as a kind of hotel to accommodate visitors at a time when Corinth served as the capital of a briefly united Greek world. After the destruction of the city, it remained comparatively undamaged and was taken over by the Roman Colony as the seat of its administrative offices. In its final phase various buildings, including a bouleuterion, a fountain house, a bathing establishment, and a public latrine were built into the ground floor.

This volume discusses the important, mainly Roman, buildings at the east end of the Corinthian Agora; the Julian Basilica and the Southeast Building, the South Basilica (immediately behind the South Stoa), and the Mosaic House adjoining it. The Southeast Building is described first in its present state, and then as it must have looked in its two main periods of use, soon after 44 B.C. and in the second quarter of the 1st century A.D. It was probably known in ancient times as the Tabularium or Library of Corinth. The adjoining Julian Basilica was, with the South Basilica, built about A.D. 40; the interior colonnades of both were rebuilt in marble in the Hadrianic period. These basilicas have a cryptoporticus on the ground floor and on the main floor an interior colonnade supporting a clerestory and three exedras. Detailed descriptions of each building are followed by a reconstruction of the pair and by a comparative discussion of floor plans. Finally, the Mosaic House is discussed and analysis of the mosaics date it about 200 A.D.

Twenty-five papers presented at the December 1996 symposium held in Athens to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the American School of Classical Studies excavations at ancient Corinth. The papers are intended to illustrate the range in subject matter of research currently being undertaken by scholars of ancient Corinth, and their inclusion in one volume will serve as a useful reference work for nonspecialists. Each of the topics (which vary widely from Corinthian geology to religious practices to Byzantine pottery) is presented by the acknowledged expert in that area. The book includes a full general bibliography of articles and volumes concerning material excavated at Corinth. As a summary of one hundred years research it will be useful to generations of scholars to come.

Rescue excavations were carried out along the terrace north of Ancient Corinth by Henry Robinson, the director of the Corinth Excavations, and the American School of Classical Studies at Athens on behalf of the Greek Archaeological Service, in 1961 and 1962. They revealed 70 tile graves, limestone sarcophagi, and cremation burials (the last are rare in Corinth before the Julian colony), and seven chamber tombs (also rare before the Roman period). The burials ranged in date from the 5th century B.C. to the 6th century A.D., and about 240 skeletons were preserved for study. This volume publishes the results of these excavations and examines the evidence for changing burial practices in the Greek city, Roman colony, and Christian town. Documented are single graves and deposits, the Robinson "Painted Tomb," two more hypogea, and four built chamber tombs. Ethne Barnes describes the human skeletal remains, and David Reese discusses the animal bones found in the North Terrace tombs. The author further explores the architecture of the chamber tombs as well as cemeteries, burial practices, and funeral customs in ancient Corinth. One appendix addresses a Roman chamber tomb at nearby Hexamilia, excavated in 1937; the second, by David Jordan, the lead tablets from a chamber tomb and its well. Concordances, grave index numbers, Corinth inventory numbers, and indexes follow. This study will be of interest to classicists, historians of several periods, and scholars studying early Christianity.

Early-20th-century explorations of the Roman Forum at Ancient Corinth revealed a massive early imperial building now known as the Julian Basilica. The structure stood on a podium over four meters high, and it dominated the east end of the forum in size, aspect, and function until its destruction in the 4th century A.D. Within it was one of the largest known shrines to the imperial cult and the likely site of the imperial court of law for the Roman province of Achaia. The basilica housed 11 or more large-scale statues most likely to members of the Julio-Claudian family (including Augustus, Augustus's heirs Gaius and Lucius, and arguably Divus Iulius, Germanicus, Nero Caesar, and Claudius), as well as an altar to Divus Augustus and dedications to the genius Augusti, the gens Augusta, and other family members. This richly illustrated volume provides a contextual study of this important building, the remains of which were first published by Saul Weinberg in 1960 (Corinth I.5). Scotton treats the architectural remains, Vanderpool the sculptural remains, and Roncaglia the epigraphical material, each providing extensive catalogues with new photos, in addition to colour reconstructions of the basilica and its grand interior.

Volume XXIII in the Corinth series is dedicated to the finds from the Gymnasium Area, excavated between 1965 and 1972 by James R. Wiseman and the University of Texas at Austin. Fascicle XXIII.1 presents the marble sculpture, 126 pieces dating between the 6th century B.C. and 5th century A.D. and found in or near a variety of built features, including the ornately decorated Bath-Fountain complex. Among the sculptural finds are portraits of athletes and civic officials and depictions of Dionysos, Hermes, and Aphrodite and the nymphs. Herms and statue bases also form part of the assemblage. This corpus grants us insight into the sculptural practices after the founding of the Roman colony at Corinth, and critical knowledge concerning display context, reuse, and the deposition of sculpture at a gymnasium in a large regional centre of the eastern Mediterranean.

