Ancient Sicyon: The Forgotten City of Corinthia
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Sicyon (ancient Σικυών) was one of the most important cities of ancient Greece — a centre of art, particularly painting and sculpture, that rivalled Corinth and Athens. Today its ruins lie scattered across a dramatic plateau above the village of Vasiliko, 25 km west of Corinth, visited by few tourists and overshadowed by its more famous neighbours. This is precisely what makes it worth going.
History
Sicyon was one of the most significant cities of ancient Greece during the Archaic and early Classical periods. It produced some of the finest bronze-workers in the ancient world, developed the Sicyonian school of painting (considered the first systematic school of visual art in Greece), and under the tyrant Cleisthenes in the early 6th century BC was powerful enough to compete with Corinth and Argos for regional dominance. The city was moved to its current plateau location in 303 BC, when Demetrius Poliorcetes rebuilt it on higher ground after destroying the original coastal settlement.
The Roman phase added a theatre, baths and a gymnasium. After Alaric’s sack in 395 AD and several subsequent earthquakes, the city gradually emptied. What remains today is a site of significant extent but low-density preservation — foundations, column drums, mosaic floors — spread across a plateau above the village of Vasiliko. The theatrical setting, on a raised plateau with mountain views, compensates for the incompleteness of the ruins.
The Site
The archaeological site of Ancient Sicyon includes a well-preserved Bouleuterion (council chamber), a gymnasium, the outline of the main agora, and the remains of several temples. The most visually complete structure is the Roman theatre, with its lower seating tiers carved from the natural hillside. A 5th-century BC Doric temple — possibly of Apollo — has been relocated stone by stone to form the shelter for the museum building, an unusual preservation decision that places the museum literally inside the ancient structure.
The site is rarely busy outside summer weekends. The combination of limited visitor numbers and impressive extent means you often have the ruins essentially to yourself — a rare luxury in Greek archaeology. The museum inside the ancient temple is well-organized and contains quality finds from the site including architectural elements, mosaics and bronze objects.
Practical Info
Ancient Sicyon is 25 km west of Corinth city, near the village of Vasiliko (do not follow signs for modern Sikyon, which is a different village further west). The site is signposted from the main Corinth–Patras national road. Opening hours follow standard Greek Ministry of Culture schedules — closed Tuesdays, open 8am–3pm in winter and until 7pm or 8pm in summer. Entry fee is approximately €4 (combined site and museum). The car park is immediately adjacent to the site entrance.
Ancient Sicyon is almost always combined with Corinth as a half-day addition, or with Nemea and the Nemea Archaeological Museum for a day of less-visited Corinthian sites. Neither combination involves significant backtracking. From the plateau of Ancient Sicyon on a clear day, you can see across the Corinthian Gulf to the mountains of central Greece — context that makes the city’s ancient significance easier to understand geographically.
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