ANCIENT SICYON

The route begins in Vasiliko, Corinthia (Ancient Sicyon), a small village built on the southeastern edge of a triangular plateau at 140 m altitude. The central Byzantine church of the Holy Trinity, built in the 13th century, stands out. It was constructed using stones and marbles from ancient temples and buildings of ancient Sicyon. The significant archaeological site of Ancient Sicyon lies to the west of the village.
Although Sicyon was one of the most important art centers of antiquity, it remained in the shadow of the famous Corinth. The original name of the area was Aigialeia, and the city was renamed Sicyon in honor of the mythical hero Sicyon, its first settler. Archaic and Classical Sicyon was a coastal city, located near present-day Kiato. According to Plutarch, Demetrius moved the city higher up, to the eastern slopes of the ancient acropolis, near today’s Vasiliko.
Sicyon was one of the most powerful cities of the Greek world, reaching its peak in the Archaic and Hellenistic periods under the tyranny of the Orthagorid family, especially under Cleisthenes, grandfather of the Athenian statesman who founded democracy. A sign of its prosperity is the Sicyonian Treasury at Delphi (5th c. BC), which still impresses visitors to the sanctuary. The Sicyonians were also the first Peloponnesians to mint coins (550 BC), depicting the head of the goddess Artemis.
From the Archaic period onwards, Sicyon excelled in sculpture, painting, and metalworking. The Sicyonian sculptor Canachos, who lived at the end of the 6th c. BC, introduced the construction of colossal statues, and many famous sculptors followed, elevating Sicyonian sculpture to the highest level in Greece. The renowned painter Eupompus of Sicyon trained some of antiquity’s greatest artists, including Pamphilos (the favored painter of Alexander the Great), Apelles, and the sculptor Lysippos.
The city’s prosperity gradually declined: it was plundered by the Achaeans and struck by two major earthquakes (153 and 141 BC). After the destruction of Corinth by the Romans in 146 BC, Sicyon experienced a brief revival, but in 87 BC it was looted by Sulla and entered the pages of history. Its importance is reflected in the many references throughout literature: Menander wrote the comedy Sicyonians in the 4th c. BC; Shakespeare mentions in Antony and Cleopatra that Fulvia, wife of Mark Antony, died in Sicyon; and Friedrich Hölderlin began his work Hyperion (1797) with the phrase “the heavenly plain of Sicyon.”

Starting point is the square of Sicyon, 5 km south of Kiato.The first kilometers follow the Elissonas River, on alternating gravel and old asphalt roads with gentle gradients. After the Monastery of Agios Stefanos, the gorge narrows, the route leaves the riverbed and climbs sharply through olive groves, offering beautiful views of the gorge and surrounding mountains, before reaching the village of Kryoneri. The climb essentially ends here, and the local café with its kind owners is usually open—even on winter weekdays—so a short stop is almost a must.
The route then dives back into the gorge, through dense vegetation, and crosses the river one last time just below an Ottoman stone bridge. A final short climb leads to the impressive ridge on the eastern side of the gorge. The descent that follows is delightful, with gentle slopes, good terrain, and unforgettable views of Parnassus, Helicon, and the Corinthian Gulf, with the Alkyonides Islands and Cape Heraion creating a stunning backdrop.
Shortly before returning to the starting point, you’ll encounter the archaeological site of Sicyon, featuring the magnificent ancient theater of the Hellenistic period and the unique archaeological museum housed in a restored Roman bath.