University of Chicago Excavations at
ISTHMIA
Plaque fragment from Isthmia showing Poseidon with dolphin
University of Chicago Excavations at
ISTHMIA
Plaque fragment from Isthmia showing Poseidon with dolphin
Table of Contents
To anyone sailing westward in the Saronic Gulf or travelling on
the old Scironian Road from Athens to the Peloponnesus, the temple of Poseidon,
seen with Acrocorinth in the distance, would have been a landmark.
The sanctuary itself lay immediately adjacent to the road on the first
high ground after the coastal plain. Throughout all periods of its history
the road continued close to the temple. In this location, easily accessible
by land and sea, the shrine was a natural assembly place.
The sanctuary of Poseidon on the Isthmus of Corinth became the major
extramural shrine of the Corinthians, their most important religious foundation
outside the city. It was one of four sanctuaries where Greeks from all parts
of the Mediterranean came to compete in pan-Hellenic games.
Oscar Broneer discovered the temple of Poseidon in 1952 and until 1967 conducted systematic excavations of the central plateau that contained the temple, altar, surrounding buildings, and a Roman hero shrine. He also cleared the theatre, two caves used for dining, and two stadia for the Isthmian Games. In 1976, Elizabeth Gebhard succeeded Broneer as director of the University of Chicago Excavations at Isthmia. Efforts have been directed towards the final publication and conservation of objects recovered in Broneer's excavations. In 1967, Paul A. Clement of University of California at Los Angeles undertook excavations in the Roman Bath and in the late antique fortress called the Hexamilion. After his death, he was succeeded in 1987 by Timothy Gregory of Ohio State University. Ohio State University Excavations at Isthmia
Primary participants of the University of Chicago Excavations at Isthmia.
(LEFT: Photograph from the 1995 expedition)
In the autumn of 1989 University of Chicago continued excavations in the Temenos of Poseidon, in order to gain further information about the stages in the shrine's development and their chronology. The excavations were directed by Professor Gebhard under the auspices of the American School of Classical Studies at Athens, for the University of Chicago, and with permission of the Greek Ministry of Culture.
They were supported by a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities and by private donations.
The archaeological site of Isthmia (Greek Ministry of Culture)
The Archaeological Museum of Isthmia (Greek Ministry of Culture)
Museum and site brochure 
Rites for Melikertes-Palaimon in the Early Roman Corinthia
Evolution of a Pan-Hellenic Sanctuary
Isthmia in the Roman Period
Melikertes-Palaimon, Hero of the Isthmian Games
Small Dedications in the Archaic temple of Poseidon at Isthmia
The Archaic Temple at Isthmia: Techniques of Construction
Bibliography
Report on the 2000 Study Season
Report on the 2001 Study Season
Report on the 2002 Study Season
Report on the 2003 Study Season
Report on the 2004 Study Season
Report on the 2005 Study Season
Report on the 2006 Study Season
Report on the 2007 Study Season
CONTOUR PLANS - 800 BC to 300 BC
Recent analysis has clarified the sequence of events in the Southeast Precinct, which involves the Sanctuary of Melikertes-Palaimon,
ca. 60, 130 and 160 AD:
