- The Corinth Canal is a 4 mile (6km) canal that connects the Adriatic with the Aegean. It is only 70 feet (21m) wide at the base and was completed in 1893 CE.
- During the Roman Period, a Roman Canal was planned through the four mile (6km) Isthmus of Corinth and actually started under Nero, but it was abandoned and never completed.
History
- According to Plutarch, a Corinth Canal was originally planned by Julius Caesar.
- In 67 CE, work started under Nero, but was abandoned after his death.
- The canal would have avoided the long and dangerous sea route round the Peloponnese.
- A statue still exists today, a relief of Hercules, which was left as a memorial by the Roman Slaves who started cutting the canal.
Diolkos
- The Roman canal was planned to parallel the route of the roadway known as the Diolkos.
- The Diolkos was an ancient stone road with cart ruts which acted like a railway, where sea vessels could be mounted on a trolley and pushed along the ruts across the 4 mile (6km) Isthmus of Corinth.
- Built by the Greeks around 600 BCE, across the Isthmus of Corinth, the Diolkos continued in use during the Roman and Byzantine Period.
- The Diolkos saved several days sailing around the notorious coasts of the Peloponnese, in particular, Cape Matapan and Cape Malea.
- Diolkos is from the Greek: ‘Dia – Across’ and ‘Holkos – Portage’.
The Diolkos, Corinth