Day 13--From Athens to Corinth and back

Today we went to Corinth, but we drove along a wonderful new four-lane highway in a brand new bus…so our trip was not at all like the apostle Paul made! Our bus zipped past a view of the island of Salimas on the way, and there were other stops on our route before we arrived at Corinth.



The first stop was at the Corinth Canal. The Corinth Canal separates the small strip of land that divides the Aegean Sea from the Ionian Sea. During the time of Paul the Corinth Canal did not exist. In Paul’s time boats had to go all the way around, or be dragged overland! Now, since the four-mile wide canal has been completed across the isthmus, ships travel back and forth through the canal and cars drive over the highway that crosses it.



We made a brief stop at Cenchrea, which was the home of Phoebe, and also the port used by Paul in Acts 18. Cenchrea is about eight miles from Corinth.

At Cenchrea everyone listened carefully (?) to what Ferrell is saying!

We also stopped at the site of the ancient Istmian Games, second in importance to the Olympic Games, which also originated in Greece. (You might want to "google" Istmian Games…I was not familiar with them, myself.)

Our major stop of the day was in Corinth. Paul stayed quite a while in Corinth, and did much of his writing while there. At Corinth we saw the agora, the Temple of Apollo and the Bema, among other things. The agora was the marketplace, and ruins could be seen on either side of the ancient street. The Temple of Apollo has seven of its original 38 columns still standing, and is, of course, dedicated to the god Apollo. Each of the columns is about twenty-four feet tall and six feet in diameter, so we did not have to gather ladies to measure these! The Bema was the judgment place of the city, and was located in the center of the agora. It is likely that Paul stood before Galleo at this place. (Check out Acts 18:1-7 and several places in the Corinthian epistles.)

Temple of Apollo in Corinth

We made a stop at another pottery shop where they make museum-quality reproductions of the Corinthian-style pottery. Then one more stop…for ice cream, of course…before returning to our hotel in Athens. We had a couple of hours to spare, so Olen and I went to see Hadrian’s Gate and the ruins of the temple of Zeus.

There is always some tourist blocking your photo...expecially at the temple of Zeus in Athens.

We made the walk back to the hotel a little more interesting by walking through the Plaka area, a pedestrian shopping area with small, intimate cafes lining the street and up the hillsides.


Tonight most of our group plans to go to the rooftop area of the hotel to sip a Coke and watch the lights on the Acropolis area and the Parthenon before going to bed. How special! Every day is special…particularly the last thirteen days! What a wonderful trip!


I hope you are having a special day.