Corinthian Matters

Category: Periods, Roman

  • The Debate on Erastus Continues

    In August, I covered the recent debate among New Testament scholars over the status and rank of an individual (or individuals) by the name of Erastus.  The post, called “The Search for the Historical Erastus,” summarized the work of three articles by different scholars that appeared in 2010: John Goodrich (NTS), Steve Friesen (Corinth in…

  • Corinthian Scholarship (September)

    Archaic-Hellenistic Corinthiaka in discussions of Pindar: L. Athanassaki and E. Bowie (eds.), Archaic and Classical Choral Song: Performance, Politics and Dissemination (de Gruyter 2011) More Corinthiaka in E. Carney and D. Ogden, Philip II and Alexander the Great: Father and Son, Lives and Afterlives (Oxford 2010) Byzantine Chryssi Bourbou, Benjamin T. Fuller Sandra J. Garvie-Lok, Michael…

  • Histories of Peirene

    There are no monuments of ancient Corinth more famous and iconic than the Fountain of Peirene.  Any modern visitor who has wandered among the ruins will likely have shot a photo like the one below of the Roman spring facade and court.  And anyone who walks into a tourist shop will have seen plenty of…

  • Preaching Corinthians from Historical and Archaeological Background: Some Resources

    How important is understanding cultural and social background for preaching and teaching on 1 and 2 Corinthians?  In late July, I stumbled upon Michael Bird’s post at Evangelion on the importance of understanding background for effective preaching.  He comments on video discussion (reposted below) between D.A. Carson and John Piper about whether a pastor whose…

  • Historical Fictions

    Since antiquity, the Corinthia has formed a rather fitting stage for imaginative narratives and outright fictions.  In the long Roman era, we have frequent examples of writers (e.g., Apuleius, Lucian, Libanius, and Themistius) placing their fictional characters and events in Corinth and the Isthmus. And in the modern era, scholars have often turned to the…

  • The Diolkos – Two New Articles

    When I was a PhD student at OSU, there was a common joke among the grad students that if you had arrived somehow at a good dissertation topic, writer beware: the study had probably already been written in German.  And so, when I was wrapping up the revisions of a forthcoming article called simply “The…

  • A Roman Road in the Panayia Field

    For most people who visit the site of Ancient Corinth, the Roman forum is the principal (if not only) destination.  Many visitors are unaware of the ancient buildings and ancient spaces scattered about the modern village and enclosed in chain-linked fences.  Temples, tombs, villas, walls, churches, amphitheater all highlight the urban world buried beneath the…

  • Corinthian Scholarship (July 2011)

    Archaic-Hellenistic Corinth D. Obbink and R. Rutherford (eds.), Culture in Pieces: Essays on Ancient Texts in Honour of Peter Parsons, Oxford 2011: Oxford University Press, has several Corinthiaka: a fragment of the archaic poet Eumelus of Corinth, discussions of Pindar’s Thirteenth Olympian and Posidonius of Corinth, a chapter on the Argo adventure J.A. Agnew, J.S.…

  • Corinth in Context at Society of Biblical Literature, London 2011

    Last week I spent conferencing in London at the international meeting of the Society of Biblical Literature.  With the exception of one rainy day, the weather was cool and beautiful.  My own visit was improved by the presence of my wife, Kate, and toddler son James, who ensured that I spent more time at London’s…

  • SBL – Day 3-4

    More good 1 and 2 corinthians papers today at the SBL International: Kar-Yong Lim, Seminari Theoloji Malaysia, “Paul’s Use of Temple Imagery in the Corinthian Correspondence and the Formation of Christian Identity: A Contextual Reading from the Perspectives of A Chinese Malaysian” Jeremy Punt, Universiteit van Stellenbosch – University of Stellenbosch, “Foolish Rhetoric in 1…