The Temple of Hephaestus is a beautifully preserved ancient Greek monument overlooking the Athens Agora.
Myths and facts
The Temple of Hephaestus was founded in 449 BC. by order of the Athenian politician Pericles. It was the first shrine in Athens built of marble. The architect is unknown, but it is assumed that the same architect worked on the temple on the cape.
Some researchers called it the Temple of Theseus, believing that it was dedicated to this deity. This opinion is based on the images of Theseus on the metopes (friezes). But the found cult statues of Athena and Hephaestus (421-415 BC) proved that this assumption was incorrect.
Hephaestus is the Greek god of fire and blacksmithing. Hephaestus is the only one of the Olympian gods who has physical disabilities - lameness, and is forced to engage in physical labor. He worked as a blacksmith and was responsible for the strength of Achilles' armor. The temple is also dedicated to Athena Ergana, the patroness of crafts and the city of Athens.
In the 7th century, the building was turned into the Church of St. George of Akamas. At the eastern end a semicircular apse and wall were added to form a modest square building. At the beginning of the 19th century it became the tomb of many Protestants and those killed in the Greek War of Independence of 1821.
The church was used until 1834. In the 20th century, the temple was restored to its original form and opened as a national archaeological museum.
What to see
The Temple of Hephaestus stands on an elevated platform 32 m by 14 m. The Doric structure, surrounded by columns, consists of a rectangular body with an external colonnade on all four sides.
The building is built of marble and decorated with marble sculptures. The wooden roof is covered with ceramic tiles.
Inside, the space is divided into pronaos (hallway in front of the entrance), cella (inner hall with columns) and back rooms. The eastern side is open to the rising sun, illuminating the altar flanked by huge bronze statues of Hephaestus and Athena.
Only a small part survived sculptural images. Eastern friezes depict the labors of Hercules and the deification of Hercules. The works of Theseus are shown on the north and south sides. The frieze above the entrance represents the battle of Theseus with the centaur.
Others: in Athens you will find the ruins of ancient temples
Address: Greece, Athens, Athens Agora
Start of construction: 449 BC e.
Completion of construction: 415 BC e.
Coordinates: 37°58"32.2"N 23°43"16.9"E
Short description
Tourists who have visited many parts of the world advise “beginner” travelers who dream of getting to know the history of mankind better and seeing ancient architectural monuments with their own eyes to boldly go to Greece.
View of the temple from the ruins of the Athenian Agora
It is on the territory of this European country experiencing at the moment. difficult times, there are numerous historical and architectural monuments, amazing sights that were erected by ancient builders before our era. Ancient Greece knew ups and downs, alas, most of the time its territory was the site of bloody battles between invaders who dreamed of gaining complete control over Hellas. Naturally, all this could not but affect the condition of numerous temples and sanctuaries, many of which at the beginning of the 20th century had to be literally pulled out of the ground.
One of the few buildings that miraculously survived to this day and rises on the northwestern side of the famous Athenian agora is the world-famous Temple of Hephaestus. Many sources mention the Athenian agora, however, the definition of this term is quite rare. In order to understand the significance of the Temple of Hephaestus, it is worth explaining what exactly the agora was for the ancient Greeks. The Athenian agora is the center of ancient Athens, a place where various meetings, pagan rituals, sports competitions were held and brisk trade was conducted. Simply put, the agora is something like a Roman forum, which was also built before the Savior of all mankind, Jesus Christ, came to our world.
General view of the temple
Only the most important buildings, temples, theaters and sanctuaries for the ancient Greeks were erected in and around the Athenian agora. One of these temples is the Temple of Hephaestus, which travelers who visit the capital of Greece can still admire today. Surprisingly, the Temple of Hephaestus was preserved not because of the Athenians’ adherence to the pagan cult, but thanks to the Greek Orthodox Church. However, more on this below...
