Greece Athens ToursWhy Corinth Needed a Shortcut
Until the 7th century BC. For a ship to sail from the Saronic Gulf to the Ionian Sea, it had to go around the whole Peloponnese and risk the difficult passage of the Malea cape. This journey took around a week, depending on the weather conditions.
Periander’s Solution — The Diolkos
However, around 600 BC. The tyrant of Corinth, Periander(one of the seven sages in Greece), had the brilliant idea to open the ancient Corinth Canal or Diolkos, in order to easily and quickly transport goods to and from the colonies of Corinth in Greater Greece. The result was enormous, ships were gaining 190 miles to travel from East to West or the opposite route.
How Did the Diolkos Actually Work?
The ships of that time were quite small in size, and the Diolkos operated very efficiently for many centuries. At the same time, the role of slaves was sufficient to carry the goods. Every ship must pay tolls for the service, which gave a lot of prosperity to the Corinthians, together with pottery exports and the colonies that were established in the West, make in the 5th century Corinth the wealthiest city in Greece.
Why the Canal Was Never Built in Antiquity
The Corinthians wanted this ambitious project as it is today, but that remained just a dream, as the technical difficulties of opening the Corinth Canal were enormous. The technical consultants noticed that the level of the Corinthian Sea was different from the Saronic Gulf, and a possible opening of the ancient Corinth Canal would cause flooding on the Saronic Gulf islands and the beaches of the Attica region.
Corinth’s Golden Age
The technical difficulties, in combination with the oracle of Pythia, which said that the Canal should neither be fortified nor dug, because Zeus built an island, where he deemed right, led Periander to build the famous Diolcos, to transport ships.
The Oracle of Delphi’s Warning
The ancient Corinth Canal was essentially a special road five meters wide, paved with alabaster slabs and lined with wood, which had not been carved in a straight line to avoid steep slopes. The ships were carried out from the sea with cranes, putting them on wheels and transporting them empty from the port of Kechrees in the Saronic Gulf to the port of Lechaion in the Corinthian Gulf on special vehicles and dragged across the land by Diolkos. At the same time, slaves and packers carried the goods by land.
In the middle of the stone layer of Diolkos, there were two parallel deep grooves, in which the wheels of a large structure called a tug moved to transport the boat.
Was the Ancient Corinth Canal(Diolkos) the first known orbit in the world?
The ancient Corinth Canal(Diolkos) was indeed a means of constant orbit with a specific path. The same function, however, was ensured by the carriage roads, the principles of which precede Diolkos. What makes Diolkos important is that it was created with the aim of the rapid and safe movement of ships, ie means intended for movement at sea, by land.
It was not built in a straight line, but the terrain followed, in order to save resources and energy.
As the Belgian archaeologist Rapsaet points out, the excavated sections of Diolkos have technical features that make it an admirable work. “The precision of its course and the diligence in its construction, as well as its relatively long length for a permanent installation, suggest an emphasis on a ‘formal’ road network, with obviously important implications for the topography of the time”, he emphasises.
St. Paul at Kechrees — The Christian Connection
The ancient project provided resources for Corinth and control of trade and sea routes to both the Ionian (West) and the Aegean (East). At the same time, Corinth had two important, active ports, Lechaio to the west and Kechrees to the east, to support this intense commercial activity. At the port of Kechrees in 51 AD, St. Paul was disembarked after his speech in Athens. In the city, he lived for 1,5 years. In that period, he created the first Christian society.
Corinth’s Golden Age — What the Diolkos Made Possible
Undoubtedly, the ancient Corinth Canal(Diolkos) played a leading role in the position of Corinth as a sea queen at the beginning of the archaic period, in its achievements and know-how in shipbuilding and navigation, but also in the antiquity of the city, famous in antiquity precisely because of its commercial. Characteristically, it is mentioned that the triremes, the most important warships of antiquity, are a Corinthian invention. “Thucydides specifically mentions the name of Corinthian Amenoklis as a manufacturer of triremes”.
From Diolkos to the Modern Corinth Canal
In 1893, the Corinth Canal opened after 12 years of work. A Hungarian company made the works, it’s the second Canal ever built after the Suez Canal. As a matter of fact, workers from the Suez Canal were hired because of the know-how. In the grand opening, the King of Greece, the Hungarian king, and the Emperor of Austria were present. In our days, small ships can only pass. Today, it desperately needs new works to become much wider for the modern ships.
Visiting the Diolkos Today — 2025 Update
As of July 2025, the footpath alongside the surviving stretch of the Diolkos at the western entrance of the Corinth Canal is now open to visitors, making this one of the most accessible ancient engineering sites in Greece. You can walk alongside the actual limestone slabs and see the parallel grooves where the ship-carrying vehicle ran 2,600 years ago.
You can see the Corinth Canal as well as Diolkos with our Corinth tour from Athens.
What was the ancient Corinth Canal called?
The ancient solution to crossing the Isthmus of Corinth was called the Diolkos — from the Greek “dia” (across) and “holkos” (portage machine). It was not a canal but a paved limestone trackway approximately 6-8 kilometres long, built around 600 BC under Periander, tyrant of Corinth. Ships were physically hauled overland on wheeled vehicles across the isthmus, saving 190 miles of dangerous sea travel around the Peloponnese.
Who built the ancient Corinth Canal?
Periander, tyrant of Corinth and one of the Seven Sages of ancient Greece, built the Diolkos around 600 BC. He originally planned to dig an actual canal but abandoned the idea after engineers warned that the difference in sea levels between the Corinthian Gulf and the Saronic Gulf would cause catastrophic flooding. The Oracle of Delphi also advised against digging, telling him, “Zeus built an island where he deemed right.”
How did ancient Greeks transport ships over land?
Ships were unloaded of their cargo, then lifted from the sea using cranes and placed onto a large wheeled vehicle called an olkos. This vehicle ran in two parallel grooves carved into the limestone slabs of the Diolkos trackway, 1.5 metres apart. Slaves and animals then hauled the vehicle with the ship across the 6-kilometre isthmus. Cargo was transported separately by land. The process was expensive, but it saved weeks of dangerous sailing around Cape Malea
Can you visit the Diolkos today?
Yes, remnants of the Diolkos are visible at the western entrance of the modern Corinth Canal. As of July 2025, the footpath alongside the surviving limestone section is open to visitors. You can see the actual parallel grooves in the stone where the ship-carrying vehicle ran 2,600 years ago. The site is included in our Corinth day tour from Athens.
When was the modern Corinth Canal built?
The modern Corinth Canal was completed in 1893 after 12 years of construction. Construction began in 1881 and was plagued by geological problems and financial difficulties that bankrupted the original builders. The canal is 6.4 kilometres long and 24.6 metres wide — too narrow for most modern ships. Emperor Nero had attempted to dig the canal in 67 AD, but died three months after starting, and the project was abandoned for nearly 1,800 years.
Was St. Paul connected to the Corinth Canal?
Yes, in 51 AD, St. Paul disembarked at the port of Kechrees on the Saronic Gulf side of the isthmus, after his famous speech in Athens. He lived in Corinth for 18 months and founded the first Christian community there. His letters to the Corinthians — now part of the New Testament — were written to this community. The port of Kechrees, where the eastern end of the Diolkos met the sea, was the entry point for one of Christianity’s most important early missionary journeys
