![\"\"](\"https:\/\/acrooliveoil.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/image-45.png\")
<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\nThe Apostle Paul is also known as the \u201cApostle to the Gentiles\u201d because of his extensive tours in the eastern Mediterranean to spread Christianity. He visited many areas of Greece (Samothrace, Philippi, Thessaloniki, Veria, Athens), including Corinth..<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Apostle Paul came to Corinth, departing from Athens, in a rather bad mood, due to the reception of the gospel by the Athenians.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The city of Corinth, where the Apostle Paul arrived around 50 AD (Anno Domini) , was a bustling commercial crossroads and political-cultural center. In the days of the Apostle Paul, it is said that the city had 400,000 residents and guests.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Greeks, Romans, Syrians, Egyptians and Jews lived in Corinth. Through its ports, travelers, spectators of sports competitions, artists, philosophers, businessmen and others constantly came and went. Visitors offered gifts to the temples and sacrificed to the gods.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
All of this brings to mind the Corinth of that era, a vibrant, thriving metropolis, but not without a price:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Corinth, situated between two ports, Cenchreae and Lechaeum, developed a cosmopolitan character, imbued, some say enriched, with the vices of the foreign nations whose ships docked at its ports. The vices and moral flaws of the East and the West met and mingled in the melting pot of the city of Corinth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The duties imposed on the cargoes transported to the other side of the isthmus, which arrived in droves, contributed greatly to the wealth of Corinth, where handicrafts flourished, as did the famous pottery and coppersmithing it produced.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As a result, Corinth reached the point of moral decay and debauchery. It was the most immoral and dissolute city in ancient Greece. To be “Corinthianized,” that is, to follow the Corinthian way of life, had become synonymous with a dissolute and immoral life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
However, the cosmopolitan character of Corinth also had its advantages. The city was subject to a constant influx of ideas. Its inhabitants were more open-minded than people in other cities visited by the Apostle Paul.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“The east met the west in this ancient city, with its ports,” “with natural, social consequence, the exposure of its inhabitants to every kind of new idea, philosophy, or religion that the visiting world had to offer,” described biblical commentators.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
There was also a constant influx of travelers and merchants, as well as others, who visited this entertainment and sports center in search of pleasures. This undoubtedly contributed to a broader perception of things than that prevailing in other cities where the Apostle Paul had taught, including Athens, which was the center of Greek civilization.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As famous as Corinth was, as the administrative seat and the main commercial city of Greece, in the minds of many people, the city symbolized debauchery, unbridled luxury, and immorality.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Although it is considered exaggerated today, the number of (1000) thousand prostitutes is indicative of the extent of “sacred” prostitution in this city. Moreover, prostitutes had particularly honorable positions in the theater, such as the EStadiades of Rome.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The prostitutes led the sailors from the ports to their accommodations, leaving footprints with their sandals that read \u201c\u0395\u03a0\u039f\u03a5\u201d meaning \u201cfollow\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
There was religious intolerance, intense religious syncretism, and the worship of many deities such as Astarte and Mercart, Atti and Cybele, Isis, Osiris and Serapis, Apollo, Hermes, Hercules, and Asclepius, which obviously facilitated the work of preaching that the Apostle Paul would do.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This sensuality and worship were an outgrowth of Corinthian culture, and in particular, the worship of the goddess Aphrodite (corresponding to the Roman Venus, the Phoenician and Canaanite Astarte, and the Babylonian Ishtar).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A temple dedicated to her worship was located at the top of Acrocorinth, a steep, rocky hill that rose 513 m above the agora.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In Corinth, of course, there were temples dedicated to many other gods and goddesses. In the temple of Asclepius, the god of medicine, the faithful left, as votive offerings, clay representations of parts of the human body, in the color of flesh, each of which represented the specific ailing member (hand, foot, eye, etc.) of the believer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Apostle Paul had strong reasons to give the Corinthian Christians strong advice and warning regarding moral conduct, as the city was of great interest at that time, because it had the following characteristics:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
a) Developed trade and wealth, due to its geographical position, located between two seas, with two famous ports.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
