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Isthmus of Corinth

 
Isthmus of Corinth

 
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Isthmus of Corinth
 
 
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The Isthmus of Corinth is the narrow land bridge which connects the Peloponnese
Peloponnese

The Peloponnese or Peloponnesus is a large peninsula and Regions of Greece in southern Greece, forming the part of the country south of the Gulf of Corinth....
 peninsula with the mainland of Greece
Greece

Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , is a country in southeastern Europe, situated on the southern end of the Balkans. It has borders with Albania, Bulgaria and the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia to the north, and Turkey to the east....
, near the city of Corinth
Corinth

Corinth, or Korinth Corinth is now the capital of the Prefectures of Greece of Corinthia. The city is surrounded by the coastal townlets of Lechaio, Isthmia, Kechries, and the inland townlets of Examilia and the archaeological site....
. The word "isthmus" comes from the Ancient Greek
Ancient Greece

The term Ancient Greece refers to the period of History of Greece lasting from the Greek Dark Ages ca. 1100 BC and the Dorian invasion, to 146 BC and the Roman Republic conquest of Greece after the Battle of Corinth ....
 word for "neck" and refers to the narrowness of the land. To the west of the Isthmus is the Gulf of Corinth
Gulf of Corinth

The Gulf of Corinth or the Corinthian Gulf is a deep inlet of the Ionian Sea separating the Peloponnese from western mainland Greece. It is bounded in the east by the Isthmus of Corinth which includes the shipping route of the Corinth Canal, and in the west by the Strait of Rion, which separates the Gulf of Corinth from the oute...
, to the east the Saronic Gulf
Saronic Gulf

The Saronic Gulf or Gulf of Aegina in Greece forms part of the Aegean Sea and defines the eastern side of the isthmus of Corinth. It is the eastern terminus of the Corinth Canal, which cuts across the isthmus....
.






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Corinth Isthmus
The Isthmus of Corinth is the narrow land bridge which connects the Peloponnese
Peloponnese

The Peloponnese or Peloponnesus is a large peninsula and Regions of Greece in southern Greece, forming the part of the country south of the Gulf of Corinth....
 peninsula with the mainland of Greece
Greece

Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , is a country in southeastern Europe, situated on the southern end of the Balkans. It has borders with Albania, Bulgaria and the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia to the north, and Turkey to the east....
, near the city of Corinth
Corinth

Corinth, or Korinth Corinth is now the capital of the Prefectures of Greece of Corinthia. The city is surrounded by the coastal townlets of Lechaio, Isthmia, Kechries, and the inland townlets of Examilia and the archaeological site....
. The word "isthmus" comes from the Ancient Greek
Ancient Greece

The term Ancient Greece refers to the period of History of Greece lasting from the Greek Dark Ages ca. 1100 BC and the Dorian invasion, to 146 BC and the Roman Republic conquest of Greece after the Battle of Corinth ....
 word for "neck" and refers to the narrowness of the land. To the west of the Isthmus is the Gulf of Corinth
Gulf of Corinth

The Gulf of Corinth or the Corinthian Gulf is a deep inlet of the Ionian Sea separating the Peloponnese from western mainland Greece. It is bounded in the east by the Isthmus of Corinth which includes the shipping route of the Corinth Canal, and in the west by the Strait of Rion, which separates the Gulf of Corinth from the oute...
, to the east the Saronic Gulf
Saronic Gulf

The Saronic Gulf or Gulf of Aegina in Greece forms part of the Aegean Sea and defines the eastern side of the isthmus of Corinth. It is the eastern terminus of the Corinth Canal, which cuts across the isthmus....
. Since 1893 the Corinth Canal
Corinth Canal

The Corinth Canal is a canal that connects the Gulf of Corinth with the Saronic Gulf in the Aegean Sea. It cuts through the narrow Isthmus of Corinth and separates the Peloponnesus peninsula from the Greece mainland and therefore effectively making the former an island....
 has run through the 6.3 km wide isthmus, effectively making the Peloponnese an island.

The idea for a short cut to save boats sailing all round the Peloponnese
Peloponnese

The Peloponnese or Peloponnesus is a large peninsula and Regions of Greece in southern Greece, forming the part of the country south of the Gulf of Corinth....
 was long considered by the Ancient Greeks
Ancient Greece

The term Ancient Greece refers to the period of History of Greece lasting from the Greek Dark Ages ca. 1100 BC and the Dorian invasion, to 146 BC and the Roman Republic conquest of Greece after the Battle of Corinth ....
. The first attempt to build a canal there was carried out by the tyrant Periander or Periandros in the 7th century BC. He abandoned the project due to technical difficulties, and instead constructed a simpler and less costly overland stone ramp, named Diolkos
Diolkos

The Diolkos—from the Greek dia and holkos —was a paved trackway in Ancient Greece which enabled boats to be moved overland across the Isthmus of Corinth....
, as a portage road
Portage Road

Portage Road is an otherwise unremarkable road in the Auckland, New Zealand suburb of Otahuhu. What makes this road special is described in a plaque that is embedded in a concrete plinth at the intersection of Portage Road and Great South Road....
. Remnants of Diolkos still exist today next to the modern canal. When the Roman republic
Roman Republic

The Roman Republic was the phase of the Ancient Rome characterized by a republican form of government; a period which began with the overthrow of the Roman Roman Kingdom, c....
 (later The Roman Empire) took control of Greece, a number of different solutions were tried. Julius Caesar foresaw the advantages of such a venture for his newly built Colonia Laus Iulia Corinthiensis. By the reign of Tiberius
Tiberius

Tiberius Julius Caesar Augustus, born Tiberius Claudius Nero , was the second Roman Emperor, from the death of Augustus in AD 14 until his own death in 37....
, engineers had tried to dig a canal
Canal

Canals are artificial channels for water. There are two types of canals: Aqueduct canals, which are used for the conveyance and delivery of water, and waterways, which are navigable transportation canals used for passage of goods and people, often connected to existing lakes, rivers, or oceans....
, but because of a lack of modern equipment were reduced to using an Ancient Egypt
Ancient Egypt

Ancient Egypt was an Ancient history civilization in eastern North Africa, concentrated along the lower reaches of the Nile in what is now the modern nation of Egypt....
ian invention of rolling the boats on logs as the Egyptians rolled blocks of granite to make their pyramids, which was in use by AD 32. In AD 67, the philhellene Roman emperor Nero
Nero

Nero Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus , born Lucius Domitius Ahenobarbus, also called Nero Claudius Caesar Drusus Germanicus, was the fifth and final Roman emperor of the Julio-Claudian dynasty....
 ordered 6,000 slaves to dig a canal with spades. The following year Nero died, and his successor Galba
Galba

Servius Sulpicius Galba , also called Servius Sulpicius Galba Caesar Augustus, was Roman Emperor from June 8, 68 until his death. He was the first emperor of the Year of the Four Emperors....
 abandoned the project, since it appeared too expensive to him.

Modern preservation

Near the canal runs an ancient stone path, once used for dragging ships over land. 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.


See also

Ancient Greece
Ancient Greece

The term Ancient Greece refers to the period of History of Greece lasting from the Greek Dark Ages ca. 1100 BC and the Dorian invasion, to 146 BC and the Roman Republic conquest of Greece after the Battle of Corinth ....


External links