Athens - Areios Pagos

Rock hill to the north-west of the Acropolis, near Pnyx. It was named after the administrative body of the aristocracy (7th century BC) , which is presumed to have resided there.

Ancient Greeks attributed the name to Ares (Mars), Greek god of war, or to Erinnyes the Furies, godesses of vengeance and remorse). The name is probably related to the later duties of the body, which after 462 BC were limited to judging cases of "voluntary murder" and, occasionally, religious crimes. The judging of murder cases was held in the open air, so that the judges would not have to stand under the same roof with the murderer, which was considered unclean, whilst the judging of religious crimes was held at Basileios Stoa of the Agora of the ancient Athens.

The fact that apostle Paul chose this place to preach in the 1st century AD is probably due to the fact that foreign religion was part of the jurisdiction of Areios Pagos.