Erastus Inscription (Corinth)

A Latin inscription carved on a large paving stone discovered near the theater in ancient Corinth in 1929. The inscription reads: "Erastus, in return for his aedileship, laid [this pavement] at his own expense." The seven-inch-high letters were originally filled with bronze. An aedile was an elected Roman official who maintained public buildings and streets, oversaw the market, and managed local games. In Romans 16:23, the Apostle Paul sends greetings from "Erastus, the city treasurer" (oikonomos) of Corinth. While the Latin title aedile and the Greek term oikonomos are not exactly equivalent, oikonomos could describe the work an aedile performed. The inscription dates to the mid-first century AD, contemporary with Paul's ministry in Corinth. Most scholars identify this Erastus with the individual mentioned by Paul, making it one of the few archaeological confirmations of a person named in the New Testament epistles.