Acts 18:1

Corinth, the largest city in Greece at this time, was the capital of the Roman province of Achaia and was a Roman colony. The Romans razed Corinth in 146 B.C., but it was rebuilt a century later in 46 B.C. Its site lay about 50 miles southwest of Athens at a very strategic location. Land traffic from northern Achaia to its southern peninsula, the Peloponnesus, crossed a land bridge very near Corinth. Stevedores hauled smaller ships travelling from one of Corinth’s port towns, Lechaeum on the west or Cenchrea on the east, to the other overland on wooden rollers. They handled the cargoes of larger ships the same way. The distance between the ports was three and a half miles. Sea captains preferred this inconvenience because they did not want to sail 200 miles around dangerous Cape Malea at the southern tip of the Peloponnesus. Consequently Corinth constantly buzzed with commercial activity, and it possessed all the vices that have typically haunted cosmopolitan ports.

"The city was in many regards the best place possible in Greece for making contacts with all sorts of people and for founding a new religious group." [Note: Witherington, p. 538.]

Corinth was about 20 times as large as Athens at this time with a population of over 200,000 inhabitants. [Note: Longenecker, p. 480.] The city was infamous for its immorality that issued from two sources: its numerous transients and its temple to Aphrodite. Aphrodite was the Greek goddess of love, and here devotees promoted immorality in the name of religion. [Note: See Dan P. Cole, "Corinth & Ephesus," Bible Review 4:6 (December 1988):20-25.] Her temple, which boasted 1,000 religious prostitutes, stood on the Acrocorinth, a 1,857-foot flat-topped mountain just outside the city. It is easy to understand why sexual problems plagued the Corinthian church (1 Corinthians 5; et al.).

"Beginning with the fifth century B.C., the verb ’to Corinthianize’ (korinthiazesthai) meant to be sexually immoral, a reputation that continued to be well-deserved in Paul’s day." [Note: Longenecker, p. 480.]

"The reputation of Corinth is illustrated by the fact that the verb "to act like a Corinthian" was used of practicing fornication, and the phrase "Corinthian girls" designated harlots." [Note: Ladd, "The Acts . . .," p. 1158.]

Archaeologists have also discovered the remains of temples to Melkart, the god of sailors, to Apollo, the god of music and poetry, and to Asclepius, the god of healing, and there were others.

When Paul entered Corinth he was fearful (1 Corinthians 2:1-5), probably because of the wicked reputation of this city and perhaps because his fellow workers were not with him.

"To move from Athens to Corinth was to exchange the atmosphere of a provincial university city for that of a thriving commercial metropolis . . ." [Note: Neil, p. 194.]

It was as though Paul had left Boston and had landed in Las Vegas.