Isthmus of Corinth

A narrow land bridge in Greece connecting the Peloponnese to mainland Greece and separating the Gulf of Corinth from the Saronic Gulf.

Corinth Canal: A ship canal cut across the Isthmus of Corinth, linking the Gulf of Corinth with the Saronic Gulf. It turns the land bridge into a navigable shortcut between the two gulfs.
Periander: A ruler of Corinth in the seventh and sixth centuries BCE, counted among the Seven Sages of Greece. Ancient accounts associate him with an early, unrealized plan to cut a canal through the isthmus.
Peloponnesian War: A conflict between Athens and Sparta and their allies from 431 to 404 BCE. Control of routes through Corinth and the isthmus mattered to movement between the rival regions.
Cape Malea: A headland at the southeastern tip of the Peloponnese, notorious in antiquity for difficult sailing conditions. Sailors avoided the long, hazardous route around this cape by using the isthmus’s overland crossing.
Diolkos: An ancient paved trackway across the Isthmus of Corinth used to move ships and cargo overland. It offered an overland alternative to sailing around the Peloponnese.
Nero's canal project: A Roman attempt begun in 67 CE to excavate a canal across the Isthmus of Corinth. Nero’s project made an ancient canal proposal a large-scale excavation effort.
Isthmian Games: Panhellenic athletic and religious contests held near Corinth in honor of Poseidon. Their sanctuary and festival used the isthmus’s position as a gathering point between Greek regions.
Euripus Strait: A narrow sea channel separating the Greek island of Euboea from the mainland. Unlike the isthmus, it is a water passage that separates land rather than joining it.
Gulf of Corinth: A long, narrow inlet of the Ionian Sea extending into central Greece. It lies north of the isthmus and forms one end of the canal route.
Corinth Canal construction: The nineteenth-century excavation that created the Corinth Canal, opened to shipping in 1893. It completed the canal crossing after earlier proposals and abandoned attempts.

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Ancient CorinthBroader topic: The isthmus gave the city command of overland traffic between the two regions.