This month we are blessed to be in Athens, Greece. I never would have guessed that I would have the opportunity to come to this beautiful country. One of the most amazing things about coming to Greece is the Biblical history that is here. Paul’s missionary journey took him all over the Mediterranean. One of those destinations was Athens, Greece. Pretty incredible that we are in the exact same city and country that Paul was in!
A lot of his journey was documented in the book of Acts. I began flipping through Acts to follow Paul’s journey and marvel that I am in the same area. But then a word popped out at me that I did not expect: Areopagus. I was reading chapter 17 because it talks about Greece, both Thessaloniki (Thessalonica) and Athens. Our team spent one day in Thessaloniki before we came to Athens. And that city is where the church of Thessalonians was! I had just been reading 1 and 2 Thessalonians at the same time as well.
But in Acts chapter 17, it talks about a place called Areopagus in Athens. As the name seemed familiar, I looked it up on Google Maps. I had already bookmarked the place in my “want to go”. That got me excited that I was on the right track to follow Paul’s journey in Athens without even knowing it. As I looked more at the map, however, I realized we had already been there!!
Areopagus viewed from above (stolen from Google)
Areopagus (also called Mars Hill) is a huge rock formation that used to be the meeting place for the high court of Athens. It is right next to the famous Acropolis. My team and I had walked over to it after touring the Acropolis. We had no idea what the big boulder was except that it had stairs leading to the top of it and it had a great view. We literally were in the exact place that Paul had been so many years earlier. Amazing. It was even more amazing when we decided to pray for the city of Athens on that rock. We had no idea that Paul had walked there and probably prayed over the city from that spot as well.
Our view on top of Areopagus while praying over the city of Athens
Areopagus literally means “rock of Ares”. This was where Paul preached his famous sermon about the “Unknown God” referred to in Acts 17:23. His sermon is contained in verses 22-31. His sermon is reprimanding the people of Athens for serving so many false gods. He calls the people of Athens to repent and serve the one true God. Just as relevant today as it was back then.
Thousands of years later and we got to be a part of completing Paul’s prayer circle around the city of Athens. What an incredible privilege.
The famous Parthenon on top of the Acropolis (hill)