In the first section of this book, Amyx catalogues and discusses more than 200 fragments of Archaic Corinthian pottery with figure decoration, selected from those previously unpublished or inadequately published. The authors have also given attention to vase-painters of the Protocorinthian and Corinthian periods who were previously known chiefly from works exported in antiquity, and have succeeded in establishing the importance of the Corinth Museum as a center for the study of the Corinthian Style. In the second section, Lawrence presents the contents of a well dug and filled in the Archaic period. The material ranges from Early Protocorinthian to Late Corinthian and includes an important body of material from a potters' dump, here treated separately. Shape development and chronology have been established, especially for oinochoai and kotylai, based on the long series of stratified examples. Other material in the fill includes coarse ware and fragmentary fine ware. The authors attribute a number of pieces to known and newly identified vase-painters.

Inferior clays and glazes, unsuited to the red-figure style, means that the indigenous production of red-figure vases in Corinth was very limited. However for about 75 years, in the middle of the 5th century B.C., Corinthian potters tried to imitate the Athenian fashion and this book catalogues 186 pieces of their work. The author discusses the reasons for the production of Corinthian red figure even in limited quantities. Six painters are identified as responsible for at least half the known pieces. Thirteen deposits provide chronological evidence to supplement that of the painting style. The volume serves to bring forward a small but significant segment of the non-Attic pottery industries, and should stimulate interest in other unpublished, unreported examples. All items in the catalogue are illustrated in photographs; line drawings are used to demonstrate details of technique.

Corinthian Conventionalizing pottery is a fine ware produced during the 6th, 5th, and 4th centuries B.C. While Athenian workshops produced black- and red-figured vases, their Corinthian counterparts were decorating vases predominantly with black and red bands, patterns, and floral motifs. This book provides a full and comprehensive study of Corinthian Conventionalizing pottery found during the American School's excavations at ancient Corinth. Through the examination of contextual information, shape development, and changes in the style of painting, a chronology of the vases is proposed. This is followed by a discussion of painters, workshops, and groups. Evidence for systematic export is also presented.

In 1971 in the southwestern area of the Roman Forum of Corinth a round-bottomed drainage channel was discovered filled with the largest deposit of pottery of the 4th century ever found in the city, some coins, terracotta figurines, and metal and stone objects. This volume publishes the pottery and metal and stone objects, and includes a re-examination of the coins by Orestes Zervos. Some of the cooking ware has been subjected to neutron activation analysis, and a statistical analysis of all recovered pottery has been completed. The contents of Drain 1971-1 are important for the function of the Classical buildings in this part of Corinth, especially Buildings I and II, and for the chronology of the renovation program that included the construction of the South Stoa, which was probably not built before the last decade of the 4th century.

Using deposits recently excavated from the Panayia Field, this volume substantially revises the absolute chronology of Corinthian Hellenistic pottery as established by G. Roger Edwards in Corinth VII.3 (1975). This new research, based on quantitative analysis of over 50 deposits, demonstrates that the date range for most fine-ware shapes should be lowered by 50-100 years. Contrary to previous assumptions, it is now possible to argue that local ceramic production continued in Corinth during the interim period between the destruction of the city in 146 B.C. and when it was refounded as a Roman colony in 44 B.C. This volume includes detailed shape studies and a comprehensive catalogue. With its presentation of this revised "Panayia Field chronology," Corinth VII.7 is a long-awaited and much-needed addition to the Corinth series.

The remodeling of the theater at ancient Corinth in the 2nd century A.D. included lavish decorations, the chief of which were three dramatic friezes. In publishing them this book presents the most ambitious sculptural program known among theaters on the Greek mainland, and indeed one of the more elaborate decorative schemes among published theaters of the Roman empire. The friezes (the Gigantomachy, the Amazonomachy, and the Labors of Herakles) are presented each in turn with a discussion of its position in Greek art and a stylistic analysis, followed by a catalogue of the pieces arranged as far as possible in the proposed sequence of relief slabs. There follows a discussion of known theater friezes throughout the classical world and of the Corinth scaenae frons as restored by the author.

