The Great City of Paganism

Athens was the capital city of heathenism. Here Paul met with a people famous for their intelligence and culture. Statues of gods and deified heroes met the eye everywhere, while magnificent architecture and paintings represented national glory and the worship of heathen gods. The senses of the people were charmed by splendid works of art. Massive sanctuaries and temples involving immense expense were everywhere. Sculptures and shrines commemorated victories in war and the deeds of celebrated men.ULe 87.6

As Paul looked at the beauty and saw the city completely engrossed in idolatry, his spirit was stirred, and his heart went out in pity to the people who. Despite their culture, they were ignorant of the true God. Paul’s spiritual nature was so much alive to the beauty of heavenly things that the glory of the riches that will never perish made the splendor surrounding him look valueless in his eyes. As he saw the magnificence of Athens, he was deeply impressed with the importance of the work before him.ULe 88.1

While he waited for Silas and Timothy, Paul was not idle. He “reasoned in the synagogue with the Jews and with the Gentile worshipers, and in the market place daily with those who happened to be there.” But the apostle was soon to meet paganism in its most subtle, alluring form.ULe 88.2

As an unusual teacher, Paul was setting new and strange doctrines before the people. Some of the great men of Athens found Paul and started talking with him. Soon a crowd gathered. Some ridiculed the apostle as someone far beneath them socially and intellectually. They jeered, “‘What does this babbler want to say?’ Others said, ‘He seems to be a proclaimer of foreign gods.’”ULe 88.3

The Epicurean and Stoic philosophers and others who came in contact with him soon saw that Paul had a store of knowledge greater than their own. His intellectual power commanded the respect of the educated, while his earnest, logical reasoning held the attention of all in the audience. He was able to meet all classes with convincing arguments. So the apostle stood unflinching, matching logic with logic, philosophy with philosophy.ULe 88.4

His heathen opponents reminded him about the fate of Socrates, who introduced strange gods and had been condemned to death. They counseled Paul not to endanger his life in the same way. But when they saw that he was determined to accomplish his errand among them and to tell his story no matter the cost, they decided to give him a fair hearing on Mars’ Hill.ULe 88.5