CRITICAL NOTES

437

THE TEMPLE OF ASCLEPIUS: AN ALTERNATIVE

SOURCE FOR PAUL'S BODY THEOLOGY?
The source behind Paul's body illustration in 1 Corinthians 12:12-26 has long been
the subject of discussion among biblical scholars.1 Three major views have emerged in
explanation of the origin of Paul's analogy. The first, and most prominent, traces the
analogy to Greek philosophical writings;2 the second finds Paul's illustration rooted in the
OT idea of "corporate solidarity";3 the last, and most recent of the three views contends
Paul's analogy stems from the Gnostic concept of "primal" or "pre-contaminated" man.4
The purpose here is not to disclaim previous explanations regarding the origin, or
supposed origin, of Paul's body analogy in 1 Cor 12:12-26even if that were possible.
Rather, this brief note suggests that there may be a fourth viable alternative as a possible
source. This alternative source is the Asclepian Temple of the city of Corinth.
According to Acts 18:11, Paul lived, worked and ministered in Corinth for eighteen
months. Furthermore, it is a well established datum that Paul extracts other examples,
points of reference, and moreover, illustrations directly from everyday life in the city of
Corinth. A sampling of these examples include: the image of the builder in chaper three,
prostitution and slavery in chapter six, food from the agora and temple worship in chapter
eight and the illustration of the runner, the boxer and the winner's wreath from the
Corinthian Isthmian Games in chapter nine. Therefore, it seems quite reasonable to
conjecture that Paul's inspiration for this body illustration may also stem from a source
directly within the city of Corinth itself.
This Corinthian source may well be the Temple of Asclepius dedicated to the son of
Apollo and the Greek god of healing. The Asclepian healing cult was widespread in the
ancient Mediterranean world and was extremely popular in the city of Corinth. The
historical and archaeological evidence indicates the Asclepian cult in Corinth began

Some of the early works on the NT concept of soma include: T. Schmid, Der Leib
Christi (Leipzig: Deichert, 1919); E. Dhorme, L'emploi mtaphorique des noms de parties
due corps en hbreu et en akkadian (Paris: Gabalda, 1923); E. Ksemann, Leib und Leib
Christi (Tbingen: Mohr, 1933); and W.L. Knox, "Parallels to the N.T. Use of Soma"
JTS 39 (1938) 243-46. The importance of soma in NT theology is evidenced by the
extensive treatment of the term in general in works on NT Theology and in particular in
works on Pauline Theology (e.g., R. Bultmann, Theology of the New Testament (New
York: Scribner's, 1952)1. 192-203; and H. Ridderbos, Paul: An Outline of His Theology
(Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1975) 362-95.
2
The fable of Menenius Agrippa in Titus Livius, Ab urbe condita (2.32); the political
analogy of Cicero in De Officiis (3.5.22); and the philosophical analogy of the unity of
gods and men of Epictetus in Dissertationes (2.5.24-25; 2.10.3-4) are some of the Greek
writings cited as possible sources for Paul's body analogy.
3
E. Best, One Body in Christ: A Study in the Relationship of the Church to Christ in the
Epistles of the Apostle Paul (London: SPCK, 1955) 203-7. Cf. W. Eichrodt, Theology of the
Old Testament (Philadelphia: Westminister, 1967) 2. 231-67; and H. W. Wolff, Anthropology of the Old Testament (Philadelphia: Fortress, 1974) 214-22.
4
For example, W. Schmithals in Die Gnosis in Korinth: eine Untersuchung zu den
Korintherbriefen (Gttingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, 1956) 70-182 (esp. 70-82,
134-44 and 174-82); and The Office of the Apostle in the Early Church (Nashville:
Abingdon, 1969) 198-230 (esp. 198-99). Cf. E. Yamauchi, Pre-Christian Gnosticism
(London: Tyndale, 1973) who concludes that Christianity did not borrow Gnostic
features, rather many Gnostic tenets were derived from Christianity.

