Friday, June 15: Athens

We will spend the day in the ancient city of Athens, the cultural epicenter of the ancient world and my wife’s hometown. I have great affection for this city which has contributed so much to human civilization from architecture to the arts, from philosophy to plays, from discourse to democracy. From any perspective, Athens is impressive. After the Greek victory over the Persians in AD 479, the Athenian statesman Pericles embarks on a lavish building program. The centerpiece is a temple, known as the Parthenon, dedicated to the virgin goddess Athena Parthenos. The architectural statement of the Parthenon is extremely well conceived. There are no straight lines in the entire structure due to subtle optical refinements. At each end, a triangular pediment holds life-sized sculptures. The eastern pediment depicts the birth of Athena from the head of Zeus; the western pediment shows the contest between Athena and Poseidon for the honor of becoming the patron deity of the city. The four sides of the Parthenon contain brightly painted sculptures carved in high relief. Each side is devoted to historical or mythical battles. Along the exterior walls of the inner temple, a continuous frieze in low relief extends some 524 feet. The Parthenon frieze contains 192 figures to immortalize the number of Athenians who fell at the battle of Marathon in 480 BC. The Parthenon frieze shows an intermingling of human and divine figures in sacred procession to the entrance of the temple. Once inside, the Parthenon houses a towering gold and ivory statue of Athena over forty feet high. The cult statue of Athena is adorned with removable gold plates weighing forty-four talents, nearly 2,500 pounds. The goddess Athena thus embodies a considerable part of the treasury of Athens. The Parthenon is the high point of classical art and an enduring symbol of Greek culture. This is the city of Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle, the place where the historians Herodotus and Thucydides once flourished. Here the poets Aeschylus, Sophocles, Euripides, and Aristophanes composed plays that are still performed today. The philosopher Isocrates affirmed that Athens has been given the role of teaching the whole world.

The scene of Saul the Pharisee, now Paul the apostle of Christ, wandering around the streets of Athens alone is a powerful picture. Athens was highly distinguished in art, literature, and philosophy. Her golden age had never been equaled. The superiority of Greek religion and thought was openly acknowledged and adopted into Roman life. After the Roman conquest of Greece in 86 BC, the poet named Horace famously stated that although Rome had conquered the Greeks militarily, Greece had conquered Rome culturally: “Captive Greece took captive her savage conqueror, and brought the arts to rustic Latium.” While the classical tradition contains much that can be admired, Paul’s Jewish theological worldview sees the pagan world as ignorant of God and trapped in idolatry. The conflict of these worldviews is evident throughout the city. Altars and statues depicting the Olympian gods adorn every street. Their appearance stands in dramatic contrast to the God of Israel, who could not be represented by human hands. Their immorality is incomparable to the Holy One of Israel. Paul’s spirit becomes “provoked within him as he saw that the city was full of idols” (Acts 17:16).

Paul arrives in Athens, not only as a devout Jew, but as an apostle of Jesus Christ. He believes that the God of Israel has acted to fulfill his ancient promises and that he is now calling all nations to himself. So Paul begins to reason in the synagogues with Jews and God-fearers, as well as in the public marketplace with those he encounters there. In the marketplace Paul meets a group of Epicurean and Stoic philosophers (Acts 17:18). These are the two leading philosophical schools of the first century. They espouse radically different accounts of humanity and hold different views of the kind of wisdom necessary to solve human problems. The Epicureans are named after their founder Epicurus. They believe that truth lies within human beings. People should trust in their own perceptions and intuitions. They should look to nature and imitate the behavioral patterns of animals. Epicurus’ school is located in a garden. Their founder teaches that the summit of happiness was pleasure, which is understood as the absence of pain. Human beings are merely made of atoms. When people die, their bodies simply decompose. The gods do not exist and an afterlife should not be feared. Belief in gods only causes unnecessary anxiety, they reason. Epicurus summarizes his philosophical prescription for humanity in what is known as the “four-fold pharmacy,” paraphrased as follows: “Don’t fear god. Don’t worry about death. What is good is easy to obtain. What is terrible is easy to endure.” Take these four pills and your troubles will be solved!