At the time of its creation in the Hadrianic period, the Corinth Theater presented the most elaborate form of Roman theater architecture to date; a three-storied columnar facade made of multicolored marble. The polychrome architecture did not stand alone, for the scaenae frons was also impressively embellished with painted marble reliefs beneath the columns, with painted statuary between the columns and in the niches, and with painted busts in the pediments. This blaze of color would have conveyed many different messages to ancient audiences since the sculptural complex evoked the Theater's political, religious, and cultural function as well as the self-identification of the city. A colossal seated portrait of the deified emperor Trajan dominated the display, surrounded by other members of the Roman imperial family. However the depiction of Gigantomachy, Amazonomachy, and Herakles scenes on podia and the Greek character of other sculptures around the building made a conscious link to indigenous culture. As the author's reconstruction shows, the entire assemblage, arranged in thematic segments, would have attempted to resolve in symbolic form the real cultural negotiation at the heart of Roman Corinth. This book presents in detail the freestanding sculptures, assembled from fragmentary remains, and reveals an additional group of architectural sculptures as well as figures in niches and between columns. With Corinth IX.2, it completes the publication of sculptures excavated from the theater by the American School of Classical Studies at Athens. Drawing on over 30 years of study, the author also presents her ideas about sculptural decoration in the Corinth theater and throughout the Roman East. Using epigraphical as well as architectural evidence she explores questions of dedication and patronage to shed important new light on the social role of Roman theater, a forum for far more than just entertainment.

The long-awaited final part of the publication of the Corinth Potters' Quarter is based on the work of the excavator, A. N. Stillwell, edited and supplemented after her death by J. L. Benson. The pottery, although frequently fragmentary, can often be assigned to known painters or workshops, and the deposits, especially in view of the defective pieces in them, can be argued to contain material almost exclusively of local manufacture. A brief introduction serves to explain the organization of the catalogue and to characterize the principal deposits, most of which contained material from several periods; a summary of represented painters and workshops concludes the chapter. The catalogue presents over 2,300 examples from more than 4,000 inventoried pieces. Almost all are illustrated with photographs, frequently supplemented with detail line drawings of motifs; selected profile drawings represent the principal shapes. A new foldout plan of the Potters' Quarter is included.

The large Roman bath situated on the Lechaion Road must have been conspicuous in the architecture of ancient Corinth at the beginning of the third century A.D. and for several centuries afterward. The author relates the history of the site and its excavation, most recently in 1968, and discusses in detail the remains of the entrance court with its two-story marble facade, three major rooms of the interior, and adjacent service areas. The monumental facade, which employed a variety of colored marbles and carved ornament, is a notable addition to our knowledge of Roman architecture in Greece. The fragments are illustrated in photographs, and the reconstruction is presented in detailed drawings. Plan and elevation drawings of the interior spaces contribute information on design and structure of bath buildings of the period. This book is a valuable resource for archaeologists and ancient historians, especially those interested in the details of one of Rome's favorite pastimes: public bathing.

Situated on the slopes of Acrocorinth, which rises to the south of the main part of the ancient city, the Sanctuary of Demeter and Kore was the focus of excavations from 1961 through 1973. This is the first volume of final publication and presents pottery used in the sanctuary from the Protocorinthian period through 146 B.C. A glossary of descriptive terminology is followed by 28 shape studies, reinforced by two catalogues of over 600 pieces, both whole vessels and fragments. Catalogue I presents 11 context groups consisting of material from votive pits, deposits of votive discards, and building fills which spans the Greek history of the sanctuary. These groups reflect the architectural development of the complex and the types of votive and domestic pottery used in all periods, and at the same time they shed light on the cult activities at the sanctuary. Catalogue II includes fine and coarse wares in a wide range of Corinthian and imported fabrics. Examples of post-Classical phialai are the subject of a contribution by Kathleen W. Slane. The pottery is fully illustrated with photographs and drawings of profiles and decoration. A concordance and lot list are included, as well as a bibliography for Corinthian findspots outside the sanctuary and an index of findspots and proveniences. Indexes of decorative schemes, dipinti and graffiti, and painters supplement the general index.

In the series of final publications for the Sanctuary of Demeter and Kore, this book presents ceramic material from the Roman period (primarily from the middle of the 1st century to the end of the 4th century A.D.) in which is included the relatively small number of Roman lamps. Since even small fragments of lamps can be easily identified, the author has chosen them for the chronological framework of the volume, cataloguing 62 examples of some 876 found. The catalogue of 214 pieces selected from the vast amounts of pottery unearthed forms a corpus of common and unique finds from the sanctuary, with attention to sources, chronology, and possible light on the nature of the cult. The history of the Roman sanctuary is reflected in the lamps and fine wares, which are paralleled elsewhere; a preliminary typology is developed for the coarse wares, which are primarily local in origin. A lot list follows giving the inventory numbers of the catalogued Roman objects and context coins, with context descriptions. The concordance is divided into lamps and pottery, within and outside the sanctuary, the latter with references to any previous publications. A general index precedes those of text references to catalogued objects, signatures and potter's stamps, and findspots mentioned in the text.

