Cenchrea

Cenchrea The following description of this once important port of Corinth is taken from Lewin's St. Paul, 1, 289 sq.

"Cenchrea, at that time, was a thriving town, situate at the south-western corner of the Saronic bay, in a little cove which formed the harbor. Here, as at Corinth, Venus was the presiding deity, and her temple was all conspicuous object to the mariner on the north of the port; while at the southern end of it were the temples of Esculapins and Isis: and by the side of the stream which ran (and still runs) along the border of the sea from north to south, before discharging its waters, was, according to Pausanius, a bronze statue (Corinth. 2, 2).

1. Temple of Diana which lay on the road from the Isthmus to Cenchrea, but the exact site is uncertain.

⇒Bible concordance for CENCHREA.

2. Site of the Temple of Venus at the northern end of the port.

3. Probable site of the bronze statue of Neptune holding a trident in one hand and a dolphin in the other.

4. Site of the Temples of Eseulapius and Isis at the southern extremity of the port.

5. Blocks of granite traceable for a length of one hundred paces, and forming anciently the quay of the port for the embarkation and debarkation of goods and passengers. Here Paul must have stepped on board for Ephesus.

6. Site of the city of Cenchrea, which spread itself from the port up the rising ground on the west. The foundations are still traceable over an extensive tract. The name of Cenchrea appears to be derived from the κάγχροι, or millet, then, as now, grown in the vicinity. So Schcenus, the next port, was so called from its σχοῖνοι, or rushes, and Crommyon, near it, from the κρόμμυα, or onions, which abounded there.

7. A circular pool, collecting from one of the numerous springs with which this low ground abounds.

8. A clear running stream flowing from north to south parallel, to the sea, and discharging itself at the southern end of the bay.

9. A natural salt-water spring which issues from the rock several feet from the ground. This is the Bath of Helen described by Pausanias, 1, 19.

10. A mill.

11. Reservoirs for feeding the mill. "In 1851, when I was at Kalamaki, on the north-western corner of the Saronic bay, I inquired of the natives if they knew Cenchrea. After some confusion, arising from the pronunciation of the word, they recognized the name, and described it as a creek, where there was a corn-mill and a stream of water flowing from the rock. I crossed in an open boat, and as I approached the spot, the bay appeared to lie between two mountains confronting each other in the dusk, like crouching lions. The elevation on the left was precipitous, and, standing forward into the sea, served as a barrier against the waves from the east; that on the right was approached from the sea by a gentle slope. The pine and olive grew luxuriantly in this direction, the brilliant green of the former and the gray foliage of the latter showing a most striking contrast. The boat was run ashore (for the water was deep to the edge), and we landed on a beach of fine pebbles. Beyond the beach was a row of shrubs covered with red berries, resembling the arbutus. Having passed this, we found ourselves in a triangular plot of ground shut in by the mountains, the sea forming the base of the triangle, and its apex ending in a valley which swept away to the left. A clear and swift stream flowed from north to south, parallel to the sea, as mentioned by Pausanius, on the stream alongside of the sea. Having crossed it, we found about the middle of the area a circular pool resembling a bath, for the purpose of which it was admirably adapted by its size, and the depth and clearness of its waters. A stream was running rapidly from it, betokening the power of the spring by which it was fed. Beyond was another rivulet running towards the sea, and, thinking it must come down the valley, I traced it for a little distance; but all the spring was in the springs in the fairy around we stood upon, and the channel was dry long before we reached the valley. We then turned to the left and traversed the southern side, and here were two small millponds, or reservoirs, enclosed in stone walls, and connected together, with springs in them So abundant, that while a stream flowed from them at one end to supply the mill below, the water poured from the other end into the rivulet which was finding its way to the sea by the side of the mill. At the south-

eastern corner of the triangular plot, and near the sea, a stream leaped out of the rock at the height of several feet from the ground. The pool formed by this spring is Pausanius's Bath of Helen (Corinth. 2, 1, 2, 3). It had excavated a channel for itself, and ran into the millstream below the mill. All the waters discharged themselves into the sea at the north-eastern corner of the bay, and all were salt as the sea itself. There was no building in sight but the mill and a small storehouse near it. I had not time to examine the ground to the north, where was the site of the ancient city of Cenchrea. The cove which I had examined was that of Galataki, which was the open port or roadstead of Cenchrea, as opposed to the close or proper port of Cenchrea, which adjoined on the north." (See cut on p. 864.)