Temple of Hephaestus

The Temple of Hephaestus is the best preserved ancient Greek temple. It is located on the north west side of the Ancient Agora on top of the Agoraios Kolonos Hill. From the 7th century until 1834, it served as the Greek Orthodox church of St. George Akamates.
Hephaestus is the Greek god of fire and volcanoes. He is also god of all craftsmen and smiths. He is the equivalent of the Roman god Vulcan.
Although built in 449 BC, it is almost completely intact even today. The columns, roof and pediments are nearly unscathed. As it was believed that Theseus (a hero and king of Athens) was buried in the temple, it is also known as Theseion. However, the remains of Theseus were found in some other part near Acropolis. It is also believed that the temple was dedicated to Theseus. Numerous smiths and craftsmen worked in the temple's vicinity. Therefore, Hephaestus, the god of craftsmen and Athena Ergane, goddess of pottery and arts were worshiped here.The temple is believed to be designed by the architect of the Parthenon (temple of Athena). It is a peripteral temple having Doric style of architecture. The east and west sides of the temple are shorter, having six columns; whereas, the north and south sides are longer, having 13 columns (the columns in the corner are counted twice). Marble is extensively used in the temple. Its sculptures are made of Parian marble. [buzzledotcom]

It is a pretty impressive temple; for one this age, she looks extremely wonderful. The temple can give Parthenon a run for her money, looks wise. She has aged gracefully. What a dame.

Comments

  1. @gillboard - all the temples are cordoned off.

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  2. I could only imagine how grandeur it must have been when it's still in service. Definitely one of my want-to-see list of places.

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  3. a big WOW. such a beautiful architecture. i really want to go there na. so many photo opportunity. great place.

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  4. just fantastic, look at those grand columns and historic structure, really well preserved.

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  5. Really amazing that it resisted the forces of the elements. I love its simplicity.

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  6. Fabulous temple, so pretty and harmonic.
    Wonderful images, Maria.

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  7. I think I should go back to Greece... by looking at your pictures it seems I missed quite a lot.

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  8. The way you have presented her to us, Maria, shows her good side(s). She really IS a beauty!

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  9. that's how great those pillaras are that they remained intact. maybe they used the best cement combination to build it.

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  10. It looks like the Parthenon to me, like a mini version no?

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  11. Ah, the Stoa. I remember a statue of a kneeling young man in gold as part of the exhibition inside. Like I said before, these pictures bring back memories. A bit random to remember that one statue, though.

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  12. for a moment it looked like Parthenon ! They really took care of this beautiful temple.

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  13. wow! I only see this in movies (or is it Parthenon)? anyway, thanks for always sharing your travel stories. You dont know how it inspire me to dream big too. I wish when I have my own family, we'll have lots of money and travel like you do. ;)

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