The Apostle Paul and the Unknown God

Introduction

From our modern perspective of Athens, it may seem strange to us that the city played a lesser role in the journeys of Paul than places such as Corinth and Ephesus. Athens was still a renowned center of philosophy in the 1st century, but Corinth and Ephesus, along with Antioch, Alexandria, and of course Rome, had far surpassed it as crossroads of activity. In comparison to these cities, in the 1st century, Athens was a relatively small city of perhaps 20,000 to 25,000 inhabitants, compared to its modern population of over 3 million in the metropolitan area. The Roman poet Horace (66-8 BC), who studied in Athens at the age of nineteen (in 46 BC.), referred to it as an “empty” (vacuae) or quiet city. As far as we know, no letters were written to Athens by Paul, and we hear nothing of the church at Athens until much later in Christian history, and then it does not seem to have had the prominence of others.

But that doesn’t mean Athens is insignificant since it is the location of Paul’s famous “Men of Athens” speech during his second missionary journey. I want to examine Paul’s sermon from the Areopagus, or Mars Hill (Acts 17:16-34) as it gives good insight into the Greek culture and the city of Athens.

Paul’s Sermon at Mars Hill

Northwest of the city of Athens, Greece, is a small hill covered in stone seats that rises some 377 feet above the land below and not far from the Acropolis and agora (marketplace or town square). This location was called the Hill of Ares or the Areopagus (Acts 17:19, 22), a combination of the Greek words for “god of war” and “stone”: the Areopagus is literally “Ares’ Rock.” Ares was the Greek god of war and according to Greek mythology, this hill was the place where Ares stood trial before the other gods for the murder of Poseidon’s son Alirrothios. The equivalent to Ares in Roman mythology is Mars. By the time of Paul and the early Christian church, this location was under Roman control, so the spot was known as Mars Hill. Mars Hill served as the meeting place for the Areopagus Court, the highest court in Greece for civil, criminal, and religious matters. Even under Roman rule in the time of the New Testament, Mars Hill remained an important meeting place where philosophy, religion, and law were discussed.

The older Greek term, Areopagus, was still used in Paul’s day, mostly in reference to the council that met there. When Paul gave his famous address on Mars Hill, one could say this occurred both “at” the Areopagus and “in front of” the Areopagus. For the most part, however, the term Areopagus as used in Acts chapter 17 refers to the group of Athenian leaders and thinkers who met on the hill.

The purpose of the Athenian Areopagus was like that of the Jewish Sanhedrin. Both were groups of respected local men charged with investigating spiritual or philosophical ideas. Both groups were composed of distinct sects holding contrary beliefs in certain areas. Both were used somewhat like a court to settle disputes and judge certain cases. Unlike the Sanhedrin, however, the Athenian Areopagus was primarily interested in defending a Greek concept of “the gods.”

Reading in Acts 17, we see Paul arriving in Athens after preaching in Thessalonica and Berea. Paul saw a positive response to the Gospel in these cities, and because of that, he was persecuted by the Jewish leaders who didn’t want him to preach that Jesus was/is the Promised Messiah. The pressure continued to mount on Paul and company to where they could not continue in these places. So, Paul went ahead of his traveling companions to Athens and sent for Silas and Timothy to join him as soon as they could.

We know that when Paul arrived in Athens, he found a city “given over to idols” (Acts 17:16). Paul must have been reminded of the ancient Greek proverb, “In Athens, there are more gods than men.” Imagine a city with temples and shrines on every corner, and niches in nearly every wall displaying statues of their gods. The Greeks had temples to their pantheon of twelve gods (commonly called the Twelve Olympians), but they also had hero cults, mystery religions, practiced veneration of ancestors, and even worshipped the Agnostos Theos, or the “Unknown god”.

In his usual manner, Paul began “reasoning in the synagogue with the Jews and with the Gentile worshipers” and then also proclaimed the gospel “in the marketplace daily with those who happened to be there” (Acts 17:17). While at the marketplace he encountered some Epicurean and Stoic philosophers (Acts 17:18) who, having heard Paul proclaim the resurrected Jesus Christ, wanted to learn about “this new doctrine” he was teaching, so they “brought him to the Areopagus” to hear more from him (Acts 17:19-20).

We know from history that the Epicureans were followers of Epicurus (341-270 BC). The Epicurean philosophers generally believed that God existed but that He was not interested or involved with humanity, and that the main purpose of life was pleasure. On the other hand, the Stoic thinkers regarded Zeno (340-265 BC) as their founder. The Stoic philosophers had the worldview that “God was the world’s soul” and that the goal of life was “to rise above all things” so that one showed no emotional response to either pain or pleasure. Both the Epicureans and Stoics believed in many gods. These groups and others with their dramatically opposing worldviews loved to discuss and debate philosophy and religion. Intrigued by what they considered Paul’s “babblings” about the resurrection of Christ, they brought him to the Areopagus where the Athenians and foreigners “spent their time in nothing else but to tell or hear some new thing” (Acts 17:21).

Here is where the story gets interesting. Standing amid the Areopagus, Paul tells those gathered that he realized Athenians were very religious, having seen their many objects of worship. But one altar among the many caught his attention. On it were inscribed the words “TO AN UNKNOWN GOD.” Paul masterfully uses this altar as an opportunity to share the truth about the one true God of Heaven.

