And so, after fleeing the riots in Thessalonica … and likewise having to flee Berea … Paul arrives in Athens.
Waiting for Silas and Timothy who were left behind in Berea to meet up with him. Waiting for news of how the brand-new Christians in Thessalonica are doing, as they daily face hostility and angry aggression!
Here you can see the view from the great rock, Mars Hill, looking far away to the north. Somewhere out there to the north is Thessalonica. Paul probably stood here gazing far away to the north, with worry and concern.
“While Paul was waiting for them in Athens, he was greatly distressed to see that the city was full of idols.
“So he reasoned in the synagogue with the Jews and the God-fearing Greeks, as well as in the marketplace day by day with those who happened to be there.” – Acts 17:16-17
The Ancient Agora would have been the “marketplace” where Paul reasoned day-by-day with those who happened to be there. Hubby and I did not have time to tour the Ancient Agora; however we were able to take some photos from outside the fence.
First off as you can tell, the Ancient Agora is directly below the Acropolis, on the north side.
If you are interested, here is some info about the Ancient Agora.
Here you can see a map of the Ancient Agora (with the Temple of Hephaistos in the background).
And a closer look if you are interested.
It was here, just below the Acropolis, that Paul reasoned and debated, sharing the good news of Jesus Christ. No one had ever heard anything about this Jesus Christ before.
Here you can see the Temple of Hephaistos. This temple’s construction began just before construction of the Parthenon atop the Acropolis. It is about half the size of the Parthenon.
Here people would worship a large bronze statue of Hephaistos, who was the blacksmith god … as well as worship a statue of the goddess Athena, patroness of the arts and crafts. This area was surrounded by metalworking and pottery shops when Paul was here.
I am assuming this is a Greek god. I did not pay attention to the inscription on the base. Paul probably saw many statues just such as this, all over the place everywhere he went.
Climbing high atop the Acropolis, here is the view north looking down onto the Ancient Agora – which is that small clump of green trees, where you can see the Temple of Hephaistos.
According to our tour guide, the ancient city of Athens was much smaller than what you see here. The city of ancient Athens only went out about 1/3rd of the way … then the rest, stretching far away to the distant hills was all olive trees, and forests.
Same view, just zooming in closer on the Ancient Agora and the Temple of Hephaistos.
Moving down to the great rock called Mars Hill (located just northwest of the Acropolis), here you have a more direct view looking down onto the Ancient Agora … with the colonnaded Stoa on the right, and the Temple of Hephaistos on the left. This is where Paul reasoned and debated each day.
Here is a panorama from the same spot on Mars Hill. Paul would have seen the Acropolis covered in temples to Athena over on the right, and the Ancient Agora directly below.
This is where Paul reasoned and debated, sharing the good news of Jesus Christ. A lone solitary messenger sharing news no one had ever heard of before!
In a city full of idols!
Here you can see the Temple of Olympian Zeus. That large open area would have been where the temple once stood. It was the largest temple in ancient Greece! It was the size of a football field, and more than twice the square footage of the Parthenon. This temple contained an enormous statue of the ruler of the gods – Zeus.
Athens … a city full of idols! Here you can see the Temple of Athena Nike. People would worship here in this temple before a statue of Athena … honoring and celebrating Athena for bringing victory/”nike” over the Persians. The statue here was never given wings, because the people of Athens wanted the goddess to stay and protect their city.
Here you can see yet another temple to Athena – the Erechtheion. In this temple was a life-size olive-wood statue of Athena … and here people worshiped and honored Athena as “Athena Polias” / Protector of the City. The statue was supposedly dropped from the sky as a gift from Athena herself.
Here is another view.
The inner worship hall of this temple is divided in half, because it was believed that it was on this spot Athena fought Poseidon for naming rights to the city. Athena won the contest. However, Athena and Poseidon continued to remain friends. Therefore, two parts of the worship hall … so that both gods could be worshiped.
Athens … a city full of idols! Can you imagine standing here, dwarfed by the enormous structure of the Parthenon – temple to Athena the Virgin … as Paul tried to share the good news of Jesus Christ.
Explaining to people that Zeus is not a real god … Hephaistos is not a real god … Dionysus is not a real god … Poseidon is not a real god … Athena herself is not a real god.
How do you convince people that Athena is not a god at all … when this is what you are up against?
“While Paul was waiting in Athens, he was greatly distressed to see that the city was full of idols.
“So he reasoned in the synagogue with the Jews and the God-fearing Greeks, as well as in the marketplace day by day with those who happened to be there.” – Acts 17:16-17
This was Paul in Athens.
