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Paul in Athens

Paul talks to the philosophers in Athens.
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Paul arrived in Athens after fleeing persecution in Berea. The believers who escorted him brought him safely to the city and then returned home with instructions for his co-workers, Silas and Timothy, to join him as soon as possible. – Slide 1
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While the glory of Athens had reached its peak several centuries before Paul’s visit, it was still an impressive city of 30,000 to 40,000 people. In this image, the Acropolis and Parthenon are in the upper left-hand corner. On the southern slope of the Acropolis sits the Theatre of Dionysus. The rocky Areopagus (Mars’ Hill) is visible west of the Acropolis. To the northwest (left-hand side) lies the ancient marketplace (agora) with its stoas, temples, and public buildings. – Slide 2
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The most prominent feature was the Acropolis, home to the Parthenon and other temples. The sky was dominated by the massive bronze statue of Athena—it stood nearly 30 feet tall. In the first century, the Parthenon stood fully intact, brilliantly painted red and blue, with gold trim framing the marble. – Slide 3
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If you walked inside the inner chamber, you would see the awe-inspiring Athena, the 38-foot-tall statue made of ivory and solid gold. – Slide 4
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Paul’s ‘spirit was provoked within him’ (distressed) when he saw that the city was given over to idols (Acts 17:16). The list of idols, gods, and demigods that Paul could have seen is almost endless. It would have been nearly impossible for Paul to miss the Temple of Hephaestus, the patron god of metalworking, craftsmanship, and fire. Citizens ascend the stone steps carrying small offerings while priests prepare incense and libations before the altar. The surrounding Agora is filled with philosophers, merchants, craftsmen, and visitors. – Slide 5
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The Sanctuary of the Twelve Olympian Gods was in the marketplace (agora). In ancient Greek mythology, the Twelve Olympians were the chief deities of the Greek pantheon: Zeus, Poseidon, Hera, Demeter, Aphrodite, Athena, Artemis, Apollo, Ares, Hephaestus, Hermes, and either Hestia or Dionysus. They are called Olympians because, according to mythology, they dwelt on Mount Olympus. – Slide 6
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On any given street in ancient Athens, you would have seen marble pillars bearing the bearded head of Hermes standing at intersections and outside homes and shops. Small roadside shrines contained painted statues of Apollo, Artemis, Dionysus, and local protective deities decorated with flowers, oil lamps, incense burners, and miniature offerings. – Slide 7
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The Sanctuary of Dionysus Eleuthereus (Dionysus the Liberator) was on the southern slope of the Acropolis. Dionysus was the god of wine-making, orchards, fruit, vegetation, fertility, festivity, insanity, ritual madness, religious ecstasy, and theatre. Dionysus was also known as Bacchus. In this image, worshipers gather around richly decorated altars carrying wine, grapes, flowers, and small animal offerings while priests conduct solemn religious rituals before a large statue of Dionysus adorned with ivy garlands. Bronze incense burners release fragrant smoke into the warm Mediterranean air. – Slide 8
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While walking through the city, Paul even observed an altar dedicated to ‘The Unknown God’ (Acts 17:23). This altar to ‘The Unknown God’ is mentioned by at least three ancient Greek writers: Diogenes Laertius (3rd century AD, Lives of Eminent Philosophers); Pausanias (2nd century AD, Description of Greece); and Philostratus (3rd century AD, Life of Apollonius of Tyana). – Slide 9
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Ancient Athens had a Jewish population large enough to support a synagogue, which required a minimum of ten Jewish men (known as a minyan). In this image, the synagogue is a simple, unassuming stone building adapted from local Hellenistic architecture, with weathered limestone and a marble facade. – Slide 10
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As was his custom in other cities, Paul reasoned in the synagogue at Athens with the ‘Jews and the God-fearing Gentiles’ (Acts 17:17). In this image, the interior is a simple, functional assembly hall with plastered walls, a plain stone floor with subtle mosaic fragments, wooden benches along the side walls, a low raised wooden platform (bimah) near the far end, and a simple wooden ark holding Torah scrolls. A small seven-branched menorah stands on the raised platform (Bemah). – Slide 11
