Local Details: Paul on Mars Hill
'Testing Luke' #13
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Near the Acropolis in Athens there is a much smaller hill, called 'Mars Hill' or 'Areopagus' in Greek. This is the place where democracy was born. Hundreds of years later when Paul the apostle visited Athens, it was still the meeting place of the city council. Because of this, the council was sometimes called the Areopagus, even when it did not actually meet on Mars hill.
When Paul came to Athens he started out by talking to people in the market place. A group of local philosophers were interested in what he had to say, and they invited him to speak to the Areopagus council - either on Mars Hill itself, or perhaps in the Royal Portico.
Luke's account of Paul's visit to Athens gets Mars Hill right as the meeting place of the council, as well as the people of Athens always wanting to hear the latest ideas. Once again, Luke describes local details reliably.
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