The author of Divine Names calls himself Dionysius the Areopagite, yet this title is somewhat misleading and should not be confused with the Dionysius who was a judge at the court Areopagus in Athens who lived in the first century AD. In the early 6th century, a series of famous writings of a mystical nature, employing Neoplatonic language to elucidate Christian theological and mystical ideas, was ascribed to a Dionysius the Areopagite, who is the author of the works in this book. This author is reputed to have been a Syrian monk and is now sometimes called ‘Pseudo-Dionysius the Areopagite.’