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Hephaisteion, also known as “Temple of Hephaistos” Gawlinski, Laura
Description
The Hephaisteion was an temple to the Greek god Hephaestus located on the Kolonos Agoraios hill overlooking the Athenian Agora to the east. This placement was especially meaningful because it kept this god of craftsmen close to both the Industrial District and the commercial center. According to the Roman traveler Pausanias, Athena, goddess of craft, was worshiped alongside him and present in the cult statue. This Doric temple was built mostly of marble, and its sculptural decoration featuring a centauromachy (frieze) and the labors of the Athenian hero Theseus (metopes) emphasized the eastern end that was most visible to those in the Agora below. The Hephaisteion notably provides evidence of the landscaping of sanctuaries; planting pits and vessels dating to the third century BCE were excavated throughout the precinct. Although not treated in this entry, this temple had a long and varied religious life through its conversion to a Christian church (7th c. CE) and use as a Protestant cemetery (19th c. CE).
Item Metadata
| Title |
Hephaisteion, also known as “Temple of Hephaistos”
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| Creator | |
| Contributor | |
| Publisher |
Database of Religious History (DRH)
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| Date Issued |
2021-10-27
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| Description |
The Hephaisteion was an temple to the Greek god Hephaestus located on the Kolonos Agoraios hill overlooking the Athenian Agora to the east. This placement was especially meaningful because it kept this god of craftsmen close to both the Industrial District and the commercial center. According to the Roman traveler Pausanias, Athena, goddess of craft, was worshiped alongside him and present in the cult statue. This Doric temple was built mostly of marble, and its sculptural decoration featuring a centauromachy (frieze) and the labors of the Athenian hero Theseus (metopes) emphasized the eastern end that was most visible to those in the Agora below. The Hephaisteion notably provides evidence of the landscaping of sanctuaries; planting pits and vessels dating to the third century BCE were excavated throughout the precinct. Although not treated in this entry, this temple had a long and varied religious life through its conversion to a Christian church (7th c. CE) and use as a Protestant cemetery (19th c. CE).
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| Subject | |
| Genre | |
| Type | |
| Language |
eng
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| Date Available |
2021-12-03
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| Provider |
Vancouver : University of British Columbia Library
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| Rights |
Attribution 4.0 International
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| DOI |
10.14288/1.0404468
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| URI | |
| Affiliation | |
| Citation |
Laura Gawlinski. (2021). Hephaisteion. Database of Religious History, Vancouver, BC: University of British Columbia.
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| Peer Review Status |
Unreviewed
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| Scholarly Level |
Faculty
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| Rights URI | |
| Aggregated Source Repository |
DSpace
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Item Media
Item Citations and Data
Rights
Attribution 4.0 International