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Achaia

Achaia (Greek Ἀχαΐα) was the Roman province covering southern Greece — the Peloponnese, Attica (with Athens), and central Greece — established by Augustus in 27 BC alongside its northern counterpart Macedonia. The two provinces together composed the Greek heartland of the empire. Achaia's administrative capital was Corinth, and Achaia in Paul's letters almost always means Corinth and its hinterland.

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The New Testament names Achaia ten times, all in the context of Paul's missionary work in the 50s AD. **Gallio served as proconsul of Achaia** during Paul's eighteen-month stay in Corinth (Acts 18:12-17) — the same Gallio who refused to hear the Jewish leaders' case against Paul, providing an important precedent for the Roman authorities' early treatment of Christianity as an internal Jewish dispute. Achaia became home to one of Paul's most fruitful church plantings; in Romans 16:5 he names Epaenetus the firstfruits of Achaia, and in 1 Corinthians 16:15 the household of Stephanas. The province was a major contributor to the Jerusalem collection (Romans 15:26; 2 Corinthians 9:2), and the churches of Achaia are addressed alongside those of Macedonia as the twin Pauline foothold in Greece.

The modern administrative region of Achaia in northwestern Peloponnese preserves the ancient name, though it covers only a fraction of the Roman provincial territory.

Source · AI-drafted from biblical text and standard reference works (Smith's, Easton's, ISBE) — verify and refine against authoritative sources before publication.

Key passages

Acts 18Romans 15Romans 161 Corinthians 162 Corinthians 91 Thessalonians 1

In the Bible

11

Verses where Achaia is named. Berean Standard Bible (public domain).

  • 1 Corinthians 16:15

    You know that Stephanas and his household were the first converts in Achaia, and they have devoted themselves to the service of the saints. Now I urge you, brothers,

  • 1 Thessalonians 1:7

    As a result, you have become an example to all the believers in Macedonia and Achaia.

  • 1 Thessalonians 1:8

    For not only did the message of the Lord ring out from you to Macedonia and Achaia, but your faith in God has gone out to every place, so that we have no need to say anything more.

  • 2 Corinthians 1:1

    Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy our brother, To the church of God in Corinth, together with all the saints throughout Achaia:

  • 2 Corinthians 9:2

    For I know your eagerness to help, and I have been boasting to the Macedonians that since last year you in Achaia were prepared to give. And your zeal has stirred most of them to do likewise.

  • 2 Corinthians 11:10

    As surely as the truth of Christ is in me, this boasting of mine will not be silenced in the regions of Achaia.

+5 more verses naming Achaia.