After yesterday’s walking tour of the sights of ancient Athens I am convinced that only an extremely ignorant or extremely partisan person could come to think that the Athenians of antiquity were of lackluster or cavalier religious commitment. No city that went to the lengths of Athens to construct so many expensive, monumental buildings of pious character could possibly be predominated by “moderate†devotees of the divine cults. The vast sums, lavish design and spectacular location, brilliant architectural quality and unbelievable artistic genius, and regular daily and festive observances speak plainly.
Worship of the gods was the overridingly important element of Greek life if Athens is paradigmatic. Winning divine blessing, stilling divine displeasure, honoring divine patronage—this is not the stuff of mere myths and entertaining stories for them. It is the very central activity of life. I will teach and read of Greek religion differently—more authoritatively in light of these insights—for having been here and seen it firsthand.
We plan to spend some time among the Orthodox churches of Athens today. Dionysius the Areopagite, the city’s patron saint and among the first of Paul’s converts after his testimony to Christ during his visit to Athens, has cause for joy in the legacy of Christian witness through the churches.
