Athens - Acropolis - The Apostle Paul - History

My view of Mars Hill from the Acropolis - Athens 

I was racing the clock a little bit in Athens this past June.

Our tour group had gamely trudged their way  up to the top of Acropolis hill.  There, in the blazing 100 degree heat, we wandered ancient ruins alongside glimmering shadows of the Parthenon's magnificent columns. Our cameras took in the city of Athens below, and on out to the Aegean Sea.

I had my heart set on something a little further down the steep slope - Mars Hill of the ancient Areopagus (Marketplace). But our tour guide cautioned me in her thick Greek accent, "I don't think we'll have time for Mars Hill today, it is so hot. And besides, we walk down a different way."   That didn't sound like a firm "no" to me!

It's well documented that the Apostle Paul visited and preached from Mars Hill of the Areopagus   around 51 A.D.  That the massive granite and surrounding ruins of the marketplace exist has never been questioned. The secular government has even posted one of those "historical markers" next to it, acknowledging Paul's visit to their locality in the first century.  

In the Book of Acts from the Bible, Luke recalls the scene, Chapter 17

"21 While Paul was waiting for them in Athens, he was greatly distressed to see that the city was full of idols.  22 Paul then stood up in the meeting of the Areopagus and said: “People of Athens! I see that in every way you are very religious. 23 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."

It's remarkable how far Paul and his group had traveled to reach Athens. Just look on a map and trace the eastern edge of the Mediterranean and Aegean seas. From Israel through modern day Lebanon, Syria, Turkey and back down from northern Greece. Antioch, Tarsus, Philipi, Thessalonica...

He didn't just rush through as we did on our  week-long jaunt across Greece. Paul would stay for months at a time, getting to know the people - and fairly earning the right to speak in such a prominent place.

"So he reasoned in the synagogue with both Jews and God-fearing Greeks, as well as in the marketplace day by day with those who happened to be there. " Acts 17:17

When the time came to descend the Acropolis' steep embankment our hired guide gave me a bemused look and said, "Come, follow me. We will go this way."  That is the photo you see up above. Mars Hill as we threaded our way down.  "Now listen to me," she said quietly, with a hand covering the wireless tour guide microphone. "When we get to the bottom, everyone will turn left to go back to the buses, do you understand? Because once you get to the bus, you will no longer be able to walk back to see the Aeropagus. Left to the bus, do you understand?"     I did. She turned left and I turned right when we got to the bottom of the hill. Then I jogged along the path until I got to the base of Mars Hill.  

Two minutes later I had scrambled up the path and was catching my breath on the slippery granite, handsomely polished by the Apostle Paul's sandals and 2,000 years of wind and rain. As I slowly took in the panorama, tears welled up and I had one of those rare travel moments when you realize it's more than you could have ever imagined. Because up there on the hill, exactly where Paul would have gazed with his audience, was the Acropolis, perhaps one of the most famously celebrated views of ancient history. And now his words made so much more sense. And the Bible rings even more true for me. I quietly recited the verse and swiped at my eyes so I could take the photo below,

24 “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. 25 And he is not served by human hands, as if he needed anything. Rather, he himself gives everyone life and breath and everything else." Acts 17

Paul had spent time getting to know his host city, they'd asked him to share his ideas, and he spoke to them in words and imagery they would understand. I can't help but be inspired to do the same.

What do you believe?