Day 11 – Walking in the Footsteps of Paul

Athens

Thursday, Oct. 17, 2024

We got an early head start as we made our way to the Acropolis.

The Acropolis is the primary focal point looming above the city of Athen. The buildings we saw were constructed around 450 B.C. Paul would have noticed these buildings on his visit to Athens (Acts 17:16-31). Still standing is the Theatre of Dionysus

And of course the most famous of all, the Parthenon

Our entire pilgrim group had to get a picture

Then Catherine and I posed for one also

Next stop was Mars Hill where we know Paul stood. When Paul entered a new city, he usually began preaching in the synagogue (Acts 17:17). Several Greeks who heard Paul then asked him to address the philosophers at the Areopagus, which the Romans called “Mars Hill.” The council that met there enjoyed hearing new teaching and philosophies and invited Paul to share his ideas about Jesus and the resurrection. This is where Paul preached his famous sermon “to the unknown god” (Acts 17:22-31). This is Mars Hill now…

This is the view from Mars Hill over Athens. It probably looks a little different than when Paul was up here.

Before we left, the group took a picture at the bottom of Mars Hill where Paul’s story is told behind us.

We then hopped on the bus and drove around to see some more of the famous sites of Athens. Our first stop (or drive by) was the Panathenaic Stadium where the first modern Olympic Games were held in 1896. You can see the Olympic rings in the background.