Athens

Athens, capital of Attica and the most celebrated city of the ancient world, was the seat of Greek philosophy, literature, and art at the height of classical civilization. Paul visited it on his second missionary journey after being driven from Beroea (Acts 17:15). He debated in the synagogue and the Agora, and was brought before the Areopagus (Mars' Hill) to present his teaching. His sermon there—beginning with the observation of an altar to an unknown God—is one of the most remarkable examples of contextual apologetics in the New Testament (Acts 17:22–31).

Though the Athenian response was mixed—some mocked, some deferred, a few believed—the episode produced converts including Dionysius the Areopagite and a woman named Damaris. Paul left Corinth shortly after (1 Thessalonians 3:1).