Acropolis

The Acropolis (literally "high-city") is simply stunning. The Acropolis houses a handful of amazing and beautiful marble temples. Although not the highest hill in Athens, one can quickly see that it is the most defensible hill in Athens since three of the sides are steep cliffs. Originally the Acropolis functioned a military fort for tyrants/kings to rule over the surrounding valley. Although temples existed before the 5th century BC, the major construction (still visible today!) occurred during the Golden Age of Athens (mid 5th century) after democracy established itself in the city.

The Acropolis boasts a number of temples, the largest and most well-known of which is the Parthenon. The Parthenon (which means virgin) is dedicated to the patron goddess of Athens, Athens, the female goddess of wisdom and war.  It  tookjust 15 years to build…and about 2,400 to restore and reconstruct. The architecture of the Parthenon is legendary, with all sorts of slight curves in the marbles to give it the harmony and balance that is has. The Parthenon also boasts a ton of art in the way of marble carvings and statues that adorn the tops of the columns. The main piece of sculpture in the Parthenon is a 10 meter high statue of Athena which has been lost over the centuries.
 

How is the Acropolis significant for understanding the world of Paul?

Paul's speech at the Areopagus takes place less than 100 yards from the entrance to the Acropolis.  Much of what Paul attacks in his speech is represented by the Acropolis.  Although the Acropolis was built five centuries before Paul, one can observe a few salient features of Olympic (Greek Pagan) religion that still existed in Paul's day.

• Olympic religion was polythestic (many gods). From the Acropolis, one can see major temples to Zeus and Posidon (gods of sky and sea respectively). By the time of Paul, the number of gods and stories developed and brought over from other cultures was immense and this system was essentially dissolving into superstition under its own weight.  (See Areopagus)
• Little distinguishes humans from the gods. When one looks at the art from the Parthenon, one cannot easily distinguish between humans and gods. Physically the gods have human bodies and emotionally, have all the whims and jealousy of humans. What separated the pagan gods from the humans is immortality and beauty. (See Statue of Antinoos)
• People, believing that the gods dwelled in these temples and even statues, would often come to these temples to make sacrifices or pray for healing.

  How is Paul confronting his culture?

While in Athens Paul openly challenges the glory and religion of the Acropolis. He declares:

“The God who made the world and everything in it, he who is Lord of heaven and earth, does not live in shrines made by human hands (Acts 17:24).”

This is not an abstract reference, but he can literally lift up his finger and point nearly 100 meters away to temples. In this case, Paul is flat out rejecting the pagan understanding of how temples relate to the divine.  God is not found in the statue to Athena!

To continue with Paul, move to the Stoa Poikile.

source:
info on temples:  Drosou-Panayotou, Niki. Ancient Greece, the monuments than and now. Papadimas: Athens, 2006.