A City On The Way Up

We entered ancient Corinth today the way visitors would have done then - along the Lechaion Road pictured above - and it was not hard to see just how flourishing it was. There are colonnades running the length of the road on either side of where shopkeepers would have traded, and the road opens up into a large market square, built for buying and selling the produce landed at the two harbours. Further shops and market places lie beyond; there would have been craftsmen making and mending boats down by the harbours; this was a city of commerce and trade.

And it was doing well off it. All the evidence points to a city that was flourishing economically. The buildings were built of the finest stone and marble, with highly ornate decoration. Virtually every building was new and in the first century AD there was still lots of building going on. As you stand on the Lechaion Road today it is not difficult to imagine the impression that bustling, affluent Corinth made on the visitor. If Athens was the city of tradition, history and philosophy, Corinth was the city of trade, wealth and success. While Athens' best days were behind her, Corinth in the middle of the first century was at the very height of her power.

What sort of gospel message was the apostle Paul going to bring to this place?