Corinthian Matters

A Resource for the Study of the Corinthia, Greece

Category: Video

Intro to Corinth Educational Video (with diolkos)

by 1 Comment

Thanks to Will Rutherford who pointed me to this Intro to Corinth educational video created by St. Paul enthusiast Russ Wessley to set the scene for St. Paul in Corinth.

The video called “Introduction to Corinth – Part 1” is the first of a series designed to establish the relationship of Paul to Corinth.  The video includes an introduction (start to :54), overview of geography (:54-5:27), history overview (5:28-7:30), and Paul in Corinth overview (7:30-end).

The video is basic but useful for showing the principal conception of the commercial facility of the isthmus.  It also contains some good satellite images and video clips including a fun clip from the History channel of men and animals transporting ships over the diolkos in a light-paced jog! (starting at 4:00).  Can anyone identify the specific History Channel video?

One inaccuracy in the video: Corinth is not “on the wrong side of the line” as he notes in 4:03.

The Diolkos — A New Video

by 2 Comments

I recently came upon this animated documentary short called the “Diolkos for 1500 Years” depicting the use of the ancient diolkos portage road across the Isthmus of Corinth.  It is in Greek, of course, but you can still follow along.  The film was initiated by the Society of Ancient Greek Technology, produced by the Technical Chamber of Greece, and directed by T.P. Tassios, N. Mikas, and G. Polyzos.  In three parts, it shows the transporting of a small merchant ship of the 4th century BC the 7-8 km distance from one sea to the other.  The video was awarded best ancient film at the International Film festival in Cyprus (2009) and best educational film at the International Meeting of Archaeological Film (2010).

You can  find the first and third parts of the short video on Youtube, or the entire film here.  The short is a fascinating reconstruction of what must have been an incredible operation, but it does raise questions about the use of the road.  Was it really that easy to transport a 30,000 lb wooden vessel overland in antiquity?  Ten guys easy?  And what evidence is there to suggest that commercial vessels were transferred overland in antiquity?