The Sunken City of Ancient Helike

In 373 BC, the prosperous city of Helike on the southern shore of the Corinthian Gulf was destroyed overnight. A massive earthquake followed by a tsunami swallowed the city whole. Ancient writers including Eratosthenes reported that the sunken city was visible through clear water for centuries, and that the bronze statue of Poseidon at its center could be seen by fishermen whose nets caught on it.

The site was rediscovered in the 1990s buried under lagoon sediment near Aigion. Locals call the entire coastal stretch "the Cursed Shore." Fishermen refuse to anchor above the ruins after dark, claiming that on still nights, the sound of a bell rising from the deep can be heard — the church bell of ancient Helike, still ringing beneath the sea.