Corinth
Paulus' bedeutendste Gemeinde – wo er 18 Monate lebte und lehrte
Warum dieses Ziel wichtig ist
Korinth war eine der bedeutendsten Gemeinden des Paulus. Er lebte hier 18 Monate (Apg 18,11), predigte auf der Agora und schrieb von hier aus möglicherweise den Brief an die Römer. Zwei seiner bedeutendsten Briefe (1. und 2. Korinther) sind an diese Gemeinde gerichtet.
Das antike Korinth mit dem Bema (Richtertribunal, Apg 18,12-17), dem Tempel des Apollon und der Agora ist ein eindrucksvoller archäologischer Ort.
Wichtigste Sehenswürdigkeiten
The Bema (Judgment Seat)
The marble platform in the centre of the Forum where Paul stood before Gallio (Acts 18:12-17).
Temple of Apollo
Seven of 38 monolithic Doric columns still standing, 6th-century BC.
Lechaion Road
The principal road of ancient Corinth, which Paul would have walked daily.
Erastus Inscription
1st-century Latin pavement inscription naming Erastus as 'aedile' - almost certainly the Erastus of Romans 16:23.
Synagogue lintel
Marble fragment inscribed 'Synagogue of the Hebrews' - displayed in the on-site museum.
Acrocorinth
575-metre fortified hill with Temple of Aphrodite remains and a chapel of Saint Demetrios.
Cenchreae
Acts 18:18 - Paul shaved his head here. Phoebe is named as deaconess at Cenchreae in Romans 16:1.
Corinth Canal
Late 19th-century canal cut through the Isthmus; bungee-jumping platform popular.
Beste Reisezeit
März–Mai und September–November. Sommerhitze kann intensiv sein.
Anreise
80 km südwestlich von Athen; Stundenbusverbindung von Athen.
Unterkunft
Modernes Korinth am Meer für Unterkünfte. Besuchen Sie das antike Korinth (6 km) tagsüber.
Touren und Erlebnisse
Tagesausflug von Athen oder kombiniert mit Epidauros und Mykene für die Peloponnes-Tour.
Practical information
- Hours
- Archaeological site 08:00-19:30 (summer), 08:00-15:30 (winter). Museum same.
- Fees
- Combined site and museum 8 EUR (April-October), 4 EUR (November-March). Free for under-25 EU citizens.
- Dress code
- Open-air site - no special requirements.
- Accessibility
- The Forum and Bema are level; Acrocorinth involves a steep drive and a climb.
Pilgertipps
💡 Pilgertipps
- Corinth is a day trip from Athens (80 km, 1 hour by car or 90 minutes by suburban Proastiakos train). The ancient site, the Acrocorinth fortress and Cenchreae harbour can all be done in a single full day with an early start.
- The Bema (judgement seat) of Corinth in the agora is the supreme Pauline site — the stone platform where Paul stood before the proconsul Gallio in 51-52 AD (Acts 18:12-17). The Gallio inscription, the most important archaeological dating artefact in New Testament studies, is preserved at the Corinth Archaeological Museum.
- Cenchreae (Kechries), Corinth's eastern harbour, is where Paul boarded a ship for Syria after his Corinthian ministry (Acts 18:18). Phoebe, the deaconess of Cenchreae mentioned in Romans 16:1, was its lay leader.
- Climb to Acrocorinth (the ancient acropolis, 575m above the plain) for the panorama over the Corinthian gulf and the Aegean — one of the great views in Greece. The temple of Aphrodite at the summit (one of the great pagan cult centres Paul opposed) is the archaeological highlight.
- Allow 4-5 hours for a serious visit to the archaeological site itself — the Lechaion road, the Bema, the Apollo Temple, the Erastus inscription. Bring water and a sun hat — there is no shade in the agora.
Wussten Sie schon?
ℹ️ Wussten Sie schon?
- Paul spent 18 months in Corinth (Acts 18:11) — his longest ministry in any city except Ephesus. He earned his living as a tent-maker working with Aquila and Priscilla, who had been expelled from Rome by Claudius's edict of 49 AD.
- The Erastus inscription at Corinth — 'Erastus, in return for the aedileship, laid this pavement at his own expense' — refers to the same Erastus Paul mentions as 'the city treasurer' (Romans 16:23). It is one of the very few archaeological inscriptions that names a person mentioned in the New Testament.
- 1 and 2 Corinthians (the most personal Pauline letters) were written from Ephesus and Macedonia to address pastoral crises at Corinth — sexual immorality, party divisions, lawsuits between Christians, abuses of the Eucharist, charismatic disorder. The Corinthian correspondence is the most candid window into early Christian community life that survives.
- Ancient Corinth was a Greek revival foundation — Julius Caesar refounded it in 44 BC after Rome's destruction of the Greek city in 146 BC. Paul's Corinth was a Roman city in Greek territory, with a population of roughly 80,000 freedmen and former slaves — explaining the social tensions visible in 1 Corinthians.
Biblical references
- Acts 18:1-18 — “Paul's eighteen months at Corinth, with Aquila and Priscilla, and his appearance before Gallio.”
- 1 Corinthians — “Paul's first canonical letter to the Corinthians, c. AD 53-54.”
- 2 Corinthians — “Paul's second letter, c. AD 55-56.”
- Romans 16:1 — “I commend unto you Phebe our sister, which is a servant of the church which is at Cenchrea.”
- Romans 16:23 — “Erastus the chamberlain of the city saluteth you.”
Empfohlene Lektüre
| Title / Reference | Why it matters |
|---|---|
| 1 and 2 Corinthians (NT) | Read both letters straight through before arrival, with the geographical map open. The letters are the supreme record of an early Christian community wrestling with the implications of the Gospel. |
| Saint Paul: A Critical Life (J. Murphy-O'Connor) | The standard scholarly Pauline biography. Murphy-O'Connor's chapter on Corinth — including his own archaeological work at the Bema and Erastus inscription — is essential. |
| After Paul Left Corinth (Bruce Winter) | Academic study of the social and religious context of the Corinthian church in the 50s-60s AD. Strong on the temple-meat controversies and the imperial cult background to Paul's instructions. |
Nearby destinations to combine
Athens
Paul on the Areopagus and the Byzantine heart of Greece
Thessaloniki
Paul's first European church and the city of Saint Demetrios
Patmos
Cave of the Apocalypse and the Monastery of Saint John the Theologian
Teil dieser Routen
- Footsteps of Saint Paul — Tarsus to Rome - the missionary journeys of the Apostle
Frequently asked questions
Names in other languages
| Greek | Korinthos |
|---|---|
| German | Korinth |
| Russian | Korinf |
| French | Corinthe |
| Italian | Corinto |