Areopagus

American  

[ar-ee-op-uh-guhs] / ˌær iˈɒp ə gəs /

noun

1. a hill in Athens, Greece, W of the Acropolis.

2. Greek History. the council that met on this hill, originally having wide public functions but later becoming a purely judicial body.

3. any high tribunal.

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Areopagus British  

/ ˌærɪˈɒpəɡəs /

noun

1. 1. the hill to the northwest of the Acropolis in Athens

   2. (in ancient Athens) the judicial council whose members (Areopagites) met on this hill

2. literary any high court

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Etymology

Origin of Areopagus

< Latin < Greek Áreios págos hill of Ares

Example Sentences

Aeschylus’ “Oresteia” concludes with “Eumenides,” depicting the establishment of the Areopagus court to replace cycles of vengeance, thus mythologizing the roots of jury trials.

From Salon • Apr. 13, 2025

In Acts there's a Scripture describing how he came to the Areopagus, the marketplace in Athens where people exchanged ideas.

From Time Magazine Archive

As every flunking schoolboy knows, runaway film productions have turned Hollywood from a suburb into a synecdoche, and Hollywood's people are living under every other rock from County Galway to the Areopagus hill.

From Time Magazine Archive

In this Areopagus* is concentrated the wisdom of our Party.

From Time Magazine Archive

There already existed a sort of council of elders, called the Areopagus,* which consisted of senior ex-politicians and functioned as an aristocratic court of appeal.

From "Words Like Loaded Pistols" by Sam Leith