Those Appointed to Die

1 Corinthians 4:9: For it seems to me that God has made a demonstration of us apostles as those who are last, those appointed to die – because we have become a spectacle [theatron] to the world and to angels and to humans.

Here Paul uses a picture of what we might think of as “taking up one’s cross”: Condemned losers at the end of a Roman procession.

Here is a first century base for a bronze tripod, the prize for a victory in the theatre (from Athens):

The two theatres of Ancient Corinth represented a fairly significant part of the city, each being larger than the largest temple.  This is the Odeion (with Acrocorinth in the background of the first picture):

And here is the larger, lower theatre (mostly destroyed by those bleedin’ barbarians):

From the Scene-Building of the Theatre:

Tomorrow: Your Body Belongs to the Lord

So Then, No More Boasting in Humans

Paul perceives that the chief problem in Corinth is boasting in humans – a problem that has a variety of manifestations.  In chapters 1-4, these manifestations are squabbles and strife over devotion to different leaders, including bragging about their dispensing of baptism and wisdom.

Dio Chrysostom reflects on the squabbling of rival disciples in Corinth/Isthmia about 30 years later (Orations 8.9):

And there at this time, around the temple of Poseidon, one could hear many of the wicked Sophists [sophistōn], crying out [boōntōn] and reviling [loidoroumenōn] one another, and their so-called disciples [mathētōn] fighting one another

Strabo (writing before Paul’s time) recounts that Roman Corinth had plenty of springs and wells providing water.  The fountains were generally devoted to gods, presumably making them unfit for Christian baptism.  Here is the fountain of Glauke:

…But there were plenty of other sources of water, as Strabo says:

Tomorrow: Those Appointed to Die

I Came to You in Fear and Trembling: Roman Empire in Corinth

The Greek city of Corinth, according to the ancient geographer/historian Strabo, “was razed [by the Romans] and then raised up again”.  The resurrected Corinth was Roman… but this should not be taken as absolute: For example, the Romans retained the Greek name Korinthos (unlike their destruction & repopulation of Jerusalem, for example, where they changed the name).  Thus one could perhaps say that Corinth in the time of Paul was a Roman city with a Greek memory…

    ^23-24 Gaius, whose hospitality I and the whole church here enjoy, sends you his greetings.
       Erastus, who is the city’s director of public works, and our brother Quartus send you their greetings. 

Here in Romans 16 Paul mentions the Corinthian politician Erastus.  In Ancient Corinth, one can see the “Erastus Pavement”, a first century pavement with the Latin inscription: “Erastus Pro Aedile S.P. Stravit” – meaning that Erastus had provided the pavement at his own expense in return for his election as aedile.  The pavement is in front of the large theatre:

Emperor Nero, circa. 60 CE, found in the Julian Basilica in Corinth:

Corinthian Grave Stele of Roman officer C. Valerius Valens, with Latin inscription, from end of 1st Century:

Tomorrow: “So Then, No More Boasting in Humans”.  [We are working our way through the themes of 1 Corinthians, seeing what illumination might come from the locations and artifacts of Greece]

I Came to You in Fear and Trembling: From Athens to Corinth Part III

Acts 18:1-11

 ¹ After this, Paul left Athens and went to Corinth. ² There he met a Jew named Aquila, a native of Pontus, who had recently come from Italy with his wife Priscilla, because Claudius had ordered all Jews to leave Rome. Paul went to see them, ³ and because he was a tentmaker as they were, he stayed and worked with them. ⁴ Every Sabbath he reasoned in the synagogue, trying to persuade Jews and Greeks.

    ⁵ When Silas and Timothy came from Macedonia, Paul devoted himself exclusively to preaching, testifying to the Jews that Jesus was the Messiah. ⁶ But when they opposed Paul and became abusive, he shook out his clothes in protest and said to them, “Your blood be on your own heads! I am innocent of it. From now on I will go to the Gentiles.”

    ⁷ Then Paul left the synagogue and went next door to the house of Titius Justus, a worshiper of God. ⁸ Crispus, the synagogue leader, and his entire household believed in the Lord; and many of the Corinthians who heard Paul believed and were baptized.

    ⁹ One night the Lord spoke to Paul in a vision: “Do not be afraid; keep on speaking, do not be silent. ¹⁰ For I am with you, and no one is going to attack and harm you, because I have many people in this city.” ¹¹ So Paul stayed in Corinth for a year and a half, teaching them the word of God.

The gulf of Corinth:

The “diolkos”, which was built in order that boats could be hauled over the strip of land that divided two seas at Corinth:

A close up of the diolkos, showing the groove worn by the “holkos neon”, the vehicle that carried boats across the isthmus:

The Lechaion Road, which leads from the port into Ancient Corinth itself:

The Temple of Apollo, central to Ancient Corinth:

The pathway up to Acro-Corinth, about half a kilometre above Ancient Corinth itself.  Acro-Corinth housed the temple of Aphrodite and was protected by Roman fortifications:

The site of Ancient Corinth.  About a third of the way in from the left is the Temple of Apollo; about a third of the way in from the right is the Lechaion Road; in between and toward the front of the picture is the agora:

Tomorrow: Roman Empire in Corinth

I Came to You in Fear and Trembling: From Athens to Corinth Part II

Moving from Athens to Corinth, Paul would have passed through Eleusis, which was the centre of Greek religion at the time.  The Eleusinian mysteries involved male and female initiates in transcendental spiritual experiences and the hope of personal immortality.

Helmut Koester believes 1 Corinthians is Paul’s upset response to the mesmerising effects of “mystery religions” on the Corinthian church.  This is a somewhat eccentric view, given that “mystery religions” in general don’t seem to have been widely influential in this early period.  But Eleusis itself, 50km away from Corinth, may have had some impact on expectations of “spirituality” in Corinth…

Eleusinian wall relief: Demeter (left) bids farewell to Triptolemus, king of Eleusis, who is about to teach the people of Eleusis how to cultivate the land.  Demeter’s daughter, Kore/Persephone, is on the right.  These figures are crucial in the Eleusinian mysteries.

Similar depictions of the mysteries:

Seating added in the Roman era, in order that the faithful could watch other mystery rituals being performed:

Partial remains of the Telesterion, where the mysteries were performed:

A re-creation of the Telesterion in action:

A Mithraion at Eleusis, a centre for the cult of Mithras:

Eschara, used for sacrifices to Persephone (who was kept in Hades for most of the year), built in Roman times:

Tomorrow: “I Came to You in Fear and Trembling: From Athens to Corinth Part III” – Paul Reaches Corinth