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Ancient Temple

Temple of Apollo, Corinth

TEM-pul of uh-POL-oh · Modern Ancient Corinth, Corinthia, Greece · 37.9061° N, 22.8794° E

The best-preserved Archaic temple at Corinth, built around 560 BCE of local limestone atop a hill overlooking the forum, with seven of its original monolithic Doric columns still standing. As the most visually dominant pagan shrine in the city Paul knew, it exemplifies the temple culture and meat-market economy tied to idol worship that Paul addresses directly in 1 Corinthians 8 and 10, where he counsels believers on eating food previously sacrificed to such gods.

Archaeology

Excavated by the American School of Classical Studies at Athens, whose work at Corinth began in 1896. The temple's date is fixed by its architecture — its unusually long, narrow plan, oversized monolithic column shafts, and squat, flaring Doric capitals, all hallmarks of Archaic construction. Scholars debate whether the temple was dedicated to Apollo at all in its original phase, since the identification rests on later literary testimony (Pausanias) rather than an inscription found on-site.