Urban Uprisings in the Roman World: The Social Setting of the Mobbing of Sosthenes

Abstract

The unresolved difficulty of Acts 18.12–17 involves finding an adequate explanation for the (seemingly) unprovoked hostile reaction of the crowd toward Sosthenes, the ruler of the synagogue in Corinth. This investigation places this incident within the larger social context of urban uprisings and mob violence in the Roman world in order to highlight the socio-economic factors (poverty, overcrowding, etc.) that inevitably gave rise to such frequent outbursts of urban aggression during this period. As such, this study illumines not only Acts 18, but other passages in Acts where mob violence plays a leading role.

Whenever a blast of turbulence falls upon the assembly … we find jibes and brawling and laughter.

Dio Chrysostom