Definition of areopagite in English English dictionary
- A member of the ancient-Athenian conciliary court of the Areopagus
Each year the Athenians elected ten archons from among the rich and noble, and at the end of that year the ten graduated into the Areopagus, where they served for life. In the year 487/6, however, a new law provided that the archons should be chosen by a procedure ending in a lottery. Henceforth, these officials would be selected by chance and not because of their special qualities of lineage, mind, or character. Aristotle reports that “After the Persian Wars the Council of the Areopagus grew strong again and controlled the city . . . . For seventeen years the constitution remained the same, with the Areopagites in charge.” (Aristotle, Ath.Pol. 23.1; 25.1) These seventeen years (479 – 462) were the period when Cimon came to exercise the dominant position in Athens. Right after the Persian War, most Areopagites had still been elected rather than allotted, and their prestige had been enhanced by their good service in the war. They passed no new laws: they merely began to exercise their old informal rights, shielded by a favorable political climate, especially the support of the increasingly popular Cimon.
- {n} a member of the court of Athens
- {i} member of ancient Greek legislative body of the Areopagus
- A member of the Areopagus
- a member of the council of the Areopagus
- Dionysius the Areopagite
- flourished 1st century Biblical figure, converted by St. Paul. His conversion at Athens is mentioned in Acts 17: 34, and he acquired a posthumous reputation largely through confusion with later Christians similarly named. Around AD 500, a series of influential Greek treatises uniting Neoplatonism and Christian theology were forged in his name; the writer, probably a Syrian monk, is now known as Pseudo-Dionysius the Areopagite
- Pseudo-Dionysius the Areopagite
- flourished 500 Probably a Syrian monk. Under the pseudonym Dionysius the Areopagite, he wrote a series of treatises that united Neoplatonic philosophy (see Neoplatonism), Christian theology, and mystical experience. Their doctrinal content covers the Trinity, the angelic world, and the Incarnation and redemption and provides an explanation of all that is. His treatise "On Divine Names" discusses the nature and effects of contemplative prayer. The Dionysian corpus was absorbed into Greek and Eastern Christian theologies and also influenced mystics in the Western church. Thomas Aquinas was among those who wrote commentaries on the works