City of Corinth
City of Corinth
Corinth was an important city in ancient Greece. Geographically it was an ideal hub for facilitating commerce and exchange between Italy and Asia. The city served as the overlord of two harbors as it sat on the narrow isthmus that joins northern and southern Greece. This strip of land, approximately five miles wide, was flanked by the Saronic Gulf to the east and the Gulf of Corinth to the west. Mariners who sought to avoid the potentially dangerous journey around the Cape of Malea would have their cargoes unloaded and transported across land and then reloaded to other ships, or, provided that the ship's size was accommodating, the entire ship was dragged across the isthmus. The Acrocorinth, a mountain to the south of the city, made an excellent lookout for controlling the overland commercial traffic.
Corinth was ransacked by the Roman general Lucius Mummius in revenge for an anti-Roman uprising in 146 B.C. Mummius eradicated the male population and sold the females into slavery. Though the attack was devastating, the strategic location of Corinth necessitated its revival. After one hundred years of dormancy, the city was rebuilt in 46 B.C. under the orchestration of Julius Caesar. The location of Corinth gave the already mighty Romans the added advantage of control over east-west commerce as well as the Isthmian Games (9:24-27), which were outranked in magnitude only by the celebrated Olympic Games. Although the Roman culture had been thoroughly Hellenized, the politics were unquestionably Roman. The official language was Latin; however, it is likely that the language of the common people was Greek. According to Strabo, Corinth was a convenient way for Rome to rid itself of persons whose status was only a step above a slave. For the freed slave, Corinth meant an opportunity to improve his socioeconomic standing. The overland shipping of goods made Corinth an international center of mercantile trade. Along with the flow of merchandise, Corinth received an influx of travelers from both east and west creating ethnic diversity. These factors contributed to a population that burgeoned to 650,000 at Corinth's peak. They also produced a city with a strategic location for spreading the gospel around the world.
Corinth's commercial acclaim was rivaled only by its decadence. The cosmopolitan center flourished in every type of ignoble deed imaginable, and some unimaginable. So pungent was the immorality of Corinth that Aristophanes (ca. 450-385 B.C.) coined the verb korinthiazoamai (to act like a Corinthian) as a synonym for committing sexual immorality. The Corinthians drew attention to their lascivious lifestyle through the worship of Aphrodite, the goddess of love and beauty. The Temple of Aphrodite was situated high upon the Acrocorinth and employed one thousand priestess-prostitutes. Greek plays of the day often depicted Corinthians as drunkards and reprobates. Corinth stood as a monument erected to depravity.
Corinth was crucial for the propagation of the gospel. Its strategic location made it a doorway to the rest of the world. Its corrupt nature made it a center of need for salvation and a unique opportunity to display to the world the transforming power of Jesus Christ the Savior.