CORIANDER, the fruit, improperly called seed, of an umbelliferous plant (Coriandrum sativum), a native of the south of Europe and Asia Minor, but cultivated in the south of England, where it is also found as an escape, growing apparently wild. The name is derived from the Gr. κόρις (a bug), and was given on account of its foetid, bug-like smell. The plant produces a slender, erect, hollow stem rising 1 to 2 ft. in height, with bipinnate leaves and small flowers in pink or whitish umbels. The fruit is globular and externally smooth, having five indistinct ridges, and the mericarps, or half-fruits, do not readily separate from each other. It is used in medicine as an aromatic and carminative, the active principle being a volatile oil, obtained by distillation, which is isomeric with Borneo camphor, and may be given in doses of ½ to 3 minims. On account of its pleasant and pungent flavour it is a favourite ingredient in hot curries and sauces. The fruit is also used in confectionery, and as a flavouring ingredient in various liqueurs. The essential oil on which its aroma depends is obtained from it by distillation. The tender leaves and shoots of the young plant are used in soups and salads.
CORINGA, a seaport of British India, in the district of Godavari and presidency of Madras, on the estuary of a branch of the Godavari river. The harbour is protected from the swell of the sea by the southward projection of Point Godavari, and affords a shelter to vessels during the south-west monsoon; but though formerly the most important on this coast it has been silted up and lost its trade. The repairing and building of small coasting ships is an industry at Tallarevu in the vicinity. In 1787 a gale from the north-east occasioned an inundation which swept away the greater part of Coringa with its inhabitants; and in 1832 another storm desolated the place, carrying vessels into the fields and leaving them aground. Of Europeans the Dutch were the first to establish themselves at Coringa. In 1759 the English took possession of the town, and erected a factory 5 m. to the south of it.
CORINNA, surnamed “the Fly,” a Greek poetess, born at Tanagra in Boeotia, flourished about 500 B.C. She is chiefly known as the instructress and rival of Pindar, over whom she gained the victory in five poetical contests. According to Pausanias (ix. 22. 3), her success was chiefly due to her beauty and her use of the local Boeotian dialect. The extant fragments of her poems, dealing chiefly with mythological subjects, such as the expedition of the Seven against Thebes, will be found in Bergk’s Poëtae Lyrici Graeci.
Some considerable remains of two poems on a 2nd-century papyrus (Berliner Klassikertexte, v., 1907) have also been attributed to Corinna (W. H. D. Rouse’s Year’s Work in Classical Studies, 1907; J. M. Edmonds, New Frags. of ... and Corinna, 1910).
CORINTH, a city of Greece, situated near the isthmus (see [Corinth, Isthmus of]) which connects Peloponnesus and central Greece, and separates the Saronic and the Corinthian gulfs on E. and W. The ancient town stood 1½ m. from the latter, in a plain extending westward to Sicyon. The citadel, or Acrocorinthus, rising precipitously on the S. to a height of 1886 ft. was separated by a ravine from Oneium, a range of hills which runs E. to the isthmus entrance. Between this ridge and the offshoots of Geraneia opposite a narrow depression allowed of easy transit across the Isthmus neck. The territory of Corinth was mostly rocky and unfertile; but its position at the head of two navigable gulfs clearly marked it out as a commercial centre. Its natural advantages were enhanced by the “Diolcus” or tram-road, by which ships could be hauled across the Isthmus. It was connected in historic times with its western port of Lechaeum by two continuous walls, with Cenchreae and Schoenus on the east by chains of fortifications. The city walls attained a circuit of 10 m.
I. History.—In mythology, Corinth (originally named Ephyre) appears as the home of Medea, Sisyphus and Bellerophon, and already has over-sea connexions which illustrate its primitive commercial activity. Similarly the early presence of Phoenician traders is attested by the survival of Sidonian cults (Aphrodite Urania, Athena Phoenicice, Melicertes, i.e. Melkarth). In the Homeric poems Corinth is a mere dependency of Mycenae; nor does it figure prominently in the tradition of the Dorian migrations. Though ultimately conquered by the invaders it probably retained much of its former “Ionian” population, whose god Poseidon continued to be worshipped at the national Isthmian games throughout historic times; of the eight communal tribes perhaps only three were Dorian. Under the new dynasty of Aletes, which reigned according to tradition from 1074 to 747, Corinthian history continues obscure. The government subsequently passed into the hands of a small corporation of nobles descended from a former king Bacchis, and known as the Bacchidae, who nominated annually a Prytanis (president) from among their number. The maritime expansion of Corinth at this time is proved by the foundation of colonies at Syracuse and Corcyra, and the equipment of a fleet of triremes (the newly invented Greek men-of-war) to quell a revolt of the latter city.
But Corinth’s real prosperity dates from the time of the tyranny (657-581), established by a disqualified noble Cypselus (q.v.). and continued under his son Periander (q.v.). Under these remarkable men, whose government was apparently mild, the city rapidly developed. She extended her sphere of influence throughout the coast-lands of the western gulf; by the settlement of numerous colonies in N.W. Greece she controlled the Italian and Adriatic trade-routes and secured a large share of the commerce with the western Greeks. In Levantine waters connexions grew up with the great marts of Chalcis and Miletus, with the rulers of Lydia, Phrygia, Cyprus and Egypt. As an industrial centre Corinth achieved pre-eminence in pottery, metal-work and decorative handicraft, and was the reputed “inventor” of painting and tiling; her bronze and her pottery, moulded from the soft white clay of Oneium, were widely exported over the Mediterranean. The chief example of her early art was the celebrated “chest of Cypselus” at Olympia, of carved cedar and ivory inlaid with gold. The city was enriched with notable temples and public works (see § Archaeology), and became the home of several Cyclic poets and of Arion, the perfecter of the dithyramb.