Cor'inth. An ancient and celebrated city of Greece, on the Isthmus of Corinth,
and about 40 miles west of Athens. In consequence of its geographical position,
it formed the most direct communication between the Ionian and Aegean seas. A
remarkable feature was the Acrocorinthus, a vast citadel of rock, which
rises abruptly to the height of 2000 feet above the level of the sea, and the
summit of which is so extensive that it once contained a whole town.
The situation of Corinth, and the possession of its eastern and western
harbors, Cenchreae and Lechaeum, are the secrets of its history. Corinth was a
place of great mental activity, as well as of commercial and manufacturing
enterprise. Its wealth was so celebrated as to be proverbial; so were the vice
and profligacy of its inhabitants. The worship of Venus there was attended with
shameful licentiousness.
Corinth is still an episcopal see. The city has now shrunk to a wretched
village, on the old site and bearing the old name, which, however, is corrupted
into Gortho. St. Paul preached here, Act_18:11,
and founded a church, to which his Epistles to the Corinthians are addressed. See
Corinthians, The First Epistle to The; Corinthians, The Second Epistle to
The.
Source:
Smith’s Bible Dictionary
Corinth
kor´inth (Κόρινθος,
Kórinthos, “ornament”): A celebrated city of the Peloponnesus,
capital of Corinthia, which lay North of Argolis, and with the 1sthmus joined
the peninsula to the mainland. Corinth had three good harbors (Lechaeum, on the
Corinthian, and Cenchrea and Schoenus on the Saronic Gulf), and Thus commanded
the traffic of both the eastern and the western seas. The larger ships could
not be hauled across the isthmus (Act_27:6,
Act_27:37); smaller vessels were taken
over by means of a ship tramway with wooden rails. The Phoenicians, who settled
here very early, left many traces of their civilization in the industrial arts,
such as dyeing and weaving, as well as in their religion and mythology. The
Corinthian cult of Aphrodite, of Melikertes (Melkart) and of Athene Phoenike
are of Phoenician origin. Poseidon, too, and other sea deities were held in
high esteem in the commercial city. Various arts were cultivated and the
Corinthians, even in the earliest times, were famous for their cleverness,
inventiveness and artistic sense, and they prided themselves on surpassing the
other Greeks in the embellishment of their city and in the adornment of their
temples. There were many celebrated painters in Corinth, and the city became
famous for the Corinthian order of architecture: an order, which, by the way,
though held in high esteem by the Romans, was very little used by the Greeks
themselves. It was here, too, that the dithyramb (hymn to Dionysus) was first
arranged artistically to be sung by a chorus; and the 1sthmian games, held
every two years, were celebrated just outside the city on the 1sthmus near the
Saronic Gulf. But the commercial and materialistic spirit prevailed later. Not
a single Corinthian distinguished himself in literature. Statesmen, however,
there were in abundance: Periander, Phidon, Timoleon.
Harbors are few on the Corinthian Gulf. Hence, no other city could wrest
the commerce of these waters from Corinth. According to Thucydides, the first
ships of war were built here in 664 bc. In those early days Corinth held a
leading position among the Greek cities; but in consequence of her great
material prosperity she would not risk all as Athens did, and win eternal
supremacy over men: she had too much to 1ose to jeopardize her material
interests for principle, and she soon sank into the second class. But when
Athens, Thebes, Sparta and Argos fell away, Corinth came to the front again as
the wealthiest and most important city in Greece; and when it was destroyed by
Mummius in 146 bc, the treasures of art carried to Rome were as great as those
of Athens. Delos became the commercial center for a time; but when Julius
Caesar restored Corinth a century later (46 bc), it grew so rapidly that the
Roman colony soon became again one of the most prominent centers in Greece.
When Paul visited Corinth, he found it the metropolis of the Peloponnesus. Jews
flocked to this center of trade (Acts 18:1-18; Rom_16:21;
1Co_9:20), the natural site for a great
mart, and flourishing under the lavish hand of the Caesars; and this is one
reason why Paul remained there so long (Act_18:11)
instead of sojourning in the old seats of aristocracy, such as Argos, Sparta
and Athens. He found a strong Jewish nucleus to begin with; and it was in
direct communication with Ephesus. But earthquake, malaria, and the harsh
Turkish rule finally swept everything away except seven columns of one old
Doric temple, the only object above ground left today to mark the site of the
ancient city of wealth and luxury and immorality - the city of vice par
excellence in the Roman world. Near the temple have been excavated the
ruins of the famous fount of Peirene, so celebrated in Greek literature.
