The refugees from Asia Minor arrived in the new city of Corinth, some since the persecution of 1914. Initially they stayed in shacks and tents, mainly around the Corinth railway station and the central market (Periandrou Street).

The Refugee Rehabilitation Organization, in 1928, expropriated the area of ​​the small hill northeast of the city, the state granted plots and built “Baghdad” houses with two arches and a basement.

The people of Asia Minor together took care to build the Church of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary of Corinth to continue the Liturgical and Worship life. The late Father Nektarios Marmarinos was ordained in this church in 1943, who offered a great spiritual work in the Corinth Settlement.

The cafes next to the Temple were the meeting place of the refugees from Asia Minor. A big party was held on the big holidays, as well as in the Homeland. The “Easter of Summer” is celebrated with great joy until today, on the 15th of August, where the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary is celebrated.

The Corinth Asia Minor Home is an active association that has been operating officially since 1992, with the aim of promoting the origin and culture of the inhabitants of the district.

The earthquake of 1928 that leveled the whole of Corinth

The devastating earthquake of April 28, 1928 leveled the city of Corinth, but fortunately the pre-earthquake tremors had disturbed the residents who managed to leave their homes …. and so there were only 20 dead and 30 injured.

The weather was the first omen. From the morning there was an unjustified heat throughout the city. Around 9 o’clock in the evening the successive vibrations started, which were accompanied by a loud roar coming from the earth. Earthquake. Almost all the buildings of Corinth were destroyed. The final blow came at 22:00 at night, when the big earthquake of 6.3 Richter took place. The vibrations that continued for the next two days, left nothing standing.

The quake, which had warned the Corinthians, reduced the death toll to 20 dead and 30 injured. However, almost 2,000 buildings in the city were destroyed and great damage was done in Loutraki. Help was immediately sent from the surrounding areas. Tents were set up to house the quake victims and food was sent. Also an English and two Italian warships sailed the area and offered supplies to the earthquake victims.

New Corinth

On April 28, 1928, five days after the catastrophic earthquake and the successive micro-vibrations, the demolition of the ruins began to start the reconstruction of the city from scratch. The crews began to demolish the remains of the houses, to clean the streets, to gather the materials to start the preparations for the foundation of “Nea Korinthos” on a new plan and design.

Companies, individuals and public institutions sent money to help earthquake victims. The amount of 4.5 million drachmas was raised from the fundraiser. In addition to the money, boxes of food, drinks and clothes were sent to Corinth. Part of the Red Cross organized three meals a day with plenty of food.

For the reconstruction of Corinth and Loutraki, the Autonomous Organization of Earthquake Victims of Corinth (AOSK) was created, headed by Metropolitan Damaskinos. Gradually the city was rebuilt and grew with the help of refugees and thousands of Peloponnesians who came down from the barren mountains to find work in the developing city.

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During the First National Assembly, which took place in Epidaurus from 20-12-1821 to 25-1-1822, Corinth was designated the Capital and Headquarters of the “Provisional Administration of Greece”.

Following the decisions of the National Assembly, at the end of January 1822, the Executive and the Parliament, that is, the government and the Parliament, settled in Corinth, where they remained for about four months.

During this period, Corinth became the focus of all major political processes and decisions taken regarding every aspect of the operation of the Greek state under establishment.

The conditions under which the Greek administration would operate in Corinth were anything but ideal. The magnitude of the almost insurmountable difficulties was vividly described by a German philhellene, who at that time was in Corinth and closely followed the events: “The Greek Government achieved incredible things in four months. In Corinth, ministers were looking for a table and a chair. This is difficult because there were no carpenters. The Turks had destroyed everything. “Everything had to be done from the beginning.”

And yet, in these adverse circumstances, the impossible became possible. In Corinth the Greek state began to acquire its first form. Here, for example, white and cyan were officially introduced for the first time as our national colors. On March 15, 1822, the Executive Body issued a decree, which determined the shape of the Greek flag. Under this decree, the ground forces would carry a blue flag with a white cross – the well-known flag that for years was the official symbol of the Greek state and is still used today as a war banner of the Greek Army. The naval forces would carry a flag consisting of nine alternating blue and white stripes, while at the far left of the flag there would be a white cross on a blue background – this is known as the “navy flag”, which is used as the official flag of the Greek state from 1978 until today.

The first commemorative medals of the Greek Revolution, which had the meaning of medals, were also cut in Corinth. On one side they had the image of Athena embossed and around it the phrase “Greece was grateful”.

In May 1822, the Order of the Philhellenes was officially formed in Corinth. It consisted of volunteers who had flocked from various European countries to offer their services to support the Greeks on the battlefields. In the roots of Acrokorinthos, the ceremony of handing over the war flags took place both in the battalion of the Greeks and in the first regiment of the regular Greek army.

