ISTHMIA ARCHAEOLOGICAL SITE
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Site of an ancient sanctuary of Poseidon which hosted the Isthmian Games. Remains of little interest, but a rich little museum.
This site (Αρχαιολογικός Χώρος Ισθμίας/Archaiologikos Choros Isthmias) may seem disappointing, but it has a rich little museum. It houses the rare remains of an important sanctuary of Poseidon. Founded by the Corinthians around 700 B.C., it was the site of the Isthmian Games (582 B.C.-393 A.D.), one of Greece's four major sporting and artistic competitions, alongside those of Olympia, Delphi and Nemea. Apart from the Roman baths (2nd century AD), adorned with a vast mosaic of tritons and Nereids, the site doesn't really speak for itself: base of the great temple of Poseidon (5th century BC), relief of the theater (5th-2nd centuries BC), grandstand and starting line of the archaic stadium (6th century BC). Explanation: the sanctuary was destroyed by the Visigoths in 396 and its materials reused to build the Hexamilion wall in the5th century. However, archaeologists have recovered some fine objects on display in the museum: a 7th-century BC votive marble basin, an imposing statue of a Roman emperor, a lion's head from the roof of the temple of Poseidon, a stele of a Roman from Corinth who won a musical competition at the Games in the 2nd century AD, long-jump dumbbells (without a run-up, they could gain up to 17 cm over a 3 m jump), etc. Also of note are the superb painted glass mosaics (c. 375 AD) from the ancient port of Cenchrea (remains at Kechries, 5.4 km to the south).
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