Hephaestus in ancient Greek myth
According to myth, Hephaestus was the son of the thunderer Zeus and his jealous wife Hera. There is a legend that during one of the many quarrels of the divine spouses, Hephaestus was thrown from Olympus and fell on the island of Lemnos, which was formed as a result of a powerful volcanic eruption. Despite the fact that Hephaestus was the son of a god and goddess, he broke his leg when he fell and subsequently remained lame. If you carefully study all the Greek myths telling about the life of the gods, and examine in detail the surviving frescoes and mosaics, you can draw a certain conclusion: all the gods of Olympus spent their time in festivities and celebrations. When they got bored with this “way of life,” they took a direct part in the lives and destinies of people and demigods.
View of the temple from the west
Only one of these gods was forced to work constantly. This was the famous Hephaestus, who, according to myths, was the blacksmith god, the patron of fire and volcanoes. For the most part, Hephaestus made magnificent weapons and durable armor for the Greek hero Achilles. The same one who was hit in the only unprotected place - the “Achilles heel”. This is such a difficult “life” for Hephaestus, who, instead of spending time in celebrations, stood at the forge blazing with unbearable heat.
Temple of Hephaestus - history
According to historians and archaeologists who studied various chronicles and descriptions, the Temple of Hephaestus was built during the reign of Pericles. Pericles sat on the royal throne of Athens and, with the help of words, knew how to convince his people, and thanks to the talent of a commander, he could repel numerous enemy attacks with small sacrifices. There are facts that the reign of Pericles can be called the golden time for Athens. This king ordered the construction of the magnificent Temple of Hephaestus on the Athenian agora. Its construction approximately lasted from 450 to 415 BC. It is worth noting that even several similar temples could have been built within such a period. However, the chronicles indicate that most of the workers involved in the construction of the Temple of Hephaestus were “transferred” at a certain period of time to the construction of the legendary and gigantic Parthenon.
Northwestern facade of the temple
Despite the fact that modern historians have at their disposal descriptions of the traveler Pausanias, who at one time described ancient Corinth in documents, the name of the architect who developed the plan for the Temple of Hephaestus is not known for certain.
True, some experts put forward the version that the magnificent Hephaestion was designed by the famous ancient Greek architect Alkamen. This master, again, according to unconfirmed reports, is credited with the authorship of the project of the Temple of Poseidon, located on Cape Sounion. True, historians and archaeologists have not yet found any evidence that would speak in favor of this version, so the name of the architect of the Temple of Hephaestus is officially considered unknown these days. Some ancient sources indicate that on the surrounding territory of the temple of the blacksmith god, a magnificent garden was laid out, in which philosophers, under the shade of pomegranate trees, could reflect on the eternal.
Southwestern facade of the temple
In the 7th century AD, Orthodox priests turned a pagan temple dedicated to the god Hephaestus into the Church of St. George. There is nothing surprising in this; in those distant times, the former power of Athens had sunk into the past and there was no free finance, however, like labor, in the city. By the way, the Christian Church quite often used ancient buildings for its temples. For example, during a certain period of time Christian temple there was the famous “Tower of the Winds,” which was perhaps the oldest meteorological station on our planet. Museum under open air The Temple of Hephaestus became thanks to the Bavarian patron King Otto, under whose reign the Christian church was forced to leave the walls of the ancient sanctuary.
Temple of Hephaestus - architecture and interior decoration
As mentioned above, the Temple of Hephaestus is one of the best-preserved ancient buildings, and therefore it is the most amazing in the territory of modern Athens. The building where the blacksmith god was worshiped rises on a hill called Agoraios. Its length is 31 meters and 70 centimeters, and its width is also impressive - 13.7 meters. Miraculously, not only all 34 columns, which were made by craftsmen who lived before our era, in the Doric style, survived, but also the roof. It is worth noting that the friezes of the temple are made in the Ionic style, and 18 of the 68 metopes are sculptures. The metopes on the eastern side of the Temple of Hephaestus tell tourists, with the help of sculptural statues, about the life and exploits of Hercules. And four more will tell about the adventures of the hero of ancient Greek myths Theseus on the island of Crete.
