Gallio was the Roman proconsul of Achaia during Paul's ministry in Corinth around AD 51-52. Brother of the philosopher Seneca, Gallio is known from extrabiblical sources as a cultured and affable administrator. When Jewish leaders brought Paul before his judgment seat, Gallio refused to adjudicate what he considered an internal religious dispute, effectively providing legal precedent that Christianity was not illegal under Roman law. His dismissive attitude toward the beating of Sosthenes suggests either indifference to Jewish-Christian conflicts or deliberate protection of Paul's mission.