The above altar is located on
Palatine Hill in
Rome, Italy where once stood the palaces of the Caesars. It dates from about 100 B.C. and has the inscription: TO THE UNKNOWN GOD.
"Now while Paul waited for them (Timothy and Silas) at Athens, his spirit was provoked within him when he saw that the city was given over to idols (statues, images or any object used as an aid to worship either false gods or the true God). Therefore he reasoned in the synagogue with the Jews and with the Gentile worshipers, and in the marketplace daily with those who happened to be there. Then certain Epicurean (followers of Epicurus. They taught that the highest aim of man was to seek a pleasant life.) and Stoic (who taught that man's happiness consisted in bringing himself into harmony with the universe) philosophers encountered him.
"And some said, 'What does this babbler want to say?' Others said, 'He seems to be a proclaimer of foreign gods,' because he preached to them Jesus and the resurrection.
"Then Paul stood in the midst of the Areopagus (also known as Mars Hill where the Athenian supreme tribunal was held) and said, 'Men of Athens, I perceive that in all things you are very religious; for as I was passing through and considering the objects of your worship, I even found an altar with this inscription: TO THE UNKNOWN GOD. Therefore, the One whom you worship without knowing, Him I proclaim to you:' " (Acts 17:16-18, 22-23, NKJV)
