Corinthian Matters

Category: Sites, Diolkos

  • Corinthiaka

    A few Corinthiaka that have come through Google updates over the last couple of weeks: The Corinth Canal needs urgent work (from Athens News) The “Diolkos for 1500 Years” video will be featured this week at the 12th International Meeting of Archaeological Films.  See this link for a summary.  The Hellenic Foundation for Culture notes…

  • Corinthiaka

    The latest Corinthiaka for this cold Monday morning: (via Matt Malcolm’s blog) A conference on May 14 at Macquarie University on the theme of “Corinth – Paul, People and Politics,” sponsored by the Society for the Study of Early Christianity.  A seminar (May 12) in advance of the conference on the theme of “The Economy…

  • Three new papers on the Roman Corinthia and Isthmus

    A new book on Hellenistic to Roman Corinth called Corinth in Contrast: Studies in Inequality is now in the works.  The volume is edited by Friesen, James, and Schowalter and is based on the conference in Austin in early October which brought together archaeologists, historians, and New Testament scholars to discuss the topic of inequality and contrast…

  • The Most Excellent Strategem of Niketas Ooryphas (Part IV)

    Today I deliver the final segment of this interpretation of Niketas Ooryphas , the clever and mighty Byzantine admiral who shocked Aegean pirates in the Corinthian Gulf.  As Basil’s thunderbolt, he certainly did not drag his feet in 872 AD, but did he actually drag his fleet?  On Friday, I presented a series of arguments…

  • Did Niketas Drag His Fleet? The Ooryphas Saga, Part III

    Probably not. Over the last day or two, I’ve been telling the conquests of Niketas Ooryphas, the terrifying Byzantine admiral who delivered the shocking attack on the menacing Cretan pirates in the Corinthian Gulf in the late 9th century AD.  The Cretan pirates: from the Madrid Skylitzes manuscript The story is based on several…

  • Basil’s Thunderbolt: Niketas Ooryphas, Part II

    Today we continue the story of Niketas Ooryphas, a shadowy Byzantine admiral who appears on three occasions in the 10th century Life of Basil, a document praising the Emperor Basil I as  a restorer of order after the disastrous reign of the immoral and diabolical Michael III.  Niketas’ exploits, as I suggested yesterday, create real…

  • Niketas Ooryphas and the Diolkos of Corinth, Part I

    Who was Niketas Ooryphas, and what was he doing on the Isthmus in AD 872?  Over the next few days, I’ll provide a truncated version of the talk I delivered two weeks ago in San Antonio at the annual meeting of the Archaeological Institute of America.  The talk was titled, “Niketas Ooryphas Drags His Fleet:…

  • Niketas Ooryphas in the Chronicon Maius (16th century)

    Here’s the final installment of the translation of later Greek texts about the 9th century Byzantine admiral, Niketas Ooryphas.  Most scholars who have worked on the diolkos have cited Pseudo-Sphrantzes’ Chronicon Maius (“Longer Chronicle”) as the only later evidence for Niketas dragging his fleet.  But as previous posts on the Life of Basil, John Skylitzes &…

  • Niketas Ooryphas (John Zonaras version)

    Another translated text of Niketas Ooryphas, the Byzantine admiral, this one by the 12th century Byzantine historian John Zonaras in Epitome historiarum (lib. 13–18), Page 430 line 9.  Zonaras’ version shows influence both by the Vita Basilii and John Skylitzes / George Kedrenos.  I set the Zonaras text in parallel with the Life of Basil.  The original Greek text…

  • Niketas Ooryphas transfers his fleets (Skylitzes & Kedrenos versions)

    In the late 11th and early 12th centuries, respectively, John Scylitzes and George Cedrenus both wrote works titled Synopsis Historiarum. The former’s Synopsis begins with the year 811 AD and continues through 1057 AD, while  Cedrenus’ Synopsis begins with the creation of the world and concludes in the year 1057 AD. Both provide a version…