Up Stories reveals the “Homeless King of the Isthmus in Corinth” that melts over the years and its history.
How many are those who know that inside the Isthmus Canal and for almost 2000 years there is the statue of King Nero which is completely abandoned and relics in the elements of nature.
It would not be an exaggeration to say that this statue literally melts – it decomposes over the years.
The history of the Isthmus of Corinth
From the testimonies of ancient writers it appears that Periander was the first to think about the opening of the Isthmus, around 602 BC. Soon, however, he abandoned his plan, for fear that he would provoke the wrath of the Gods, after the oracle of Pythia which said: “Zeus came to the island or the council”.
But the main reason that forced Periander to abandon his plan was not the divine wrath itself, but the enormous technical difficulties of the project and the financial interests of Corinth, which wanted to maintain its privileged position as “key”. Mediterranean transit trade.
Three centuries later, in 307 BC, Demetrius the Besieger attempted to implement the same plan, but abandoned the idea when the Egyptian Engineers he brought for this purpose assured him that the difference in the level of the Corinthian from the Saronic Gulf was such that with the intersection of the Isthmus the waters of the Corinthian that would be poured into the Saronic Gulf would flood it, resulting in the sinking of Aegina and the neighboring islands and coasts.
During Roman times, Julius Caesar in 44 BC. and Caligula in 37 BC. they made similar plans, but they were abandoned for political and military reasons. Nero relied on these plans when he decided in 66 AD. to carry out the project. Work began in 67 AD. from both ends (Corinthian – Saronic), and then thousands of workers were used. The work was started by the emperor himself, on November 28, giving the first blow to the land of the Isthmus with a golden pickaxe.
The excavation work had progressed to a length of 3,300 m, but stopped when Nero was forced to return to Rome to face the revolt of General Galva. Eventually, with Nero’s death – which happened shortly after his return – the project was abandoned. How serious and well-thought-out his effort was is also proved by the fact that during the final opening of the canal, in modern times, 26 test wells 10 meters deep each and various ditches of his time were found.
The next to attempt to open the canal was Herod the Atticus, but his efforts stopped almost immediately, as did those of the Byzantines that followed.
The end of Ottoman rule found Greece on the threshold of the industrial age. The conditions were more favorable and the governor Ioannis Kapodistrias, anticipating the great importance that the construction of the canal would have for the development of the country in general, assigned the relevant study to a special engineer. However, the budget of 40 million gold francs that was deemed necessary according to the expenditure budget for the execution of the project, could not be found on the international money market, much less allocated from the Greek budget. Thus, the governor’s effort was abandoned.
After the opening of the Suez Canal, the Zaimi government took the decision to cut the Isthmus and in November 1869 passed its law “on the establishment of the Isthmus of Corinth”.
The study of the project was done by the Hungarian B. Gerfer and was checked by the engineer Daujats, chief engineer of the Suez Canal. The design that Nero had applied was chosen as the most correct and economical.
The continuation of the project was undertaken by a Greek company under the name “Corinth Canal Company” under Andreas Syggros, who commissioned the execution of the works to the contractor A. Matsas, who completed the project. This financial venture, this technical feat, using 2,500 workers and the most perfect mechanical means of the time, was completed after 11 years. The inauguration was held with great magnificence on July 25, 1893, by Prime Minister Sotirios Sotiropoulos.
The canal cuts in a straight line the Isthmus of Corinth at a length of 6,346 m. Its width at sea level is 24.6 m and at its bottom 21.3 m., While its depth ranges between 7.50 to 8 m. .
The geological composition of the slopes of the Canal is uneven, with a variety of geological soil composition. A peculiarity, which at times resulted in the collapse of large volumes of earth and consequently the closure of the canal.
Today the Corinth Canal has been closed for almost 2 years.
Video – text: UP STORIES
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