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Corinth is as city at the western end of the
Isthmus, joining the Peloponnesus to Boeotia. The
city was first named Ephyra or Ephyraea, because,
as it is said, the Oceanid Ephyra 1 was the first
to dwell in Corinth.
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Corinth assigned to
Helius
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According to the Corinthians, the Hecatoncheire
Briareus arbitrated between
Helius and
Poseidon, who had a
dispute concerning the lands about Corinth.
Briareus assigned to
Poseidon the Isthmus of
Corinth and the neighbouring lands, and gave to
Helius the height above
the city (Acrocorinthus).
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Harbours of Corinth
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The Corinthian harbours of Lechaeum and Cenchrae
are called after Leches and Cenchrias, sons of
Poseidon and Pirene 2,
daughter of the river god Achelous. Pirene 2, who
others call daughter of Oebalus 1 and Batia 2,
became a spring because of her many tears, shed in
lamentation for her son Cenchrias, who was
unintentionally killed by
Artemis.
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First kings of Corinth
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Helius gave Asopia
(Sicyon) to Aloeus 2 and
Ephyraea (Corinth) to
Aeetes. These two were
sons of Helius and
Perseis. But Aeetes left
the city, and having settled far away in Colchis,
became king there. On leaving,
Aeetes entrusted the
kingdom to Bunus, son of
Hermes and Alcidamea.
When Bunus died, Epopeus 1, who had come from
Thessaly and taken the kingdom of
Sicyon after the death of
Corax, now annexed the kingdom of Corinth. Epopeus
1 died of a neglected wound inflicted in battle
during his war against the Thebans [for more
details about Epopeus 1 see
Oedipus and
Robe & Necklace of Harmonia
1].
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Marathon
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When Epopeus 1 died, his son by Antiope 3,
Marathon, who had escaped from his father's lawless
violence, returned to the Peloponnesus, and divided
his kingdom among his sons Corinthus and Sicyon.
Having done this, Marathon went back to the sea
coast in Attica where he had previously settled.
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Bandits related to the king
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In this way, Corinthus became king of the city
that was named after him.
Some say Corinthus was father of Sylea, who
married the bandit Procrustes, also called Damastes
and Polypemon. This Procrustes offered hospitality
to the passers-by and laid the short men on a big
bed and hammered them, to make them fit in the bed,
and the tall men he laid on a little bed and sawed
off the portions of their bodies that projected
beyond it. Procrustes is one of the bandits killed
by Theseus. Procrustes
and Sylea had a child Sinis, who used to force the
passers-by to keep bending pine-trees, but being
too weak to do so were tossed up by the trees and
perished. Theseus
punished this bandit too, and after he had killed
him, he found it quite appropriate to ravish Sinis'
daughter Perigune, who had fled when her father was
killed, but was overtaken by
Theseus. Perigune gave
birth to Melanippus 7, the father of Ioxus, who led
a colony into Caria (Asia Minor).
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Queen Medea
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But others say that King Corinthus died
childless, and that upon his death the Corinthians
sent for Medea, daughter
of King Aeetes of
Colchis. Medea had, after
her trip with the
ARGONAUTS, settled in
Iolcus together with her husband
Jason. So, according to
this account, Jason and
Medea became the rulers of
Corinth. Medea concealed
her children by Jason in
the sanctuary of Hera,
hoping that they would become immortal, but was
detected by Jason, who
refused to pardon her and sailed to Iolcus.
Medea then left Corinth,
and handed over the kingship to
Sisyphus.
However, others say that
Medea was just a common
citizen in Corinth, and that the king at that time
was Creon 3, her conflict with
Jason being of another
nature.
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Sisyphus
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Sisyphus, who
sometimes is said to have been the founder of
Corinth, betrayed Zeus'
secret concerning the abduction of Aegina. For when
Zeus had secretly carried
her off, Sisyphus told
the secret to her father, the river god Asopus, who
was looking for her. For this
Sisyphus is still being
punished in the
Underworld by rolling
a stone with his hands and head in an effort to
heave it over the top of a hill; but no matter how
much he pushes, the stone rebounds backward again.
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Succession from father to son
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The throne went then from father to son: from
Sisyphus to Ornytion,
to Thoas 8, to Damophon, to Propodas, and finally
to Doridas and Hyanthidas, who were kings at the
time of the return of the
HERACLIDES. It was
Aletes 2 (son of Hippotes 2, son of Phylas 2, son
of Antiochus 1, son of
Heracles 1 and Meda 1,
daughter of Phylas 1, who at some time was king of
Ephyra), who led the
HERACLIDES against
Corinth, and took the throne from Doridas and
Hyanthidas.
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Other kings of Corinth
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The uncertain Corinthian throne succession
leaves room for other rulers. King Polybus 4 and
Queen Periboea 4 are reported to be the rulers of
Corinth when Oedipus was
a child, as it is them who adopted him [see
Oedipus].
Approaching historical times [ca. 600 BC, as it
is reported], during the reign of King
Periander
(Pyranthus) of Corinth, son of Cypselus 2, son of
Eetion 4, Arion 2 of
Methymna in Lesbos landed on Taenarum in Laconia
(southern Peloponnesus), borne by a dolphin.
Periander
was married to Melissa, daughter of the tyrant of
Epidaurus Procles 3.
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The story of Arion 2
and the dolphin
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Arion 2 was a
lyre-player and the first to compose and name the
dithyramb (originally a choral song to
Dionysus 2) which he
afterwards taught at Corinth.
Arion 2 spent most of his
time with King
Periander,
but once he wished to sail to Italy and Sicily in
order to make money, and thereafter come back to
Corinth. Having done so, and now being in Italy, he
hired a Corinthian vessel to carry him from
Tarentum. But when they were out at sea, the crew
plotted to take Arion 2's
money, and cast him overboard. In face of this
distressing situation, Arion
2 asked for his life and offered them his
money, but the crew would not listen to him, and
told him either to kill himself and so receive
burial on land, or else to jump into the sea at
once.
So he asked to sing a song on the deck, which
the crew allowed, pleased at the thought of hearing
the best singer in the world. But when the sound of
the lyre and his voice were heard, dolphins came
about the ship, and at the sight of them,
Arion 2 threw himself
into the sea. And while the crew sailed back to
Corinth, a dolphin took Arion
2 on his back and bore him to Taenarum. Thence
he returned to Corinth, but the king, being
skeptical, kept Arion 2
in confinement, while he waited for the sailors.
When they arrived, they were asked about
Arion 2, and they replied
that he was safe, and had left him very prosperous
at Tarentum. Then Arion 2
appeared before them, and the treacherous sailors
could no longer deny what was proved against them.
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