Apart from the military issues, emphasis was also placed on the organization of the administrative mechanism, which would be the backbone of the Greek state. Thus, in Corinth, the first decisions were made for the division of the Greek territory into provinces. At the same time, the foundations were laid for the functioning of the judicial system, through the establishment of the first courts.
The printing house of the revolutionary Greek government also operated in Corinth. The laws that were passed between January and May 1822 were printed in it. The text of the Constitution of Epidaurus, the first charter of the Greek state, was also printed.

Decisions were also taken to enhance education: it is typical, for example, to take care of the operation of the Dimitsana school. Also of particular interest was the establishment of a modest health system: the establishment of the first public hospital, based in Corinth, was part of this framework.

Finally, the first official celebration of Easter took place in Corinth, in the sense of the organized participation of the Greek authorities in it. On the night of the Resurrection, a large procession was formed, led by about 500 men of the Greek infantry. The chairman of the Executive Body, Alexandros Mavrokordatos, followed, the other members of the government, as well as several of the deputies. The procession was closed by a second procession, also consisting of 500 soldiers.

The Metropolitan of Corinth, Cyril II, officiated at the resurrection service, who, after the end, delivered an inspiring speech to those present. The Resurrection of the Godman was combined with national polygenesis.

For about four months the heart of reborn Greece was beating here, in ancient Corinth. The pulse would continue uninterrupted until the end of May. Then, under the influence of internal disputes between the military and the politicians, but also the information that arrived about the formation of a powerful Ottoman expedition that would land in the Peloponnese (it was the army of Dramalis), it was decided to move the temporary capital to Argos.
During these four months, Corinth was inextricably linked to the first organized efforts of the Greeks to establish a, albeit rudimentary, state mechanism. Even before Greece was officially recognized as an independent state – something that happened only in February 1830 – in Corinth its first structures functioned in practice. Through the darkness of slavery the light of freedom rose timidly.

The battle of Dervenakiaknown as the destruction of Dramalis

One of the most important chapters of the chronicle of the Greek Revolution is undoubtedly the destruction of the army of Mahmut Pasha “Dramali”, which took place in the straits of Dervenaki, Agios Sostis and in the area of ​​Stefani – Kleisoura of Agionori on the three days of July 26-28, 22.

On July 26, 1822, Dramalis’ exhausted army, in its attempt to retreat to Corinth, attempted to cross the rugged straits of Dervenaki. There he fell into the masterful trap of Theodoros Kolokotronis and suffered a terrible disaster.

In the night of the 27th to the 28th of July, the devastated Dramalis was informed that the gorge of Berbatio was unspoiled. So he decided to go to Agionoriou Street and from there through Klenia to take refuge in Corinth. In Agionori, however, he fell into an ambush of Nikitaras and Nikitas Flessas.

The destruction of Dramalis’ army was completed at the battle of Agionori, on July 28, 1822. Thus, Theodoros Kolokotronis became the organizer and main perpetrator of this victory that saved the Revolution and secured freedom in modern Greece.

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About a hundred years later, in 44 BC, the lifelong dictator of Rome, Julius Caesar, decided to re-establish Corinth as a Roman colony, recognizing its special geographical importance in its broader strategy for the eastern Mediterranean. His violent death in the same year did not thwart his ambitious plan, as it was continued by his successor Octavian, later Augustus. The new city was named Colonia Laus Iulia Corinthiensis or Clara Laus Iulia Corinthus or Iulia Corinthus Augusta, as a colony of the Julia family of Caesar and Augustus, and was designated in 27 BC. capital of the Roman Province of Achaia (Provincia Achaiae), which included much of mainland Greece, the Peloponnese and several islands.

Due to its desolation after the battle of Lefkopetra, the city was initially colonized by free Romans and veteran soldiers, who were soon surrounded by Greeks, who took advantage of the particularly fertile land confiscated by Rome (ager publicus) and ceded to newcomers.

Very soon the population of the city increased significantly, as agriculture, livestock and trade re-developed, with corresponding exports of wool, dyed woolen fabrics, olive oil and honey, but also wood and metal objects. On the other hand, the needs and habits of the Roman inhabitants of the new city, as well as its international role, led to the import of goods from other parts of the Empire, such as wine and building materials (marble, granite), which were necessary for the new , luxury constructions.
 

According to the researchers, the city was redesigned with a hippodame system, ie with vertical and horizontal roads that demarcated urban islands. Beautiful public buildings and private monuments to wealthy Romans and Greeks were erected around the Agora. Evidence for the construction of the buildings can be found in many inscriptions, while their depictions are mainly in later local coins. The phrases of Oratius “non cuivis homini contingit adire Corinthum / non licet omnibus adire Corinthum” (Epistles 1.17.36) and of Strabo “all men in Corinth are in the sea” strong> (Geographical 8.6.20) reflect the prosperity of the city and the high cost of living there.