Freeland, Whidbey Island, Washington
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Corinth – a city of legend. Corinth – a real thorn in St. Paul’s side when it came to the congregations he founded.
We know that he wrote at least 3 letters since he mentions a pervious letter in 1 Corinthians that is now lost to us. And some scholars see parts of several letters in the make-up of 2 Corinthians, put together into one by some skillful editor.
It’s clear by the content of these letters that Paul lavished a great deal of time on the Corinthian church. It’s not hard to see why when one visits.
I took the train from Athens to Corinth – about 55 miles all told. Passing through the hills – low mountains, really – surrounding Athens the train heads west through a hilly, almost barren landscape: dry and sparse, with few trees above ground level, and low vegetation petering out just a short way up the mountain sides. Overall the landscape is very brown, reminding me of southern Nevada and the inland parts of Southern California.
And it was hot – 90F. Without water dehydration is a certainty.
Most of the way the journey was between these sharp hills and the glimmering waters of the Saronic Gulf. But as the train approached Corinth the hills came to an end and crossed a deep cut – the Corinth Canal, four miles long – that crosses the Corinthian isthmus and divides mainland Greece from the Peloponnes peninsula.
It’s not hard to see why this spot would be important when you look at a map. Today the canal is a shortcut for modern shipping. In ancient times it was still a short-cut, though goods were carried overland.
Control of the isthmus was attractive, therefore – it offered wealth in the form of tolls. And the Corinthian and Saronic Gulfs form natural harbors. Here was a natural site almost without parallel in the eastern Mediterranean for trade and shipping.
From ancient times there has been a town at Corinth. Every major power since antiquity has sought to control it, and every major power has established its control by taking Acrocorinth – the mountain fortress that dominates not only Corinth and the isthmus but much of the surrounding area as well.
The heart of the city is situated on the gently rising foothills of that great stronghold. At its center the view down to the crystal clear waters of the Saronic Gulf is breath-taking – it’s easy to see why the center of the city was located here.
And what remains today of the New Testament city of 750,000 is no more than a few city blocks of piled stones – fortunately the very heart of Corinth: its Agora – open square, parts of the temple of Apollo, and the end of the famous Lechaion Way up from the port – still paved with the same marble that, some 2,000 years ago, Paul first walked
The Lechiaon Way leads to the Corinth Agora – the hub of Roman City life – the central “square” and market place of every city. Around the edge of the Agora were temples to Octavia and to Apollo, many shops, and the Berma.
The Berma was a platform on the north edge of the Agora from which speeches could be made – the classic political stage of Rome. Every city had one.
On this Berma, sometime around 51 A.D. Paul rose to speak of Jesus. As with his famous sermon in Athens, he did so in sight of the temples of Roman imperialism and in the face of all the symbols of Roman imperial power.
And from this Berma the Corinthian Jews accused him of sacrilege.
Much of the pavement here is original – the marble has worn well down the centuries, though it has worn. It is not hard to imagine Paul first climbing the steps up the Lechiaon Way into the impressive heart of this cosmopolitan city.
And its also not heard to understand why he might have come here. While Athens was an important Greek city – a Greek city dominated by Roman occupation – Corinth was much more cosmopolitan – a double port city with people from all over the known world.
What better place to begin talking about Jesus?!
From the air the first thing that’s apparent about Athens is its size. Then you notice its setting – in a broad valley that slopes down toward the waters of the Saronic Gulf, surrounded on three sides by very tall hills. As the plane gets lower it becomes apparent that there are four hills that rise from the valley’s center, three circular and one large oval.
And the large oval hill has something on top of it. It is the ancient Acropolis, and it has several buildings on top of it, most notably the Parthenon.
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Once in Athens and settled in my hotel the Acropolis is even more dominating than from the air – no matter where you are in the center of Athens the Acropolis towers above you. Human beings associate high places with the sacred. Think of Matthew’s gospel, for instance, where all the significant encounters with God happen “in a high place”, including the transfiguration and the ascension. |
| Quite naturally, therefore, the Greeks put temples on top of the Acropolis. |
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Walking up the side of the hill to this amazing place is very impressive.
As I climbed, though, I wasn’t so much interested in the Acropolis, but on a moderately flat outcrop of rock that forms a natural open space about two-thirds of the way up. The view from here is impressive: the Acropolis rises close by, yet the view of the surrounding city is breath-taking.
It is called Areopagos Hill.
In the first century this place had a long history of holding the most significant and serious trials of the day – murder trials. It’s easy to imagine the crowds gathering there, since today crowds still gather today, though mainly for the view and as a stopping-place on the way up to the Acropolis.
This place was also within sight of a very popular temple whose dedication had been lost to memory. Athenians sacrificed there without knowing the name of the god to whom they were sacrificing.
On this rock St. Paul preached one of his most famous sermons, “to an unknown god”.
Beginning “People of Athens” he said, in essence, “you don’t even know the name of the god of that temple and yet you come and worship. I offer you a God you can know personally, more powerful than you can possibly imagine”.
There were other places that Paul could have used – the huge Agora – the open space that, on market day – became a small city of stalls and shops. That he chose to speak here shows the intentional challenge he was issuing to both the prevailing belief-system, the pantheon of gods that supported Roman and Greek life, and to the Empire who manipulated that system for its own benefit.
It also tells us how much Paul was willing to risk. No doubt the irony was not lost on him that he was speaking in a place where the trials of the notorious were held, and if he wasn’t careful that might include him!
It is possible to read all this in the many books about Paul, and about Athens. The guidebooks identify the place and link it to Paul.
But you have to stand where Paul stood, and look up at the Acropolis, and look down on Athens, to really understand the context of what Paul said on that day.
And when you do, the story lives again.
The Acropolis is, indeed, impressive. But for me, the most remarkable part of the day was the gift to be able to stand where St. Paul stood, and imagine again what that first sermon must have been like, now so long ago, and to have a new appreciation of the courage of the man, and the power of his words.
There are many more pictures of Athens here.
Continue reading Nigel's journal with his entries from England and Scotland.