b) Corinth had so closely associated its name with immorality that the word \u201cI am Corinthian\u201d became synonymous with \u201cI practice the profession of a prostitute.\u201d In fact, in Acrocorinth, there was the infamous temple of Aphrodite, with over a thousand prostitutes who served the goddess in small, pleasant settlements around the temple and practiced \u201csacred prostitution.\u201d Temples of Aphrodite also existed in Lechaeum and Cenchreae.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
c) There was intense religious syncretism and worship of many deities, such as Astarte, Cybele, Osiris, Apollo, Hermes, etc., because crowds of heterogeneous elements flocked to the city from other distant cities, bringing with them various beliefs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
d) With the influx of people, its population rose many times, to 400,000 to 600,000 and the largest part of it was made up of slaves and visitors. In the city, during the years of the Apostle Paul, among other things, the Jewish community was important, with a synagogue. To this day, a plaque with the inscription “Synagogue of the Jews” is preserved in the Museum of Ancient Corinth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Apostle Paul arrived in Corinth shortly before the Isthmian Games began. Many people were arriving in Corinth and needed accommodation, which provided significant work for the Apostle Paul as a tentmaker, because he had to prepare tents for the athletes and other people who would come to the city.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Apostle Paul, in Corinth as a tentmaker, may have played an important role in the shipping trades that took place in the two ports. As winter approached, the tentmakers of Corinth, who were also sailmakers, were overwhelmed with work. Since both ports were full of ships that had anchored due to the winter and were in a hurry to be repaired and supplied. While the seas were closed, the ship suppliers in Lechaeum and Cenchreae gave work to almost anyone who could sew a piece of sail.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Thus, during his second tour, the Apostle Paul finds in Corinth a flourishing, economically prosperous society and remains in the city for a year and a half, close to Aquila and Priscilla. Collaborating as a tentmaker, for a living, but also preaching the gospel, for the establishment of the early Christian church in Corinth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
At that time, one could travel to Corinth either by land or by sea. The journey by land, via Eleusis and Megara, was very arduous, but also dangerous, because of the bandits. The journey by sea was shorter, safer, more comfortable and therefore more common. We must assume that this was the route chosen by the Apostle Paul to travel to Corinth. He boarded the ship at Piraeus, passed between Salamis and Aegina, following the route that ships still follow today when they sail towards the Isthmus. He disembarked at the eastern port of Corinth, Cenchreae. In front of him, as they do today, stretched the vineyards of Corinth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He reached the city, walking through the verdant valley of the Examilia. He crossed the sacred grove of Poseidon, climbed a smooth hill, crossed the bridge over the Lefkos River and, passing through the suburb of Kraneion, entered the city.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The city was built on two levels, one of which was about 30 m. higher than the other. In the center of the city was the spacious market, which was surrounded by arcades and public buildings. There were rows of shops, with a facade towards the market. Some of the ruins that have come to light provide evidence of the existence of shops that sold meat and other food, as well as wine.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The interesting structures of Corinth that the Apostle Paul identified when he entered the city were:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
1) The Agora<\/strong>, a rectangular and paved area, measuring 180 m long and 90 m wide.<\/p>\n\n\n\n a) To the south was the Stoa<\/strong>, that is, an elongated space where citizens gathered for philosophical discussions and commercial transactions. Surely the Apostle Paul would have taught in this place and would have taken advantage of the opportunity of the gathering of so many people.<\/p>\n\n\n\n b) In the center to the north was the Vima, <\/strong>from where the orators spoke, in front of which perhaps the Apostle Paul stood to defend himself before Gallio.<\/p>\n\n\n\n c) Beyond the Agora, there was an Odeon <\/strong>for musical events, as well as a larger Theater<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n 2) Near the Agora, on a low hill, stood the famous temple of Apollo<\/strong>, from which seven monolithic Doric columns dating back to 550 BC still stand.<\/p>\n\n\n\n 3) Another temple was the temple of Asclepius,<\/strong> with bathing and dining facilities for the sick, who came to invoke the help of the god of medicine.<\/p>\n\n\n\n 4) Acrocorinth<\/strong>, the acropolis of Corinth, a 757 m high rock rising next to the city. There was the sanctuary of Aphrodite, the goddess of love, and many other temples dedicated to female deities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In the center of the market, the open-air, elevated speaking platform \u2013 the Rostra (the vima), as it was called, which protruded from the terrace that separated the upper from the lower level of the market. Made of white and blue marble and richly decorated with delicate reliefs. The Rostra (the vima), had two waiting rooms, side by side, with a mosaic floor and marble benches. The Rostra (the vima), was converted, during the Byzantine period, into a Christian church.<\/p>\n\n\n\n the Rostra (the vima) is believed to have been the “judicial seat” where the Jewish enemies of the Christian message perhaps brought the Apostle Paul before the Proconsul Gallio.