Ancient Corinth Walking Tour: Archaeology and the New Testament

(7 reviews)

Corinth audio tour: Ancient Corinth Walking Tour: Archaeology and the New Testament

This is a 1.1mi walking tour.

It takes an average of 90 mins to complete.

Corinth

Greece

$9.99

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About the Tour

Ancient Corinth was one of the most powerful and cosmopolitan cities in the Roman world – and one of the most morally complex. On this walking tour, you'll follow the Apostle Paul through the ruins where he spent 18 months establishing one of early Christianity's most troubled and fascinating churches. You'll also hear how the city's temples, fountains, markets, and public monuments illuminate the letters he wrote to its congregation.

The tour starts at the Archaeological Site of Ancient Corinth's parking area. You'll walk past the towering columns of the Archaic Temple of Apollo, where ecstatic worship practices gave Paul reason to address spiritual gifts in 1 Corinthians. From there, you'll explore the Roman Forum – the commercial and civic heart of the city – before reaching the Bema, the raised judgment platform where Paul stood before the Roman proconsul Gallio. That encounter gave the early church legal breathing room to grow across the empire.

You'll continue down the Lechaion Road, where a steady flow of merchants, sailors, and pilgrims made Corinth a natural hub for spreading the gospel. Along the way, you'll visit the Peirene Fountain, the Baths of Eurykles, and a meat market that helps explain one of Paul's most practical pastoral dilemmas. The tour ends at the Erastus Inscription, a paved street outside the Corinthian Theater bearing the name of a man mentioned three times in the New Testament – one of archaeology's most striking connections to a biblical figure.

On this 90-minute tour, you'll have a chance to:

Hear how the myth of Sisyphus and the Acrocorinth gave Paul's words about death and resurrection greater impact
Learn how the Glauke Fountain's legend illuminates Paul's teaching on baptism and cleansing
Walk the road where Phoebe began her journey carrying the Letter to the Roman in hand
Discover why Corinth's meat markets created genuine ethical dilemmas for new believers leaving paganism behind
Stand in the very places where the Bible records Paul as standing

Bring your Bible, take your time, and prepare to read Paul's letters in an entirely new light.

Tour Producer

David Bosworth

3 tours

Dr. David E. Bosworth is an Educational Travel Specialist with Greek Bible Tours and lives in Denver, Colorado. He also serves as Professor of New Testament Studies and Mission at Colorado Christian University and U.S. Director at the Zodhiates International New Testament Study Center. He is the author of Urgency and Severity: Pauline Rationale for Expulsion in 1 Corinthians 5:1-13 (Brill, 2024).

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Preview Location

Location 4

Archaic Temple 2

The temple was originally built in the seventh century BC. At first, it was constructed with stone and brick resting on wooden beams and covered by a terracotta roof. About a century later, many of those more fragile materials were replaced with limestone, including the massiv... The temple was originally built in the seventh century BC. At first, it was constructed with stone and brick resting on wooden beams and covered by a terracotta roof. About a century later, many of those more fragile materials were replaced with limestone, including the massive Doric columns you see today. The temple measured roughly 175 feet long and 69 feet wide, an extraordinary achievement for its time and one of the earliest examples of monumental stone architecture on the Greek mainland.

Ancient writers tell us this was a temple dedicated to Apollo. If you look back toward the parking lot and across the Gulf of Corinth, you'll see a mountain rising in the distance. That's Mount Parnassos, home to the famous sanctuary of Delphi.

Delphi was the most important oracle in the Greek world. There, the high priestess of Apollo would enter the temple and inhale vapors rising through a crack in the rock beneath the floor. The ancients believed these were the very breath of Apollo. As the priestess entered a trance-like state, she would deliver messages believed to come from the god himself. Her ecstatic utterances were then interpreted by male priests, written down, and consulted by everyone from ordinary citizens to kings.

That background helps us understand one of Paul's concerns in 1 Corinthians. Apollo worship was well known throughout this region, and ecstatic speech was one of its recognizable features. Paul wanted Christian worship to be clearly distinguished from the pagan practices his neighbors already knew.

That's why he writes in 1 Corinthians 14:23. "If the whole church comes together and everyone speaks in tongues, and inquirers or unbelievers come in, will they not say that you are out of your mind?" Paul wasn't discouraging spiritual gifts. Rather, he wanted Christian worship to communicate the gospel clearly to outsiders. If visitors couldn't tell the difference between a gathering of believers and the ecstatic rituals associated with Apollo, the church's witness would suffer. His instructions about tongues and prophecy were meant to ensure that worship pointed people to Christ rather than creating confusion.

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Major Landmarks

Ancient Corinth
Archaeological Museum of Ancient Corinth
Temple of Apollo

Getting There

Route Overview

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Start location
Argous 105, Archea Korinthos 200 07, Greece
Total distance

2km
Final location
Archeological Park, Archea Korinthos 200 07, Greece
Distance back to start location

152.66m

Directions to Starting Point

The tour being in the parking lot of the Archaeological Site of Ancient Corinth. Be sure that you have navigated to Ancient Corinth, as the modern city of Korinthos is nearby.

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Tips

Places to stop along the way

Turn right from the exit from the archaeological site where you will find a selection of several restaurants about a block away.

Best time of day

Check the museum website for hours, which can vary seasonally. Note that the area can be very warm in the summer months, so visiting earlier in the day may be more pleasant.

Precautions

If it's hot, make sure to take a hat, sunscreen and a bottle of water.

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App Store Review

“Great app. walk around at your own pace, stop where you want, move on or speed up when you want. Read the script before you go or during the commentary, speed it up or replay it. Repeat the tour whenever you like.”