Greek word · G698

Ἀρεοπαγίτης

areopagitēs

Areopagite

A member of the Council of the Areopagus (in Greek, "the council from the Areopagus"), named after the Areios Pagos, the "Hill of Ares" northwest of the Acropolis where the council originally met. The word refers to a person holding office, not a place.

Appears once in the Greek New Testament. ·

What it means

Ἀρεοπαγίτης (T, -είτης), -ου, ὁ (see supr.),

a judge of the Court of Areopagus: Acts 17:34.†

(AS)

From G. Abbott-Smith, A Manual Greek Lexicon of the New Testament (1922), via STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0).

In depth

From the study of Acts 17:34

Range of meaning

A member of the Council of the Areopagus (in Greek, "the council from the Areopagus"), named after the Areios Pagos, the "Hill of Ares" northwest of the Acropolis where the council originally met. The word refers to a person holding office, not a place.

Against the English

Most versions transliterate it ("the Areopagite"), which tells the reader nothing. NIV's "a member of the Areopagus" and NLT's "a member of the council" explain it. KJV's "Mars' hill" in verses 19 and 22 (Mars being the Latin name for Ares) has led many readers to picture an open-air hill where philosophers gathered, rather than a governing council.

How it drifted

English tradition, starting with the KJV's "Mars' hill", made "Areopagus" mean a location. In Roman times the name usually meant the council itself, which may by then have met elsewhere, possibly in the Royal Stoa in the marketplace.

Used elsewhere in the period

Aristotle's Constitution of the Athenians describes the council's history and its membership of former chief magistrates (archons). Inscriptions and Cicero show that in the Roman period it was again the leading body of Athens, with oversight of religion, education and public order. In Aeschylus's play Eumenides, Athena founds the court on this hill.

Where it appears

Acts · 1

  1. Acts 17:34 Ἀρεοπαγίτης Areopagite

    But some joined him and believed, including Dionysius the Areopagite, a woman named Damaris, and others who were with them.

    Here: A member of the Council of the Areopagus, the oldest and most respected governing body of Athens. He was a man of high civic rank, not just someone who happened to be at the hill.

Word data: STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0), main text only.