Ancient day Athens as A First Centry Observer- Paul's Journey

Generic hills by the ocean

Fueled by curiosity I decided to dive into learning more about ancient Athens, specifically in the first century. First century Athens was under Roman rule and was part of the later end of the Ancient Greece period. During the first century the apostle Paul played a prominent role in spreading the Gospel of Jesus Christ throughout what we know as the Middle East and parts of Europe. On his way from escaping persecution in Thessalonica he found himself in Athens awaiting the arrival of his companions who stayed behind. His spirit grieved seeing how full the city was with idols and was provoked to reason in the synagogue with Jews and also in the agora daily hoping to reach people with the truth. 

Where was this place that Paul preached? We know when he arrived, he was at an agora which means marketplace. The Ancient Agora of Athens was a marketplace found in the 6th century BC. Through the ages the Agora of Athens was destroyed and rebuilt many times. During the Roman era, Roman rulers and wealthy people built the Roman Agora which was to the east of Ancient Agora Athens. It was started by Julius Caesar and was finished by Augustus. The Ancient Agora of Athens was still being used and buildings were still being rebuilt there as well. Through excavation efforts and well thought out hypotheses, they found evidence of a synagogue in Agora Athens. It is yet unclear whether this synagogue was the same as the one Paul visited during his travels. Safe to say Paul was preaching in the Agora of Athens. 

Athens was the capital city of the Attica region. It was a place not shy of idol worship and devotion.  It’s been quoted by a Roman satirist that it’s, “easier to find a god in Athen than a man.” Really puts into perspective how many statues of idols they had in Athens. The Athenian people were open to the worship of many gods, and the teachings of Paul piqued the interest of the people there. Paul came with new revelation and the locals were curious as to what he had to say. 

The Agora of Athens was full of many structures like temples, alters, harboring buildings, stoa which are covered walkways, libraries, a mint, monopteros which are small circular buildings with no walls but are supported by columns and monuments just to name a few. Evidence was found in the 4th and 5th century of women merchants selling various goods in the agora, as well as working as innkeepers. This is also mentioned in the Bible when Paul goes to Philippi where he meets a woman merchant named Lydia. 

Just south of the agora was a hill called Areopagus. Areopagus was a prominent rock out cropping. Which was famous for trying cases of homicide, wounding and religious matters as well as the arson of olive trees which they deemed sacred. Paul was taken to Areopagus because the people were curious of his teachings, and they have never heard of the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus. It is said in the Bible that the Athenians and foreigners who lived there spent most of their time telling or hearing something new. 

Paul from Tarsas was first introduced in the Bible as Saul but later went by his Greek name Paul during his mission trips. He was once feared due to his persecutions of Christians, then later converted to Christianity when he had a personal encounter with Jesus Christ. Because of his evil past the people and the other apostles found it hard to believe that Paul was a changed man. Despite what people thought, Paul was bold in his faith exclaiming the truth. He spent some years back in Tarsas learning and growing in faith and wisdom. Tarsas was a place where the inhabitants were mainly pegan with heathen philosophy. At the time Stoics and Epicurians were a prominent followed philosophy, not only in Tarsas but in surrounding areas, including the Athens. Athens was a hub for philosophers to meet and discuss ideas and they were open to speaking their mind in public spaces. While groups like the Epicurians chose to gather in secret. We can safely assume that Paul had a strong understanding of Stoicism which he was able to use to reach the people in different cities. At his famous speech in Areopagus Paul quotes a well-known Stoic Poet. Seeing that the Athenians had an altar to an unknown god, he used their understanding to bring light to this unknown god they so ignorantly worshipped. He tells the crowd that God isn't so far from them and should seek him, explaining God the creator who made the world and everything in it. He then quotes Aratus from his poem Phenomena, the opening five stanzas depicts a god creator that closely resembles that of the biblical God. Quoting, “For we are also his offspring.” He ends his speech speaking of the resurrection of Jesus and of end times prophecy. Some of the listeners mocked him but others chose to believe. He later leaves Athens and journeys to Corinth. By the 4th century AD Stoicism declined after Christianity became the state religion.

Screen shot of the poem The Phenomena by Aratus

*Note: Jove was the god jupeter who was considered a skygod. The romans considered jove to be the equivolent to zeus.

---

Thanks for reading. I hope you enjoyed this small story of Paul during the 1st century in Athens. I am no historian, just someone who loves to read and study. There may be things I’ve missed or misread but I wanted to share information I was able to compile together. There is so much more information I wanted to share that I could go on and on, but I chose the information I wanted to share to paint a mental picture of Paul's visit to Athens. This has opened other topics I would love to speak about, from the architecture of the Agora of Athens to Paul's other journeys.

Important Dates!

June 16th: Comic Update

June 18th: Blog Update

June 21st: possible night market vender date

July 19 & 20: Anime Market Sacramento

Links

Art Shop

Depop

Instagram