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 south and northern parts Hephaestion contains monuments depicting the works 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 in celebration 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 a large number of pottery masters and blacksmiths lived near Hephaestion.
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 Christian Orthodox Church often used ancient buildings for their own temples. 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 a museum under open air. 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.
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. The circumference of the ancient city of 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, dressed in gold; 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 ( Athenian Acropolis). 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 took part in this procession, all beautiful girls ancient city of Athens. 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
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 of the sculptural images has survived. 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
(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 of the 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 “Pericles 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, along the Panathenaic road there were sacred races with torches - lampadodromes. 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 it 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 an exposition of the central archaeological museum. The museum left the temple only in 1874.
The Hephaestion on the Agora, or the Temple of Hephaestus, is the best preserved landmark of the ancient market square Athens. Experts attribute its construction to the period between the 460s and 420s BC, the period of veneration of ancient deities.
In the 7th century, the Temple of Hephaestus was transformed into the Christian Church of St. George. When various movements appeared in Christianity, the temple in the 18th century became a burial place for Protestants. However, all these transformations have long been forgotten, and the Temple of Hephaestus forever remains an example of ancient architecture.
The Temple of Hephaestus was built on a rectangular base of massive stone slabs laid in several rows. The role of enclosing structures is performed by rows of columns along the entire perimeter of the structure. Tourists arriving in the Greek capital visit the Temple of Hephaestus as part of excursions to the Agora or other organized routes, as well as on their own.
Athens Temple of Hephaestus and its surroundings
An idea of the location and attractions surrounding the Temple of Hephaestus better cards and plans gives a high-altitude shot. Signs in the form of inscriptions and arrows indicate the temple itself, as well as a noticeable restored building - which we have already written about.
It is along Stoya that it is easiest to navigate according to the cardinal directions; it stretches from north to south. The Temple of Hephaestus is located from the landmark in a western direction, next to it are the preserved ruins of the Athenian Agora, also described in one of the publications. The surrounding vegetation and other objects of tourist interest are visible from above.
Examining the remaining fragments of the ancient retail space, visitors take the best shots if they capture the Temple of Hephaestus in the background. The perspective of the photo becomes complete, and the ancient ruins seem to come to life. The bushes seem to be deliberately positioned in such a way that they divide the photo into logically complete zones.
Excavated ancient foundations and remains of walls are located at several elevations. The cascade of ruins looks very impressive, and the Temple of Hephaestus looks like a logical conclusion to the panorama. The ancient remains of buildings, cleared of centuries-old deposits, are themselves educational and become objects of photo and video filming by ubiquitous tourists.
The hill covered with Mediterranean vegetation behind the ruins gives an idea of the extent of excavation work carried out by archaeologists. The excavated antiquities were covered by a layer of soil of the same thickness as the height of the hill. Only those elements of ancient buildings were left at the excavation site that are inappropriate to be placed in a museum setting and that are not in danger of being stolen for private collections.
Valuable exhibits are housed in the Agora Museum, which is located in the Stoa of Attalus, recreated in the last century. Some massive items listed as exhibits of this museum are left in the open air, in particular a headless female statue. The nature of the woman’s attire suggests that the sculpture was made in the Roman era.
In museum catalogs and on an explanatory plaque, the work of an unknown sculptor is called Nereid. The Greek origin of these mythical underwater goddesses does not refute the Roman version, because the Romans adopted and preserved many of the legends of the ancient inhabitants of Hellas. Moreover, it is reliably known about the massive use of Greek statues by the Romans as building material.
Structural components of Hephaestion
Many visitors to Athens' attractions explore the Temple of Hephaestus after visiting the Stoa of Attalus, approaching the structure from its western façade. The building on this side is well lit, which is favorable for taking high-quality photographs and videos. The stone base slabs, columns, and other elements of the structure are clearly visible.
