The Areopagus

In the Bible

Paul was brought to the Areopagus and spoke of an altar TO AN UNKNOWN GOD; some mocked, but Dionysius the Areopagite and a woman named Damaris believed.

Acts 17:19–23So they took Paul and brought him to the Areopagus, where they asked him, “May we know what this new teaching is that you are presenting? For you are bringing some strange notions to our ears, and we want to know what they mean.” Now all the Athenians and foreigners who lived there spent their time doing nothing more than hearing and articulating new ideas. Then Paul stood up in the meeting of the Areopagus and said, “Men of Athens, I see that in every way you are very religious. For as I walked around and examined your objects of worship, I even found an altar with this inscription: TO AN UNKNOWN GOD. Therefore what you worship as something unknown, I now proclaim to you.

Acts 17:32–34When they heard about the resurrection of the dead, some began to mock him, but others said, “We want to hear you again on this topic.” At that, Paul left the Areopagus. But some joined him and believed, including Dionysius the Areopagite, a woman named Damaris, and others who were with them.

Tradition

By tradition, Dionysius the Areopagite became the first bishop of Athens; ruins of a church named after him lie on the north slope of the hill.

Here today

A bare rocky hill below the Acropolis, reached by worn stone steps; a bronze plaque at its foot carries Paul's speech in Greek.

Through the eyes of old pilgrims

To the right was Mars Hill, where the Areopagus sat in ancient times and where St. Paul defined his position … We climbed the stone steps St. Paul ascended, and stood in the square-cut place he stood in, and tried to recollect the Bible account of the matterMark Twain, The Innocents Abroad, 1869

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Land outlines: Natural Earth (public domain).