Diolkos Isthmus of Corinth

The risk to the ships which attempted to circumnavigate the Peloponnese led the Corinthians to construct a work of engineering ingenuity, for that period, the well-known Diolkos.

It was a paved trackway, which intersected the Isthmus of Corinth, so that the ships passed from Saronic gulf to the Gulf of Corinth and vice versa, through the use of “holkos” (portage machine), that is machines in which they loaded ships. In order to construct this project, the engineers of that period had to pass Diolkos from uphill spots, so that the transportation of ships to be as easy as possible.

Diolkos was perfected during the reign of the tyrant of Corinth, Periander, in the 6th century BC and remained in use until the 12th century AD.

Traces of Diolkos were discovered after excavations in the 1950s on the Peloponnese side, and on the Sterea Ellada side. Nowadays, works are carried out for the creation organized archaeological site which will demonstrate and protect the ancient ruins.