These sea-faring merchants had a particularly difficult time reaching Athens, especially from the Gulf of Corinth.
Gale-force winds around Cape Matapan and Cape Maleas often troubled sailors.
The idea of a shortcut through this narrow neck of land was considered at different times by different rulers.
And so a limestone trackway called the Diolkos was built.
This was a time when the tyrant Periander ruled over Corinth.
So Periander is often attributed to its construction, but the evidence is only circumstantial.
It was about 6 meters wide and was paved of hard limestone.
It took another 1,800 years before a canal could be realized.
The Corinth Canal was opened in 1893, and was predicted to attract a great volume of marine traffic.
Unfortunately, the canal was built too narrow making it unusable for anything but small cruise ships.
Today, the canal is a mere tourist attraction.
Photo credit:Dan Diffendale/Flickr
The Corinth Canal.
Photo credit:John Cook/Flickr
