SITE STUDIES
I visited Corinth,
Greece on a summer morning after stinging rains. The ground was wet, and clouds shrouded the top of Mount Corinth, which rose majestically beyond. I viewed remnants of the ancient city – walls
of shops in the market, cisterns of public baths, the three standing columns at the
Temple of Apollo – against turbulent skies.
The place seemed to be governed by moody, impulsive gods,
The
mountain presides over the city. It seems both far away – impossible to
reach – and inevitable – impossible to escape. It’s a figment from a
dream and a fact of geography. I understood why the ancients built
their city here, at its foot. There is a fundamental human impulse,
perhaps more clearly expressed long ago, when development was so
precious, to build in a place that is auspicious. There was a humility
in the face of nature, a fundamental respect for the landscape. It’s something,
centuries later, we no longer possess.
Photograph © Nalina Moses.