Bible Locations

Athens was the leading city of ancient Greece, in the region of Attica, famous for its democracy, philosophers, art and the Parthenon, built on the Acropolis between 447 and 432 BC. By Paul's time, it had lost its political power but was a free city in the Roman province of Achaia and a center of learning. Paul came there after fleeing Berea and waited for Silas and Timothy (Acts 17:15-16). "He was greatly distressed to see that the city was full of idols." He spoke in the synagogue and daily in the agora, the marketplace, and was brought to the Areopagus, where he preached about the "unknown god." A few believed. He then went to Corinth (Acts 18:1). In 1 Thessalonians 3:1, he says he chose to stay alone at Athens and sent Timothy to Thessalonica. The ancient writer Pausanias mentions altars "to unknown gods" in Athens, fitting Paul's description.