Abstract

In front of the Areopagus speech of Acts 17 this essay queries which historical and herme-neutical aspects are to be considered when one deals with the relationship of ancient phi-losophy and early Christian literature. With that, different perspectives must be joined: Both, Christian reception of philosophical contents and methods on one hand and ap-proaches for an explicit dialogue respectively controversy on the other hand, can be drawn into the discourses in the overarching context of Hellenistic culture, in which both philoso-phy and Christianity present themselves as guides to an extensive orientation of life.