<\/p>\n\n\n\n To the northwest of the agora, there was a theater and an conservatory, with a capacity of approximately 18,000 and 3,000 people respectively.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Along Lechaion Street, which was protected by double walls, there were sidewalks, public buildings, temples and arcades with shops. Here the Apostle Paul must have encountered busy shoppers, idlers, talkative people, shopkeepers, slaves, businessmen and others – a suitable audience for his sermon.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Corinth was a large city of 200,000 (excluding slaves and guests) inhabitants. Only Thessaloniki and Ephesus had slightly more. Alexandria and Antioch had twice as many populations, half a million. Rome was the largest city in the world, the only one with a population of one million. It is worth noting that the population of the entire Roman state is estimated to have been 50-60 million at the time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n As in the old Corinth before the destruction, so in the new city. A significant part of the inhabitants were slaves, as imposed by the social conditions of the time in general, and the commercial and industrial needs of the city in particular. At the same time in Alexandria, out of the 500,000 inhabitants, 200,000 were slaves.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In Corinth, apart from slaves, there was also a large number of poor people, port workers and others, who coexisted, of course, with the less wealthy or simply well-off. The city occupied an area of \u200b\u200b6,000 acres (2,4276 Hectares). The length of the wall reached 21 kilometers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The new city had 23 temples, 5 markets, 5 public baths, 5 arcades with all kinds of luxury shops, 2 basilicas, that is, court rooms, and many theaters and amphitheaters and conservatories.<\/p>\n\n\n\n At the time when the Apostle Paul was in Corinth, the Isthmian Games were being held. They were held every two years and in the period that interests us, they were held in 49 and 51 AD.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Isthmian Games were held 10 km outside the city of Corinth. They were third in importance (after Olympia, Pythia, Isthmia and Nemea). Due to its prominent geographical location, the important political events that often took place and its elevation after 27 AD to the capital of Achaia. They essentially made the Isthmian Games second in participation and importance in the Panhellenic Games. The prize of the games was a wreath, initially made of pine and later of withered celery, indicative of the funerary character of the Isthmian Games.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This was Corinth when the Apostle Paul visited it, after the very small impact that his speech had on the Areopagus of Athens.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Apostle Paul showed a particular preference for large cities. He knew that whoever would \u201cconquer\u201d Corinth, would possess all of Greece.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Apostle Paul knew that if Jesus became known in the ports of Corinth, it would be simply a matter of time for his preaching to spread to the islands with which Corinth had communication. And the seed of the Gospel would be carried to the ends of the earth, where the ships that approached the two ports of Corinth would arrive.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In Athens, he had attempted to impress the \u201cwise\u201d Athenians with a well-prepared speech, with references to authors and with catchphrases, with elaborate speeches and rhetoric.<\/p>\n\n\n\n But he failed to \u201cimpress\u201d the Athenians who boasted about their wisdom. So, he learned his lesson.<\/p>\n\n\n In Corinth, he chose to speak directly about the crucified Jesus Christ, without mincing words or turnings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Apostle Paul came to Corinth from Athens in 50 AD and entered the city, as he himself recounts, with insecurity, terror and fear. He was alone, because Timothy and Silas came a little later from Macedonia to meet him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n A large number of Jews had settled there and had founded a synagogue, which attracted some Greeks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In addition to the Greeks, there was also a fairly large core of Italians, who were descendants of the older settlers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Corinth was a strategic city, and a great opportunity for the spread of the gospel, which the Apostle Paul would not leave unexploited. The Apostle Paul knew that if he won people to Christ, this would contribute significantly to the spread of the message of salvation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Apostle Paul, according to his usual practice, began preaching the gospel from the synagogue of Corinth. It was then that Silas and Timothy came down from Macedonia and joined the Apostle Paul in the work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It is possible that it was here in the synagogue that the Apostle Paul met Aquila and Priscilla, who had recently come from Italy because of Nero’s decree to leave Rome. They came to Corinth before the Apostle Paul’s visit. The exact time of the couple’s and the Apostle Paul’s arrival in Corinth is not known to us.