Online Encyclopedia

Search over 40,000 articles from the original, classic Encyclopedia Britannica, 11th Edition.

CORINTH, ISTHMUS OF

Online Encyclopedia
Originally appearing in Volume V07, Page 150 of the 1911 Encyclopedia Britannica.
» Make a correction to this article.
» Add information or comments to this article.
Spread the word: del.icio.us del.icio.us it!

See also:

CORINTH, See also:ISTHMUS OF , an isthmus of See also:Greece, dividing the Gulf of Corinth from the Saronic Gulf. See also:Ships were sometimes dragged across it in See also:ancient times at a See also:place called the Diolcus (&EvKav, to pull or cut through). See also:Nero, in A.D. 67, began cutting a See also:canal through it; but the project was abandoned. In 1893 a See also:ship canal was opened, with its western entrance about 14 m. N.E. of the little See also:town of New Corinth. It was begun in 1881 by a See also:French See also:company, which ceased operations in 1889, a See also:Greek company completing the undertaking. The canal is about 70 ft. broad, nearly 4 M. See also:long, and 26 ft. deep. It shortens the See also:journey from the Adriatic to the See also:Peiraeus by 202 m., but See also:foreign steamships seldom use it, as the narrowness of the canal and the strength of the current at times render the passage dangerous. About r m. from its western end it is crossed by the See also:iron See also:bridge of the See also:Athens and Corinth railway. Traces of the Isthmian See also:wall may still be seen parallel to the canal; it was constructed, at an unknown date, for the fortification of the Isthmus. Just to the S. of it, and about z m. from the See also:sea are the remains of the Isthmian See also:precinct of See also:Poseidon and its See also:stadium, where the Isthmian See also:games were celebrated.

This precinct served also as a fortress. Within it have been found traces of the See also:

temple of Poseidon and other buildings. (E.

End of Article: CORINTH, ISTHMUS OF

Additional information and Comments

There are no comments yet for this article.
» Add information or comments to this article.
Please link directly to this article:
Highlight the code below, right click, and select "copy." Then paste it into your website, email, or other HTML.
Site content, images, and layout Copyright © 2006 - Net Industries, worldwide.
Do not copy, download, transfer, or otherwise replicate the site content in whole or in part.

Links to articles and home page are always encouraged.

[back]
CORINTH 		[next]
CORINTHIANS

Site © 2006 - Net Industries