Passing through the isthmus of Corinth, using theCorinth CanalThe submersible bridge at theAegean side of canal
TheIsthmus of Corinth (Greek: Ισθμός της Κορίνθου) is the narrowland bridge which connects thePeloponnese peninsula with the rest of the mainland ofGreece, near the city ofCorinth. The 6.3 km (3.9 mi) wide Isthmus was known in the ancient world as the landmark separating the Peloponnese from mainland Greece. In the first century AD the geographerStrabo[1] noted astele on the Isthmus of Corinth, which bore twoinscriptions. One towards the East, i.e. towardsMegara, reading: "Here is not Peloponnesus, butIonia" (τάδ᾽ οὐχὶ Πελοπόννησος, ἀλλ᾽ Ἰωνία) and the one towards the West, i.e. towards the Peloponnese: "Here is Peloponnesus, not Ionia" (τάδ᾽ ἐστὶ Πελοπόννησος, οὐκ Ἰωνία);Plutarch ascribed the erection of the stele to the Attic heroTheseus, on his way toAthens.[2]
To the west of the Isthmus is theGulf of Corinth, and to the east theSaronic Gulf. Since 1893 theCorinth Canal has run through the isthmus, effectively making the Peloponnese an island. Today, two road bridges, two railway bridges and twosubmersible bridges at both ends of the canal connect the mainland side of the isthmus with the Peloponnese side. Also a military emergency bridge is located at the west end of the canal.
The idea for a shortcut to save boats from having to sail all the way around the Peloponnese was long considered bythe Ancient Greeks. The first attempt to build a canal there was carried out by the tyrantPeriander in the 7th century BC. He abandoned the project owing to technical difficulties, and instead constructed a simpler and less costly overland stone ramp, namedDiolkos, as aportage road. Remnants of Diolkos still exist today next to the modern canal.When theRomans took control of Greece, a number of different solutions were tried.Julius Caesar foresaw the advantages of a link for his newly builtColonia Laus Iulia Corinthiensis. By the reign ofTiberius, engineers tried to dig acanal, but were defeated by lack of modern equipment. Instead they built anAncient Egyptian device: boats were rolled across the isthmus on logs, as the Egyptians had rolled blocks ofgranite to make theirpyramids. This was in use by AD 32. In AD 67, thephilhellene Roman emperorNero ordered 6,000 slaves to dig a canal withspades. HistorianFlavius Josephus writes that the 6,000 slaves wereJewish pirates, taken captive byVespasian during the Jewish wars.[3] According toPliny the Elder, the work advanced fourstadia (about 0.8 km or1⁄2 mile).[4] The following year Nero died, and his successorGalba abandoned the project as being too expensive.
In the modern era, the idea was first seriously proposed in 1830, soon after Greece'sindependence from theOttoman Empire, and was brought to completion in 1893 after eleven years' work.
Near the canal runs an ancient stone trackway, theDiolkos, once used for dragging ships overland. There are major concerns about preservation of this path. Greek campaigners are calling for greater effort by the Greek government to protect this archaeological site.[5]
TheHexamilion wall is a Roman defensive wall constructed across the Isthmus of Corinth guarding the only land route into the Peloponnese peninsula from mainland Greece. It is located close to the Corinth Canal, and is the largest single archaeological structure in Greece.
The Peloponnese seen from space, with the Isthmus of Corinth at upper right
