17:16 Athens stood five miles inland from its port of Piraeus, which was on the Saronic Gulf of the Aegean Sea. Athens had reached its prime 500 years before Paul visited it, in the time of Pericles (461-429 B.C.).705However it was still the cultural and intellectual center of the Greek world. Paul observed many of the temples and statues that still stand there today. Now these objects are of interest mainly for their artistic value, but in Paul's day they were idols and places of worship that the Greeks regarded as holy.
"It was said that there were more statues of the gods in Athens than in all the rest of Greece put together, and that in Athens it was easier to meet a god than a man."706
Paul's Jewish upbringing and Christian convictions made all this idolatry repulsive to him.
"The intellectual capital of the world was producing idolatry."707
17:17 Paul continued his ministry to Jews and God-fearing Greeks in the synagogue but also discussed the gospel with any who wanted to do so in the market place (Gr. agora; cf. Jer. 20:9). These people were probably not God-fearing Gentiles but simply pagan Gentiles. The Agora was the center of civic life in Athens. There the philosophers gathered to discuss and debate their views. It lay to the west of the Acropolis, on which the Parthenon still stands, and Mars Hill.
17:18 Epicureans were disciples of Epicurus (341-270 B.C.) who believed that pleasure was the greatest good and the most worthy pursuit of man. They meant pleasure in the sense of tranquility and freedom from pain, disquieting passions, and fears, especially the fear of death. Epicurus taught that the gods took no interest in human affairs. His followers also believed that everything happened by chance and that death was the end of all. This philosophy is still popular today. One of its modern poets was A. C. Swinburne.
". . . Epicureanism is most fairly described as the ancient representative of modern utilitarianism."708
Stoics followed the teachings of Zeno the Cypriot (340-265 B.C.). The name "stoic"comes from "stoa,"a particular portico (Gr. stoa) where he taught when he lived in Athens. His followers placed great importance on living in harmony with nature. They stressed individual self-sufficiency and rationalism, and they had a reputation for being quite arrogant. Stoics were pantheists who believe that God is in everything, and everything is God. They were also fatalistic. Their teaching is also common today. A modern poet who set forth this philosophy of life, W. E. Henley, wrote, "I am the master of my fate; I am the captain of my soul,"in his poem Invictus. Stoics were also idealists.709
The Greek word spermologos, translated "babbler,"refers to someone who picked up the words of others as a bird picks up seeds. Paul's hearers implied that he had put together a philosophy of life simply by picking up this and that scrap of an idea from various sources. Others accused him of proclaiming new gods, though his critics seem to have misunderstood his references to the resurrection (Gr. anastasis) as being references to a person, perhaps a female counterpart of Jesus.
17:19-20 The exact location of the Areopagus (Gr., Areios Pagos; lit. court or council of Ares, the Greek god of war) is difficult to determine. The Athenians used the word in two ways in Luke's day.710It referred to the Hill of Ares (i.e., Mars Hill) on which the Council of the Areopagus conducted its business in ancient times. It also referred to the group of about 30 citizens known as the Council of the Areopagus who met in the Royal Portico of the Agora. The question is, does "the Areopagus"refer to the people or the place? Luke's description is ambiguous.
The Council of the Areopagus had authority over religion, morals, and education in Athens. Its members wanted to know what Paul was advocating. Enemies of Socrates had poisoned him for teaching strange ideas in Athens, so Paul was in some danger.
17:21 Luke inserted this sentence to help his readers who might not be familiar with Athenian culture know how unusually attracted the Athenians were to new ideas.
"We Athenians stay at home doing nothing, always delaying and making decrees, and asking in the market if there be anything new."711
This interest gave Paul an opportunity to preach the gospel.
