Corinth

a city of ancient Greece. It was situated on a narrow isthmus of the name--a portage where the wares of Italy and the West were exchanged for those of Greece, Asia Minor, and the East. The neck of land is four miles wide. A strongly fortified citadel added to the importance of the city. It was at one time at the head of the Achaean league. The Corinthian style of architecture was developed here. In its day the city was enormously wealthy, and was the most shamelessly profligate city in Greece. Paul's Epistles to the Corinthians were addressed to the Christian church here. A few pillars and ruins deeply buried in sand are all that remain of the celebrated city. The old marketplace has been excavated. It lies sixty feet below the present level. A neglected village of a few thousand inhabitants occupies a part of the former site. A sea level ship canal has been constructed across the isthmus. It was completed in 1893, at a cost of $11,000,000. In one place the canal passes through solid rock. Massive walls rise on either side to a height of 260 feet. The passage is lighted at night by electricity. Iron rings are provided at intervals to which ships may tie for safety--against the winds that at times blow through the cut with the violence of a hurricane. See Current