The ancient builders knew about the earthquakes that periodically plagued Athens, which is why the stable supporting surface is so impressive. Columns of the Doric architectural order are arranged in a classic six along the façade, and there are 13 of them on the side. Porticoes with laconic decorative details rest on the capitals, and ceiling elements rest on the porticos. The roof was recreated during the reconstruction that the Temple of Hephaestus underwent in the second half of the last century.
Behind the front columns, the internal ones are partially visible, with which the temple of Hephaestus was divided into three naves. A similar construction was reproduced by many Christian church buildings of later times. Many assumptions have been published regarding the internal filling of the Hephaestion, but we do not present them because we cannot really confirm these data.
For construction, ancient masters used marble for columns and other external elements. The base slabs are made from a more common and durable stone, presumably granite or basalt. Tourists reading the explanatory signs are unlikely to remember these details if they do not have any connection to the construction industry.
The Temple of Hephaestus, due to its good state of preservation, allows you to get an idea of all the elements of the religious building. The upper parts of the columns end with capitals that serve as supports for the supporting beams of the portal. The Doric capital is the simplest design, devoid of decorative purposes. The column trunk ends in a round echinus, and between it and the beam there is a square abacus.
The portal beams consist of individual blocks that were lifted onto the installed columns one by one. The block structure is confirmed by visible seams. In some of them, unpretentious plants sprouted. The top row of blocks has a poorly visible relief ornament. The triangular pediment was low, protruding forward, and formed the ridge of the roof.
Let's take a closer look at the Temple of Hephaestus
The details of the columns of the ancient Greeks are clearly presented individually in. There you can see all the parts separately and fantasize about the order of assembly, but the Temple of Hephaestus does not provide such an opportunity. However, the assembled columns also carry information about their structure, visible to trained people.
The seams between the individual disks that make up the column trunks are clearly visible. Longitudinal grooves - flutes are made closely, without a platform between them, which appeared in later orders. Doric columns do not have a supporting part (base), they stand directly on the base plates of the temple.
The following photograph illustrates the above even more clearly. The columns seem to grow from the base without any spacers. Pay attention to the locking elements between the base plates. Stone wedges are placed in the hollowed-out recesses to prevent the slabs from moving during earthquakes.
From the base of the columns, when looking up, significant displacements between the individual column disks are visible. They did not lead to collapse because there are locking parts inside that fit into the contacting disks.
Having selected all the gaps during earthquakes, the parts are fixed in a constant position. In this case, some interruption of the flutes occurs, but it is noticeable only upon close examination.
The roof structure, partially restored during the last reconstruction, is also visible from below. It consists of separate cassettes designed like gratings to facilitate lifting. I wouldn’t like to guess, but the roof slabs probably have locking parts that prevent them from sliding down when pushed or under their own weight.
Temple of Hephaestus inside and outside
Through the external columns of the western facade, the internal structure of the temple space is partially visible. The Temple of Hephaestus had in the middle a closed prayer space - cella, or naos, which was entered through the pronaos - a passage room from the west. The internal portal is decorated with sculptures of the exploits of Hercules and Theseus. According to legend, the god Hephaestus prepared armor for warlike gods and heroes.
The colonnade surrounding the interior of the sanctuary is called the peripterus; this is the main difference between the ancient temple and the Christian one. In general, the followers of Jesus adopted a lot from the ancient Romans, and they from the Greeks. This includes the orientation of religious buildings, the presence of a secret room (altar), and images of deities. The monotheism of Christians is the main difference from paganism with its host of gods, one of which was the blacksmith god Hephaestus.
Most people visiting the Greek capital sooner or later end up on the Athenian Acropolis; this hill and its temples are described by us. From the top of the Acropolis you can see the Temple of Hephaestus, the ruins of the Agora, and the remake - the Stand of Attalus. A photograph of good quality only partially conveys the beauty of this view, preferably personal visual perception.
While on the Acropolis, you can see firsthand the similarity of the architecture of the local sanctuaries with the Temple of Hephaestus, at least in principle. If you got to the main hill of Athens earlier than the temple on the Agora, do not neglect visiting it. It is not for nothing that the Temple of Hephaestus is considered to be the best preserved from antiquity.
