Hi guys,

In this post I am going to talk about the Temple of Hephaestus (Hephaisteion) in Athens, Greece. It is probably the best preserved temple of ancient Greece.

The **Hephaisteion** is  located inside the Agora of Athens, on top of a hill. It was dedicated to the god **Hephaestus**,  patron of  fire, volcanoes, smithery, and craftsmanship. Henceforth, there was a large number of blacksmiths' workshops around the temple, where they carried on business.

https://i.imgur.com/RGI8szr.jpg?1

<center> Front view of Hephaisteion </center>

It is believed its construction started in 449 BC, and lasted about three decades until final completion.  It was officially inaugurated in approximately  416 BC.

The reason it took so long was that it wasn't a first priority for the Athenians; most of their funds were directed at constructing the grandest temple of Classical Athens, the Parthenon on the Acropolis, which lies nearby.

You can actually still see the Acropolis (and a little bit of Parthenon) from the Hepaisteion.

https://i.imgur.com/uBWemRj.jpg?1

<center> Acropolis viewed from the Hephaisteion </center>

At some point around 700 AD, the temple was converted into a church, the Greek Orthodox church of Saint George Akamates. That was probably the reason why it has been so beautifuly preserved. The last Divine Liturgy was performed in 1833, when the first king of Greece, Otto I, arrrived in Athens.  It ceased functioning as a church in 1834, became a museum, and today it's listed as an ancient monument, part of the Agora of Classical Athens (1).

There is no concrete evidence to date as to who its architect actually was, although many names have been put forward.

The temple was mostly built from Athenian marble coming from Mt. Penteli, and had ornately sculpted pediments and friezes, in the typical ancient Greek style. The pediment is basically the part inside the gable, and the frieze is the section below the pediment and above the columns. The pediments and friezes were adorned with beautiful reliefs, depicting famous battles of Greek mythology. Remnants of these reliefs have survived to date.

The friezes of the pronaos (front portico), in the east, depict scenes from the battle of Theseus against the Pallantides. Theseus was the legendary hero of Athens who killed Minotaur, the mythical monster of the Minoans. 

The friezes of the opisthodomos (rear portico), in the west, depict scenes from the battle of the Centaurs against the Lapiths. Centaurs were the well-known half-human half-horse mythical creatures that lived wild in the forests. Lapiths were peaceful folk, and the battle between Centaurs and Lapiths symbolized the conflict between the uncivilized and civilized behavior in humankind. Something like the battle between good and evil (2). 

This battle between Centaurs and Lapiths has been a very popular theme in ancient Greek Art, and has been displayed in other monuments, like for example in the Parthenon. What follows is a beautiful frieze from the Parthenon, depicting a Centaur and a Lapith.

<center> https://c1.staticflickr.com/4/3453/3389717814_9d8694e63e_b.jpg </center>

<center> [Centaur and Lapith](https://c1.staticflickr.com/4/3453/3389717814_9d8694e63e_b.jpg) </center>

After our digression into classical Greek mythology, Theseus and the Centaurs, let's go back at our temple, Hephaisteion, and have a look at some of its beautiful features.

One can still see the reliefs on the friezes of Pronaos and Opisthodomos, but the best ones are arguably on the interior friezes of the temple. Still there, after roughly 2,500 years of age.

https://i.imgur.com/J4PkCKT.jpg?1

<center> Pronaos (western frieze) </center>

https://i.imgur.com/QT9gbzT.jpg?1

<center> Opisthodomos (eastern frieze) </center>

https://i.imgur.com/P4hNZTr.jpg?1

https://i.imgur.com/IZo3Jax.jpg?1

https://i.imgur.com/DlnKNWx.jpg?1

<center> Interior friezes </center>

It is also believed that the temple housed two large bronze statues of the gods Athena and Hephaestus, possibly sculpted by Alcamenes, famous ancient Greek sculptor. None of these have of course survived to date.

https://i.imgur.com/6rmeGYW.jpg?1

https://i.imgur.com/dKvnfQm.jpg?1

<center> Other views </center>

I will also share with you a beautiful 3D reconstruction video of Hephaisteion that I found on YouTube. It is believed that the pediments and the friezes of the temples were painted in rich, vibrant colours, and this is also shown on this video.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OAoC_6wBxoA

<center> Video of Hephaisteion </center>

And that's the end of this post. I hope you liked it, and that you will follow me to the next one.

So have a good day, and we'll speak again soon.

Image credit:
Centaur and Lapith: by JustinMN, from https://c1.staticflickr.com

Text references:
1.Text from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Temple_of_Hephaestus
2.Text from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Centaur