Delphi Inscription

The Temple of Apollo at Delphi

The Delphi Inscription, or Gallio Inscription (IG, VII, 1676; SIG, II, 801d),^[1] is the name given to the collection of nine fragments of a letter written by the Roman emperor Claudius c. 52 CE and discovered early in the 20th century at the Temple of Apollo in Delphi, Greece.^[2][3]

The reconstructed inscription begins thus:

Tiber[ius Claudius Cae]sar Augustus Ge[rmanicus, invested with tribunician po]wer [for the 12th time, acclaimed Imperator for t]he 26th time, F[ather of the Fa]ther[land...]. For a l[ong time have I been not onl]y [well-disposed towards t]he ci[ty] of Delph[i, but also solicitous for its pro]sperity, and I have always guard[ed th]e cul[t of t]he [Pythian] Apol[lo. But] now [since] it is said to be desti[tu]te of [citi]zens, as [L. Jun]ius Gallio, my fri[end] an[d procon]sul, [recently reported to me, and being desirous that Delphi] should retain [inta]ct its for[mer rank, I] ord[er you (pl.) to in]vite well-born people also from [ot]her cities [to Delphi as new inhabitants....]^[4]

The reference to proconsul Gallio in the inscription provides an important marker for developing a chronology of the life of Apostle Paul by relating it to the trial of Paul in Achaea mentioned in the Acts of the Apostles (18:12-17).^[5][6]

See also

• Chronology of Jesus
• Chronology of Paul
• Timeline of the Apostle Paul

Notes

1. The Gallio Inscription at http://users.wfu.edu
2. Paul: his letters and his theology by Stanley B. Marrow 1986 ISBN 0-8091-2744-X page 47
3. Christianity and the Roman Empire: background texts by Ralph Martin Novak 2001 ISBN 1-56338-347-0 pages 20-22
4. Jerome Murphy-O'Connor, St. Paul's Corinth: Text and Archaeology (Liturgical Press, 2002) ISBN 9780814653036 p.161.
5. A. Köstenberger, The Cradle, the Cross, and the Crown: An Introduction to the New Testament, 2009 ISBN 978-0-8054-4365-3 page 400
6. The Cambridge Companion to St Paul by James D. G. Dunn (Nov 10, 2003) Cambridge Univ Press ISBN 0521786940 page 20

References

• Novak, Ralph Martin (2001). Christianity and the Roman Empire: Background Texts. Continuum International Publishing Group. pp. 20–22. ISBN 978-1-56338-347-2.
• Murphy-O'Connor, Jerome (2002). St. Paul's Corinth: Text and Archaeology. Liturgical Press. pp. 161–169. ISBN 978-0-8146-5303-6.
• Köstenberger, Andreas J., L. Scott Kellum and Charles Quarles (2009). The Cradle, the Cross, and the Crown: An Introduction to the New Testament. B&H Publishing Group. p. 400. ISBN 978-0-8054-4365-3.

External links

• http://www.kchanson.com/ANCDOCS/greek/gallio.html Greek text and English translation