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ATHENS

(Gk. Athḗnai)

Temple of Olympian Zeus built in the 2nd century b.c.e. beneath the Acropolis. Originally surrounded by more than 100 Corinthian columns, this was the largest temple in Greece (Philip Gendreau, N.Y.)

The most famous of all Greek cities, named for the Greek goddess of wisdom, Athena. Athens imparted to the Western world influential and lasting ideas about art, philosophy, and politics. While occupation on the slopes of the Acropolis, the rocky mass that is Athens’ most prominent natural feature, dates to Neolithic times, Athens held secondary status throughout the Mycenean period (1600-1200 b.c.e.) and emerged as a significant city only during the 8th century, when it began to dominate the whole region of Attica. Athens apparently resisted the Dorian invasion of Greece ca. 1200 and remained relatively stable and isolated during the Dark Ages (1200-750), though it may have played prominently in the Ionian immigration of Greeks to Asia Minor (11th and 10th centuries).

In the 7th century Athens began its move from monarchy toward democracy with periodic interruptions by tyrants. Early on, official power was divided among appointed rulers, with a council of nobles (the Areopagus) exercising advisory and appointive roles and a larger assembly of citizens gradually gaining more power. The 6th century saw a series of aristocrats, beginning with Solon (ca. 594), initiating constitutional reforms that led to a form of democratic government. Early in the 5th century Athens led Greek resistance to the Persian attempts to conquer Greece, first with the defeat of the Persian army at Marathon (490) and then in the defeat of the Persian navy at Salamis (480).

The demise of the Persian threat led to internal Greek conflict, largely caused by Athenian visions of empire and dominance of other Greek city-states through its navy and commerce. Under Pericles, Athens attained its zenith politically and economically, as well as culturally in architecture, literature, and drama. Increased rivalry between Athens and Sparta erupted in the Peloponnesian War (431-404). Though defeated by Sparta, Athens quickly rebounded as a maritime power and enjoyed its greatest era of influence in philosophy and oratory in the early 4th century.

The role of Athens as a political power gave way to Macedonia under Philip II later in the 4th century. Macedonian control of Athens, along with the rest of Greece, was sealed by Philip’s victory over Theban and Athenian forces at Chaeronea in Boeotia in 338. Philip’s son Alexander the Great, who had been tutored by Aristotle, extended Macedonian dominance, and with it many aspects of Athenian culture, throughout the eastern Mediterranean and beyond. At Alexander’s death (323), Athens revolted against the Macedonians but was subdued by Alexander’s general Antipater, who replaced the Athenian democracy with an oligarchy. Antigonus Gonatas, the founder of the Antigonid dynasty governing the Macedonian Greek portions of Alexander’s empire, made Athens his cultural and religious capital (276). The Athenian yearning for freedom led to a disastrous revolt under Chremonides (267-262). The Macedonian period ended for Athens when Rome eventually defeated the last of the Antigonid rulers and divided Macedonia into four Roman provinces (168).

Athens was spared the devastation that Rome inflicted on many Greek cities during the Second (200-197) and Third (171-168) Macedonian Wars because it sided with Rome. In 88, however, Athenian nationalism led to rebellion against Rome and support of Mithridates of Pontus. The Roman general Sulla overcame Athenian resistance following his defeat of Mithridates but limited his vengeance against the city. Athens also received pardon from Julius Caesar for siding with Pompey (49-48) and from Antony and Octavian for supporting Brutus (44-42). Octavian levied only minor penalties against the city for its support of his rival Antony (31).

Under Roman rule, regional political power resided in rebuilt Corinth (44), the capital of the Roman province of Achaia. Athens continued to flourish, however, as a center of culture, with Roman nobility sending their sons there to study in its philosophical schools. Some of its artistic treasures were confiscated by Caligula and Nero, but the Roman emperors generally treated the city with great deference.

Athens is mentioned in the Bible only in connection with the Apostle Paul. Acts 17:15-34 recounts Paul preaching in Athens. He argued in the synagogue with the Jews and preached in the agora (Acts 17:17), where he encountered Epicurean and Stoic philosophers (v. 18). Epicureanism and Stoicism had been centered in Athens since the late 4th century b.c.e., as had the older Academy of Plato (a student of the famous Athenian philosopher Socrates) and the Lyceum of Plato’s one-time student, Aristotle. Paul then delivered his famous sermon about the “unknown god” in the middle of the Areopagus (possibly the council chamber N of the rocky hill called the Areopagus and not the hill itself; Acts 17:22-31). He also stayed in Athens while sending Timothy to encourage the Christians in Thessalonica (1 Thess. 3:1).

Athens flourished in the 2nd century c.e. due to generous Roman patronage under Hadrian and the Antonine emperors. The agora suffered extensive damage in the Herulian (Gothic) invasion of 267, resulting in an Athenian loss of confidence in Roman protection and a reduction in the area inhabited. Under early Byzantine rule Athens declined in importance. It continued to be a center of philosophical education, however, until the Edict of Justinian (529) closed its schools. By that time, many of its famous monuments had been converted into Christian structures.

Bibliography. R. Barber, Greece, 5th ed. (New York, 1988); M. Grant, The Rise of the Greeks (New York, 1987); R. Meiggs, The Athenian Empire (Oxford, 1972).

Scott Nash

Prayer Tents Bible References - Prayer Tents

ATHENS

Eerdmans Dictionary of the Bible (2000)