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The archaeological site of Kenchreai is located at the northeastern extremity of the Peloponnese and the southern extremity of Central Greece, roughly at the center of the country's mainland. Although Kenchreai was occupied from the prehistoric into the early historic eras, it flourished during the Roman Empire, when it was one of the busiest ports in the lower Balkans. The natural bay augmented by massive moles, or artificial breakwaters, offered ships a well protected harbor facing a broad expanse of sea. Kenchreai was located at the western end of the Saronic Gulf of the Aegean Sea and on the eastern coast of the Isthmus of Corinth, which connected southern Greece to continental Europe. The port was also situated along prominent roads heading into the Isthmus and following the shoreline. It was thus a natural crossroads for overland travelers heading northward or southward, for ships on coastal or insular routes, and for maritime traffic arriving from and departing to the Aegean and the eastern Mediterranean beyond. The port's livelihood also depended on its proximity to Corinth, a populous commercial hub and the administrative center for the province of Achaea.
Ancient writers record that Kenchreai was a prosperous and attractive city under the Roman Empire (Strabo 8.6.2; Paus. 2.2.3; Apul. Met. 10.35). Vivid accounts also portray a city with different faces. On the one hand, St. Paul communicated with Christians there (Acts 18:18; Romans 16:1); on the other, the African sophist Apuleius depicted local residents devoted to the Egyptian goddess Isis and enthralled by pagan festivals (Met. 11). Inscriptions from Kenchreai refer to a cult of Dionysos and name immigrants from Asia Minor, retired legionaries, colonial aristocrats, and indigenous Corinthians. Roman Kenchreai was a vital community where people of different backgrounds and interests lived and interacted.
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| View from north of modern harbor (2002) | |
The site of Kenchreai has been known since ancient times. The locale never lost its name, and ruins on the north and south moles have always been visible projecting above the surface of the waves. Although part of the ancient city is now beneath the modern village of Kechrees, most of the commercial, residential, and burial space underlies cultivated land, and the great harbor is now a quaint cove for fishermen and sunbathers. Despite its long survival, scientific exploration of the port-city only began in the 20th century. The results of research since 1905, culminating in the Kenchreai Cemetery Project, have contributed to a deeper and more sophisticated understanding of this fascinating and important place.