Directly South of the city is the high rock (over 1,800 ft.) AcrocorinThus,
which formed an impregnable fortress. Traces of the old ship-canal across the
1sthmus (attempted by Nero in 66-67 ad) were to be seen before excavations were
begun for the present canal. At this time the city was thoroughly Roman. Hence,
the many Latin names in the New Testament: Lucius, Tertius, Gaius, Erastus,
Quartus (Rom_16:21-23), Crispus, Titus
Justus (Act_18:7, Act_18:8), Fortunatus, Achaicus (1Co_16:17). According to the testimony of Dio
Chrysostomus, Corinth had become in the 2nd century of our era the richest city
in Greece. Its monuments and public buildings and art treasures are described
in detail by Pausanias.
The church in Corinth consisted principally of non-Jews (1Co_12:2). Paul had no intention at first of
making the city a base of operations (Act_18:1;
Act_16:9, Act_16:10);
for he wished to return to Thessalonica (1Th_2:17,
1Th_2:18). His plans were changed by a
revelation (Act_18:9, Act_18:10). The Lord commanded him to speak
boldly, and he did so, remaining in the city eighteen months. Finding strong
opposition in the synagogue he left the Jews and went to the Gentiles (Act_18:6). Nevertheless, Crispus, the ruler of
the synagogue and his household were believers and baptisms were numerous (Act_18:8); but no Corinthians were baptized by
Paul himself except Crispus, Gaius and some of the household of Stephanas (1Co_1:14, 1Co_1:16)
“the firstfruits of Achaia” (1Co_16:15).
One of these, Gaius, was Paul's host the next time he visited the city (Rom_16:23). Silas and Timothy, who had been left
at Berea, came on to Corinth about 45 days after Paul's arrival. It was at this
time that Paul wrote his first Epistle to the Thessalonians (1Th_3:6). During Gallio's administration the
Jews accused Paul, but the proconsul refused to allow the case to be brought to
trial. This decision must have been looked upon with favor by a large majority
of the Corinthians, who had a great dislike for the Jews (Act_18:17). Paul became acquainted also with
Priscilla and Aquila (Act_18:18, Act_18:26; Rom_16:3;
2Ti_4:19), and later they accompanied
him to Ephesus. Within a few years after Paul's first visit to Corinth the
Christians had increased so rapidly that they made quite a large congregation,
but it was composed mainly of the lower classes: they were neither 'learned,
influential, nor of noble birth' (1Co_1:26).
Paul probably left Corinth to attend the celebration of the feast at
Jerusalem (Act_18:21). Little is known
of the history of the church in Corinth after his departure. Apollos came from
Ephesus with a letter of recommendation to the brethren in Achaia (Act_18:27; 2Co_3:1);
and he exercised a powerful influence (Act_18:27,
Act_18:28; 1Co_1:12);
and Paul came down later from Macedonia. His first letter to the Corinthians
was written from Ephesus. Both Titus and Timothy were sent to Corinth from
Ephesus (2Co_7:13, 2Co_7:15; 1Co_4:17),
and Timothy returned by land, meeting Paul in Macedonia (2Co_1:1), who visited Greece again in 56-57 or
57-58.
Literature
Leake, Travels in the Morea, IlI, 229-304; Peloponnesiaca,
392ff; Curtius, Peloponnesos, II, 514ff; Clark, Peloponnesus, 42-61;
Conybeare and Howson, The Life and Epistles St. of Paul, chapter xii;
Ramsay, “Corinth” (in HDB); Holm, History of Greece, I, 286ff;
II, 142, and 306-16; III, 31-44, and 283; IV, 221, 251, 347 and 410-12.
Source:
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia
Corinth
A Grecian city, on the isthmus which joins the Peloponnesus to the
mainland of Greece. It is about 48 miles west of Athens. The ancient city was
destroyed by the Romans (146 B.C.), and that mentioned in the New Testament was
quite a new city, having been rebuilt about a century afterwards and peopled by
a colony of freedmen from Rome. It became under the Romans the seat of
government for Southern Greece or Achaia (Act_18:12-16).
It was noted for its wealth, and for the luxurious and immoral and vicious
habits of the people. It had a large mixed population of Romans, Greeks, and
Jews. When Paul first visited the city (A.D. 51 or 52), Gallio, the brother of
Seneca, was proconsul. Here Paul resided for eighteen months (Acts 18:1-18). Here
he first became aquainted with Aquila and Priscilla, and soon after his
departure Apollos came to it from Ephesus. After an interval he visited it a
second time, and remained for three months (Act_20:3).
During this second visit his Epistle to the Romans was written (probably A.D.
55). Although there were many Jewish converts at Corinth, yet the Gentile
element prevailed in the church there.
Some have argued from 2Co_12:14;
2Co_13:1, that Paul visited Corinth a
third time (i.e., that on some unrecorded occasion he visited the city between
what are usually called the first and second visits). But the passages referred
to only indicate Paul's intention to visit Corinth (compare 1Co_16:5, where the Greek present tense denotes
an intention), an intention which was in some way frustrated. We can hardly
suppose that such a visit could have been made by the apostle without more
distinct reference to it.
Source: Easton’s Bible Dictionary