Columns and roof of the temple
The philosopher Pausanias, who always described what he saw during his travels, in his notes says that in the center of the Temple of Hephaestus stood two huge sculptures cast in bronze. The first, as you might guess, was dedicated to the lord of fire himself, and the second, to the patron goddess of the city - Pallas Athena. Alas, these sculptures, like numerous frescoes and mosaics, were barbarically destroyed, and many were simply stolen by invaders and looters.
Authoritative architects claim that the Temple of Hephaestus was built in the likeness of the Parthenon, like most of the other small temples that once stood on the Athenian agora. By and large, they are absolutely right, because during the reign of Pericles, many sanctuaries in which the gods were worshiped were built in the Doric style. By the way, as a result of archaeological excavations that began only in the twentieth century, numerous ruins of forges and pottery workshops were found near the Temple of Hephaestus. This suggests that the ancient Athenian artisans tried to work with fire directly near the temple of the god to whom this element “subordinated.”
Southeast facade of the temple
It would be unfair not to mention that many Greeks, even today, believe that the temple was dedicated not to Hephaestus at all, but to Theseus, who managed to defeat the bloodthirsty Minotaur in the labyrinth of Daedalus. This rather dubious version is supported by sculptures of Theseus competing with Hercules. By the way, there was previously a version that the body of the legendary and fearless Theseus rests under the temple itself. However, as a result of excavations, no burials were found under the temple itself or nearby. The only thing that archaeologists managed to discover was a small sanctuary, built long before the construction of the Temple of Hephaestus. Who was worshiped in that small building, from which only a handful of stones remain, will remain a mystery.
(Greek: Ναός Ηφαίστου; English: Temple of Hephaestus)
Opening hours: daily 8.00 - 18.00
Where is: the temple is located at 24 Andrianou Street. Nearest metro station Thissio (Θησείο) . You can also take the tram from the metro station Monastiráki and get to the temple.
The Temple of Hephaestus or Hephaestion is located on the northwestern side Athens Agora. This temple is a contemporary of the Parthenon and the heyday of Athenian civilization; it is the best preserved ancient Greek temple in the world. All of its columns, pediments and even most of the roof remained intact. However, his engravings and other decorations inevitably suffered from theft and looting for many centuries.
The temple was built in honor of the god Hephaestus on the border of the area where blacksmiths and potters lived. Hephaestus is the Greek god of fire, volcanoes and metalworking, he was the only Olympian god who was not physically perfect, and was forced to do physical labor. Hephaestus worked in a forge and repaired weapons and armor for the ancient Greek hero Achilles.
The Temple of Hephaestus is often popularly called the Temple of Theseion, probably due to the fact that scenes from the life of the legendary Athenian king Theseus were actively used in the sculptural decoration of the temple.
Construction of the Temple of Hephaestus began in 449 BC, just 11 years before the construction of the Parthenon. The construction of the temple was organized by the Athenian orator, statesman and commander Pericles. During his reign, Athens reached its highest cultural and economic development, this time in history is called the “Periclean Age”.
The construction of the Temple of Hephaestus took more than 30 years, because some of the builders were transferred to the construction of the Parthenon on the Acropolis of Athens. The architect who designed the Temple of Hephaestus is unknown, but it appears to be the same architect who built the temple at Cape Sounion and the Temple of Ares at the Agora.
The Temple of Hephaestus was the first temple in Athens made of marble. It is a Doric peripterus, 31.77 m long, 13.72 m wide, with a column height of 5.88 m. In the 3rd century BC, a garden was laid out around the temple, laurel and myrtle trees and shrubs were planted and a grenade.
The sculptural decoration of the facades of the temple was intended to perpetuate the memory of the heroes of the Battle of Marathon, in which the Athenians won their famous victory over the Persians. The reliefs of Hephaistion and the sculptural metopes decorating him are dedicated to the glorification of the gods - Athena, Hercules and Theseus, who fought at Marathon along with the Athenians.
The metopes under the eastern pediment depict the nine labors of Hercules: from the first labor (a fight with the terrible Nemean lion, the offspring of the hundred-headed Typhon), performed by 16-year-old Hercules, to the last (at the north-eastern corner), where Hercules was depicted receiving apples in the garden Hesperides. Having received the last apple, Hercules ascends to Olympus, where he is deified. And on the eight metopes of the northern and southern sides of the temple the exploits of Theseus are depicted.
