Old, Older & Oldest - A Day in Korinthos

The ruins of Ancient Corinth are inspiring if for no other reason it's where the Apostle Paul lived and preached AD 52-54. There are some incredible hidden finds among the piles of rubble as well as in the site's museum.

Acro Corinth, situated on the mountain top which looms over the Ancient site and can be seen from miles away, is worth every grueling step to the top. The 360-degree views, said to be 37-miles on a clear day, are worth whatever physical endurance test you self-indulge in to conquer this mountain...just as civilizations had been doing for thousands of years.

The two-hour train ride from Athens is worth the trip alone passing thru coastal villages and cliffside sceneries looking out over the sea while rubbing shoulders with the locals.

Read my Athens journal for other Greek details!

Quick Tips:

Ticket agents at the Athens' train station barely spoke English...and it was all downhill from there. Once you deboard the train in modern Korinthos, you're only saving grace will be people have obviously seen a few other explorers as lost and helpless as you are. You'll need your sense of discovery as their assistance was mostly anything but helpful!

For Ancient Korinthos, the EYEWITNESS guidebook for Greece -Athens & The Mainland has an excellent illustration recreating what the city would have looked like some 2000 years ago. It also has a helpful diagram of how to map out and identify the many piles of ruins.

Take plenty of bottled water and even foods/snacks to suffice as lunch. There's a few stores/markets and fewer cafes surrounding Ancient Korinthos...another at the base of Acro Korinthos. Bring enough and have a nice picnic atop Acro while enjoying the views.

Even with taking a cab to the base of Acro Korinthos, the hike up from there was likely the most strenuous, ball-breaking thing I've ever done aside from climbing the Alps. But don't let it scare you! It's worth how many ever huff-and-puff breaks it takes to get you to the top!

Best Way To Get Around:

Since going and coming was part of the highlights of the adventure and too much to describe in this brief space, I've included ALL the details in an "activity entry" for this journal.

The bus from the city will drop you off on the main road along a high, chain-link fence that looks like it's blocking off some type of war zone. These are the remains of Ancient Korinthos which suprisingly wasn't that big. There are two entries - one by the museum and one closer to the side which borders the current village. I suggest entering the latter which leads onto the Lechaion Way - the original entry into town that countless others have walked before you. Admission was 1200 drachmas.

During his ministry here, the Apostle Paul was also plying his trade as a tentmaker staying with Priscilla and Aquila. Greek & Biblical scholars agree that the course of this business likely had them living here along the Lechaion Way. Once passing thru here, I highly suggest using the EYEWITNESS Guide to begin getting the most out of more endless piles of ruins. The Peirene Fountain area, whose spring still supplies the locals' water, has many dry pools and hidden rooms worth indepth exploring. Also highly notable is The Bema Platform which is remarkably intact and centrally situated in remains of the Agora. It was from here where officials and Paul used to address the people. And looming off to the distance is the huge mountain containing the remains of Acro-Corinth...a vista tempting you to come and explore, indulge in just as the Ancient Corinthians saw and practiced daily which is discussed in other entries of this journal.

There's not much that is impressive remaining from the Temple of Apollo and the later constructed Temple of Octavia. There's an assortment of headless/armless statues and other relics scattered here and there, but the site's museum had one of the best displays of original, intact finds I saw anywhere in Greece. It's included in your admission cost, so plan an indepth review here. The museum also contains restrooms and a giftshop.

Perhaps one of the biggest bonuses of the Ancient Korinthos site is...once you're inside, there's access to everything, as nothing's roped off leaving you free to touch, climb, and enjoy to the fullest whether standing between the remaining columns of Apollo's Temple or atop the ancient Bema. Unfortuantely, this too had a downside as the day wore on and tour buses began unloadng. Rowdy students were everywhere wrecking the silent sacred feeling...which is why I suggest getting there early as possible to enjoy some solitude!

Across the main road are fenced off areas of where the Odeion and a larger Greek theatre once were, but from the road there wasn't much to see as this area didn't seem opened to the public at this time.

If the day is clear, you'll begin seeing a single mountain dominating the distant skyline during your train ride out. This is where Acro Korinthos is located and where civilizations have vied for occupation and power all but since the beginning of time. From Ancient Korinthos, take one of the cabs up which drops you off at the base of the mountain closest to the entrance. The short walk from here to the entry gates is a "common indicator" of just how strenuous this hiking climb will be, so proceed accordingly. There was no admission fee.

Along the western side is the lowest part of the mountain's natural formation and where three separate, consecutive gates were built to help fortify the city within. The gates are with highly influence of Turkish, Frankish, and Byzantine designs from during the various occupations. There's also a museum located just off one of these gates that's highly written about, but was unfortunately closed while I was there. If you're lucky, they'll have a free brochure map out front and that's also printed in English.

