Gods, games and glass mosaics at the Isthmus (an overview and review of Isthmia)

The Athens News has been running a biweekly column by archaeologist John Leonard about the famous sites of Greece.  This week’s piece, “Gods, Games, and Glass Mosaics at the Isthmus,” provides an overview and review of what is now visible at the archaeological site of Isthmia.  Here is part of the introduction:

“Sometimes, however, certain archaeological sites or museums fall between the cracks, their intriguing remains and distinct impact on the Greek past left sadly overlooked or forgotten. One such site is the Isthmian sanctuary of Poseidon, located at the east end of the Corinth Canal. Today, while visitors to the Greek mainland so often find themselves shuttled off to an all-too-familiar set of major archaeological attractions (the Athens Acropolis, Delphi, Olympia, Mycenae, Epidaurus and Sounion, to name a few), the less prominent sites and museums with fewer regular visitors, typified by the sanctuary of Poseidon at Isthmia, seem at risk of being under-appreciated, under-attended and even conspicuously neglected by cultural authorities. 

A recent visit to Poseidon’s temple at Isthmia, only ten minutes by car from the main crossing of the Corinth Canal, proved to be an experience that was archaeologically refreshing, but also noteworthy for the near-total lack of fellow visitors….

Read more here. 

• Related: Leonard’s previous post details an interview with Stephen Miller, former director of the University of California-Berkeley Excavations at Nemea, about excavations at Nemea as well as the revived Nemean Games.