Paul’s “Abrupt” Departure from Athens

Introduction

Even though Paul’s preaching on Mars Hill in Acts 17 yielded new converts, Acts 18:1 seems to indicate Paul departed Athens rather abruptly. Did he feel he failed in his ministry in Athens? Was he forced out of town?

Paul Leaves Athens for Corinth

At the end of Acts 17, following his speech / sermon at Mars Hill, a number of men and women believed and joined themselves to Paul, including Dionysus the Areopagite (a member of the Supreme Council) and a woman by the name of Damaris. Then, rather abruptly, Paul left Athens and went to Corinth. Though his preaching had been successful, and though Athens was one of the few places in Greece where he was not persecuted, Paul seems to have left the city in a quite a hurry (Acts 18:1).

Why was he so eager to get to Corinth, a city known for its immoral conduct (1 Corinthians 5:1-6:20), the place where he would soon experience fear (1 Corinthians 2:3)? The answer is that he wanted to arrive in time for the Isthmian Games, the inter-Greek athletic events that were being held in Corinth that year. These games brought Greeks from across the Mediterranean world to Corinth. Only the Olympic games were more important.

We know that Paul left Athens because of the Isthmian Games for at least two reasons. The first reason is related to Paul’s trade. All Jewish teachers of the Law (Torah) in the 1st century had a trade, and Paul was no exception (rabbis as such seem to have developed first in the late 1st or early 2nd century). He supported himself by the leatherworker’s trade (1 Corinthians 4:12). Tents were made of leather, and even in the urban center of Corinth tents were in demand. Sailors in port frequently camped in tents rather than paying for accommodations on shore. Furthermore, the athletic venues were located about three miles Corinth and history tells us that during the games, most competitors and spectators preferred to stay in tents close to the athletic venues[1] rather than the limited and sometimes dubious inns of the day.

The book of Acts tells us the first thing Paul did when he got to Corinth was to join two tent makers, Aquila and Priscilla, and start making tents (Acts 18:2-3). This means Paul hurried to Corinth to make tents for these visitors and take advantage of another evangelistic opportunity.

Second, the Gallio inscription in Delphi confirms that Gallio was in Corinth in the Spring of AD 51, and we know from the Bible that Paul arrived in Corinth shortly before Gallio was named proconsul.[2] History also confirms that the Isthmian Games were held during the summer of that same year.

A critic might contend that “a devout Jew like” Paul would never attend the pagan Isthmian Games, but it was in his writings to the Corinthians that Paul first used athletic metaphors. Jews in Palestine generally avoided such pagan events, but in Asia Minor that does not seem to have been the case. At Miletus, for example, Jews had their own reserved seats in the theater. In Corinth, certainly Paul was in a sports-mad environment. In 1 Corinthians he uses metaphors from boxing, wrestling, and running (1 Corinthians 9:24– 28), and he refers to the “perishable crown” awarded to the winning athletes. At various times in the Isthmian Games the victor’s wreaths were made of pine or wilted celery (certainly a “perishable” crown), in contrast to the fresh celery used at the Nemean Games.

Conclusion

So, we can conclude that Paul hurried out of Athens, not because he was kicked out of the city, nor because he had failed. Paul went to Corinth to share the gospel with the thousands of people coming into the city from all over the world, from places Paul might never visit. Christians today should have that same zeal to evangelize in obedience to Christ’s command to “go and make disciples of all nations” (Matthew 28:19-20).

Endnotes

[1] The Isthmian Games were held at the sanctuary of Poseidon on the isthmus of Corinth (from which they received their name). This site was some five kilometers from the city.

[2] “So (Paul) stayed (in Corinth) a year and six months, teaching among them the word of God. But when Gallio was proconsul of Achaia, the Jews rose up ...” Acts 18:11-12.