LIFE TOGETHER: AN INTERACTIVE STUDY OF 1 CORINTHIANS

CORINTH

The site on which Corinth is located was inhabited as early as the fourth millennium B.C., but it was during the 8th century B.C. that Corinth began its rise to power, when population growth in the area spurred the Corinthians to establish colonies in Corcyra and Syracuse. The city reached the peak of its power and prosperity in the 6th century B.C. By the 5th century B.C., Corinth was one of the three major Greek states, and therefore was a leader in the wars between Greece and Persia. After the Persian threat decreased, Corinth became embroiled in several devastating Greek wars, including the Peloponnesian war (where Corinth sided with Sparta against Athens) and the Corinthian war (where Corinth sided with Athens against Sparta).

Corinth became a Hellenic center after Phillip II of Macedon conquered the Greeks in 338 B.C. and left control to his son, Alexander the Great. Because of its political prominence in the 2nd century B.C., Corinth was destroyed by the Romans in 146 B.C. after a Greek uprising against Rome. The city was rebuilt by Julius Caesar in 44 B.C., and by the time St. Paul wrote his epistle it was a major governmental and commercial center.

Corinth in the 1st century A.D. was widely known as a city for debauched activities; in fact, there was even a Greek word, "Corinthianize," which meant to engage in immoral acts. A primary reason for this reputation was the temple of Aphrodite, which was served by approximately 1,000 female priests, many of whom engaged in religious prostitution. This activity led to another Greek phrase, "Corinthian girl," meaning a prostitute from Corinth.

It was this highly sexual Corinthian lifestyle that prompted St. Paul's warnings to the Corinthian church against sexual immorality.