Who was Athenagoras of Athens?
Answered from the commentary of For the Young
Athenagoras of Athens was a heathen philosopher who set out to write against Christians, but began by examining their Scriptures and was converted to their defence. He wrote an Apology addressed to Marcus Aurelius, defending Christians against the charges made against them. lists him among the early Christian writers, giving 177 as the year of his death.
The above is AI generated summary based on the writers below.
What the commentators say
The passages the answer is drawn from, the most direct first, with the words that bear on the question marked.
Athenagoras had been a heathen philosopher and purposed to write against the Christians, and that he might the better carry out his purpose he began to examine the books of the Christians — the scriptures. In doing this, God opened his eyes, and instead of attacking the Christians, he defended them in an Apology addressed to Marcus Aurelius. He makes ample reference to the heathen philosophers and poets. "Why should you be offended at our very name?" said he: "the bare name does not deserve your hatred: it is wickedness alone that deserves punishment. If we are convicted of any crime, less or more, let us be punished, but not merely for the name of a Christian; for no Christian can be a bad man unless he acts contrary to his profession."
Ambrose Bishop of Milan, A.D. 397 (Ambr.) Ambrosiaster, the false Ambrose, perhaps Hilary the Deacon of the third century, (Ambrst.) Ammonius of Alexandria, 220 (Ammon.) Andreas of Crete, 7th century (probably not the same person as) Andreas Bishop of Caesarea, 6th century? (And.) Arethas Bishop of Caesarea Capp. 10th century? (Areth.) Arnobius of Africa, 306 (Arnob.) Athanasius Bishop of Alexandria, 373 (Ath.) Athenagoras of Athens, 177 (Athen.) Augustine, Bishop of Hippo, 430 (Aug.) Barnabas, 1st or 2nd century? (Barn.) Basil Bishop of Caesarea, 379 (Bas.) Basil of Seleucia, fl. 440 (Bas. Sel.) Bede the Venerable, d. 735 (Bede.) Caesarius of Constantinople, 368 (Caes.) Canons Apostolic, 3rd century (Canon.) Cassiodorus, 575 (Cassiod.) Chromatius Bishop of Aquileia, 402 (Chrom.) Chrysostom Bishop of Constantinople, 407 (Chrys.) Clement Bishop of Alexandria, fl. 194 (Clem.) Clement Bishop of Rome, fl. 90 (Clem. Rom.) Constitutiones Apostolice, 3rd century (Constit.) Cosmas Indicopleustes, 535 (Cosm.) Cyprian Bishop of Carthage, 258 (Cypr.) Cyril Bishop of Alexandria, 444 (Cyr.) Cyril Bishop of Jerusalem, 386 (Cyr. Jer.) Damascenus John, 730 (Dam.) Didymus of Alexandria, 370 (Did.) Dionysius Bishop of Alexandria, 265 (Dion.) Dionysius (Pseudo-) Areopagita, 5th century (Dion Areop.) Ephraem the Syrian, 378 (Ephr.) Epiphanius Bishop of Cyprus, 403 (Epiph.) Eusebius Bishop of Caesarea, 340 (Eus.) Euthalius Bishop of Sulci? 458 (Euthal.) Euthymius Zigabenus, 1116 (Euthym.) Evagrius of Pontus, 380 (Evagr.) Fulgentius, 5th century (Fulg.) Gaudentius, 4th century (Gaud.) Gregory of Nazianzus, the Divine, Bishop of Constantinople, 389 (Naz.) Gregory Bishop of Nyssa, 396 (Nyss.) Gregory Thaumaturgus Bishop of Neocaesarea, 243 (Thauma.) Gregory the Great, Bishop of Rome, 605 (Greg.) Hieronymus (Jerome), 430 (Hier.) or (Jer.) Hilary Bishop of Poictiers, fl. 354 (Hil.) Hippolytus Bishop of Portus, fl. 220 (Hip.) Ignatius Bishop of Antioch, 107 (Ign.) Irenaeus Bishop of Lyons, 178; chiefly extant in an old Latin version (Iren.) Isidore of Pelusium, 412 (Isid.) Justin Martyr, 164 (Just.) Juvencus, 330 (Juv.) Lactantius, 306 (Lact.) Lucifer Bishop of Cagliari, 367 (Luc.) Marcion the heretic, 130? (Mcion), cited by Epiphanius (Mcion-e), and Tertullian (Mcion-t.) Maximus Taurinensis, 466 (Max. Taur.) Maximus the Confessor, 662 (Max. Conf.) Methodius, fl. 311 (Meth.) Nonnus, fl. 400 (Nonn.) Novatianus, fl. 300? (Novat.) Oecumenius Bishop of Tricca, 10th century? (Oecu.) Origen, b. 185, d. 254 (Or.) Pamphilus the Martyr, 308 (Pamph.) Peter Bishop of Alexandria, 311 (Petr.) Photius Bishop of Constantinople, 891 (Phot.) Polycarp Bishop of Smyrna, 166 (Polyc.) Primasius Bishop of Adrumetum, fl. 550 (Prim.) Prudentius 406 (Prud.) Rufinus of Aquileia, 397 (Ruf.) Severianus, a Syrian Bishop, 409 (Sevrn.) Socrates, Church Historian, fl. 440 (Soc.) Sozomen, Church Historian, 450 (Soz.) Suidas the lexicographer, 980? (Suid.) Tatian of Antioch, 172 (Tat.) Tertullian of Africa, fl. 200 (Tert.) Theodore Bishop of Mopsuestia, 428 (Thdor. Mops.) Theodoret Bishop of Cyrus or Cyrrhus in Comagene, 458 (Thdrt.) Theophilus Bishop of Antioch, 182 (Thph. Ant.) Theophylact Archbishop of Bulgaria, 1071 (Theophyl.) Tichonius? the Donatist, fl. 390 (Tich.) Titus Bp. of Bostra, fl. 370 (Titus Bost.) Victor of Antioch, 430 (Vict. Ant.) Victor Bp. of Tunis, 565 (Vict. Tun.) Victorinus Bp. of Pettau, 360 (Victorin.) Vigilius of Thapsus, 484 (Vigil.)
During the persecutions of the church by the pagans, several addresses were written to the emperor and the Roman people in defence of Christianity. These have been called "Apologies," not of course in the sense of excuses for Christianity, but to let the pagans know somewhat of Christianity, and to defend the Christians against the false accusations constantly raised against them. Apology originally meant a defence.
The three principal charges against the Christians were: — That they were atheists, because they had no gods made by man, and because they would pay no respect to the gods the pagans worshipped. That they ate their own children. That at their private meetings gross immoralities were practised.
It is easy to see, as we have seen, that the Romans with the multitude of gods they could behold, could not understand how the Christians could worship an unseen God. The other two were pure calumnies and had simply to be denied.