This week we put on our thinking caps and dove into classical Greek drama and philosophy. We discussed the final play from the Oresteia by Aeschylus: Eumenides. The play explores the mythological founding of the Aeropagus council by Athena, the patron goddess of Athens, as well as instituting the worship of new goddesses: the Eumenides (a.k.a. the Furies). We will explore this connection to our text a bit further next week.
We also compared and contrasted the teachings of Epicurus and Zeno, founders of the Epicurean and Stoic systems of philosophy. It’s important that we understand some of their teachings in order to understand why they reacted the way they did to Paul’s preaching.
>> Click to read this week’s passages in KJV, CSB, ESV, NIV: Acts 17:16-21 <<
Acts 17:16-21 ~ Allusions at the Areopagus
Paul arrives at Athens and begins preaching. He is approached and taken to the Areopagus.
* Recorded: LIVE. This audio has been HEAVILY REDACTED for class member privacy, time, and content
Additional Resources:
Whiteboard:
Ancient Art:
Articles & Books:
Links to resources about the Areopagus and other topics discussed during the lesson:
- Foreign but Familiar Gods: Greco-Romans Read Religion in Acts by Lynn Allan Kauppi (Chapter 5: “Acts 17:16-34 and Aeschylus’ Eumenides)
Read the excerpt on Google: http://bit.ly/kauppi-excerpt - “Paul’s sermon on the Areopagus inspired by the Muses” by Neil Godfrey
https://vridar.org/2011/09/14/pauls-sermon-on-the-areopagus-inspired-by-the-muses/ - “Paul and Orestes before the Areopagus: The Resurrection” by Neil Godfrey
https://vridar.org/2011/09/16/paul-and-orestes-before-the-areopagus-the-resurrection/ - “Acts, the Areopagus and the Introduction of New Gods” by Neil Godfrey
https://vridar.org/2011/09/17/acts-the-areopagus-and-the-introduction-of-new-gods/ - Aeschylus’ three-part drama “Oresteia,”
https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Oresteia&oldid=920837009 - Altar to an unknown god: “Si Deus Si Dea,”
https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Si_deus_si_dea&oldid=880122821 - “Epicureanism and Stoicism: Lessons, Similarities and Differences.” Daily Stoic, 11 Apr. 2018,
dailystoic.com/epicureanism-stoicism/.