Athens
Summary
The renowned Greek city where Paul preached on Mars Hill (the Areopagus), calling the philosophically-minded Athenians from their unknown god to the true God who raised Jesus from the dead.
☩The City
Athens was the most celebrated city of ancient Greece, renowned as the center of philosophy, learning, and the arts. By Paul's time, though politically subordinate to Rome, it remained the intellectual capital of the ancient world—home to great schools of philosophy including the Stoics and Epicureans. The city was adorned with magnificent temples, statues, and public buildings, including the Parthenon on the Acropolis. Luke notes that 'all the Athenians and strangers which were there spent their time in nothing else, but either to tell, or to hear some new thing.'
☩Paul's Visit
While waiting for Silas and Timothy at Athens, Paul's spirit was provoked within him when he saw the city wholly given to idolatry. He reasoned in the synagogue with the Jews and devout persons, and in the marketplace daily with those who met him. Some Epicurean and Stoic philosophers encountered him, and some called him a 'babbler' while others said he seemed to be a proclaimer of strange gods—because he preached Jesus and the resurrection.
☩The Areopagus Sermon
Paul was brought to the Areopagus (Mars Hill), the ancient council and court of Athens, to explain his teaching. His masterful address began by noting an altar inscribed 'TO THE UNKNOWN GOD' and proceeded to declare this God whom they ignorantly worshipped. He proclaimed the God who made the world, who does not dwell in temples made with hands, who gives all life and breath, who made all nations from one blood, and who commands all men everywhere to repent because He has appointed a day when He will judge the world by the Man He raised from the dead. At the mention of resurrection, some mocked, while others said they would hear him again. Among the converts were Dionysius the Areopagite and a woman named Damaris.
See Also
References
- 1.John McClintock and James Strong, "Athens," in Cyclopedia of Biblical, Theological and Ecclesiastical Literature, vol. I (Harper & Brothers, 1867–1887).
- 2.James Orr (ed.), "Athens," in International Standard Bible Encyclopedia, vol. I (Howard-Severance Company, 1915).