Archaeological Museum of Ancient Corinth

The Archaeological Museum of Ancient Corinth is an archaeological museum situated within the archaeological site of Ancient Corinth in the Peloponnese region of Greece. Constructed between 1931 and 1932, it was built specifically to house the growing volume of finds from excavations at one of Greece's most significant ancient cities. The museum lies under the jurisdiction of the 37th Ephoreia of the Greek Archaeological Service and stands near the Temple of Apollo at the entrance to the agora area. Its collections span from the Early Neolithic period through the Byzantine and Frankish eras, making it a central institution for understanding the longue durée of Corinthian civilization. In recent years, the museum has gained international recognition as one of two Greek institutions nominated for the European Museum of the Year.

The museum building was designed by architect Stuart Thompson in the architectural model of the Chicago school and was constructed by the American School of Classical Studies at Athens, funded by a generous donation from Ada Small Moore, wife of William H. Moore. The original structure was completed in 1932 and quickly became an important institution in Greece. In 1951, the west wing was extended, reorganizing the museum's interior around two atriums. A major theft occurred on 12 April 1990, when thieves bound and beat the guard and stole 285 objects including marble heads, jewelry, and small items, along with staff salaries totaling one million drachmas. Investigations led to the recovery of the stolen objects in Miami, Florida, through FBI action in 1999, with their return to the museum in 2001. Renovations between 2007 and 2008, supported by the 3rd Community Support Framework, improved the prehistoric collections and the Sanctuary of Asklepios galleries. Further work funded by the 2007-2013 National Strategic Reference Framework allowed a new exhibition project in the refurbished east and south areas, which opened to the public in 2016.

The museum's collections encompass artifacts recovered from systematic excavations at Ancient Corinth and surrounding sites since 1896. These include the main site with its agora and Temple of Apollo, the Sanctuary of Demeter and Kore on the slopes of Acrocorinth, the Potters' Quarter, the Sanctuary of Asklepios, and the Kenchreian Gate Basilica. The holdings illustrate Corinthian history from the Early Neolithic period through Greek, Roman, Byzantine, and Frankish rule. The exhibitions are organized chronologically and thematically across multiple galleries, presenting sculpture, pottery, inscriptions, mosaics, jewelry, and domestic objects that document the city's commercial activity, artistic achievements, religious practices, burial customs, and military history.

Among the museum's signature works are the twin kouroi from Klenia near ancient Tenea, confiscated from antiquities traffickers and dating to the sixth century B.C. The prehistoric gallery features a large Mycenaean amphoroid krater with chariot scene detail from the area of the Julian Basilica. The Classical gallery presents objects from the Tenea cemetery and major city sanctuaries. The Roman gallery displays numerous sculptures and mosaics from Roman villas of the Colonia Laus Lulia Corinthiensis, including a mosaic floor decorated with the head of Dionysos framed by ornaments, dating to approximately the second century A.D. The Asklepieion gallery contains unique clay votive offerings shaped as human body parts from the fourth and third centuries B.C., as well as Byzantine funerary stelae from the fifth and sixth centuries A.D. The atrium holds Greek and Latin inscriptions and evidence of the Judaic community in Roman Corinth, including architectural elements from an ancient synagogue. Other notable pieces include the sixth-century B.C. sarcophagus of Jiliomodi with its painted lions, the lion of Korakou from a funerary monument, and an archaic sphinx. A dedicated section titled Return to the Homeland displays 274 repatriated objects recovered from the United States after the 1990 theft.

The museum building, designed by Stuart Thompson following Chicago school principles, was constructed between 1931 and 1932. Its location within the archaeological site of Ancient Corinth places it near the Temple of Apollo, built approximately 540 B.C., at the entrance to the agora. The 1951 west wing extension created a plan organized around two atriums. The 2007-2008 renovations under the 3rd Community Support Framework improved gallery infrastructure, while the 2007-2013 National Strategic Reference Framework funded refurbishment of the east and south areas for new exhibitions covering the Geometric Period to the Roman destruction of 146 B.C. The surrounding archaeological site includes the Lechaion Road, basilica, Fountain of Peirene, stoa, agora, odeion, other temples, theatre, and surrounding shops, with remains spanning from the Early Neolithic period to the early modern age.

The Archaeological Museum of Ancient Corinth is located within the archaeological site of Ancient Corinth in Corinth Municipality, Greece. It operates under the jurisdiction of the 37th Ephoreia of the Greek Archaeological Service. The museum maintains a website at https://www.corinth-museum.gr/. Visitors access the museum as part of the broader archaeological site, which has been under continuous excavation since 1896. The refurbished east and south exhibition areas, opened in 2016, present works from the Geometric Period through the city's destruction by Rome in 146 B.C. The museum's collections are also documented through online databases maintained by the American School of Classical Studies at Athens, which continues its research connection to the site.