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The couple, who according to all indications were Christians before they even came to Corinth and fellow Jews, originally from Pontus, quickly became associated, especially with the Apostle Paul, and worked together as tentmakers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n During this time of their stay and collaboration in Corinth, wonderful feelings and bonds of friendship developed between the Apostle Paul and Aquila and Priscilla. Their bonds of friendship were so strong that we later see the couple willingly departing from Corinth and accompanying him to Syria.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Apostle Paul reasoned in the synagogue every Saturday and tried to persuade the Jews and proselytes to believe in Christ.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Some Jews and proselytes believed in the preaching of the Apostle Paul. Among them were Crispus, the chief synagogue official, along with his entire family, Erastus, and Justus. Justus, according to his name, must have been a Roman citizen and his house was next to the synagogue.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Apostle Paul was already in a state of divinely inspired spiritual excitement as he proclaimed to the Jews that Jesus was the Messiah.<\/p>\n\n\n\n However, the Jews reacted to the gospel, they rejected it, and the Apostle Paul decided to turn to the Gentiles. Leaving the synagogue, the Apostle Paul used the house of Titus Justus for his missionary activity and for the meetings of the church in Corinth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Jews, however, are not quiet, seeing the Apostle Paul preaching and they definitely want to create a problem for him. In the same way that the Jews created a problem in Thessaloniki and later in Veria.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In July 51 AD, Lucius Junius Gallio (GALLION) arrived in Corinth as proconsul of Achaia.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Shortly after Gallio arrived in Corinth, the Jews brought the Apostle Paul before him to be tried, on the charge that the Apostle Paul was bringing, foreign or possibly illegal, beliefs to the Roman empire.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Gallio refused to put the Apostle Paul on trial, claiming that the matter did not concern him, because it was an internal dispute of the Jews.<\/p>\n\n\n\n But most of the Jews, as in other cities, also in Corinth, opposed the preaching of the Apostle Paul about Jesus Christ and were diverted into insults.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Because they continued to oppose and blaspheme, the Apostle Paul shook the dust from his clothes and said to them: \u201cYou will bear the responsibility for your own destruction. I am free from all responsibility. From now on I will go to the Gentiles.\u201d He left there and went to the house of Justus, a man who feared God and whose house was next door to the synagogue.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Apostle Paul received a vision that assured him that there were many righteously disposed people in Corinth, which is why he dedicated a large portion of his tour to this strategically important crossroads of East and West.<\/p>\n\n\n\n God strengthens the Apostle Paul through this vision, whose message was: “Do not be afraid, but preach and do not be silent, for I am with you and no one will be able, with any attack, to harm you, since I have many of my people in this city.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n This message was of crucial importance to the gospel and to the ministry of the Apostle Paul. It strengthened him and he decided to remain in Corinth with greater zeal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n So he stayed in Corinth for a year and six months, teaching the Word of God among them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It was probably at this time that he wrote his two letters to the Thessalonians.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In Corinth, most of the believers were Gentiles, and some were from the upper classes, such as Erastus, who was the city steward. And a large crowd from the lower classes, both freedmen and slaves.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Many of the Christian disciples in Corinth had Latin names, such as Justus, Tertius, Quartus, Gaius, Crispus, Fortunatus, and Achaicus.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The church grows and grows stronger every day. Paul organizes it, so that \u201call things are done decently and according to custom.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n No other reaction of the Jews is mentioned after this episode. There would certainly have been minor frictions, but the Apostle Paul was accustomed to them. He continued his ministry, which in fact extended to the surrounding area, as testified by the founding of a church in Cenchreae, of which the deaconess Phoebe was an important member.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Bible states that the Apostle Paul, at one point, asked the Christians in Rome to help a Christian woman named Phoebe, from the church located in Cenchreae.<\/p>\n\n\n\n After a year and a half of staying in Corinth, Aquila and Priscilla \u2013 collaborators of the Apostle Paul in tentmaking and fellow Christians \u2013 followed him. They finally sailed from the eastern port, the port of Cenchreae, to Ephesus in Asia Minor, across the Aegean Sea, in 52 AD. On the other hand, the eloquent Apollos continued Paul\u2019s work, watering the seeds that had been sown in Corinth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In Corinth, a very prosperous church was established. Perhaps the largest and most populous of all the churches founded by Paul.<\/p>\n\n\n\n A large church, which due to its cultural environment, would prove to be a difficult church, with many problems.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Due to the climate, materialism and immorality, the spiritual well-being of the Christians was threatened. The followers of Jesus, in Corinth, needed admonition, in order to maintain their acceptable standing in the eyes of God.