The "hill of Ares" (Mars Hill), situated west of the Athenian Acropolis, meeting-place of the ancient council or court of Athens, known as the "council of the Areopagus". Its functions varied from time to time; originally limited to cases of capital crime, and in mythology the Areopagus was a court of homicide even for the gods. Ares, the Greek god of war, would have been the first to be tried on the hill, for the slaying of Halirrhothius, Poseidon's son; and Orestes was later tried for the murder of his mother, Clytemnestra. At other times the court dealt with legal, political, educational and religious affairs. The Areopagus lost much of its power and influence with the development of the democracy in the 5th century B.C. Although its prestige declined, it survived until the late Roman Empire and still commanded honor and respect.
On one of Paul's visits to Athens, he was led to the Areopagus by Epicurean and Stoic philosophers (Acts 17:16-20). Paul addressed them but when he spoke of the Resurrection, they mocked him. However, some believed, among them Dionysius the Areopagite and a woman named Damaris (Acts 17:22-34).
Concordance
Acts 17:19, 22