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CORINTH

(Gk. Kórinthos)

The bḗma, a platform for public oration and the administration of justice, in the agora or marketplace at Corinth; constructed 44 c.e. (Phoenix Data Systems, Neal and Joel Bierling)

An important city controlling the isthmus connecting mainland Greece and the Peloponnesian Peninsula. Although its “golden age” was five centuries before Paul’s visit, Corinth had enjoyed a return to prominence and a resurgence of building during the 1st century a.d.

Corinth had a leading role in the uniting of the Greek city-states into the world-wide empire of Philip of Macedon and his son Alexander. Two centuries later Corinth was a leader in the failed Achaean League’s attempt to stop Roman expansion in Greece. Severely damaged and punished in 146 b.c. in the war with Rome, Corinth was restored in 44 to economic and political prominence by Julius Caesar and in 27 became the provincial capital. New colonists from many areas joined locals seeking their fortune in this commercial center.

An important city for Roman government as the capital of Achaea, Corinth was the residence of the Roman governor (before whom Paul appeared in a.d. 51 when Lucius Junius Gallio was governor). In Roman Corinth, old temples were restored and enlarged, new shops and markets built, new water supplies developed, and many public buildings added (including three governmental buildings and an amphitheater seating perhaps 14 thousand). In the 1st century Corinth’s public marketplace (forum) was larger than any in Rome. All these improvements suggest that when Paul visited Corinth ca. 50 it was the most beautiful, modern, and industrious city of its size in Greece. The well-traveled Aristides commented that if beauty contests were held among cities, as reportedly was done among goddesses, Corinth would rank with Aphrodite (i.e., first).

Commerce

The geography of Corinth determined its commercial significance. Corinth sat on a narrow (5.5 km. [3.5 mi.]) isthmus connecting upper Greece’s mainland with the Peloponnese (“almost an island”). Located between the Aegean Sea on the east and the Adriatic Sea on the west and controlling two major harbors, Corinth acquired the nickname “wealthy Corinth.”

There was good, but limited, farming in the Corinthia. All land trade moving between upper and lower Greece went through Corinth, and much of the marine trade between Rome and the Eastern Empire did as well. The journey around lower Greece was very dangerous, especially near the Cape of Malea (“cape of evil”). Therefore, shipping often came through Corinth’s ports, Cenchreae (9.6 km. [6 mi.] east from the city) and Lechaeum (3 km. [2 mi.] to the west).

Corinth also had some light industry, manufacturing highly prized bronze works, including artful polished mirrors (cf. 1 Cor. 13:12; 2 Cor. 3:18). City artisans also made prized pottery and lamps which were exported around the Mediterranean.

Religion

About two centuries after the Roman devastation of Corinth, many of the old religions of the area were again flourishing, and they were joined by new religions brought by merchants and soldiers to this commercial center. Corinth was a place of “many gods” and “many lords” (1 Cor. 8:5).

Perhaps most familiar to Bible students is the worship of Aphrodite, whose temple atop Corinth’s upper city (Acrocorinth) is infamous for its rumored “thousand sacred prostitutes.” While Aphrodite was a patron of the city, this moral charge was probably never accurate. It originated in Athenian propaganda, and the lustful imagination of sailors gave it much prominence. Corinth was no worse, or better, than other port cities. Aphrodite was worshipped at several sites in the city and for many reasons, including as patroness of sailors.

Of equal fame in Corinth was Poseidon, ruler of the sea (on which Corinth’s commercial life depended) and maker of earthquakes (a frequent danger in the area). Poseidon had a very large temple at a nearby village where the biennial Isthmian Games were held, second only to the Olympic Games at Delphi (cf. 1 Cor. 9:24-25).

A Corinthian temple to Asclepius, the healing god, and his daughter Hygeia included lodging facilities, baths, a swimming pool, and covered porches for the many who came to the temple seeking healing (often the prescription included baths and exercise). Excavators of the site have found a large cache of terra-cotta votive offerings left by those who came for healing. These clay copies of human body parts, which were hung around the temple by worshippers, might have given special power to Paul’s image of the church as the “body” of Christ in 1 Corinthians.

The widespread Greek cult of Demeter and Kore also had a shrine on the side of Acrocorinth. Although in decline in the Roman period, a large number of dining rooms were maintained adjacent to the temple and its theater, offering insight into 1 Cor. 8, 10. These rooms were used by some who sacrificed at the temple and invited their friends to private meals in these facilities.

Some new religions from the eastern Mediterranean, including Christianity, came to Roman Corinth. Among these were cults of Isis, Serapis (an Egyptian-based mystery religion), and the Phrygian goddess Cybele, and Judaism. The famous conversion novel by Apuleius, Metamorphoses, which praises the mysteries of Isis, is partially set in Corinth. A door lintel from a Jewish synagogue has been found (although it is 4th-century). Both Acts and Philo mention a Jewish presence in the city.

Christianity

The earliest evidence for Christianity in Corinth is, of course, within the NT itself. Paul visited the city more often and wrote it more letters (possibly four, with two now lost) than any other of his mission points. Later 1 Clement was written to Corinth by a Roman church leader. This letter shows that the old issues of factionalism and quarreling which Paul had addressed continued among Corinthian Christians; referring to their letters from Paul, Clement rebukes some younger believers who have thrown off the leadership of the elders.

Among the archaeological finds is a dedication inscription recounting the gift of Erastus, probably the Christian Paul mentions in Rom. 16:23 as the oikonómos (“city commissioner”).

Bibliography. D. W. Engels, Roman Corinth (Chicago, 1990); V. P. Furnish, “Corinth: What Can Archeology Tell Us?” BARev 14/3 (1988): 14-27; J. Murphy-O’Connor, St. Paul’s Corinth (Wilmington, 1983); J. Wiseman, “Corinth and Rome, 1: 228 b.c. to a.d. 267,” ANRW II.7.1, 438-548; B. Witherington, Conflict and Community in Corinth (Grand Rapids, 1995).

Wendell Willis

Prayer Tents Bible References - Prayer Tents

CORINTH

Eerdmans Dictionary of the Bible (2000)