Gallio the governor of Corinth
Junius Annaeus Gallio was the son of Seneca the rhetorician and brother of Seneca the philosopher, and was the Roman governor of Achaia (in present-day Greece). An inscription naming Gallio found at Delphi says that he was a 'friend of Caesar', and dates his governorship to AD 51 or 52.
Paul spent 18 months in Corinth, which overlapped with Gallio's governorship. Acts chapter 18 verses 12-17 records how the Jews tried to make a case against him in the Roman courts, but Gallio refused to hear it, taking the view that it was an internal Jewish religious dispute. Gallio was executed by the maniac emperor Nero in AD 65
Why is the Delphi inscription important?
- because it confirms the historical accuracy of the book of Acts - real people in real places
- because it fixes a date in Paul's life
- because it shows that one Roman provincial authority at this time regarded the new Christian movement as part of Judaism, rather than as something completely separate.