Ancient Corinth was the richest and most commercial city of Ancient Greece. It was the main centre of transit trade of the ancient world. All day long, the three harbours worked intensively: the Lechaio (in Corinthian gulf) and the Kechraies (in Saronic gulf), and the location of Poseidonia (in Corinthian gulf) from where started or ended Diolkos.

    It was well protected by its acropolis, which was 575 metres higher than the city and was built on rocks in a height of 70 metres, having Acrocorinth to the South and the Corinthian gulf to the North, where was the harbour of Lechaio. The yard of Corinth with the walls that connected it with the various harbours, had a length that no other yard had.

    From the city’s walls, are preserved only a few remnants in the North positions. Especially is preserved the part which lies North to the Apollo’s temple and near to the Spring of Lerna which is from pore-stone. The walls were very well founded and very tall. Close to these are also other fortifications, well preserved which belong to the later years. There are also preserved somehow parts of Corinth’s walls especially in the spot where the Lechaio route began and led to the beach, that is right and left of the Lechaio’s route.

    Behind the city, to the South side, stands up a towering rock at the peak of which stands out imposingly the castle of Corinth. It is said that is of the most powerful castles in the world. Double and triple walls with dikes, protected the entrances and towering huge castles, bridgeheads, ramparts and other fortifications discouraged and frightened their claimants. The length of the acropolis walls was 2000 meters and the encircled area seemed vast.

    Acrocorinth standing up there, in front of Peloponnese’s pass, was incarnating the centre of dependence of the whole Greece. Perhaps that was the reason for calling this settlement in the ancient years “Ephira”. The word means: “Watch-Tower, Observation-Post”. The starting-point of the city is lost deep in the centuries. However, the ancients thought that the cunning, mythical Sisyphus, the son of Aeolos, was the founder of Corinth, somewhere 1500 years before the Classic period. Apart from the Cyclopean Walls, there are findings of a settlement which exists 3000 years ago. That indicates that people lived since the Stone ages, and Corinth was established since 5000 BC and perhaps a long time ago.

    By Corinth many other cities were built as Corfu, Epidaurus, Potidaia and Syracuse the biggest and most powerful city of Sicily. Trade and wealth gave a character to Corinth. It was adorned with Theatres, Music Schools, Gyms, Markets, Temples, Aesclipius, Stadiums, Water Springs Porches and thousands of statues and monuments. The Bachiades, Kipselos and Periandros helped Corinth to reach its peak.

    Many important people of Ancient Greece have passed from Corinth such as Philip and Alexander the Great, who declared that Greeks should fight together against Persians. We shouldn’t neglect philosopher Diogenis who rolled the barrel in Corinth. Here also lived Apostle Paul and founded the Apostolic Christian Church of Corinth.

    Since the ancient times, Corinth was ransacked and destroyed many times. Many tried to conquer it such as Eroullians, Gotthians, Slaves, Bulgarians, Normands, Franks, Catalonians, the Knights of Malta, Venetians, Albanians and Turks. Tracks of all periods of the Greek history, from the mythical times to the Roman times, Byzantine period, Frank times and Turkish domination can be seen when one passes the three gates and find himself in the castle.

    In the preserved walls we can notice the way of structure and fortification order which is identical of each period. Inside the walls there are also ruins of houses and buildings of the settlement of the castle which belong to various periods.