The natural consequences of an extensive commerce were wealth and luxury. Fostered in this manner, the city rose in magnificence and grandeur; and the elegant and magnificent temples, palaces, theatres, and other buildings, adorned with statues, columns, capitals, and bases, not only rendered it the pride of its inhabitants and the admiration of strangers, but gave rise to that order of architecture which still bears its name.
Corinth has preserved but few monuments of its Greek or Roman citizens. The chief remains are at the southern corner of the town, and above the bazaar; eleven columns, supporting their architraves, of the Doric order, fluted, and wanting in height near half the common proportion to the diameter. Within them, to the western end, is one taller, though entire, which, it is likely, contributed to sustain the roof. They are of stone. This ruin is probably of great antiquity, and a portion of a fabric, erected mostly before the Greek city was destroyed, but before the Doric order had attained to maturity.
Mr. Dodwell, nevertheless, observed no remains of the order of architecture which is said to have been invented at Corinth, nor did he perceive in any part of the isthmus the acanthus plant, which forms the principal distinctive character of the Corinthian capital.
Corinth*, says Mr. Turner, contains, within its walls, remains of antiquity, but some small masses of ruined walls and seven columns, with part of the frieze of a temple, of which some columns were pulled down to make room for a Turkish house to which it joins.
As there is nothing approaching to an intelligible building of antiquity, we may exclaim with the poet—
Where is thy grandeur, Corinth! shrunk from sight,
Thy ancient treasures, and thy ramparts' height,
Thy god-like fanes and palaces! Oh where,
Thy mighty myriads and majestic fair!
Relentless war has poured around thy wall,
And hardly spared the traces of thy fall.
There are several shapeless and uninteresting masses of Roman remains composed of bricks, one of which seems to have been a bath, resembling, in some respects, that of Dioclesian at Rome, but little more than the lower walls and foundations are remaining. The only Grecian ruin which, at present, remains at Corinth, is that of a Doric temple. When Du Loir travelled there (1654), there were twelve columns of this temple standing. In the time of Chandler there were also eleven; but now there are only seven. To what god this temple was dedicated is unknown. The columns are each composed of one black calcareous stone, which being of a porous quality, were anciently covered with stucco of great hardness and durability. From its massive and inelegant proportions, Mr. Dodwell is disposed to believe, that this ruin is the most ancient remaining in Greece.
In the narrowest part of the isthmus, about three miles from Corinth, and therefore probably in the place where the games were celebrated, are seen the spacious remains of a theatre and stadium; and less than a mile from Corinth, in the same direction, the circuit and arena are still visible.
The Acropolis, however, is one of the finest objects in Greece, and before the introduction of artillery, it was deemed almost impregnable, and had never been taken except by treachery or surprise. In the time of Aratus it was defended only by four hundred soldiers, fifty dogs, and fifty keepers. It shoots up majestically from the plain to a considerable height, and forms a conspicuous object at a great distance; as it is clearly seen from Athens, from which it is not less than forty-four miles in a direct line. From its summit is a glorious prospect. Strabo thus describes it:—"From the summit of the Acropolis, Parnassus and Helicon are seen covered with snow. Towards the west is the gulf of Krissa, bordered by Phocis, Bœotia, Megaris, Corinthia, and Sicyonia. Beyond are the Oneian mountains, extending to Bœotia and Mount Cithæron." The entire view forms, on the whole, a panorama of the most captivating features, and of the greatest dimensions, comprehending six of the most celebrated states of Greece;—Achaia, Locris, Phocis, Bœotia, Attica, and Argolis[203].
The Corinthian order having been invented at Corinth, we cannot refuse ourselves the satisfaction of quoting a passage from Dr. Brewster's treatise on Civil Architecture:—"The artists of Græcia Proper, perceiving that in the Ionic order the severity of the Doric had been departed from, by one happy effort invented a third, which much surpassed the Ionic in delicacy of proportion and richness of decorations. This was named the Corinthian order. The merit of this invention is ascribed to Callimachus of Athens, who is said to have had the idea suggested to him by observing acanthus leaves growing round a basket, which had been placed with some favourite trinkets upon the grave of a young lady; the stalks which rose among the leaves having been formed into slender volutes by a square tile which covered the basket. It is possible that a circumstance of this nature may have caught the fancy of a sculptor who was contemporary with Phidias; and who was, doubtless, in that age of competition, alive to every thing which promised distinction in his profession. But in the warmth of our devotion for the inspiration of Greek genius, we must not overlook the facts, that, in the pillars of several temples in Upper Egypt, whose shafts represent bundles of reeds or lotus, bound together in several places by fillets, the capitals are formed by several rows of delicate leaves. In the splendid ruins of Vellore in Hindostan, the capitals are, also, composed of similar ornaments; and it is well known, that the Persians, at their great festivals, were in the habit of decorating with flowers the tops of their pillars which formed the public apartments. It is, therefore, not improbable, that these circumstances, after so much intercourse with other countries, might have suggested ideas to Callimachus, which enabled him to surpass the capital of Ionia[204]."