Periander, a more ruthless and authoritarian tyrant…

Periander, a more ruthless and authoritarian tyrant than his father, establishes Corinth's prosperity by efficient administration and the founding of several colonies.

Despite these accomplishments, the chief source of Corinth's wealth remains its possession of the isthmus, which controls not only the land traffic between Attica and the Peloponnese but also the traffic between the Aegean and Ionian seas by way of the Corinthian and Saronic gulfs.

Periander facilitates the transit of ships and cargoes, which are hauled overland from gulf to gulf, by building a stone roadway between them, thus sparing seafarers the arduous voyage around the southern tip of the Peloponnese.

Corinth by this time has harbors on both gulfs that flank it, Lechaeum on the Gulf of Corinth and Cenchreae on the Saronic Gulf.

Corinth's colonial expansion under the tyrants is extended along the Adriatic and into Macedonia.

The biennial Isthmian Games, featuring competitions in athletics, horse racing, oratory, and music, begin about 589.

Legend traces the origin of the spring games, held on the Isthmus of Corinth at the Sanctuary of Poseidon, either to Sisyphus, king of Corinth, or to Theseus, king of Athens.