World Report

Dreamt up by the ancient Greeks and first excavated by the Romans, the modern canal is a wonder of 19th century engineering

isitors to Greece do not have to travel very far to view ancient ruins, and the city of Corinth is no exception. A strategic and commercially important centre by the eighth century BC, controlling the land and sea routes of the Peloponnese, today Corinth is enjoying a renaissance.
This is partly due to the increasing investment being made in the prefecture of Corinthia in hotels, restaurants and other tourism facilities. Together with new management at the 19th century Corinth Canal – a tourist landmark in its own right – and vastly improved road and rail links, the region is anticipating an economic upsurge.
The Corinth Canal cuts across the isthmus in a straight line for nearly four miles, and the highest point from sea level is 259ft. Today, some 12,000 vessels pass through it every year. The Greek government owns the canal but, last September, Sea Containers took over its management and expects to raise the number of transits by 50 per cent through more effective sales and marketing.

The company plans to build a major marina and a ro-ro ferry berth at the northern end of the canal. Meanwhile, at the southern end there are plans to develop a mixture of leisure facilities, including a hotel, shops, restaurants, cinemas and a water park, as well as providing for tourist boat trips through the canal.
Greece’s major motorway between Athens and Patras passes over the canal, as does a new railway being built between Athens and Corinth. A stop-off to take a look at the canal, and perhaps eat a plate of souvlaki, is a popular pastime for drivers using the motorway.
Glenn Michael, the canal management’s chief executive, says: “The history of this area is unbelievable. People will be able to come and spend a day here, learn about the history, then go for a boat ride on the canal, eat and relax.”
The construction of the canal itself is a story that might have sprung from Greek mythology. For centuries, the Corinthians had considered ways of shortening the voyage for ships sailing between the Aegean and the Adriatic, which entailed circumnavigating the Peloponnese, add-ing about 185 miles to their journey.

The first solution came in the late seventh or early sixth century BC, when the tyrannical rulers of Corinth built a 3.5-metre-wide road from the Saronic Gulf to the Gulf of Corinth. A custom-built, wheeled vehicle called the olkos was used to haul ships overland along a limestone-paved road known as the Diolkos. Sections of this road, deeply rutted by the wheels of the olkos, can still be seen today.
The idea of cutting a canal across the isthmus was proposed by many ancient Greeks. The first was Periander, the tyrant of Corinth, who drew up plans in 602BC. Others who later proposed a canal include Julius Caesar and Caligula, but their ideas came to nothing. Nero announced his plans for a canal in 67AD and indeed he went on to cut the first sod with a golden shovel. More than 6,000 slaves and prisoners of war dug a two-mile-long ditch before Nero had to return to Rome, and the unfinished canal fell into oblivion.

Herod of Atticus, the Byzantines and the Venetians also had a go, but it was not until the late 19th century that the present canal was built. Construction began in 1882 and was completed in 1893 by Ferdinand de Lesseps, who had been res-ponsible for the Suez Canal.
Ancient Corinth grew up at the foot of a steep, rocky peak called Acrocorinthus, which rises nearly 2,000ft, from where both the Gulf of Corinth and the Saronic Gulf can be seen. The site, just 50 miles from Athens, gave the Corinthians a strategically powerful advantage as they were able to control the commercial traffic in the Peloponnese.
With harbours on both gulfs, Corinth’s power extended along the Adriatic to Macedonia. But by the sixth century BC, Corinth’s power began to wane when the Athenians’ shipbuilding prowess, seamanship and commercial skills flourished. The often-bitter rivalry between the two cities would last for 200 years.

Improved road and rail links have boosted the region

In 338 BC, Corinth lost its independence when Philip of Macedonia turned it into his puppet state, and the city was finally destroyed in 146 BC by Roman general Lucius Mummius. We have Julius Caesar to thank for the rebuilding of Corinth in 44 BC, after which the new city flourished once more as the capital of the Roman province of Achaea.
Modern Corinth was founded in 1858 after an earthquake destroyed the old city. Today, it is an important transport hub and export centre for local fruit, raisins and tobacco, but it has the atmosphere of a sunny market town of ancient pedigree.

Extensive historical sites include the substantial Roman remains of the ‘agora’ (marketplace) flanked by an enormous portico dating back to the fourth century BC. Seven doric columns, the hilltop ruins of the Temple of Apollo dating back to 550 BC, dominate the citadel. And there are the remains of other temples, villas, a theatre, fountains, shops, public baths, potteries, a gymnasium and a triumphal arch. St Paul lived and preached for two years in the city, where he wrote his letters to the Corinthians.

In the foothills of the Gerania mountains, not far from the isthmus but still in the prefecture of Corinthia, is the small town of Loutraki, famous for its hot springs that are claimed to have healing properties. There are other hot springs, called the Baths of Helene, at Loutros Elenis, a resort with splendid beaches.
Near the Perahora peninsula and its bay are the ruins of the temples of Hera Akraia and Limenia. Visitors can view one of the most important pan-Hellenic shrines – the seventh century BC sanctuary of Poseidon at Isthmia, near the village of Kiravrisi which staged the pan-Hellenic games every two years.