About 24,000 figurines and fragments were found during excavations at the Sanctuary of Demeter and Kore, greatly enriching the known body of Corinthian figurines not only in number but also in the addition of many entirely new types and styles. Working far beyond the output of the Potters' Quarter workshops, the Corinthian coroplasts are revealed as inventive, often highly adept in technique, and attuned to stylistic developments in the plastic arts in general. Most importantly, the evidence suggests that there may have been a link in Corinth between the manufacture of terracotta figurines and small bronze ones, especially in the 4th and early 3rd centuries B.C., through the use of shared models. If this is true, the figurines provide a glimpse of the mostly lost bronze production of that period. The figurines are also important because they help to explicate the meaning and conduct of the cult of Demeter and Kore in Corinth. Since the literary sources and inscriptions are unfortunately not as abundant as one would wish, the nature and conduct of the cult must be understood largely through the architecture and other finds. The figural coroplastic art provides additional data on the deities and heroes recognized at the sanctuary, the age and gender of the participants in the rituals, the offerings they brought, and the nature of their cultic activities. Beyond these data, the figurines are examined for what they may reveal through their imagery of the underlying ideas of the cult, how the deities were perceived, why they were approached, and how the cult functioned as a part of Corinthian society.

The fifth part of the Corinth volume dedicated to the Sanctuary of Demeter and Kore publishes the large-scale terracotta sculpture found in the sanctuary. Extending from the late 7th through the 4th century B.C., the sculpture consists of fragments from 132 to as many as 147 statues, from half- to nearly life-size. These are, for the most part, statues of young males, both draped and nude, although females and seated infants appear as well. Several introductory chapters discuss the types represented, the findspots and possible original placement of the sculptures, and the techniques involved in their construction. The fragments are presented in 156 well-illustrated catalogue entries. This volume greatly expands our knowledge of the history of Corinth, broadening our understanding both of cult practices at the site and of the manufacture of terracotta sculpture.

Excavations conducted by the American School of Classical Studies at Athens in the Sanctuary of Demeter and Kore on Acrocorinth, 1961-1975, produced more than 170 inscribed objects of stone, bronze, bone, lead weights, pottery (graffiti and dipinti), clay pinakes, magical lead tablets, and in a mosaic. In this new Corinth volume, Ron Stroud presents all of these inscriptions, and he relates them to an overall interpretation of the activities, secular and religious, attested in this shrine during its long period of use from the 7th century B.C. until the end of the 4th century A.D. Where possible, Stroud also draws out their implications for and contribution to the history of ancient Corinth, the worship of the goddesses Demeter and Kore, and the practice of magic-especially in the Roman period. This is the final publication of the inscribed objects from the sanctuary, excluding loomweights and stamped amphora handles, which will be included in a later publication.

This volume continues the publication of excavations conducted by the American School of Classical Studies at Athens in the Sanctuary of Demeter and Kore on Acrocorinth. It incorporates two bodies of material: Greek lamps and offering trays. The lamps include those made from the 7th through 2nd centuries B.C., together with a few Roman examples not included in Corinth XVIII.2. They served to provide light and to accompany the rites of sacrifice. The offering trays differ from the liknon-type offering trays published by A. Brumfield; they support a variety of vessels rather than types of food and had a symbolic function in the Sanctuary rituals. They are extremely common in the Sanctuary and only rarely attested elsewhere.

This volume presents the terracotta miscellaneous finds from the Sanctuary of Demeter and Kore at Acrocorinth. The finds comprise 21 classes, including protomes and masks, altars, plaques, models of various personal and household items, and loomweights and other textile tools (the latter initially studied by Gloria S. Merker and brought to publication by Nancy Bookidis). In addition to providing a catalogue of the finds arranged according to their subjects, the authors compare these finds with similar objects found elsewhere in Greece and refer to literary, epigraphical, and visual sources to understand their possible uses and meanings and the character of religious activity that may have triggered their dedication in the sanctuary. This volume will greatly facilitate comparative studies of ancient Greek miscellaneous finds and will be an important reference for historians of Greek art as well as of Greek religion.

Corinth has been an important site for the study of ancient glass since the pioneering work of Gladys Davidson Weinberg. This volume presents the first attempt at Corinth to analyze the entire corpus of glass found in a single area, that located just east of the Theatre, the focus of excavations conducted by the American School of Classical Studies in the 1980s. These excavations revealed a north-south street that flanked the Theatre, as well as a series of buildings to its east, part of a residential neighborhood ranging in date from the Early Roman to the Early Byzantine period. In this volume-the first of the final reports from the East of Theatre excavations-the author presents the glass finds, including over 450 cataloged examples of glassworking remains, vessel glass, and non-vessel glass. Significantly, these finds reveal shifting patterns in vessel types, manufacturing techniques, and trade, as well as evidence for local glass production throughout these periods. Included among the finds are fragments of two opus sectile panels, evidence of the type of luxurious decoration that once existed in these structures. This groundbreaking study provides a tantalizing glimpse into the lives of everyday Corinthians, advancing glass studies both within Greece and throughout the Mediterranean.