Eupalinos (Ancient Greek: Εὐπαλῖνος) or Eupalinus of Megara was an ancient Greek engineer who built the Tunnel of Eupalinos on Samos Island[1]: 27 [2] in the late 6th century BC[1]: 27 . Though the construction of the tunnel has been attributed to the tyrant Polycrates of Samos[1]: 27 , it is now considered to be a later construction and having been built between 550 and 530 BC[3]: 149 . In any case, the tunnel was, and is, regarded as a major feat of engineering[3]: 149 .
The tunnel 1,036 m (3,399 ft) long[citation needed] conveyed water from a spring near Mount Kastro through the mountain into the ancient city of Samos (modern Pythagoreio)[3]: 149 [1]: 27 . It was the longest one of its time[citation needed] and it still exists. The tunnel was excavated from both ends[1]: 27 [4]: 173 , 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[4]: 173 .
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[1]: 29 [3]: 150 . Additionally, the tunnel has two parts: A main tunnel and a trench running along the left side of the main tunnel[1]: 27 . The main tunnel is 1.8 m × 1.8 m (5.9 ft × 5.9 ft) square in cross-section[1]: 27 . And, while the main tunnel is horizontal, the trench gets progressively deeper with an average gradient of 0.4% and gets from 3.5 to 8.5 m (11 to 28 ft) deep[1]: 28 [3]: 150 . On the bottom of the trench ran terracotta pipeline carrying the water[1]: 27 [3]: 149 .
Eupalinos is considered the first hydraulic engineer in history whose name has been passed down. Apart from that, though, nothing more is known about him.[5]
Efpalinos Tunnel, a road tunnel built under the Geraneia mountains in Corinthia and completed in 2017, is named after Eupalinos.
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ a b c d e f g h i j
Hodge, Trevor A. Roman Aqueducts & Water Supply. 61 Frith Street, London WlD 3JL: Gerald Duckworth & Co. Ltd. ISBN 0-7156-3171-3.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location (link) - ^ Herodotus (1920). "3.60.3". Histories. Vol. 2. Translated by Godley, A. D. Cambridge: Harvard University Press.
- ^ a b c d e f Harry B. Evans (1999). "Review of Die Wasserleitung des Eupalinos auf Samos by Hermann J. Kienast". American Journal of Archaeology. 103 (1).
- ^ a b Alfred Burns (1971). "The Tunnel of Eupalinus and the Tunnel Problem of Hero of Alexandria". Isis. 62 (2).
- ^ Tom Apostol, p.33
Further reading
edit- Olson, Åke (2012). "How Eupalinos navigated his way through the mountain: An empirical approach to the geometry of Eupalinos". Anatolia Antiqua. XX. Institut Français d’Études Anatoliennes: 25–34. doi:10.3406/anata.2012.1323.
- Apostol, Tom (2004). "The Tunnel of Samos" (PDF). Engineering and Science. 67 (1): 30–40.
- Burns, Alfred (1971). "The Tunnel of Eupalinus and the Tunnel Problem of Hero of Alexandria". Isis. 62 (2): 172–185. doi:10.1086/350729. S2CID 145064628.
- Goodfield, June; Toulmin, Stephen (1965). "How Was the Tunnel of Eupalinus Aligned?". Isis. 56 (1): 46–55. doi:10.1086/349924. S2CID 145662351.
- Goodfield, June (June 1964). "The Tunnel of Eupalinus". Scientific American. 210 (6): 104–110. Bibcode:1964SciAm.210f.104G. doi:10.1038/scientificamerican0664-104.
- Kienast, Hermann J.; Bernd Meissner (1995). Die Wasserleitung des Eupalinos auf Samos (in German). Bonn: Habelt (in Komm.). ISBN 3-7749-2713-8.
- Legon, Ronald P. (1981). Megara : the political history of a Greek city-state to 336 B.C. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press. ISBN 0-8014-1370-2.
- Mitchell, B. M. (1973). "Herodotus and Samos". Journal of Hellenic Studies. 95: 75–91. doi:10.2307/630871. JSTOR 630871. S2CID 162925054.
- Shipley, Graham (1987). A history of Samos, 800-188 BC. Oxford: Clarendon Press. ISBN 0-19-814868-2.
- Van der Waerden, B. L. (1968). "Eupalinos and His Tunnel". Isis. 59 (1): 82–83. doi:10.1086/350338. S2CID 224832741.
- White, K.D. (1984). Greek and Roman technology. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press. ISBN 0-8014-1439-3.