Diolkos of Corinth: An Ancient Greek Roadway That Carried Ships Over Land
Whether you stop to admire it from above or decide to make the crossing by boat, the imposing Corinth Canal is awe-inspiring. However, the hidden gem that you might not have seen even if you have crossed the Isthmus several times is Ancient Diolkos.
The stone Ancient Diolkos of Corinth, a unique technological achievement of ancient Greece, will leave you astonished. It was constructed at the end of the 7th century BC, connecting the Corinthian and Saronic Gulfs. Merchant and warships rolled on it, on wheeled vehicles, to avoid going around the Peloponnese.
Walking in the silence of the beautiful landscape, you have the ideal environment to imagine the effort of hundreds of slaves and workers, observe the grooves where the wheeled vehicles used to roll, and realize that Ancient Diolkos of Corinth has no uphill or downhill slopes.
This land-based stone ramp had a length of about 8 kilometres and a width of up to 6 metres. Parts of it can still be found west of the canal, while archaeologists are working on fully restoring it.
History
Diolkos was one of the most important projects of engineering of the ancient Greeks. It connected the two large ports that existed in ancient times, the Kechrees (Saronic Bay) and Lechaio (Corinthian Bay).
The Isthmus of Corinth, showing the modern canal. The ancient Diolkos roadway ran nearly parallel with the canal, linking the Corinthian Gulf and the Saronic Gulf. Credit: NASA. Public Domain.
In order for the ships to avoid the circumnavigate of the Peloponnese and due to the risks faced by seamen in raging Cape Malea, it was constucted in the early 6th century by the tyrant of Korinthos Periandros, a road paved with blocks of cut limestone, about 3,5-5m width, dressed in wood, on which the era ships were slid spread with fat to move from one end to another. Two grooves existed in the middle of the width. The distance between the two grooves was 1,50 m. they were called «olkos» and their aim was to prevent the platforms with ships from derailing, especially at the turns, concerning the far route and the fact that the road meandered between hills. From these two grooves (olkos) the street took its name (Diolkos).
The ancient stone roadway Diolkos is being restored to its former glory. The marvel of ancient technology ran roughly parallel to the Corinth Canal. Credit: Dan Diffendale -Wikimedia Commons CC BY-SA 2.0
The start of Diolkos was at the Corinthian Bay, where today stands the beacon for ships and ended up to the Saronic Bay, the current Kalamaki of Corinthos (ancient Schoinounta). It did not follow a straight line, but it had turns because the soil was quite slope, at an altitude of 90 meters, so the transportation of ships was particularly difficult. It seems that the ships were dragged by slaves, because no traces of animal hooves or machines were visible after the excavations. Merchant ships were not transported loaded, but the wares were unloaded to Kechrees or Lechaio, depending on their direction.
Ancient Diolkos was being used for several centuries and the expensive charges (tolls) for the passage paid in Corinthos was the most important revenue of the city.