"Now while Paul waited for them at Athens, his spirit was stirred in him, when he saw the city totally given to idolatry. Therefore he disputed in the synagogue with the Jews, and with the devout persons, and in the market daily with them that met with him. Then certain philosophers of the Epicureans, and of the Stoics, encountered him. And some said, "What is this babbler saying?" others "He seems to be a setter forth of strange gods"; because he preached unto them Jesus and the resurrection. And they took him and brought him unto the Areopagus, saying "May we know what this doctrine, whereof thou speakest, is?"
- Acts of the Apostles 17: 16-19
The Areopagus (derived from Areios Pagus, or Hill of Ares) is an outcropping of rocks located to the northwest of the Athenian Acropolis. Possibly originally the meeting place for Athenian Elders (The Areopagus refers both to the location and the group that met there), it waxed and waned in importance in the Athenian state - originally an advisory and policy body, it came to have its powers limited to specific kinds of court cases.
Looking back up from the Areopagus to the Acropolis, you can see how close they are - thus Paul's sermon on the religious nature of the Athenians would have been relevant and powerful, as he was preaching (literally) in the shadow of one of the great religious sites of Athens.
It's always interesting to see the ancient biblical sites now. And I always wonder what they looked like back then. Makes for a fascinating tour.
ReplyDeleteLeigh, one of the things that was constantly on my mind was how I was literally walking in the steps of those I had read about in history. I literally spent almost the entire trip walking with the dead.
DeleteOne likes to think of stone, especially harder ones like granite, as withstanding the tests of time. Yet all I have to do is look at our local high school interior steps, dished out and a definitive path worn into them, to know that even as little as a 100 years of walking is enough to change them.
ReplyDeleteEd, one of the things that is surprising is overall how much was left in some places, where in others (like Sparta) there is almost nothing. We forget what 2500 years of history and elements will do - and not just easy history, but "invasions, looting, burning, warring" history.
DeleteI love little illustrations like this. They bring life and context to what we've spent our life reading and studying. Thank you for this picture and story. Do you know the story behind the altar to the unkown God?
ReplyDeleteIt is remarkable to be where Paul stood, STxAR - and that was not the only place our paths crossed on this trip.
DeleteOther than what is in Scripture, I do not know more of the story.