This adjective-as-noun designates the Athenians—inhabitants and citizens of Athens, the famous intellectual and cultural center of the ancient Greek world. In Acts 17, it appears twice: the Athenians and foreign residents spent their time on nothing but talking about and listening to new ideas (17:21), and Paul addresses the Athenian council on the Areopagus (17:22). The word marks these people by their city identity, carrying overtones of Athens' reputation for philosophy, rhetoric, and love of novelty. They represent sophisticated Greek culture encountering the gospel.