Because Paul spent more than one and one half years at Corinth during his Second Mission Journey, the city remains important to students of the Book of Acts. This city was constructed in antiquity on a narrow isthmus, a cosmopolitan city that connected the Peloponnese and the Balkan Peninsula. Corinth had deep-water harbors on each side, with Cenchrea on the east end, and Lechaeum on the west. Thus the city's natural location made it a very wealthy commercial and shipping center.
The city also enjoyed a long and important history among Greek city-states
from the Neolithic through Archaic Periods. Scholars agree that a Neolithic
settlement was located near the Peirene Spring from about 4,000 BCE. That
settlement eventually disappeared, but eight distinct settlements are
known from the plain near Corinth by 2,000 BCE. By 1800 BCE, influence
and invasion affected the development. Following the Dark Age of Greece
(1100-800 BCE) with its characteristic invasion waves, the expansion of
the Dorian people group was illustrated by their colonization of Syracuse
and Corcyra from areas like Corinth. Some scholars claim the archaic foundations
of the organized city appear to date to the 8th century BCE. In the two
centuries that followed, before the Classical Period, the city appropriated
a number of myths that actually originated elsewhere. It adopted the Pegasus
(winged horse) and the mythology of its capture by Bellerophon, a story
that belonged originally to Asia Minor, and made it the symbol of Corinth.
By the Classical Period, Corinth was one of the powerhouse city-states, ranking with Sparta and Athens in value, though not as militarily strong. Corinth was essential to the routing of the Persians during the period, and played special roles in a number of campaigns. During the Peloponnesian Wars (the period of tensions between Athens and Sparta, 431-404 BCE), Corinth often found itself in a difficult position between the two cities. In general, the strategic position and economy aided the city in becoming a key player in many alliances. It was important to Philip II (who garrisoned the mount of Acrocorinth) and later even became the capital of the Aechean League for a short time before it aligned against the rising Roman power.
Because of its stance against the expansion of Roman power, the Roman
General Mummius laid the city waste in 146 BCE. By 46 BCE, Julius Caesar
re-colonized the area and gave it the status of Roman capital of Achaia.
From that time Corinth enjoyed much freedom as an independent city.