From here, the inner-mountain area is somewhat like a volcanic cone that has had layers and layers of walls and ramparts built around the edges; some dating back to even 6th/7th-century B.C. From within the sunken cone area, Eyewitness Travel Guide states there's evidence to suggest the largest Roman township anywhere within the Greece province was once here, though there weren't that many remains. Where the "Sacred Whorehouse" Temple of Aphrodite once stood, there's now only a flat grassy area. There's a few small Turkish Temples and Muslim Tombs scattered about, but not much more. So why should you come all this way for potentially nothing?

This is one of those special, fulfilling travel experiences where your efforts and presence are rewarded with a soul-stirring achievement of accomplishment and a step back into time. During the 2+ hours I was here, there were only 8 other travelers who crossed my path...but, I somehow wasn't alone. With the winds ferociously roaring at such a higher elevation, it was kind of a calm but creepy feeling like the spirits of all those before me were still there accompanying me and offering encouragement to keep going.

The paths within the mountain are narrow, steep and somewhat treacherous covered with small stones. Coming down is more dangerous than going up - do a lot of side-stepping. I don't recall how often I stopped; gasping for air wondering how much farther I could go...but I did. The highest elevations are in the southern part and from atop the rampart walls on a clear day, there's a 37-mile view across the Greek countryside. I also recommend traversing to the northeastern rim which yields spectacular views of the Ancient city below as well as with modern Korinthos, the Gulf of Korinthos, and mainland mountains as a backdrop.

Other than deboarding the train and walking to try and catch the bus to Ancient Korinthos, you'll likely not have reason to spend much time in the modern day version of Korinthos unless you bypass Acro and have extra time to kill. This newer version of the Ancient City moved and redeveloped seaside just around the coast from where the Korinthos Canal allows ships to pass from the Ionian Sea to the Aegean. As long before, the town still capitalizes on it's strategic position and waters with rows and rows of various sized fishing boats. There's also a newer harbor area with an expanisve terraced plaza with benches, waterfountains, and palm trees that you'll likely pass thru coming to/from the train station and was certainly a relaxing place to catch a breather.

To review what was written earlier in the Getting To/From entry of this journal, the train station is on the southern part of the city and about a 15-20 minute walk to where you'll need to catch the bus to Ancient Korinthos. You'll pass thru these newly constructed harbor areas and cafe kiosks, etc. I advise you to stop and ask directions from every individual who appears conversive. The majority of them WILL NOT understand you. And the few who do will all vary in their specific directions/instructions. At some point you will turn left out of the harbor area heading into the southern part of the city which has a street grid section. That's about as specific as I can be towards where I actually, finally caught a bus.

However I was quite suprised by what I found in this area of town though looking indepthly wasn't on my agenda at the time. There were numerous specialty shops, boutiques, cafes, bakeries lining the streets that really caught my attention. In a suprising sort of way, they reminded me of what you'd typically find in one of those historic towns scatterd across the States from the styles and decors to the goods being sold. Just keep in mind that for however familiar these surroundings may look, they were still TOTALLY Greek. People seemed as curious of me as did I of them as something told me they didn't see a lot of tourists or foreigners. Everything about this place definitely had more of the laid back Greek-Mediterranean feel you'd hope to find in Athens but don't. If you've time and interest, modern Korinthos could be quite enjoyable.

Going to Korinthos, you'll need to take a train from Athens which leaves Peloponnisou Station in the northeast section of the city. Make sure you're at Peloponnisou and not Larissis Station which sits slightly to the north. For getting here, the Larissis metro stop is close by. If catching the first train out, a cab thru the unawakened city was inexpensive.

I took the 7:00 a.m. train though the adventure began long before dealing with the ticket agents and in people watching the motley crew of travelers. Greek transportation ONLY sells one-way tickets; (the one-way, two-hour ride to Korinthos approx. $2.15) and schedules/info are printed in Greek.

Trains are arguably some of the oldest, slowest and most interesting in all of Europe. These lines, serving predominately commuters, pass thru many picturesque towns/villages picking up/dropping off passengers. Seating spaces are small; ventilation is poor...so yes, there's lots of second-hand smoke. As tracks get further from so-called "mainland", they begin ascending upwards making sharp turns/curves hugging steep cliffs with incredible early morning views over the Aegean below. You'll be able to detect when crossing over into the Peloponnese side by the narrowness and many businesses within view. Pay close attention and be ready to glimpse the narrow Korinthos Canal as the train rambles over a bridge. Photo opps are all but impossible.

