Ἀθῆναι G0116
Athens; the renowned Greek city, center of philosophy and culture, where Paul preached on the Areopagus
Athens (Ἀθῆναι), the celebrated city of ancient Attica, appears four times in the NT, all connected with Paul's second missionary journey. Luke records Paul's arrival (Acts 17:15), his provocation at the city's idolatry (Acts 17:16), and his departure for Corinth (Acts 18:1). Paul himself recalls sending Timothy back from Athens (1 Thess 3:1). The plural form (like Θῆβαι) reflects ancient convention. Every translation preserves the proper noun with minimal adaptation: Spanish 'Atenas,' French 'Athenes,' German 'Athen.'
Senses
1. sense 1 — Athens — the principal city of Attica in Greece, famous as a center of philosophy, rhetoric, and religion. Paul visited during his second missionary journey and delivered his celebrated Areopagus address there (Acts 17:22-31). Luke emphasizes the city's pervasive idolatry (Acts 17:16) and intellectual curiosity (17:21). All four NT references cluster around this single visit, with 1 Thessalonians 3:1 recalling Paul's decision to remain in Athens alone while sending Timothy to Thessalonica. Cross-lingual forms (spa 'Atenas,' fra 'Athenes,' deu 'Athen') show consistent phonological adaptation of the Greek toponym. 4×
AR["أثينا", "أَثينا", "أَثِينَا"]·ben["আথেনা", "আথেন্সে"]·DE["Athen", "Ἀθήναις"]·EN["Athens", "Athēnai"]·FR["Athènes", "Ἀθήναις"]·heb["אַתֵּנָאי", "אַתוּנָא"]·HI["अथिनै", "एथेंस"]·ID["Atena", "Athena"]·IT["Atene", "athēnais"]·jav["Atena", "Aténa"]·KO["아덴까지", "아덴에서", "아덴으로부터", "아테네에"]·PT["Atenas"]·RU["Афин", "Афинах"]·ES["Atenas", "Athḗnai"]·SW["Athene"]·TR["Atina", "Atina'da", "Atina'dan", "Atina'ya"]·urd["اتھینس", "ایتھینس"]
Related Senses
H3808 1. simple negation (not) (4839×)G1722 1. locative: in, within (2442×)H1004b 1. house, dwelling, building (2015×)G3756 1. not (negation particle) (1635×)H4480a 1. source or separation (1198×)H5892b 1. city, town (1093×)G1519 1. direction: into, to, toward (1061×)H3427 1. Qal: to dwell, inhabit (937×)G1537 1. from, out of (source/origin) (886×)H8034 1. Name (designation / identifier) (856×)G3361 1. subjective negation (not) (834×)G1909 1. on, upon (spatial surface) (757×)H0369 1. existential negation: there is not (738×)H5869a 1. in the eyes/sight of (evaluative) (734×)H5650 1. Servant, attendant, subject (723×)H0408 1. prohibitive negation do-not (712×)G2443 1. so that, in order that (purpose/result) (665×)G0575 1. from (649×)G1223 1. through, by means of (582×)H3541 1. thus, so, in this manner (569×)
BDB / Lexicon Reference
Ἀθῆναι, Doric dialect Ἀθᾶναι, ῶν, αἱ, the city of Athens (for the plural compare Θῆβαι, Μυκῆναι), Refs 8th c.BC+ —Ἀθῆναι generally, ={Ἀττική}, of the whole country, Refs 5th c.BC+ __II adverbs, Ἀθήναζε, to Athens, Refs 5th c.BC+: Ἀθήνηθεν, from Athens, Refs 5th c.BC+; poetry Ἀθηνόθεν, Refs: Ἀθήνησιν, __A at Athens, Refs 4th c.BC+