Previously, in the temple, in the depths of the hall, there was a pedestal lined with dark Eleusinian marble, on which stood two bronze statues: Hephaestus (about 2.45 m high) and Athena (2.35 m). There are versions that the author of these sculptures was the ancient Greek master Alcmene, but there is no exact evidence for this.
In Ancient Greece, sacred races with torches - lampadodromes - took place along the Panathenaic Road. They were all-Athenian competitions of urban areas, in honor of Prometheus. The new fire brought with the greatest speed was considered the purest, and it was from this that the fire on the altar of Hephaestus was lit.
Many public city events took place near the walls of the Temple of Hephaestus - for example, the torture of slaves, allowed by the Athenian court, took place here. Private contracts were also concluded here, sanctified by the presence of Hephaestus. And near the temple, at the altar of the hero Eurysaces, son of Ajax, there were always crowds of poor people hired for daily or temporary work.
The fact that the Temple of Hephaestus has survived to this day in such excellent condition is probably the merit of the Christian Church. From the 7th century until 1834, the Temple of Hephaestus was used as the Orthodox Church of St. George. It was the church that removed the ancient interior of the temple, replacing it with the decoration of a Christian church, which, perhaps, saved the temple from nameless death and ruin.
At the beginning of the 19th century, the temple became the burial place of many Protestants and those who died in the Greek War of Independence in 1821. This continued until in 1834 the Temple of Hephaestus was turned into a museum. After Greece gained independence, King Otto ordered the exhibition of the central archaeological museum to be placed in the temple. The museum left the temple only in 1874.
It stood on the same spot where modern Athens stands. Ancient Athens stood five kilometers from the sea, 7-8 kilometers from Piraeus harbor, on the northern bank of Ilissa, a river that usually dries up in the summer. Not far from the northern edge of ancient Athens, another river, Kefissus, flows on a fertile plain. At the very edge of the city in the north, Mount Lycabettus rose in ledges. Circle ancient city Athens, together with Piraeus, which was connected to the city by walls, was about 25 kilometers. The eastern and northern parts of ancient Athens, which made up most of it, lay on a plain; the southwestern part was built on two ridges of hills, separated by a small hollow; the front ridge runs from north to south, the rear ridge, located to the southwest of it, has the same direction as Lycabetus, from northeast to southwest. The front ridge consists mainly of two rocky hills. Its eastern hill is the most high place in the whole city. On three sides it rises above the plain with steep cliffs; Only from the western side can you climb it. On its rather extensive upper square stood the citadel of ancient Athens - the Acropolis. To the west of the Acropolis rises the rocky hill of the Areopagus; on the eastern edge of this rock, according to ancient custom, in the open air, the Athenian tribunal, after which it was named, met, and under the cliff of its eastern edge, in a rocky hollow between the Areopagus hill and the Acropolis, stood a very ancient and highly respected temple of the Eumenides in Athens. In the north-west of the Areopagus Hill rises a flat-topped hill, which scientists now call Theseus Hill (Theseion), because on the north-eastern outskirts of it stood the temple of Theseus. The most significant of the hills of the rear range is at the southern end; this is the hill of Muse (Museum, Museion), the western slope of which is almost a quarter of an hour in length. (At its top there later stood a monument to a relative of the Syrian kings, Philopappus; this monument was visible from a very great distance). To the northwest of the Hill of Muses, separated from it only by a narrow gorge, the Pnyx Hill rises on a flat terrace; on its eastern slope there is an artificially leveled terrace, the edge of which is supported by a huge wall; Archaeologists previously believed that this terrace was a place of public meetings in the ancient city of Athens, so they called it Pnyx, as the Athenians called the place where public meetings took place. In the northwest of the Pnyx Hill, separated from it only by a small hollow, there is a rock that archaeologists call the Hill of the Nymphs (because there is an inscription on the rock dedicating it to the Nymphs). This hill lies almost due west of the Athenian Areopagus, and the hill adjacent to it on the north is adjacent to the western side of Theseus' Hill. Both ridges formed a continuous line of heights, which served as a natural defense of ancient Athens from the harbor side. Serving since ancient times as a dwelling for the eupatrides, the Acropolis, together with the streets adjacent to it from the west and south and the Areopagus Hill, constituted the most ancient city in Athens. Probably, from ancient times, the area between the Acropolis and Ilissos, called Limna ("swamps"), also belonged to it. After the Persian Wars, the ancient city of Athens began to expand; it grew especially to the north and north-west; it included neighboring rural communities: in the north, Near Keramik and Dalniy Keramik, which became a northern suburb; to the west are Colon Agora and Collite, which probably lay to the east of Colon. The Dipylon Gate led from ancient Athens to the northeast to the area where the Academy was located, a garden with buildings decorated with fountains; of the other gates of the city we will name Piraeus, Eton, Diomea, Acharnes.
