Temple record / Ancient Agora, Athens, Greece
Temple of Hephaestus
One of the best-preserved Greek temples, with a six-by-thirteen Doric colonnade and a clearly legible relationship between exterior and inner rooms.
- Date
- c. 460–420 BCE
- Order
- Doric peripteral
- Principal material
- Pentelic marble; Parian marble sculpture
01
A legible Doric perimeter
The Hellenic Ministry of Culture documents six columns on the short sides and thirteen on the long sides. This rhythm makes the peristyle readable from both oblique and frontal views.
02
Material distinction
The building from base to roof used Pentelic marble, while Parian marble was selected for architectural sculpture. The distinction reminds us that ‘marble’ is not a single uniform material.
03
A long afterlife
Conversion into a church helped preserve the structure but also changed it. Its current condition is evidence of continuous use, not an untouched Classical snapshot.
Sources