Paul, an apostle of our Lord, who once thought he "..had to do many things hostile to the name of Jesus of Nazareth." (Acts 26:9-10). But when he was on a journey to Damascus to do the same, he saw a heavenly vision and heard a voice speaking to him and Saul asked, "'Who art thou Lord?' And the Lord said, 'I am Jesus whom you are persecuting. But arise, and stand on your feet; for this purpose I have appeared to you, to appoint you a minister and a witness not only to the things which you have seen, but also to the things in which I will appear to you; delivering you from the Jewish people and from the gentiles, to whom I am sending you, to open their eyes so that they may turn from darkness to light and from the dominion of Satan to God, in order that they may receive forgiveness of sins and an inheritance among those who have been sanctified by faith in me.' Consequently, King Agrippa, I did not prove disobedient to the heavenly vision, but kept declaring both to those of Damascus first, and also at Jerusalem and then throughout all the region of Judea, and even to the Gentiles, that they should repent and turn to God, performing deeds appropriate to repentance.'" (Acts 26:15-20).

That brings us to our question, "Where did Paul speak in Athens?". On Paul's second missionary journey he arrived at Athens, a city full of idols and his spirit was provoked within him because of it. He began reasoning in the synagogue with the Jews and God-fearing Gentiles and in the marketplace with those who happened to be present. Some of the Epicurean and Stoic philosophers were talking to him and said, "'What would this idle babbler wish to say?' Others, 'He seems to be a proclaimer of strange deities,'-because he was preaching Jesus and the resurrection." (Acts 17:17-18).

So they took Paul to a place to speak, saying to him, "'May we know what this new teaching is which you are proclaiming? For you are bringing some strange things to our ears; we want to know therefore what these thing mean.' (Now all the Athenians and the strangers visiting there used to spend their time in nothing other than telling or hearing something new.)" (Acts 17:19-21). So Paul began speaking to them in the midst of this "place" by saying, "Men of Athens, I observe that you are very religious in all respects. For while I was passing through and examining the objects of your worship, I also found an alter with this inscription, 'TO AN UNKNOWN GOD.' What therefore you worship in ignorance, this I proclaim to you." (Acts 17:22-24). So Paul used the very idols they worshipped as a positive step to teach them of the one true God that they worshipped in ignorance 

And even their own poets have spoken of Him, "…that they should seek God, if perhaps they might grope for Him and find Him, though He is not far from each one of us; for in Him we live and move and exist, as even some of your own poets have said, 'For we also are His offspring.' Being then the offspring of God, we ought not to think that the Divine Nature is like gold or silver or stoner, an image formed by the art and thought of man." (Acts 17:27-29). Paul ends his lesson by saying that God has declared everywhere that men should repent because he has fixed a day for judgment, furnishing proof through Jesus by raising Him from the dead. At that statement, some began to sneer, while others said, "We shall hear you again concerning this.", but others believed the words he spoke, and joined them, including Dionysius and Damaris (Acts 17:30-34).

 But where did all of this take place? "And they took him and brought him to the Areopagus, saying, 'May we know what this new teaching is which you are proclaiming?'" (Acts 17:19).

So there we have the answer to our question, as it is the "Areopagus", which is also known as "The Hill of Ares", a 370 foot high rocky hill where the prime council of Athens historically met, a place to the northwest of the Acropolis!

When we listen to the word being proclaimed, may we be as noble minded as some of those in Athens who had not heard the truth taught before and yet were ready to recognize it for what it really is, the power of God to save for those who act upon it, like Paul who once tried to do everything he could that was hostile to those who followed Jesus of Nazareth.