- Isthmus of Corinth
The Isthmus of Corinth is the narrow landbridge which connects the
Peloponnese peninsula with the mainland ofGreece , near the city ofCorinth . The word "isthmus" comes from the Ancient Greek word for "neck" and refers to the narrowness of the land. To the west of the Isthmus is theGulf of Corinth , to the east theSaronic Gulf . Since1893 theCorinth Canal has run through the 6.3 km Isthmus, effectively making the Peloponnese an island.The idea for a way for boats around the
Peloponnese was long considered by the Ancient Greeks.The first attempt to build a canal at the place was carried out by the tyrant Periander or Periandros in 7th century BC. He abandoned the project due to its 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 theRoman republic , laterThe 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 ofTiberius engineers had tried to dig acanal , but because of a lack of modern equipment were reduced to using anAncient 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 AD32 . In AD 67, the philhellene Roman emperorNero ordered 6,000 slaves to dig a canal with spades. The following year Nero died, and his successorGalba abandoned the project, since it appeared too expensive to him.Modern preservation
There are major concerns about preservation of this path. Many Greek citizens are calling for greater effort by the Greek government to protect this archaeological site. [ [http://www.yahoo.com/s/908679 BBC report] , via Yahoo News. ]
ee also
Ancient Greece External links
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.