Monuments of ancient Athens – Temple of Theseus
Of the ruins of buildings of the ancient city of Athens, the most significant are:
In the temple there was a statue of Athena made of Ivory, in golden clothes; it was an excellent work by Phidias. “The majesty of the building’s forms,” says Prokesh, “the brilliance of the marble, the impeccable harmony of proportions filled the soul of those who looked at this temple with bright calm. The Parthenon is a marvel of perfection. The most insignificant, most hidden parts of it are finished with the same care as the most important, most conspicuous parts. The workers worked with reverent conscientiousness” - In 1687, during the siege of Athens by the Venetians, the Parthenon was badly damaged. Lord Elgin in 1801 and 1803 removed those statues that still survived on the gables, removed parts of the frieze that survived on the north and south sides, collected the statues lying on the ground, and transported them to London. Now all these fragments of art from the ancient city of Athens are in the British Museum, and form the most precious part of its collections. Byron severely condemned Lord Elgin, and many repeated this censure; but it is unfair: it is true that the Parthenon lost its marvelous sculptures taken away by Lord Elgin; but they were saved from destruction by the fact that they were taken away from an area that was under the barbaric rule of the Turks. – To the north of the Parthenon stands the Temple of Erechtheus (Erechtheion), one of the most excellent buildings of ancient Athens and all Greek architecture. This is actually not one temple, but two, constituting one building: the temple of Athena Polyada (Athena, the patroness of the city) and the temple called Pandrosium, in which there was the tomb of Erechtheus. According to a long-standing legend, in this building there were: the sacred olive tree of Athena, the salt spring of Poseidon, and there was a secret cave in which lived the sacred snake, the guardian of the Acropolis. There was also preserved the oldest image of Athena, carved from wood, black, looking like a mummy. There used to be a temple here, built in primitive times. The new building, built in its place, remained in the opinion of the Athenians the temple about which their most ancient and sacred traditions spoke, and the rites of primitive times continued to be performed in it.
Erechtheion (Acropolis of Athens). Drawing by E. Dodwell, 1821
The entire Athenian Acropolis was filled with statues: in temples, in colonnades, in courtyards, on its streets - everywhere there were images of gods, heroes and famous people. Everything in it shone with marble, bronze, and gold. – Between the Temple of Erechthea and the Propylaea stood on a high base a colossal bronze statue of Athena the Protector (Promachos). Returning to his homeland, the Athenian sailor, still from the sea, between Athens and Sunium, saw the end of the raised spear of Athena the Protector. Under the Acropolis, in a cave from which a stream flowed, there was a sanctuary of Pan and Apollo. The Theater of Dionysus, the ruins of which were discovered by the Prussian scientific expedition of 1861–1862, stood at the southeastern end of the Acropolis, and at the southwestern end in later times, Herod Atticus built a magnificent theater, the Odeon, and called it the Odeon of Regilla, in memory of his late wife .
