(Disclaimer:  We were writing blog posts daily during our cruise, but the wifi was so abysmally slow, it would take 5 or 6 hours to upload 10 photos or so.  Now that we’re home, we’re adding the photos and posting…)

Oh, Athens…I’ve loved you ever since I visited for the first time when I was 13 years old!  Three years ago, we were lucky to visit again with the kids.  Since we did the Acropolis in Athens on that visit, we decided to take a tour out to Corinth to see those ruins this time around.  I had also visited Corinth on my trip 30 years ago, and was excited to take the kids as I remembered it being one of my favorite sites.

Corinth has an interesting history.  It was a Greek settlement originally, and the Temple of Apollo (the Greek god of Light and Music) is one of the few remaining ruins from that period, much older than the rest of the site.  Corinth was invaded and destroyed by the Romans, and was left deserted until Julius Caesar decided to rebuild the area in 44 BC.  It became one of the most important areas of Greece.

Corinth is not only important as a Greek and Roman settlement, but also as an important site for Christianity.  It was here that the Apostle Paul came to preach in order to convert the Greeks to Christianity, and it was the first area of Greece to convert from the pagan polytheistic religion.  After St. Paul left, he sent letters to the people of Corinth — which are now the two Corinthians books of the Bible.  One of the coolest things about Corinth is that the raised “stage” area that all orators spoke from, including St. Paul, is still there, and you are allowed to walk to the top and stand in the place that he would have stood while talking to the Corinthian people about Jesus.  Very awe inspiring to realize the importance of the structure atop which you are standing. (The pictures below are taken from the ground looking up at it, and then of the kids standing on top of it.)

After leaving the ancient site, we took a sail through the Corinth canal.  It is amazing to think that it was completed in the late 1800s, yet was something that was conceived of during the ancient times.  In fact, one of the ancient Greeks who wanted to build the canal started digging, and then went to visit the famed Oracle of Delphi, who told him not to complete it.

We really enjoyed visiting this important and historic site, and we love that we were able to literally bring the Bible to life for our kids!