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Bible Dictionaries
Areopagus
Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible
or AREOPAGUS . This is a compound name, which means ‘Hill of Ares,’ that is, Hill sacred to (or connected with) Ares, the Greek god of war, who corresponded to the Latin Mars. The hill referred to is a bare, shapeless mass of rock in Athens, about 380 feet high. It is due west of the Acropolis, and separated from it only by a ridge. From the earliest times known to us this hill was associated with murder trials, and a court known as the ‘Council from the Areopagus’ met on or near it to try such cases. In the account in Acts ( Acts 17:19; Acts 17:22 ) it is not the hill, but the ‘Council’ itself that is referred to, the name of the hill being often used for the Council which met there. In Roman times the Council had power to appoint lecturers at Athens, and St. Paul appears before them to have his aptitude tested. The proceedings were audible to the surrounding crowd. St. Paul’s claim was rejected, and only one member of the Council, Dionysius ‘the Areopagite ’ ( Acts 17:34 ), was convinced by his teaching.
A. Souter.
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Hastings, James. Entry for 'Areopagus'. Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible. https://www.studylight.org/dictionaries/eng/hdb/a/areopagus.html. 1909.