No doubt, you have heard this part before. And you may also know that Paul is about to quote (in Acts 17:28) a Greek poem called Cretica written by an ancient poet and philosopher named Epimenides of Cnossos (c. 600 B.C.), using the line, “for in Him we live and move and exist.”[1] But something about Epimenides you may not have known before, is that he was a Greek seer (“prophet”) that the Athenians believed once saved their city from a great pestilence. Epimenides is credited for saving Athens with a bit of spiritual advice for the Athenians to make sacrifices to the unknown god.

Diogenes Laërtius documents this in his book, “Lives of the Eminent Philosophers” where he tells the backstory about Epimenides:

“Hence, when the Athenians were attacked by pestilence, and the Pythian priestess bade them purify the city, they sent a ship commanded by Nicias, son of Niceratus, to Crete to ask the help of Epimenides. And he came in the 46th Olympiad (595-592 BC), purified their city, and stopped the pestilence in the following way. He took sheep, some black and others white, and brought them to the Areopagus; and there he let them go whither they pleased, instructing those who followed them to mark the spot where each sheep lay down and offer a sacrifice to the local divinity. And thus, it is said, the plague was stayed. Hence even to this day altars may be found in different parts of Athens with no name inscribed upon them, which are memorials of this atonement” (BOOK I p115,117 CHAPTER 10).

Fast forward to first century Athens, where we read of Paul was standing in the Aeropagus in the very place where Epimenides stood centuries before telling them to build altars and sacrifice to the unknown god so they could be saved. Now Paul has been invited to speak there, but this time Paul is pointing to these same altars saying in effect, “You have ignorantly worshipped this unknown god who once saved your city back then, and I am His messenger here to tell you exactly who He is.” Since the Greeks obviously didn’t know who this god was, Paul explains that this “unknown god” was the biblical God, the Creator of heaven and earth, Who does not dwell in temples made with hands. He tells them God is the Source of life for all nations, and He is really the One they were unwittingly seeking. Paul says God is near; in fact, “in him we live and move and have our being” (Acts 17:27-28). The Greeks, however, were unable to find the true God on their own, so God came searching for them!

Wow! Once you know the history about the altar to the unknown god referenced by Paul, some new insights come into focus. God doesn’t waste a moment of our history! I believe God was at work long before Paul arrived and created the situation that caused the Athenians to place those altars in their city. Paul put it this way to them, “From one man he has made every nationality to live over the whole earth and has determined their appointed times and the boundaries of where they live” (Acts 17:26). God put the Athenians in Athens, and He put the answer right under their noses. In the right moment of history, God sent Paul to Athens to proclaim the message of the True Sacrifice! God sent a Sacrifice to save them, but it wasn’t the sheep that Epimenides had them sacrifice that saved them - it was the Lamb of God, who offered the atoning sacrifice!

As Paul preached to them, “So having overlooked the times of ignorance, God is now proclaiming to mankind that all people everywhere are to repent, because He has set a day on which He will judge the world in righteousness through a Man whom He has appointed, having furnished proof to all people by raising Him from the dead” (Acts 17:30-31). As one would expect, not all of those in the Areopagus who heard Paul accepted his words. Some, in fact, found his teaching of the resurrection laughable (Acts 17:32). Yet some of those present, including a man named Dionysius, believed what Paul said (Acts 17:34). Just as some of the Jewish Sanhedrin had heard the truth and accepted it (Mark 15:43; John 19:38-39), some of the pagan Areopagus members believed after hearing the Word.

A casual reading of this passage in Acts might cause one to consider Paul a master of spin that could randomly notice an altar to an “Unknown God” and use it to help him introduce the Gospel to the pagan Athenians. But the truth is, God used the education of Paul and his knowledge of Greek history and culture to prepare him to preach to the Athenians. We don’t know how Paul knew about the Epimenides or the backstory on the altar to the unknown god, but I imagine Paul, as student of Gamaliel (Acts 22:3) may have learned about this as part of his studies. If so, he probably wondered why he had to learn anything about the Greeks and perhaps read poems and stories by Epimenides to complete his studies. What did that have to do with God’s purposes?

In God’s providence, you are placed where you are to serve God’s plan. Not a moment of your life will be wasted; He will use it to bring Him glory if you will allow it. Your own experiences are part of how God has shaped you to be a witness for Him. Lean into your background and experiences, God can use them to bring Him glory and salvation to others.

Conclusion

Maybe you are like me; you knew the story of Paul preaching on Mars Hill, but this historical understanding has deepened your appreciation of God’s sovereign hand in history and in how He shaped Paul as a missionary.  Hopefully it has also encouraged you to advance the Gospel in your circle of influence!

References:

https://www.baptistmessenger.com/paul-in-athens-the-backstory-you-never-knew/

https://www.gotquestions.org/unknown-god.html

https://www.gotquestions.org/Mars-Hill.html

https://www.gotquestions.org/Areopagus.html

https://www.gotquestions.org/in-Him-we-live-move-have-our-being.html

Endnotes

[1] Acts 17: 28 states:  “‘For in him we live and move and have our being.’ As some of your own poets have said, ‘We are his offspring.’” (NIV) The phrase “For in him we live and move and have our being” comes from the poem Cretica written by Cretan poet, Greek seer, and philosopher Epimenides. The phrase “We are his offspring” comes from Phainomena (which includes an introductory hymn to Zeus) written by the Cilician Stoic philosopher Aratus.