Corinth was a powerful ancient Greek city-state. It was located on the coast and was ruled by a king. The Corinthians were problem solvers, possibly the best problem solvers in ancient Greece.


For a while, the ancient Greek city-state of Corinth had a huge problem with unemployment. Their city grew faster than the job market. Some city-states would have ignored this situation. But not Corinth. They solved this problem by creating public works projects. One of the public works projects was to build new aqueducts, the huge pipes that brought fresh water into the city. This put people to work, and solved another problem - the need for enough safe drinking water to provide to their growing population.

One of their most clever solutions was to create their own coinage. Argos did that as well. But Corinth took it one step further. They opened places where people could trade their money for Corinthian money so people could pay for goods. This was not a free service. There was a charge for this. Corinth was one of the largest centers of trade in ancient Greece. So the city made a great deal of money from their money exchange program.

Corinth felt their schools were as good as those in Athens. They were not as fancy perhaps, but the level of education in Corinth was outstanding. All boys went to military school for at least two years after high school.

Corinth worked at being a leader in the ancient Greek world, and they were highly respected by other Greek city-states. The people of Corinth were very proud of their city-state.

Hades and the King of Corinth (ancient Greek myth)

Coins from Ancient Corinth (from the coin collecting guide for beginners)

Ancient Greece Q&A Interactive