Temple of Hephaestus

The Temple of Hephaestus or Hephaisteion (also "Hephesteum" or "Hephaesteum"; Ancient Greek: Ἡφαιστεῖον, Greek: Ναός Ηφαίστου, and formerly called in error the Theseion or "Theseum"; Ancient Greek: Θησεῖον, Greek: Θησείο), is a well-preserved Greek temple dedicated to Hephaestus; it remains standing largely intact today [1]. It is a Doric peripteral temple, and is located at the north-west side of the Agora of Athens, on top of the Agoraios Kolonos hill [1]. Archaeological evidence suggests that there was no earlier building on the site except for a small sanctuary that was burned during the Second Persian invasion of Greece in 480 BC [1]. Construction started in 449 BC, and some scholars believe the building not to have been completed for some three decades [1]. The dimensions of the temple are 13.71 m north to south and 31.78 m east to west [1]. Only 18 of the 68 external metopes were sculpted; ten on the east front showed the Labors of Heracles [1].