Money, Meals, and Honour: The Economic and Honorific Organization of the Corinthian Ekklēsia By Richard Last A thesis submitted in conformity with the requirements for the degree of Doctor of philosophy Department for the Study of Religion University of Toronto © Copyright by Richard Last 2013 Abstract Money, Meals, and Honour: The Economic and Honorific Organization of the Corinthian Ekklēsia Richard Last Doctor of Philosophy, 2013 Department for the Study of Religion University of Toronto In standard portrayals of Paul’s Corinthian ekklēsia, the Christ-group is said to have existed without the level of economic and honorific organization we know to have been rather generalized in Greco-Roman associations: it did not collect subscription fees, failed to appoint or elect temporary officers, and neglected presentation of formal honorific prizes to its service- providers (e.g., crowns, proclamations, honorific inscriptions). In contrast to ancient associations, the ekklēsia, many scholars presently maintain with very little disagreement, had “no real organization” (Conzelmann, 1 Corinthians, 298), and its members shared a “close, undifferentiated mode of social relationship” (Meeks, First Urban, 88) that is often described as ecclesiastical egalitarianism. This dissertation offers a different perspective by setting the practices of the Corinthian Christ-group alongside practices that are much more fully known from Greco-Roman associations, and asks whether the structural features (economic and honorific) we know to have been common in Greco-Roman associations might also be evidenced in the Corinthian Christ- group. My argument is that the ekklēsia was a structurally sophisticated group equipped with a common fund and a schedule for subscription fees, a “flat hierarchy” of elected temporary officers, and competition among members to perform services that would be reciprocated with crowns and other forms of formal commendation. ii Acknowledgments I would like to express my gratitude, first, to my advisor, John Kloppenborg. During my time at the University of Toronto, he was an ideal scholarly role model and gave an enormous amount of time mentoring me at all stages of my doctoral degree. The invitation to join his GRA project as a research trainee in 2012-13 changed the direction of my dissertation for the better – I cannot remember what chapters two and three were supposed to look like before working on Egyptian papyri with him, Sarah Rollens, and Callie Callon. I thank the members of my dissertation committee, John Marshall and Andreas Bendlin, for reading and providing feedback on all chapters. John Marshall challenged me to clarify sections and terms that were formerly obscure, and helped me gain a clearer sense of how to frame and connect the research that went into each chapter. Andreas Bendlin was generous with his time at various stages while I researched and wrote this dissertation and was particularly helpful in conversations and literature recommendations concerning legal dimensions of ancient clubs. I owe a debt of gratitude to Dennis Smith and Bradley McLean, external and internal examiners, who offered valuable comments on this manuscript. Many scholars have read, or listened to, earlier versions of chapters, and I have benefitted from their feedback. I extend special thanks to John Barclay for his helpful criticism on chapter six, and to Terence Donaldson for his comments on chapters two and three. Other scholars have offered much-appreciated encouragement and comments on my research over the past few years: Anders Runesson, Markus Öhler, David Sim, Daniel Schwartz, Ian Henderson, Jennifer Harris, Ken Derry, Eileen Schuller, Margaret MacDonald, Richard Ascough, Philip Harland, and William Arnal. iii I would also like to thank my colleagues at the University of Toronto for their friendship and willingness to have conversations on matters such as ancient law, ξένοι, elections, and crowns: David Kaden, Sarah Rollens, Ronald Charles, Brigidda Bell, Callie Callon, Ian Brown, and Ryan Olfert. I thank New Testament Studies for their permission to include, “The Election of Officers in the Corinthian Christ-Group.” I am very grateful for financial support from the Department for the Study of Religion at the University of Toronto, the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada, the Government of Ontario, and the Faculty of Arts and Science at the University of Toronto. I could not have completed this dissertation without the support and love of my family: Debbie, Rob, Jason, and Derek. Finally, I owe much gratitude to my wife, Vanessa Kehoe-Last, for her patience, love, and faith in me while I completed my doctoral degree. iv Table of Contents Abbreviations ……………………………………………………………………………. vi List of Tables …………………………………………………………………………….. x Chapter One: Economic and Honorific Organization ……………………………………. 