Eupalinos

Eupalinos(Ancient Greek:Εὐπαλῖνος) orEupalinusofMegarawas anancient Greek engineerwho built theTunnel of EupalinosonSamos Islandin the 6th century BC.

The Tunnel, presumably completed between 550 and 530 BC,^[1]was 1,036 meters (3,399 ft) long. It was the longest one of its time and it still exists. Water was brought to the city, passing through limestone at the base of a hill. The construction was an undertaking for the tyrantPolycrates of Samosand it is regarded as a major feat of ancient engineering. It is the second known tunnel in history which was excavated from both ends and the first with a methodical approach in doing so.^[2]

The Greek historianHerodotusdescribes the tunnel briefly in hisHistories(3.60) and calls Eupalinos of Megara its architect:

I have dwelt rather long on the history of the Samians because theirs are the three greatest works (ergasmata) of all the Greeks. One is a tunnel (orygma amphistomon) through the base of a nine hundred foot high mountain. The tunnel's length is seven stades, its height and length (width) both eight feet. Throughout its length another cutting (orygma) has been dug (ororyktai) three feet wide and three feet deep, through which the water flowing in pipes is led into the city from an abundant spring. The builder (architekton) of the tunnel was the Megarian Eupalinus, son of Naustrophus.

Eupalinos is considered the firsthydraulic engineerin history whose name has been passed down. Apart from that, though, nothing more is known about him.^[3]

A largeroad tunnel,named after Eupalinos has been recently built under theGeraneiamountains inCorinthia,to facilitate the newexpresswayconnection betweenAthensandCorinth.Eupalinos tunnel is the longest of three subsequent tunnels of the same width at this expressway.

References

^Harry B. Evans, Review of Hermann Kienast, p.150
^The oldest known tunnel which was dug by two teams from opposite ends wasSiloam tunnelin Jerusalem, completed around 700 BC. However, numerous false starts in wrong directions, which took the tunnel 1,500 feet (460 m) to cover a distance of 1,000 feet (300 m), indicate that the work was done without a methodical approach (Burns 173). Rather, the workers followed probably an underground watercourse (Apostol, p. 33).
^Tom Apostol, p.33

External links

[1] Harry B. Evans, Review of Hermann Kienast, p.150

[2] The oldest known tunnel which was dug by two teams from opposite ends wasSiloam tunnelin Jerusalem, completed around 700 BC. However, numerous false starts in wrong directions, which took the tunnel 1,500 feet (460 m) to cover a distance of 1,000 feet (300 m), indicate that the work was done without a methodical approach (Burns 173). Rather, the workers followed probably an underground watercourse (Apostol, p. 33).

[3] Tom Apostol, p.33

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Eupalinos

See also

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External links