The famous Corinth Canal in Greece, connects the Saronic (Aegean Sea) and Corinthian (Ionian Sea) bays. The channel was dug through the narrow Isthmus of Corinth, thus separating the Peloponnese peninsula of mainland Greece.

The idea of ​​building such a canal was discussed here in ancient times. The first written mention of the possible construction date back to the reign of the Corinthian tyrant Periander (7th century BC). Then, for various reasons, the project was abandoned and built a simpler and cheaper overland portage (its remains can be seen near the canal and today). A new round of possible construction indicated in 307 BC The initiator was Demetrius Poliorcetes, but engineers, whom he invited to conduct the work, convinced him of the inevitability of catastrophic consequences, as the water level in the Saronic Gulf of Corinth, and were not the same.

The first thorough attempt to build a canal, was made emperor Nero in the 1st century AD Construction began in 67 AD, but after the death of Nero expensive project was abandoned. Later, some attempts have been made as of Herodes Atticus, the Byzantines and Venetians, who, however, did not succeed.

It revived the idea of ​​building a canal after the Greek revolution. He oversaw the question the Greek statesman Ioannis Kapodistrias. However, after calculating the estimates, it became clear that it is too expensive a project for the young state and from temporarily abandoned. After the opening of the Suez Canal in 1869, the Greek government passed a law authorizing the construction of the canal. In May 1882, after lengthy preparatory work construction finally began. After many obstacles, including financial, 11 years later in 1893, the Corinth Canal was put into operation.

The length of the Corinth Canal is 6, 4 km away, the depth of 8 m, and its width 21, 3 m at the base and about 25 meters above sea level. The sides of the channel associated railway bridge and three car.

Today, because of not enough bandwidth and, as a consequence, the impossibility of passing through a large modern ocean-going vessels it lost its economic importance. Nowadays Corinth Canal is mainly used by various cruise ships.