Day 2: The Acropolis and a brief Greek lesson

Athens, Greece. September 8, 2010

Yani, our guide (in the blue hat) began our day with some notable Greek words and a brief etymology lesson. Kalimera (good morning), Ne (like nay but it means yes!), okhi (no) and Efharistó (thank you). Does thank you look like another word you might be familiar with? Well, maybe not when you see it written with the English letters but if you saw it written with Greek letters it actually begins “eu” like… Eucharist, the great Thanksgiving, the breaking of the bread. Interesting but not surprising. Just think when you use the work Eucharist – you’re speaking Greek and you didn’t even realize it! OK, enough Greek, time to get on the road.

We headed for the Acropolis and the Parthenon this morning. Acropolis means the high city. The Parthenon, located in the Acropolis, is the temple dedicated to the goddess Athena. A statue of Athena, 12 meters high was said to have stood in the Parthenon. Made of gold and ivory, she must have been a sight to behold.

Athens was filled with a plethora of worship to a variety of gods and goddesses during the time of Paul. One scholar noted that there were more deities in Athens than there were men. This is the situation that Paul encounters when he first comes to Athens to preach the good news of Jesus Christ.

Once you’ve walked through the Acropolis and the many museums that house the statues of the gods and goddesses that were worshipped in Athens, you begin to grasp the enormity of the pagan worship happening in this city. Paul was determined to introduce Jesus and the hope of resurrection in this city filled with idols. Acts 17:16 notes that Paul was “deeply distressed to see that the city was full of idols.” He argued in the synagogue, debated with Stoic and Epicurean philosophers and preached at the Areopagus (a hill next to the acropolis). We stood in the Areopagus today and read Paul’s words to the Athenians. We gave thanks, like Paul did almost 2,000 years ago, to the God in whom we “live and move and our being.” You can read all of those words for yourself in Acts 17:22-28. The picture above is our group at the Areopagus standing in front of a plaque inscribed with Paul’s words.

As Paul would say…Grace and Peace to you. I bring you greetings from the entire group!
Suzy