“Peraeion” or “Peraea” was the name often given in antiquity
to stretches of coastline, which were across á body of water from an important
city. The Peraea of Corinth,
on the other side of the Gulf
of Corinth, included the whole land to the Northwest of the Isthmus,
where Loutraki and Perachora
stand these days. The area was first settled around 750 BC, by Corinthians, whose
occupation of the Peraea made them masters of the entire Gulf
of Corinth. In 392 BC, during the Corinthian War, Peraea was captured by Agesilaus
of Sparta. In 243 BC, Peraea
came into the hands of Aratus and the Achaean Federation, and enjoyed á period
of renewed prosperity. When the Romans devastated Corinth
in 146 BC, Peraea came under their control and was totally depopulated. The centre
of interest of the new conquerors shifted to Therma,
which was stood on the site occupied by Loutraki
now. It was not even in the late fourteenth century that Peraea came back into
the history books, and won an important position. Until recently, it was believed
that the Corinthian colony stood on the shores of the Vouliagmeni
lagoon, since many traces of housing and fortifications had come to light
there. This view is now questioned, and it seems more likely that the settlement
was further to the north, near the village of Asprokampos,
while the buildings at Vouliagmeni
have been interpreted as á camp or place of refuge near the sanctuary of Hera.