Athens Acropolis in ancient times. Reconstruction
On the feast of the great Panathenaia, a solemn procession brought Athena new clothes, peplos, decorated with embroidered patterns. All respected people, all the beautiful girls of the ancient city of Athens took part in this procession. The procession went from Far Ceramics through Near Ceramics, then along the street of Hermov, along the northern side of the Acropolis hill to Ilissus, to Eleusinius, then past the Pythian Temple, past Pelasgic, ascended through the Propylaea to the Parthenon, and the gilded doors of the temple, ringing, dissolved before it.
Athens harbors
In the southwest of Athens, the rocky Akte peninsula juts far into the sea; its northwestern side and the general line of the coast form a large bay, the northeastern side encloses a smaller bay, which has only a narrow entrance. The northwestern bay, near which the town of Piraeus lay, also has a narrow entrance, so that this harbor can easily be protected from enemy fleets, and it is spacious and could accommodate all the numerous ships that brought goods for the ancient city of Athens. In the southeast corner of the vast trading harbor there is a bay, Kantar; it was the military harbor of ancient Athens; Along the shore of this bay there were shipyards for the construction of warships and arsenals; thus, the navy did not interfere with trade traffic in the Piraeus harbor. To the east of ancient Athens there was a small bay of Zea; even further to the east, near Munichia, there was another small bay under a high shore; both of them were exclusively military harbors; up to 200 sheds were built in Zeya harbor to store ships; in Munikhiyskaya, which is smaller than Zeyskaya, there are up to 100 such sheds (their remains are visible). This entire part of the coastline was explored by the ancient Athenians during the Persian Wars. Themistocles surrounded by fortifications of colossal size. A wall, made of cut stone, went around all these three bays of ancient Athens; starting from the Etioneian Cape, it reached Munichia in the northeast; its length was one and a half geographical miles; it was 11 feet thick, so two carts with cargo could ride on it side by side. The stones were fastened together not with lime, but with iron staples. There was a tower every hundred feet. The entrances to the harbors were naturally narrow; but stone dams were built across them to make them even narrower, and they could be locked with chains. The entrance to Piraeus harbor was especially strongly protected by dams. At the end of the Persian Wars, two “Long Walls” were built, connecting the ancient city of Athens with Piraeus; they walked at a distance of a stade (about 180 meters) from one another; this road between the Athenian Long Walls became a street lined with houses.
Lost Worlds: Athens - Ancient City, video
In the very center of the ancient city of Athens there is a favorite attraction of many tourists - the Hephaestion Temple. Fans of ancient art are attracted not only by its convenient location, but also by the excellent preservation of the building. The temple was built just two years before the construction of the Parthenon. It offers a picturesque view of Mount Athens.
Temple foundation
The Hephaestion - or Temple of Hephaestus - is a well-preserved building, rather than the ruins familiar to visitors to Greece, from which they could vaguely imagine the outlines of once beautiful buildings. Visitors have a view of the ideal columns, pediments, and roof of the temple. It is located in a picturesque and cozy place, on Agoraios hill.
The Temple of Hephaestus was built in 449 BC. e. by order of the famous Athenian politician - Pericles. The reign of this king is considered by many to be the golden time for Athens. Pericles knew how to convince people with his speeches. He was also a talented commander. Pericles easily repelled enemy attacks with relatively few casualties. It was Pericles who ordered the construction of the temple of Hephaestus on the Agora.
Author of the temple
The Hephaestion is the first shrine in all of Athens that was built entirely of marble. The architect who worked on the creation of Hephaestion remains unknown. However, scientists suggest that it was Alkamen, who also worked on the creation of the temple of Poseidon, located on Cape Sounion. But scientists have not found any evidence in favor of this version. Therefore, the official author of Hephaestion is considered unknown. Many sources say that a pomegranate garden was laid out around the majestic building, in which philosophers could spend time thinking about the eternal.
Temple of Hephaestus: description
The elevated platform on which the temple is located measures 32 by 14 meters. The Hephaestion was built in the Doric style. The rectangular body of the temple is surrounded on all sides by a colonnade. The roof of the temple was once made of wood and covered with ceramic tiles.
