Sanctuarium Poseidonis Isthmiae

About

Panhellenic sanctuary of Poseidon on the Isthmus east of Corinth, seat of the biennial Isthmian Games (one of the four Panhellenic 'crown' games), administered by Corinth throughout the Roman period. The Archaic temple (c. 690 BCE) burned in 470 BCE and was rebuilt; the sanctuary remained active and the games continued to be celebrated under Roman rule, including at 117 CE. Coordinates reuse the 'Isthmia' point already present in this repo's places_medium.geojson gazetteer for consistency.

What happened here

The building itself is a house for the god, and most people never go inside. Everything public happens on the steps and at the altar in front: an animal led up, examined, killed cleanly, its organs read, the meat divided and eaten. The priest covers his head and a flute player keeps up a noise so no ill-omened word is heard. Worshippers leave what they can afford — a terracotta figure, a coin, a model of the body part they want healed — and the accumulated clutter is periodically cleared and buried on site. On festival days the doors are opened and the cult statue is dressed, garlanded, and sometimes carried out through the streets. The temple also holds money, which is why towns keep their treasury in one.

In ancient writing

• Pausanias, Description of Greece 2.1.7–2.2.2

  The pine grove, the sanctuary of Poseidon with its team of gilded horses, and the Isthmian games held in the god's honour.

Sources

• Pausanias Description of Greece 2.1.7-2.2.2
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isthmia