Most travelers are familiar with many of the world’s great man-made canals, such as the Panama Canal and the Suez Canal. These two great channels are long and link the main oceans. But many other smaller canals, like Greece’s Corinth Canal, are also impressive engineering marvels, and each canal has its own fascinating history.
Channels have many different purposes. River channels are often built to control floods or provide sources of irrigation, while most ocean channels are built as shortcuts, to reduce time at sea for cargo or passenger ships. The four-mile-long Corinth Canal is one of the smallest canals in the world designed to link two bodies of water and save sailing time for ships.
Corinth canal location
The Corinth Canal separates the mainland of Greece from the Peloponnese peninsula. Specifically, the Canal links the Gulf of Corinth of the Ionian Sea with the Saronic Gulf of the Aegean Sea. A map of Greece shows not only its thousands of islands but also this peninsula that would be the largest island in the country if it weren’t connected to the mainland by this four-mile-wide strip of land. Technically, the Corinth Canal makes the Peloponnese an island, but because it is so narrow, most experts still refer to it as a peninsula.
Corinth canal data and statistics
The Corinth Canal is named after the Greek city of Corinth, which is the closest city to the isthmus. The Canal has steep limestone walls that rise about 300 feet from the water level to the top of the Canal, but it is only 70 feet wide at sea level. Ships must be narrower than 58 feet wide to transit the Canal. This small size was appropriate when the canal was built at the end of the 19th century, but is too small for cargo and passenger ships today. In today’s world of mega-ships, the Corinth Canal is used primarily by small cruise ships and tourist boats.
Like the Suez Canal, the Corinth Canal has no locks; It is a flat water channel.
Early history of the Corinth canal
Although the construction of the Corinth Canal was not completed until 1893, political leaders and sea captains dreamed of building a canal at this location for more than 2,000 years. The first documented ruler to propose a canal was Periander in the 7th century BC. Eventually he abandoned the canal plan, but replaced a port road, called Diolkos or stone causeway. This road had ramps at each end and boats were dragged from one side of the isthmus to the other. The remains of Diolkos can still be seen today next to the Canal.
In the 1st century AD C., the philosopher Apollonius of Tyana predicted that anyone who planned to build a canal across the Corinthian isthmus would become ill. This prophecy did not deter three famous Roman emperors, but they all died prematurely, making Apollonius look like a prophet. Julius Caesar first planned to build a canal, but was assassinated before it even started. Later, Emperor Caligula hired some Egyptian experts to put together a plan for a canal. However, these experts incorrectly concluded that the Gulf of Corinth was one level higher than the Saronic Gulf.
They told the emperor that if he built the canal, the water would rush in and flood the island of Aegina. While Caligula was considering his results, he was assassinated. The third Roman emperor to consider a Corinthian canal was Nero. He passed the planning stage and tried to build the canal. Nero even broke the dirt with a pick and took out the first shovel of dirt. Its workforce of 6,000 POWs completed 2,300 feet of the Canal, about 10 percent. However, like his predecessors, Nero died before the Canal was completed, so the project was abandoned.
Today’s Corinth Canal follows this same route, so there are no remains. However, Roman workers left Hercules a relief to commemorate his efforts, which can still be seen by visitors.
In the 2nd century AD, the Greek philosopher and Roman senator Herod Atticus unsuccessfully tried to get a canal project restarted. Hundreds of years passed, and in 1687 the Venetians considered a canal after conquering the Peloponnese, but they never began digging.
19th century failures
Greece gained its formal independence from the Ottoman Empire in 1830 and revived the concept of building a canal across the isthmus near Corinth. Greek statesman Ioannis Kapodistrias hired a French engineer to assess the feasibility of the canal project. However, when the engineer estimated the cost to be 40 million gold francs, Greece had to abandon the proposal.
When the Suez Canal opened in 1869, the Greek government reconsidered its own canal. The government of Prime Minister Thrasyvoulos Zaimis passed a law in 1870 authorizing the construction of a Corinth canal and a French company was hired to oversee the project. It wasn’t long before money became a problem. The French company building the Panama Canal went bankrupt and French banks became scared to lend money for major construction projects. Soon the French company working on the Corinth Canal also declared bankruptcy.
Corinth Canal becomes reality
A decade passed, and in 1881 the Corinthe Maritime Canal International Society was commissioned to build the canal and operate it for the next 99 years. King George I of Greece was present when construction began in April 1882. The initial capital of the company was 30 million francs. After eight years of work, he ran out of money. A bond proposal to issue 60,000 bonds at 500 francs each failed when less than half of the bonds were sold. The company went bankrupt, as did its Hungarian boss, István Türr.
Even a bank that had agreed to raise additional funds for the project failed.
In 1890, construction resumed when the canal project was transferred to a Greek company. The canal was completed in July 1893, eleven years after construction began.
Financial and structural problems of the Corinth canal
Although the canal saves ships approximately 400 miles, problems continued after the Corinth Canal was completed. The channel is very narrow, which makes navigation difficult. By the time it was completed, the canal was too narrow for most ships, and its narrowness only allowed for a one-way traffic convoy. Additionally, the steep walls funnel winds through the canal, further exacerbating navigation. Another factor that makes navigation difficult is the moment of the tides in the two abysses, which cause strong currents in the channel.
These factors caused many ship operators to avoid the canal, so traffic was well below expectations. For example, an annual traffic of approximately 4 million tons had been estimated for 1906; however, only half a million tons of traffic used the canal that year, making revenue less than expected. At the beginning of the First World War, the traffic had increased to 1.5 million tons, but the war caused a great decrease.
The canal’s location in an active seismic zone also caused ongoing problems. The steep limestone walls were already unstable and subject to landslides, and seismic activity and the wake of ships passing through the canal exacerbated this problem. The canal was frequently closed to clear landslides or build retaining walls. Of its first 57 years of use, the Corinth Canal was closed for a total of four years.
The Corinth Canal was severely damaged during World War II. During the Battle of Greece in 1941, British troops attempted to defend the bridge over the canal from German paratroopers and glider troops. The British rigged the bridge for demolition, and when the Germans captured the bridge, the British quickly blew it up.
German forces began to withdraw from Greece in 1944, causing landslides to block the canal. In addition, they destroyed bridges and dumped locomotives, bridge debris and other infrastructure into the canal. This action made repair work difficult, but the canal was reopened in 1948 after the US Corps of Engineers cleared it.
Today, the Corinth Canal is used mainly by small cruise ships and tourist boats. Around 11,000 ships a year travel through the canal.
How to see the Corinth canal
Travelers to Greece have three main options for seeing the Corinth Canal. First, small-ship cruise lines such as Silversea Cruises, Crystal Cruises and SeaDream Yacht Club transit the canal on eastern Mediterranean itineraries. Second, several private companies depart from Piraeus, the port of Athens, and offer a canal cruise. Finally, Athens day cruises often offer a half-day shore excursion to the Corinth Canal for those who have visited Athens before. Guests board buses in Piraeus for the 75-minute journey to the Corinth Canal.
Once there, a local tourist boat takes them across the canal. These tours offer many opportunities to view the canal from the upper edge to the water level.