I stumbled upon a good number of Corinthian papers, presentations, and publications this month that cover topics from Isthmia, Kenchreai, Aphrodite and prostitute, and Paul’s ascent in 2 Cor. 12.

First, Corinthian archaeology and history:

Anne Pippin Burnett has a piece in GRBS 51 (2011) on Pindar and prostitution at Corinth: “Servants of Peitho: Pindar fr.122 S”

Mosaics from Kenchreai are featured in the new book, Ship Iconography in Mosaics: An aid to understanding ancient ships and their construction (2011).

Local presentations by Corinthian archaeologists include Jayni Reinhard, who lectured last week at Arizona State University on “Benefactions, Baths, and Boys: The Roman Bath at Isthmia,”  and Joseph Rife, who will be speaking soon at Purdue on his recent work at Roman Kenchreai

This is old news but I noted in the 2010 report of the Chicago Excavations at Isthmia that the volume on the isthmus conference held at the American School at Athens in 2007 was submitted last summer to the American School of Classical Studies at Athens for review.  Description of the volume from the Chicago website:

“A volume of seventeen essays entitled “’The Bridge of the untiring sea’: The Isthmus of Corinth from the Bronze Age to Late Antiquity” edited by E. R. Gebhard and T. E. Gregory has been submitted to the American School of Classical Studies in Athens for publication as a volume in theIsthmia series or as a Hesperia supplement. Included in the collection is the editio princeps of an Isthmian victor list found in Corinth and the publication of five marble statues from the Roman shrine of Palaimon. While addressing a variety of topics, all papers explore the links between the city of Corinth, the Sanctuary of Isthmian Poseidon, and the area of the Isthmus.”

The Chicago Excavations site also notes on the same page that the conference on the archaeology of the Corinthia held two years ago in Loutraki is being published by the German Archaeological Institute in Athens. I heard in the fall this was on its way, but I don’t see news of it on the website of the DAI.  Anyone know?

New Testament studies for the month include:

• M. David Litwa’s “Paul’s Mosaic Ascent: An Interpretation of 2 Corinthians 12.7-9,” in Journal of New Testament Studies 57.2 (2011).  Abstract: “This essay offers a reading of 2 Cor 12.7–9 in light of a rabbinic story of Moses’ ascent to heaven (b. Šabb. 88b-89a). After an exploration of Moses in 2 Corinthians the author argues that vv. 7–9, like vv. 2–4, constitute an ascent report (vv. 2–4). This ascent report, it is maintained, is structurally parallel to Moses’ heavenly ascent in b. Šabb. 88b-89a. Early traditions of Moses’ ascent to heaven and dominance over angels suggest that Paul knew a form of the Mosaic ascent, and parodied it to highlight his weakness and paradoxical authority in vv. 7–9.”
• Dustin Ellington, “Imitating Paul’s Relationship to the Gospel: 1 Corinthians 8.1-11.1,” in Journal for the Study of the New Testament 33.3 (2011).  Abstract: “To overcome past shortcomings in the interpretation of Paul’s exhortation ‘Imitate me, as I imitate Christ’ (1 Cor. 11.1), we must study the roles of Paul’s ‘I’ and Christ in the context of 1 Cor. 8.1—11.1. Christ died for the weak (8.11), and Paul’s renunciation of his apostolic rights follows this pattern. Paul’s self-portrayal reaches its climax when he says that he does all things for the sake of the gospel, in order to be συγκòıνωνòςς αυτòυ (9.23). This article proposes that the expression συγκòıνωνòςς αυτòυ contains more shades of meaning than scholars have previously allowed. It summarizes Paul’s aim to be the gospel’s partner in the salvation of others and to participate in the gospel’s pattern and power. Paul’s call to imitation exhorts the Corinthian believers to share in his relationship to the gospel, working with it for the salvation of others and allowing its pattern and power to shape their life together.”
• Wayne Coppins, “To Eat or not to Eat Meat?  Conversion, Bodily Practice, and the Relationship between Formal Worship and Everyday Life in the Anthropology of Religion in 1 Corinthians 8:7,” in Biblical Theology Bulletin 41.2 (2011).  Abstract: “This article aims to contribute to the topic of conversion in the New Testament by drawing upon insights from the anthropology of religion. Taking up Rebecca Sachs Norris’s focus on embodied culture, and Simon Coleman’s and Peter Collins’s extension of Bourdieu’s concept of habitus, I attempt to bring Paul’s argument in 1 Corinthians 8:7 into sharper focus by reflecting theoretically on the ingrained associations of bodily practice, and the relationship between ritual worship and everyday life. In doing so, I also aim to add complexity to our overall picture of “the Pauline model of conversion.”
• Corinth gets extensive treatment in Callewaert The World of Saint Paul (Ignatius: 2011) and Stephen Westerholm (ed.), The Blackwell Companion to Paul (Wiley-Blackwell: 2011)