The Stoics are founded by Zeno of Citium. They are named after the portico (stoa) in which they taught. They believe that truth is all around us. The universe is governed by a wise, powerful, and rational god. Human beings are “like god” in their ability to reason. People should not trust their perceptions and intuitions, but rather train their minds to recognize the good. People often make erroneous judgments of what is good; these false judgments arouse passions within. Such passions produce an inordinate desire for pleasure or an irrational fear of pain. The truly wise man, completely governed by reason, will control his passions to achieve happiness. He will be totally unmoved by the circumstances of life. The Stoics make great advances in the areas of formal logic, poetry, and language to train their adherents into the good life. Paul’s proclamation of Christ in Athens will address these competing worldviews with the redemptive narrative of Scripture.

The marketplace conversation first prompts scornful criticism over Paul’s perceived inability with the Greek language; his teaching also draws the dangerous accusation that he is introducing new gods into the city (Acts 17:18). Socrates had earlier been tried and executed for corrupting the youth of Athens and introducing foreign divinities. Paul is brought before the Council of the Areopagus (“Mars Hill”) to defend himself. Here on a rocky outcrop with the Parthenon looming directly behind him, Jesus supplies Paul with the words to say.

Paul begins by affirming that the people of Athens are thoroughly devout. Indeed, they even have an altar with the inscription “To the unknown god” (Acts 17:23). This God whom they revere as unknown, Paul now proclaims from the testimony of Scripture. Paul’s speech reflects a deeply biblical understanding of God’s revelation and his purpose for humanity. He is the creator God who made the world and everything in it. As Lord of heaven and earth, he “does not live in temples made by man, nor is he served by human hands, as though he needed anything, since he himself gives to all mankind life and breath and everything” (Acts 17:24-25; cf. Gen. 1-2). This is a remarkably courageous statement to make with the Parthenon, housing the towering gold and ivory statue of Athena, the patron goddess of the city, immediately behind him. Paul continues that not only is God the creator of the world, he is the creator of all humanity. From one man God made “every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined allotted periods and the boundaries of their dwelling place” (Acts 17:26; cf. Gen. 1-11; Deut. 32:8). Paul’s teaching removes the possibility of any ethnic pride, which stands as a great barrier to the gospel among his Greek audience. The Greeks he addresses believe that their ancestors had sprung up from the ground in Greece and that the most beautiful place in the world belongs to them. Instead, Paul explains that God has determined their place and time in order that all might seek after him (Acts 17:27; cf. Deut. 4:29; Isa. 55:6; Amos 9:12; Zech. 8:22).

Paul bridges the chasm of worldviews with his audience by finding redemptive analogies among the Greek poets. He quotes the Cretan Epimenides, who wrote that Zeus was not dead but alive and that “in him we live and move and have our being.” He cites the Stoic Cleanthes’ Hymn to Zeus that “we are God’s offspring.” However, he concludes by warning them that “we ought not to think that the divine being is like gold or silver or stone, an image formed by the art and imagination of man” (Acts 17:29). Paul’s speech cuts into the heart of the Athenians’ cultural self-perception as a learned people when he says: “the times of ignorance God overlooked, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent” (Acts 17:30). Few visitors have ever called the Athenians ignorant! Paul courageously charges that sin and idolatry in all forms, even based on ignorance, requires repentance. God’s righteous judgment is certain and will be carried out through the Son of Man (Dan. 7:13-14), whom God has raised from the dead.

When the Greeks hear of the resurrection, the conversation abruptly ends. Some mock Paul for an idea that most Greeks at the time considered absurd. Aeschylus had long ago asserted: “Dead people don’t rise!” Others, however, are intrigued and want to hear more at another time. As Paul walks out from the midst of the Council, he turns to see that several people have joined him and believe. The Lord had opened the heart of Dionysius, a member of the Areopagus Council, a woman named Damaris, and several others with them (Acts 17:34).

Key sites: Athens

Key Scripture Reference:

Acts 17:15-34

Key Readings:

Peter Walker, In the Steps of Paul, chapter 8

David Palmer, CASKET EMPTY: God’s Plan of Redemption through History New Testament Study Guide, Pentecost part 2