Acts 17:17

So he reasoned (dielegeto men oun). Accordingly therefore, with his spirit stirred by the proof of idolatry. Imperfect middle of dialegw, same verb used in verse Romans 2 which see. First he reasoned in the synagogue at the services to the Jews and the God-fearers, then daily in the agora or marketplace (southwest of the Acropolis, between it and the Areopagus and the Pnyx) to the chance-comers, "them that met him" (pro tou paratugcanonta). Simultaneously with the synagogue preaching at other hours Paul took his stand like Socrates before him and engaged in conversation with (pro) those who happened by. This old verb, paratugcanw, occurs here alone in the N.T. and accurately pictures the life in the agora. The listeners to Paul in the agora would be more casual than those who stop for street preaching, a Salvation Army meeting, a harangue from a box in Hyde Park. It was a slim chance either in synagogue or in agora, but Paul could not remain still with all the reeking idolatry around him. The boundaries of the agora varied, but there was always the Poikilh Stoa (the Painted Porch), over against the Acropolis on the west. In this Stoa (Porch) Zeno and other philosophers and rhetoricians held forth from time to time. Paul may have stood near this spot.