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The Visual Atlas
Places, art and manuscripts across time. First era: the apostolic and early church, from Pentecost to the early fourth century.
Corinth
Paul stayed a year and six months here. Later the church of Rome wrote to settle a quarrel in the church, and Corinth's bishop Dionysius kept the letter in use.
- 37.905642
- 22.878614
The real question: when a later bishop says two apostles founded his church, is he passing on memory or honouring his town? The parish says two famous preachers both started it. The records show one name for sure. Is the second name memory, or pride?
Paul comes from Athens to Corinth and finds Aquila and Priscilla, lately come from Italy because Claudius had ordered all Jews out of Rome (Acts 18:1-2). He stays a year and six months (Acts 18:11). Clement writes in the name of the church of Rome to the church of Corinth when a sedition arose there (Church History 3.16; Irenaeus quoted at 5.6.3). Hegesippus stays many days with the Corinthians on his way to Rome (4.22.2). Dionysius, bishop of Corinth, writes letters to many churches and says Clement's letter is read in his church (4.23.1, 4.23.11). Bacchylus is bishop of Corinth at the time of the Easter dispute (5.22).
Paul arrives from Athens (Acts 18:1). Aquila and Priscilla, and Claudius's order (Acts 18:2). A year and six months (Acts 18:11). The hearing before Gallio follows in the same chapter (Acts 18:12-17).
Eusebius says Clement's letter was written for Rome to Corinth over a sedition, and that Hegesippus is a trustworthy witness that the sedition happened (Church History 3.16). Hegesippus says the church of Corinth continued in the true faith until Primus was bishop (4.22.2). Dionysius of Corinth writes to Lacedaemonians, Athenians, Nicomedians and Romans (4.23), and to the Romans he says Peter and Paul both planted and taught in Corinth (2.25.8).
No manuscript in the sources read here is tied to Corinth in this era.
Dionysius says Peter and Paul both planted the church at Corinth and taught there (Church History 2.25.8). Acts names only Paul at Corinth, and no other source read here places Peter there. The list of the seventy among the dubious and spurious pieces attributed to Hippolytus makes Silas bishop of Corinth. That is legend. No public domain object from this era tied to Corinth turned up in the museum search.
Not a reading of 1 and 2 Corinthians. The letters are evidence for the church, and they need their own treatment; this entry stays with the place and what is said about it.
- Acts 18:1-18
- Acts, checked in the King James Version
- Eusebius, Church History, trans. McGiffert, NPNF2 vol. 1 (1890), 2.25.8, 3.16, 4.22-23, 5.6.3, 5.22
- Pseudo-Hippolytus, On the Seventy Apostles, ANF vol. 5, Appendix of Dubious and Spurious Pieces
- Pleiades gazetteer, place 570182, Corinthus/Korinthos, places.csv
