From here, Saint Paul spread the gospel

Features

Related Photos

Submitted Photo

November 14, 2009

By Joy Crutchfield The McAlester News-Capital Sat Nov 14, 2009, 12:31 PM CST

On an extraordinary afternoon in Athens my ordinary feet stood on sights considered by many to be sacred. Events occurred on these sites that continue to have a profound impact on our modern world.

On a rocky knoll beneath the Acropolis, they stood where Saint Paul preached to the Athenians in front of the Temple of the Unknown God.

In the Ancient Agora, they stood inside the Stoa of Attalos where none other than Socrates instructed his pupils.

These are two very fortunate feet.

The Areopagus is a rocky knoll below the Propylaea (entrance to the Acropolis). The Council of Elders met here, it was also the site of the high Court of Appeal for criminal and civil cases.

You will know this rocky knoll as Mars Hill, the same Mars Hill where Saint Paul preached to the Athenians. (Speech and location are described in Acts 17)

The Athenians were a highly superstitious people. With dozens of high gods and hundreds of lower ones, they nonetheless erected a Temple to the Unknown God just in case any remained that had not revealed themselves to them.

In his sermon Saint Paul identified this unknown god and converted a senator on the spot who was canonized and as Saint Dionysius the Areopagite became the patron of Athens.

The Ancient Agora was the center of public life, political and commercial, “downtown” if you will. 500 Senators met here to deliberate on laws, stone slabs were inscribed with decrees, and a small slab reminded the citizens of Athens to bear themselves with due dignity and decorum.

The marketplace was here, and all roads, both principal urban roads and country highways, converged here.

The most dominant buildings in the Agora are the Stoa of Attalos and the Temple of Hephaestus. They stand on opposite ends of the Agora, facing each other.

The Stoa of Attalos was actually a covered area used to protect public gatherings from the elements.

It is about 22 feet wide and 130 feet long (I stepped it off with my fortunate feet). It is bordered by Doric columns and has stalls on one side which currently house the incredible relics of the Agora museum.

Socrates instructed his students here, encouraging piety, wisdom, temperance, courage and justice. Psychotherapy today exists based on his assumption that “an unexamined life is not worth living”. Plato also taught between these same columns.

The best preserved ancient Greek temple is the Temple of Hephaestus. It is of Doric order, and is situated on the north-west side of the Agora, on top of the Agoraios Kolonos hill. Inaugurated in 416 B.C., the 34 columns still support the original roof.

Hephaestus was the Greek god of blacksmiths, artisans, and sculptors, and is credited with crafting the equipment of the gods. He made Achilles’ armor, Hermes’ winged helmet and sandals, and is the only god I know of with an affliction. He was lame.

Whether he was born lame or became lame when his mother Hera tossed his deformed body from Mount Olympus, no one knew.

It is said he fell for nine days finally landing in the ocean, where Achilles’ mother rescued him. Lame or not, the Greeks honored him with an incredible temple that deserves your detailed inspection when you visit the Agora.

Plan to spend at least half a day absorbing these two wonderful areas beneath the Acropolis.

Joy Gawf-Crutchfield owns The Joy of Travel. See her travel photos at www.thejoyoftravel.us or contact her at 918-339-4805.

Text Only

Features

10 Things to Know for Wednesday
2. FINANCIAL REGULATORS PROBING FACEBOOK IPO
They want to find out whether the bank that handled the sale, Morgan Stanley, selectively informed clients of an analyst’s negative report on the company before the stock started trading. Facebook stock has since dropped 18 percent.

May 23, 2012 4 Stories
10 Things to Know for Tuesday
3. JOPLIN, MO., MARKS ANNIVERSARY OF TORNADO THAT KILLED 161
Obama’s speech praising residents for their “bigness of spirit” precedes events today that include a community walk through the path of the twister and a moment of silence at 6:41 p.m., the precise time it hit.

May 22, 2012 3 Stories
What the dog said
May 19, 2012
10 Things to Know for Wednesday
1. NATION’S NUCLEAR REGULATORS SCALE BACK EMERGENCY READINESS
An overhaul of emergency planning near U.S. reactors requires fewer exercises for accidents and recommends fewer people be evacuated right away.

May 16, 2012 3 Stories
Poll: Half of Americans call Facebook a fad
Half of Americans think Facebook is a passing fad, according to the results of a new Associated Press-CNBC poll. And, in the run-up to the social network’s initial public offering of stock, half of Americans also say the social network’s expected asking price is too high.

May 15, 2012 2 Photos
Study: Phone co customer satisfaction evens out
Improvements in customer satisfaction at Sprint Nextel Corp. and AT&T Inc. have narrowed differences among the Big 4 wireless carriers to the point that they’re basically even in terms of pleasing their subscribers, according to a study released Tuesday.

May 15, 2012
10 Things to Know for Tuesday
1. U.S. ADOPTS STRATEGY FOR FIGHTING ALZHEIMER’S
The Obama administration today sets a 2025 deadline to find effective treatments and perhaps even a way to prevent the mind-destroying disease that afflicts 5.4 million Americans.

May 15, 2012
At the movies
Showing at McAlester's Cinema 69 Movie Theatre, according to www.mcalestercinema.readyhosting.com: "The Avengers," "The Pirates: Band of Misfits," "The Raven" and more.

May 9, 2012 3 Photos 1 Story
10 Things to Know for Wednesday
4. North Carolina voters approve amendment that slams door shut on gay marriage
More than 60 percent of voters approve the measure defining marriage solely as a union between a man and a woman.

May 9, 2012 4 Stories
Scholarship winner is great-granddaughter of retired OKLA theater manager
Meghan Williams, great-grand-daughter of Billie Bohreer and the late Roy Bohreer of McAlester, has been awarded the Gates Scholarship.

May 7, 2012 1 Photo
More Features Headlines

A recent study of southern tornadoes has found that storm shelters did not protect them. Where do you take shelter when tornadoes threaten?

Features

Search Results

Related Photos

From here, Saint Paul spread the gospel

A recent study of southern tornadoes has found that storm shelters did not protect them. Where do you take shelter when tornadoes threaten?

Site Map

Contact Us