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The origin of its name is not clear. In Greek, pagos means big piece of rock. Areios could have come from Ares ( Latin Mars), the Greek god of war, or from the Erinyes (Furies). On its foot was erected a temple dedicated to the Erinyes where murderers used to find shelter so as not to face the consequences of their actions. Near the Areopagus was also constructed the basilica of Dionysius Areopagites.

In pre-classical times (before the 5th century BC6th century BC 5th century BC 4th century BC other centuries) ( 2nd millennium BC 1st millennium BC 1st millennium AD) Events Demotic becomes the dominant script of ancient Egypt Persians invade Greece twice ( Persian Wars) Battle of Marathon ( 490) Battl), the Areopagus was the council of elders of the city, like the Roman SenateThe Roman Senate (Lat. Senatus was a deliberative body which was important in the government of both the Roman Republic and the Roman Empire. The word Senatus is derived from the Latin word senex ("old man" or "elder"); literally, "Senate" is understood t. Like the Senate, its membership derived from those who had held high public office, in this case that of ArchonArchon (Gr. alpha;ρχων, pl. alpha;ρχοντες) is a Greek word that means "ruler" or the like, though it is frequently encountered as the title of some specific public office. In form the word is simply t. In 462 BCCenturies: 4th century BC 5th century BC 6th century BC Decades: 510s BC 500s BC 490s BC 480s BC 470s BC 460s BC 450s BC 440s BC 430s BC 420s BC 410s BC Years: 467 BC 466 BC 465 BC 464 BC 463 BC 462 BC 461 BC 460 BC 459 BC 458 BC 457 BC Events The revolt, EphialtesEphialtes was the son of Eurydemus of Malis. He betrayed the Spartan king Leonidas at the Battle of Thermopylae in 480 BC, by helping the Persian king Xerxes I find another route around the pass of Thermopylae. This allowed the Persians to defeat the smal put through reforms which deprived the Areopagus of almost all its functions except that of a murder tribunal.

In an unusual development, the Areopagus acquired a new function in the 4th century BC5th century BC 4th century BC 3rd century BC other centuries) ( 2nd millennium BC 1st millennium BC 1st millennium AD) Events Invasion of the Celts into Ireland Kingdom of Macedon conquers Persian empire Romans build first aqueduct Chinese use bellows Sig, investigating corruption, although conviction powers remained with the EcclesiaThe ecclesia or ekklesia was also a part of the democracy of ancient Athens. It was the popular assembly, opened to all male citizens over the age of 18 by Solon in 594 BC. In the 5th century BC this amounted to about 43,000 people, but only those wealthy.

The Areopagus, like most city-state institutions, continued to function in Roman times, and it was at that location that Saint Paul delivered the famous 'Whom therefore ye ignorantly worship, him declare I unto you' speech, after seeing an altar 'to the Unknown God'.

The term "Areopagus" also refers to the judicial body of aristocratic origin, the power of which was enhanced by Solon, or the higher court of Greece.