Eupalinos () or Eupalinus of

Megara Megara (; , ) is a historic town and a municipality in West Attica, Greece. It lies in the northern section of the Isthmus of Corinth opposite the island of Salamis Island, Salamis, which belonged to Megara in archaic times, before being taken ...

was an

ancient Greek Ancient Greek (, ; ) includes the forms of the Greek language used in ancient Greece and the classical antiquity, ancient world from around 1500 BC to 300 BC. It is often roughly divided into the following periods: Mycenaean Greek (), Greek ...

engineer who built the

Tunnel of Eupalinos The Tunnel of Eupalinos or Eupalinian aqueduct () is a tunnel of length running through Mount Kastro in Samos Island, Samos, Greece, built in the 6th century BC to serve as an Aqueduct (water supply), aqueduct. The tunnel is the second known tunn ...

Samos Island Samos (, also ; , ) is a Greece, Greek island in the eastern Aegean Sea, south of Chios, north of Patmos and the Dodecanese archipelago, and off the coast of western Turkey, from which it is separated by the Mycale Strait. It is also a separate ...

in the late 6th century BC. Though the construction of the tunnel has been attributed to the tyrant Polycrates of Samos, it is now considered to be a later construction and having been built between 550 and 530 BC. In any case, the tunnel was, and is, regarded as a major feat of engineering. The tunnel long conveyed water from a spring near Mount Kastro through the mountain into the ancient city of Samos (modern Pythagoreio). It was the longest one of its time and it still exists. The tunnel was excavated from both ends, but it is not the first one known to be built in this manner -- a tunnel channeling water to Jerusalem was built from both ends at the same time earlier, in the 8th century BC. The route of the tunnel does not follow a direct line -- for several hundred meters on both ends, it does follow a straight line, but in the middle third, there are several turns. Additionally, the tunnel has two parts: A main tunnel and a trench running along the left side of the main tunnel. The main tunnel is square in cross-section. And, while the main tunnel is horizontal, the trench gets progressively deeper with an average gradient of 0.4% and gets from deep. On the bottom of the trench ran a terracotta pipeline carrying the water. Eupalinos is considered the first

hydraulic engineer Hydraulic engineering as a sub-discipline of civil engineering is concerned with the flow and conveyance of fluids, principally water and sewage. One feature of these systems is the extensive use of gravity as the motive force to cause the move ...

in history whose name has been passed down. Apart from that, though, nothing more is known about him.Tom Apostol, 2004, p. 33 Efpalinos Tunnel, a road tunnel built under the

Geraneia Geraneia Mountains or Yerania Ori () are a mountain range in Corinthia and West Attica, Greece. Its highest point is the peak ''Makryplagi'' (), elevation 1,351 m. It covers the northern part of the isthmus between the Gulf of Corinth and the ...

mountains in

Corinthia Corinthia (; ) is one of the regional units of Greece. It is part of the modern regions of Greece, region of Peloponnese (region), Peloponnese. It is situated around the city of Corinth, in the north-eastern part of the Peloponnese peninsula. Ge ...

and completed in 2017, is named after Eupalinos.

References

External links

Dan Hughes: The Tunnel of Eupalinos

The Eupalinian aqueduct by the Greek Ministry of Culture
__NOTOC__ {{authority control 6th-century BC Greek people Ancient Greek architects Ancient Greek engineers Ancient Megarians Year of birth unknown Year of death unknown

See also

References

Further reading

External links