438

JOURNAL OF BIBLICAL LITERATURE

sometime in the fifth century B.C. and continued into the fourth century A.D. This temple
was adjacent to the northern wall of the city and beside the Spring Lerna, about 450
meters north of the central city. The temple lay only 140 meters west of the Lechaeum
Road, the major land route from Corinth to the northern parts of Greece.5
The excavations conducted at this temple site reveal that patients who came to the
Asclepium for treatment often left votive offerings to the god as an expression of their
gratitude for healing. The form of these votive offerings may be relevant to Pauline
imagery since the offerings were terra-cotta representations of individual body parts.
Large numbers of clay replicas of hands and feet, arms and legs, breasts and genitals,
eyes and ears, and heads were found in the ruins of the temple. It is clear that these
images were intended to be representations of the afflicted members of the bodies of
those who came to the Asclepium for healing; however, the emphasis is on the individual
dismembered parts of the body, rather than on the whole, newly healed person.
Paul, no doubt, was familiar with the practices of the Asclepium (since it was
apparently Paul's custom to visit the temples of the cities he ministered in if we can trust
Acts 17:22-23); and this emphasis on the individual dismembered body parts, in contrast
to the whole person, is probably at least a contributory influence on the thought and
language of Paul who refers to such dismembered parts in 1 Cor 12:14-25.
Lexical evidence also seems to support the idea that Paul takes his idea for the body
illustration directly from a source within Corinth. 1 Corinthians is probably the initial
occurrence of Paul's use of the phrase the body of Christ.7 Not until Paul writes to a
group of struggling Gentile Christians in a cosmopolitan city^oes he use this illustration
of the human body being analogous to the church as the body of Christ. In fact, as one
traces the use of soma in 1 Corinthians it almost seems that as Paul reflected upon his
sojourn in Corinth the body illustration and the body of Christ concept fomented within
his own genius as the most effective way to grapple with the issues undermining real
growth in the church at Corinth. Although the phrase the body of Christ occurs
occasionally in Paul's later writings, the specific body illustration is restricted to the
Corinthian audienceapparently because the illustration held a special significance for the
Corinthian church.8
Although it can never be positively ascertained exactly where Paul's idea for the
body of Christ concept had its origin, it seems far more feasible to look for the source as
stemming directly from circumstances, events and institutions in Corinth, like the other
illustrations Paul uses in 1 Corinthians, rather than other unrelated or external sources.
The illustration thus conveys a more specialized meaning to Paul's audience, and this
also explains why Paul uses only the body of Christ concept and not the body illustration

5
See Carl Roebuck, Corinth: Results of Excavations, The Asklepieion and Lerna (Princeton: American School of Classical Studies at Athens, 1951).
6
See, Corinth, Results of Excavations, especially plates 29-59.
7
Assuming that 1 Corinthians is one of Paul's earlier epistles (possibly the second,
third or even fourth, depending upon the date one assigns to 1 and 2 Thessalonians and
Galatians) although excessive emphasis should not be placed upon this argument since it
is an argument from silencealthough it deserves mention since it is certainly more than
"coincidental".
8
Paul uses the body of Christ concept elsewhere only in Rom 7:4 and 12:4-5; Eph
1:22-23; 4:12, 16 and 5:23; and Col 1:18,24 and 2:17, 19. The specific illustration of
bodily members (hands, feet, etc.) being analogous to the composition of Christ's body
as the church is limited to the 1 Corinthians 12 passage. In connection with the body
analogy, Paul's use of the verb pasch in 1 Cor 12:26 may also be instructive. The word
is used in classical and koine sources to signify any kind of physical distress, whether an
illness or "an injury inflicted by violence. The use of the term may be a further reflection
of the influence of the Asclepium on Paul's thought and language.

CRITICAL NOTES

439

in his later writings. It is a "local" illustration particularly significant for the church of
God at Corinth because of their familiarity with the Asclepium.
Perhaps, this is a both. . .and, not an either. . .or proposition. It may be the particular
institution of the Asclepium provided the catalyst reponsible for the formulation of this
specific body illustration from knowledge already possessed by Paul regarding the use of
the human body as an illustration in Greek philosophical writings and the idea of
"corporate solidarity" in the OT. Regardless, Paul could have deliberately chosen this
body illustration to communicate important theological principles to the Corinthian
church because he deemed it the most effective way to illustrate the relationship of
Christians to each other and to Christ.
Andrew E. Hill
University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109

^ s
Copyright and Use:
As an ATLAS user, you may print, download, or send articles for individual use
according to fair use as defined by U.S. and international copyright law and as
otherwise authorized under your respective ATLAS subscriber agreement.
No content may be copied or emailed to multiple sites or publicly posted without the
copyright holder(s)' express written permission. Any use, decompiling,
reproduction, or distribution of this journal in excess of fair use provisions may be a
violation of copyright law.
This journal is made available to you through the ATLAS collection with permission
from the copyright holder(s). The copyright holder for an entire issue of a journal
typically is the journal owner, who also may own the copyright in each article. However,
for certain articles, the author of the article may maintain the copyright in the article.
Please contact the copyright holder(s) to request permission to use an article or specific
work for any use not covered by the fair use provisions of the copyright laws or covered
by your respective ATLAS subscriber agreement. For information regarding the
copyright holder(s), please refer to the copyright information in the journal, if available,
or contact ATLA to request contact information for the copyright holder(s).
About ATLAS:
The ATLA Serials (ATLAS) collection contains electronic versions of previously
published religion and theology journals reproduced with permission. The ATLAS
collection is owned and managed by the American Theological Library Association
(ATLA) and received initial funding from Lilly Endowment Inc.
The design and final form of this electronic document is the property of the American
Theological Library Association.