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In the marketplace (agora) of Athens, you would hear a mix of regional Greek dialects and the Latin of Roman officials and tourists. Street vendors sold figs, honey, and garlic. The air was thick with the scent of roasted meats from small food stalls, pungent fish sauce (garum) imported from Spain, and the sweet perfume of burning incense from the nearby temples. – Slide 12
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Paul also reasoned in this marketplace daily ‘with those who happened to be there’ (Acts 17:17). – Slide 13
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Paul conversed with men from two of the most prominent schools of thought—Epicurean and Stoic philosophy (Acts 17:18). – Slide 14
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The Stoics were easy to recognize by their austere clothing. Instead of fine, voluminous cloaks, they wore the tribōn—a coarse, inexpensive, and very short woollen cloak, usually left in its natural, undyed off-white or grey state. They typically wore long, unkempt beards and went barefoot (or wore simple sandals) to show that they prioritized the cultivation of the mind over bodily comfort. – Slide 15
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As Epicureans avoided political strife and public attention, they purposefully chose not to dress in a bizarre or starkly ascetic way. They dressed like respectable, ordinary middle- to upper-class Greeks. While they avoided flashy, ultra-luxurious materials or elite Roman purples, they also completely rejected the rough, scratchy clothing of the Stoics. They believed punishing the body with poor clothing was a needless disturbance to one’s peace of mind. – Slide 16
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These Epicurean and Stoic philosophers brought Paul to the Areopagus (‘hill of Ares’. Ares was the Greek god of war), where the Council of the Areopagus met on a limestone hill beneath the Parthenon. – Slide 17
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This image shows the Areopagus (Mars’ Hill) on the right, as seen from the Acropolis of Athens. The marketplace (agora) is visible on the left-hand side. – Slide 18
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The Council of the Areopagus was a body of 100 to 150 men that exercised broad authority over the civil and religious life of Athens. It was the city’s oldest and most prestigious judicial court and served as the supreme governing body for managing Athens’ religious affairs, public morals, and foreign teachers. <br/>They asked Paul, ‘May we know what this new teaching is that you are presenting? You are bringing some strange ideas to our ears, and we would like to know what they mean.’ All the Athenians and the foreigners who lived there spent their time doing nothing but talking about and listening to the latest ideas.) – Slide 19
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Paul replied, ‘People of Athens! I see that in every way you are very religious. For as I walked around and looked carefully at your objects of worship, I even found an altar with this inscription: TO AN UNKNOWN GOD. So you are ignorant of the very thing you worship—and this is what I am going to proclaim to you.’ – Slide 20
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‘The God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth and does not live in temples built by human hands. And He is not served by human hands, as if He needed anything. Rather, He himself gives everyone life and breath and everything else. From one man He made all the nations, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and He marked out their appointed times in history and the boundaries of their lands. God did this so that they would seek Him and perhaps reach out for Him and find Him, though He is not far from any one of us. “For in Him we live and move and have our being.” As some of your own poets have said, “We are His offspring.”’ – Slide 21
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‘Therefore since we are God’s offspring, we should not think that the divine being is like gold or silver or stone—an image made by human design and skill. In the past God overlooked such ignorance, but now He commands all people everywhere to repent. For He has set a day when He will judge the world with justice by the man He has appointed. He has given proof of this to everyone by raising Him from the dead.” – Slide 22
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When they heard about the resurrection of the dead, some of them sneered, but others said, ‘We want to hear you again on this subject.’ – Slide 23
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At that, Paul left the Council. Some of the people became followers of Paul and believed. Among them was Dionysius, a member of the Areopagus, also a woman named Damaris, and a number of others. – Slide 24
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