Forum or Marketplace
This photograph shows ruins of the north-west shops of Corinth's agora (forum, marketplace). In the distance are the remains of the Temple of Apollo (Archaic Temple).
The Roman colonists chose this area south of the Archaic Temple to be the location of the Corinth's marketplace. In the middle of the agora of Corinth was a platform (bema) for public addresses. A large statue of Athena also stood there.
The Romans built two identical basilicas, one behind the South Stoa, and one at the east end of the forum. "Stoa" in Greek meant "porch." Stoas were covered colonnaded buildings used as places for council meetings, law courts, offices, shops, storerooms, or informal meetings.
The South Stoa was a huge building, originally built in the fourth century B.C.E. The Roman colonists extensively remodelled it and apparently used it for shops and a kind of hotel.
This photograph of the agora looks toward the south. Some of the Acrocorinth is visible in the background.
Notes and Credits
The photograph(s) by Allan R. Brockway are used with his permission. Please credit him and the web page on Corinth, which Thomas Price has written. For many years, Allan Brockway was "specialist" in Jewish Christian Relations with the World Council of Churches in Geneva and an educator in Judaism and Christianity at the Selly Oak Colleges and the University of Birmingham (England). Thomas Price earned his Ph.D. in theology from Boston University and worked for the General Board of Church and Society for 10 years. He works for the Social Security Administration and teaches adult Bible classes in Paul and the historical Jesus at St. Matthew's UMC, Bowie, Maryland. The web site grew out of his research on Paul before and after a tour of Greece and Turkey in the "footsteps of Paul."
Disclaimer: Some links jump to outside sites for further information on Corinthians, the Bible, Paul, and other resources. Links do not constitute an endorsement by the Women's Division of the information on other web sites. External web sites offer us diverse perspectives; afford us an opportunity to compare them to United Methodist positions; and, encourage us to critically analyze the issues raised by the Corinthians web pages.
