{"id":7776,"date":"2021-11-03T21:05:00","date_gmt":"2021-11-04T04:05:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.roamintheempire.com\/?p=7776"},"modified":"2021-12-29T22:28:37","modified_gmt":"2021-12-30T05:28:37","slug":"cenchreae","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.roamintheempire.com\/index.php\/2021\/11\/03\/cenchreae\/","title":{"rendered":"Cenchreae, Acheae"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Apsidal<\/a>
Apsidal room on the southern mole, possibly the Temple of Isis.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Most Recent Visit:<\/strong> May 2021<\/p>\n

About 10 kilometers to the east of Corinth<\/a> is the city\u2019s Saronic Gulf port, Cenchreae (Kenchreia). According to the 2nd<\/sup> century CE writer Pausanias, the two ports of Corinth, Chenchreae, and its counterpart on the Gulf of Corinth, Lechaion, were named after the sons of the nymph Peirene with Poseidon; Leches and Cenchrias. It is Cenchreae\u2019s namesake, Cenchrias, who is accidentally killed by Artemis and causes Peirene to become a flowing spring of tears and becomes the mythological foundation for the Fountain of Peirene in Corinth.<\/p>\n

The actual foundation of Cenchreae is unclear. It certainly existed in the Classical and Hellenistic periods and is attested by writers such as Thucydides, but does not seem to have been much more extensive than a fortified military port. If there was a settlement associated with the pre-Roman port, it appears to have been located a bit farther inland. It doesn\u2019t seem to have been until the Roman re-foundation of Corinth that a settlement really grew up in the area of the actual port. Significant improvements were made to the harbor works during the Augustan period.<\/p>\n

\"Buildings<\/a>
Buildings of the southern mole.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Around the time that the Isthmian Games were returned to nearby Isthmia<\/a> in the middle of the 1st<\/sup> century CE, Cenchreae saw a significant period of growth. Most notably, evidence of civilian occupation around the harbor becomes apparent. By the Hadrianic period, it seems to have been a heavily populated area. Cenchreae features as the setting for the climax of Apuleius\u2019 Metamorphoses. In the novel, Cenchreae is portrayed as a diverse settlement with, notably, an active and thriving cult devoted to Isis, which fuels the final scenes. Pausanias too notes the presence of the Isis cult here, as well as a significant temple dedicated to Aphrodite. The settlement here seems to have largely been abandoned by the 7th<\/sup> century CE, before being reoccupied later.<\/p>\n