The Temple of Hephaestus is briefly described in many tourist guides. The internal space of the building consists of three parts. In front is the entrance hall (pronaos), then the cella (a large internal hall with columns), followed by the back rooms. On the eastern side, the temple is open to the rays of the rising sun. They illuminate the majestic statues of Hephaestus and Athena.
Alas, these statues suffered a sad fate, as did numerous frescoes and mosaics. They were barbarously destroyed, and some were kidnapped by looters. Only a small part of the sculptures has survived to this day. Some of them depict the mythical labors of Hercules. In the southern and northern parts of the Hephaestion there are monuments depicting the labors of Theseus. Above the entrance to the temple there is a frieze that shows the battle of Theseus with a centaur.
Hephaestus in ancient Greek myths
According to mythology, Hephaestus was the son of Zeus and his wife Hera. Since this pair of celestials constantly quarreled, during one of the family scandals Hephaestus was thrown from Olympus. Despite the fact that Hephaestus was the son of the gods, he injured his leg in a fall and remained lame. Hephaestus fell on the island of Lemnos, which was once formed as a result of a volcanic eruption.
Many researchers are inclined to believe that the Olympian gods led a rather idle lifestyle. This is evidenced by numerous frescoes and mosaics, as well as the myths themselves. When they got bored with the constant celebrations, the inhabitants of Olympus took part in people's lives.
And only Hephaestus was the only god who had to work. Hephaestus made excellent weapons, and the fruit of his labor was armor for Achilles (hit only in one place that remained vulnerable - the “Achilles heel”). Instead of spending every day celebrating with the rest of the inhabitants of Olympus, Hephaestus worked near the smelting forge.
Who was the temple dedicated to?
This temple was built not only in honor of Hephaestus - the god of volcanoes, pottery and fire. Among all the gods of Olympus, Hephaestus was the only imperfect god. According to ancient Greek myths, the god of fire was lame and therefore had to do hard physical work. However, the fact that Hephaestus was imperfect did not prevent him from arranging his personal life much more successfully than other, more perfect, inhabitants of Olympus. According to Homer, Hephaestus married the most beautiful goddess - Aphrodite, the patroness of love.
Hephaestion is considered a temple of Hephaestus and Athena, since the latter was the patroness of the city. She was also responsible for pottery. Archaeologists who carried out excavations in the vicinity of the temple found out that not far from Hephaestion lived a large number of pottery masters, blacksmiths.
But many Greeks are convinced that the Temple of Hephaestus in Greece is actually dedicated to Theseus. This opinion is based on the fact that in the temple there are many images (metopes) that are dedicated to this hero. Theseus, as you know, defeated the evil and bloodthirsty Minotaur in the labyrinths of Daedalus. There was once an opinion that the body of Theseus itself rested under this temple. But as a result of excavations by archaeologists, no remains were found. All that the researchers were able to find was a small sanctuary. It was founded long before the Hephaestion was built. Cult statues of Hephaestus and Athena, dating from 421-415 BC. e., refute the assumption that the temple could be dedicated to Theseus.
Hephaestion and the Orthodox Church
In the 7th century n. e. the temple of Hephaestus turned into the Church of St. George - the pagan sanctuary was then occupied by Orthodox clergy. There is nothing surprising. After all, by that time the power of Athens was a thing of the past. The city had neither extra financial resources nor free labor. It should be noted that the Christian Orthodox Church often used ancient buildings for its own churches. It is known that for quite a long time Orthodox clergy occupied the famous “Tower of the Winds,” which is the oldest meteorological station.
However, it was thanks to Christians that Hephaestion has survived to this day. They replaced the bright decoration of the temple with Christian ones. Therefore, Hephaestion escaped destruction by the radical Christian authorities of Byzantium. After Hephaestion ceased to be the Church of St. George, it received the status of one of the most beloved and protected monuments by the Greeks.
During the reign of Otto, a ruler from Bavaria, the Hephaestion became an open-air museum. Under Otto, Orthodox priests were forced to leave the temple. After Greece gained sovereignty, the National Archaeological Museum began to be located in Hephaestion. However, later, in 1874, the exhibits were removed from Hephaestion.
