Moore Perspective: Paul’s Trek from Athens to Corinth

Modern roads and motorized vehicles make it possible to travel from the Greek city of Athens to the ruins of ancient Corinth in about an hour. But in Paul’s day it was not as convenient. Back then there were two options. One could walk about 12 kilometers (7.4 miles) from Athens to the seaport of Piraeus, board a ship and sail 70 nautical kilometers (38 nautical miles) westward across the Saronic Gulf to Corinth’s southeast seaport of Cenchrea, then walk about 9 kilometers (6.5 miles) to the city. It would have taken about half a day of traveling, not counting the additional time constraints involved in the process.¹ The other option was to journey across the narrow isthmus of land, a distance of approximately 83 kilometers (52 miles) that would have taken about two and a half days by foot.

The biblical record simply reports that Paul left Athens and “came to Corinth” (Acts 18:1). No specifics are given about the route he took or his mode of transport. While he did eventually leave by sea (Acts 18:18), nothing definitive can be concluded about the circumstances of his arrival.

The Likelihood of Land Travel

Luke tends to be explicit whenever Paul journeyed by sea;² otherwise land travel is assumed. In fact, it seems that when Paul was afforded the opportunity, he preferred land travel over sea travel (Acts 20:13-14).

It is sometimes argued that the sea route from Athens to Corinth would have been more likely for Paul, since the land route was rather dangerous, particularly the mountainous region of the Sceironian Rocks near Megara. This area was named after Sceiron, the mythological bandit who robbed and killed travelers before he himself was killed by king Theseus. Apparently this section of road was notorious for outlaw activity (cf. Alciphron, Letter 3.34).³

The road conditions were also somewhat precarious. Strabo reports:

After Crommyon, and situated above Attica, are the Sceironian Rocks. They leave no room for a road along the sea, but the road from the Isthmus to Megara and Attica passes above them. However, the road approaches so close to the rocks that in many places it passes along the edge of precipices, because the mountain situated above them is both lofty and impracticable for roads. (Geography 9.3.1)⁴

Paul later informs the brethren at Corinth of the many challenges he faced in his missionary work, including near-death experiences, “dangers of robbers,” “dangers in the wilderness,” “sleeplessness … hunger and thirst … cold …” (2 Cor. 11:23, 26, 27).⁵ His trek from Athens to Corinth in (late) autumn of the year 50 was one of the rare trips Paul made alone, and these descriptions would certainly fit the land route.

Arrival in Corinth

It appears that Paul arrived in Corinth with depleted funds, indicated by the fact he immediately started making tents with Aquila and Priscilla for his livelihood (Acts 18:2-3). This enabled him to preach to the Corinthians “free of charge” until financial support from Macedonian churches arrived with Silas and Timothy (Acts 18:5; 2 Cor. 11:7-9). Had Paul spent all his money on sea fare? Had he been robbed along the way? Or would the lack of funds have required him to make the journey to Corinth on foot?

If Paul had traveled by land, he would have entered the city from the north along the Lechaeum road that leads to the city-center’s agora or forum. This would have been most conducive to promptly encountering fellow-tentmakers Aquila and Priscilla, locating the Jewish synagogue, and identifying a location for baptizing initial converts (Acts 18:1-8; 1 Cor. 1:14-16).⁶

Conclusion

Knowing exactly how Paul ended up in Corinth is not a matter of eternal consequence, and no biblical doctrine is affected either way. But for Pauline studies and Bible history, geography, and chronology geeks like me, it is a matter of keen interest. Although short of provable, it seems that a stronger case can be made for the land route taken by Paul from Athens to Corinth as he continued his second major missionary campaign.

--Kevin L. Moore

Endnotes:

¹ “There were no passenger vessels sailing regular schedules in Paul’s day. Cargo ships took passengers on a space available basis. The procedure is described by Philostratus in his Life of Apollonius of Tyana …. This vignette omits the haggling over the fare with a hard-eyed owner or his representative who was determined to get the maximum the market would bear. Presumably, maximum utilization of equipment was as much a concern then as it is today, but the ship’s departure had to await the coincidence of a favorable wind with favorable omens. Passengers, too, had to wait; they could not afford to go too far away because the vessel might sail at any moment” (Jerome Murphy-O’Connor, “On the Road and on the Sea with St. Paul: Traveling conditions in the first century,” Bible Review 1.2 [Summer 1985]: 38-47).

² Acts 13:4, 13; 14:26; 16:11; 17:14-15; 18:18-22; 20:3-6, 13-17, 38; 21:1-3, 6-8; 27:1–28:14. Possible exceptions are Acts 9:30 and 21:8.

³ Alciphron was a Greek sophist who composed a three-volume collection of fictional letters descriptive of various classes of people. His historical period is debated, with proposed dates ranging from the 5th century BC to the 4th century AD, though many believe he was a contemporary of the 2nd-century AD novelist Lucian. In a letter from Limustes to Thrasocydoemus he writes: “Hard pressed for the bare necessaries of life, I joined a band of Megarian brigands, who lie in wait for travelers near the Sceironian rocks; and since then I have gained a dishonest livelihood without working.”

⁴ Today tunnels have been carved through this mountain pass for safer travel.

⁵ Paul also mentions the “three times” he was shipwrecked and the night and day he spent in the deep (2 Cor. 11:25). While it is possible one of these shipwrecks occurred between Athens and Corinth, there is no explicit record of this alleged voyage, whereas at the time 2 Corinthians was written Luke reports no less than nine sea voyages Paul had taken. As far as sea travel is concerned, of the many trips Paul made, a prospective brief passage across the Saronic Gulf would have been one of the safer ones.

⁶A stone lintel, inscribed “synagogue of the Hebrews,” was discovered along the Lechaeum road. On the road’s east side before entering the agora are the remains of the ancient Fountain of Peirene, which in Paul’s day had plenty of water for public use.