1 Chapter Two: Three Modest Clubs ………………………………………………………. 24 Chapter Three: The Corinthian Common Fund ………………………………………….. 59 Chapter Four: Services and Recognition in Associations ………………………………... 93 Chapter Five: Services and Recognition in the Ekklēsia …………………………………. 117 Chapter Six: The Election of Officers in the Christ-Group ……………………………… 159 Chapter Seven: Ἰδιῶται, Economics, and Honour ……………………………………….. 179 Conclusion ……………………………………………………………………………….. 198 Bibliography ……………………………………………………………………………… 201 v Abbreviations and Translations Abbreviations follow The SBL Handbook of Style (Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson, 1999). Many abbreviated papyrological and epigraphic sources can be found in two recent collections: AGRW Ascough, Richard S., Philip A. Harland, and John S. Kloppenborg. Associations in the Greco-Roman World. A Sourcebook. Waco, Tx.: Baylor University Press, 2012. GRA I Kloppenborg, John S., Philip A. Harland, and Richard S. Ascough. Greco-Roman Associations: Texts, Translations, and Commentary. BZNW 181. Berlin: Walter de Gruyter. Volume 1. Attica, Central Greece, Macedonia, Thrace. 2011– . Translations from the abovementioned volumes are the editors’ unless indicated otherwise. The papyri and epigraphy that I cite outside of GRA I and AGRW can be found in the following volumes. Translations of this material are my own unless noted otherwise. AM Mitteilungen des Deutschen Archäologischen Instituts. Athenische Abteilung. Berlin: Deutsches Archäologisches Institut, 1896 –. BGU Aegyptische Urkunden aus den Königlichen (later Staatlichen) Museen zu Berlin, Griechische Urkunden. Berlin: Weidmann, 1895–. CIG Boeckh, A., ed. Corpus inscriptionum graecarum. 4 vols. Berlin: Georg Reimer, 1828-1877. CIJ Frey, J.B., ed. Corpus inscriptionum iudaicarum: Recueil des inscriptions juives qui vont du IIIe siècle avant J.–C. 2 vols. Roma: Pontificio istituto di archeologia cristiana, 1936–1952. I. Europe (1936); II. Asia-Africa (1952). CIL Corpus inscriptionum latinarum, Consilio et Auctoritate Academiae Litterarum Regiae Borussicae editum. Berlin: Georg Reimer, 1863-1974. IAlexandriaK François Kayser, Recueil des inscriptions grecques et latines, non funéraires, d'Alexandrie imperial: Ier-IIIe s, apr. J.-C. Cairo: Institut français d'archéologie orientale du Caire, 1994. IApamBith Corsten, Thomas. Die Inschriften von Apameia (Bithynien) und Pylai. IGSK 32. Bonn: Rudolf Habelt, 1987 IChios McCabe, D., and J.V. Brownson. Chios Inscriptions. Texts and List. Princeton: Institute for Advanced study, 1986. vi ICorinth I Benjamin Dean Meritt, Corinth: Results of excavations. Greek Inscriptions 1896- 1927. Vol.8/1. American School of Classical Studies at Athens; Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, 1931. ICorinth III John Harvey Kent, Corinth: Results of excavations. The Inscriptions 1926-1950. Vol.8/3. American School of Classical Studies at Athens; Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, 1966. IDelta Bernand, A., ed. Le delta égyptien d’après les texts grecs 1: Les confines libyques. 3 vols. Mémoires publies par les membres de l’Institut français d’archéologie orientale du Caire 91. Cairo: Institut français d’archéologie orientale, 1970. IEph Engelmann, H., H. Wankel, and R. Merkelbach. Die Inschriften von Ephesos. IGSK 11-17. Bonn: Rudolf Habelt, 1979-1984. IErythrai H. Engelmann and R. Merkelbach. Die Inschriften von Erythrai und Klazomenai. Bonn: R. Habelt, 1972-4. IG II2 Kirchner, Johannes, ed. Inscriptiones Atticae Euclidis anno anteriores. 4 vols. Berlin: Walter de Gruyter, 1913–1940. IG V/1 Kolbe, W., ed. Inscriptiones Laconiae et Messeniae, part 1. Berlin: Georg Reimer, 1913. IG XII/1 Hiller von Gaertringen, Friedrich F., ed. Inscriptiones Rhodi, Chalces, Carpathi cum Saro, Casi. Berlin: Georg Reimer, 1895. IG XII/5 Hiller von Gaertringen, Friedrich F., ed. Inscriptiones Cycladu. 2 vols. Berlin: Georg Reimer, 1903-1909. I: Inscriptiones Cycladum praeter Tenum (1903); II: Inscriptiones Teni insulae (1909). IG XII/7 Delamarre, J., ed. Inscriptiones Amorgi et insularum vicinarum. Berlin: Georg Reimer, 1908. IGRR Cagnat, R.L., J.F. Toutain, V. Henry, and G.L. Lafaye, eds. Inscriptiones graecae ad res romanas pertinentes. 4 vols. Paris: E. Leroux, 1911–1927. Vol 1: (nos. 1– 1518) ed. R.L. Cagnat, J.F. Toutain, and P. Jouguet (1911); Vol 2: never published; Vol 3: R. Cagnat and G. Lafaye (1906); Vol. 4: Asia (nos. 1–1764) ed. G. L. Lafaye (1927). IGUR Moretti, Luigi. Inscriptiones graecae urbis Romae. 4 vols. in 5 parts. Rome 1968- 1990. IMagnesia Kern, Otto. Die Inschriften von Magnesia am Maeander. Königliche Museen zu Berlin. Berlin: W. Spemann, 1900. vii IMT Barth, Matthias and Josef Stauber. Inschriften