From the canal, it's a short ride into modern Korinthos where you'll deboard the train at a station that's on the southern part of town. From here, you're on you own! Locals speak 99.9% Greek, but you'll still need to ask on where to catch the bus that runs to the Ancient/Acro sites. It's a good 15-20 minute leisure walk into town; you'll get a different set of instructions from each person asked. Find the center southern portion where there's lots of shops, cafes and a small park. THERE ARE NO bus signs/routes so start chasing every bus until it stops asking if it's going to Ancient Korinthos...and let the Wild Goose chase begin! (You're fortunate narrow streets here are congested so nothing's moving fast.) The ride cost drachma coinage and was about 30-minutes outside of the city dropping you off right at the gates of Ancient Korinthos.

When finished here, there are stray cabs available charging quite the rate to take you to the base of the Acro Korinthos mountain...and no guarantee there will be one waiting for your return. Enjoy a beer in the taverna until one arrives, or it's a pleasant, majorly downhill 2-half mile walk back to Ancient Korinthos. From the village center, a return bus passes every 30 minutes. Once back in modern Korinthos, you'll know your way back to the station where the train returns to Athens.

The coming/going aspect of this day trip yielded a helpless but harmless foreign travel experience that's what makes vacations memorable. However, it also reminds me why I was so reluctant to go train-hopping discovering Greece like I've so conveniently done in other European countries.

Of Paul's scattered ministries over three journies, no where did he spend more time than in Ancient Korinthos...nor did he write longer letters than to the Corinthians which would become a couple of chapters in the New Testament portion of the Bible. Yeh, he obviously greatly loved these people and this place...but they also troubled him very much based on what their daily lives were centered around.

Ancient & Acro Corinth had long held reputation, power and wealth from even back in the Spartan days. When the Romans conquered "Greece" in 146 B.C., it was Korinthos, not Athens, they attacked to secure the victory acquisition. When Paul arrived in 52 A.D., the area had only recently been reconstructed to be the Roman headquarters and capital for "Achaia". EYEWITNESS Travel Guide says there was believed to be 750,000 living in this small but prosperous area now flourishing under both heavy Greek and Roman influence. The actual summation of Paul's time in Korinthos is briefly detailed in the Bible's Acts, chapter 18, but obviously the many issues he was confronted with are revealed in the books of I & II Corinthians. The people of the area were living life large...in direct disobedience to the new Christian teachings that Paul had brought. Sex was one, if not the largest of the issues.

You'll see the remains of the Temple of Apollo within the city. Apollo was the God of several things including manhood and verility. Part of the practice of worshipping Apollo was to display manhood and verility by having sex with young males and females who tended the temple. However, it wasn't the only action in town. Atop the Acro Corinth mountain, which can be seen from anywhere within the city, was the temple of Aphrodite; the Goddess of Love. Yeh, you got it...they also worshipped here having sex with "Sacred Prostitutes".

A special side commentary book that I used on the Apostle Paul discussed how his biblical writings display signs of what we'd today call fanaticisms, compassionate yet somewhat passive/agressive behaviors leaning more towards the "dog with a bone" type. How troubling and fretful all this must have been for him; someone who was on a mission to change the world and didn't stop at enduring beatings, ridicule, imprisonment...and, eventually being run out of town everywhere he went based on his questionable actions.

I all but had to chuckle...invisioning the modern-day street preachers trying to change the world in NYC's old 42nd St/8th Ave. District. I also found more ironic humor later when - even with taking a cab up to the base of the mountain, by the time I reached the Acro Korinthos temple of Aphrodite all I felt like was a shower and a nap! I couldn't imagine walking ALL the way up here from the village just to have sex. Apparently Paul couldn't either from a physical or spiritual standpoint.

Especially throughout the book of I Corinthians, Paul is vehement in making his points about sexual immorality, marriage, and other questionable behaviors...before doing a 180 to write one of the best, most famous parts of the Bible. First Corinthians 13 is the "LOVE" chapter describing the truest, deepest meanings of love...that had nothing to do with Aprhodite or sex. Whether you're a modern day believer or not, I'll all but guarantee a lot of your current definitons of "love" come from these writings. You'll hear these words in weddings and scripts and, unfortunately, all but lost and not taught often enough in current denominational relgions.

'...faith, hope, and love - but the greatest of these is love'.

My time spent in both Ancient and Acro Korinthos was meaningful if for nothing else to try and put myself in the place of Paul 2000 years ago. Why did he choose or did God allow him to stay here longer than anywhere else during his ministries aside from his time in Rome before being beheaded? While walking around the areas, I found myself glimpsing his obvious nemesis...from the remains of Apollo's Temple in the city to the mountain of Acro Corinth...back and forth in trying to wonder what went thru Paul's mind. I didn't have to think about it too hard. I worked with "at-risk" street kids in New York City.