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Apostle Paul will write at least 3-4 letters, trying to solve these problems. After about six years, he will return to Corinth, during his third missionary tour, and will stay at the house of Gaius, from where he will write the letter to the Romans.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Apostle Paul showed deep interest in the church he had established in Corinth, sending Titus there as his representative twice and writing two of his four surviving important letters to the church in Corinth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n When Apostle Paul was in Ephesus, he was visited by some Christians, people of the deaconess Chloe, who brought him various news from the church of Corinth. Among other news, they told him that there were divisions and various moral and social deviations occurring in the church. Moreover, the Apostle Paul himself had certain orders for the believers in Corinth and wrote the First Epistle to the Corinthians.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The main theme of the First Epistle to the Corinthians was the unity of the church, with explanations of the theology of the cross, the human body and relationships, at the level of marriage and food, and the reality of the Resurrection. It also indicated measures to correct the situation and answered their questions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The admonitions and suggestions were soon forgotten and the Apostle Paul was forced to return, with the Second Epistle to the Corinthians, with the aim of reconnecting the spiritual relations of the Apostle Paul with the Corinthians. Some false apostles shook the trust of the Christians in him as a spiritual guide. With the ultimate aim, of course, of shaking their faith and love in the person of Christ.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Apostle Paul is forced to defend himself and confess his feelings for the Christians of Corinth. In short, we can say that the entire letter is an apology by Paul, with which he proves his apostolic office and his love for the believers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Apostle Paul strongly condemned greed, extortion, and moral impurity in his letters to the Corinthians. As we read these inspired letters, we cannot help but notice the corrupting influence that Christians had to deal with.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Our world today is similar. Destructive influences, such as materialism and immorality, pose a spiritual threat to God-fearing individuals. Therefore, we too do well to take seriously the inspired counsel that the Apostle Paul gave to the Christians in Corinth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n After more than six years, in the winter of 57, the Apostle Paul visits Corinth again. During his third tour, he stays in the house of Gaius. From there he writes his letter to the Romans.<\/p>\n\n\n\n During his departure, a conspiracy is hatched against his life, which the Apostle Paul learns of and is forced to change his itinerary. He wrote a total of 3 or 4 letters, which he sent to the Corinthians, of which two have survived.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In the Greek world, in the world where the Apostle to the Gentiles, Paul, worked, there is no other city in which he stayed for such a long time. There is no other city that he loved more, there is no other city where the seed he sowed bore so much fruit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Therefore, rightly, we, the Corinthians of today, who have the sacred privilege of living and working on the soil where the great Apostle Paul walked, worked and watered with his sweat, have the privilege of bearing a name that has been associated with two letters of the Apostle Paul, which are and have been read by billions of people for two thousand years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n With our right, we, the Corinthians of today, boast of this honor, honoring him in every way.<\/p>\n\n\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The Apostle Paul is also known as the \u201cApostle to the Gentiles\u201d because of his extensive tours in the eastern Mediterranean to spread Christianity. He visited many areas of Greece (Samothrace, Philippi, Thessaloniki, Veria, Athens), including Corinth.. The Apostle Paul came to Corinth, departing from Athens, in a rather bad mood, due to the…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-344","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/acrooliveoil.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/344","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/acrooliveoil.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/acrooliveoil.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/acrooliveoil.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/acrooliveoil.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=344"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/acrooliveoil.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/344\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":374,"href":"https:\/\/acrooliveoil.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/344\/revisions\/374"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/acrooliveoil.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=344"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"\"](\"https:\/\/acrooliveoil.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/image-3.png\")
<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/acrooliveoil.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/image-2.png\")
<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n