Bema & Acrocorinth

View from the forum looking southwest. In the left foreground is the Bema (or Rostrum) and in the upper right portion of the image is the Acrocorinth.

According to Acts 18:12–17 Paul (summer of A.D. 51?) was brought before the proconsul of Achaia, Gallio, and accused by the Jews of inciting others to "worship God contrary to the law." It is very possible that Gallio judged the case from a position on this "bema." When Gallio dismissed the case, the Jews took the leader of the synagogue, Sosthenes, and beat him in front of the "judgment seat."

In the upper right, the Acrocorinth rises to an elevation of 1886 feet [575 m]. Strabo writes that at one time there were 1,000 cult prostitutes who served the temple of Aphrodite on the Acrocorinth. In Paul's day, such activities probably took place in the lower town of Corinth, rather than on the heights of the Acrocorinth.

For brief descriptive comments on the Biblical and historical significance of Corinth, and a Map, Click Here.