OINOI,
NE Corinthia, Greece.
Oinoi was a
fort that overlooked the Halcyonic Bay not far from
Megarian territory (
Strab. 8.1.3, 6.22; 9.2.25). The fort
was captured by Aigisilaus during his campaign in Piraion in 390 B.C. but was recovered not long afterwards by Iphikrates (
Xen. Hell. 4.5.5, 19).
The site has long been recognized as the imposing
fortified compound on the hill of Viokastro near the
modern village of Schinos. The high (400 m) hill is difficult of access from the coastal plain and the summit is crowned by a network of polygonal walls that served both as partial terracing and fortifications. Some of the
walls, which are preserved in places to a height of over
4 m, are closely parallel and so create a series of narrow
corridors. The highest part of the fort appears to have
been a keep and below it to the E is a small plateau,
reached by a stairway, where there is a large cistern. The
fort guarded one of the chief routes from Boiotia to the
Peloponnesos and would have been also an effective
coastal watch station for fleet movements.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
C. A. Robinson in H. N. Fowler & R.
Stillwell,
Corinth I, i: Introduction. Topography. Architecture (1932) 38-40; J. R. Wiseman,
The Land of the Ancient Corinthians (forthcoming).
J. R. WISEMAN
