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The content on this website is maintained by
Robert Myallis, pastor at Zion's Lutheran Church, of Jonestown, PA.
The photos were taken by
Emily Myallis, a diaconal minister in the ELCA who also serves at Zion's Lutheran.
This website and travel to
Greece was made possible by a grant from the
Fund for Theological Education,
which provides grants to assist the education and formation of
Christian leaders from numerous denominations.
Bible quotes are taken from the New
Revised Standard Version, unless cites otherwise.
The above photo of Greece comes from
NASA; The icon of Saint Paul comes from George Mitrevski's website. |
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Athens
 The
photo here comes from the Parthenon, the main temple in Athens.
Athens has been the cultural and political center of Greek life
for centuries.
As
scholar Helmut Koester describes Athens in Paul's day, "Athens
was the symbol of cultural and intellectual life. Even in the
Roman period, it was still considered the cultural capital of
the world." Its fame was so great that both Hellenistic rulers
and later Roman emperors would routinely donate buildings to the
city.
Nearly all the major philosophies of Paul's day: Stoic,
Epicurean, Platonic and Aristotelian (and others) had their
beginnings in Athens. Koester comments: "For the study of
philosophy students would flock to Athens from all parts of the
ancient world."
Scholar Robert Wall also writes of Athens: "Although a bit
tattered by comparison to the golden age of Pericles and
Socrates, Athens was still a great university town and
symbolized the 'high culture' where important ideas have value
and are carefully considered by the intellectually curious."
The Bible's brief description of Athens comports with this image
of Athens as bustling place of intellectual discourse:
So Paul argued in the synagogue with the Jews and the devout
persons, and also in the marketplace every day with those who
happened to be there. A group of Epicurean and Stoic
philosophers were conversing with him.” (Acts, chapter 17:17-18)
If Christianity was going to compete with various philosophies
and religions of its day, a rendezvous in Athens was inevitable.
Athens in Paul's ministry
The book of Acts records the acts of various apostles (those
sent by Jesus to preach Good News -- the church's first
missionaries). Unlike missionaries in the colonial era, early
missionaries had no military escort (this is a good thing). They
often faced rebuke, harassment and even imprisonment. Paul's
journeys, including his imprisonment, feature prominently in the
book of Acts. Chapter 17 records Paul's visit to Athens.
You can follow Paul's time in Athens by
starting at the
Agora.
sources:
Koester, Helmut. Introduction to the New Testament.
Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1982.
Wall, Robert. NIB Commentary on Acts, Vol X. Nashville:
Abingdon, 2002. |
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