Temple of Hephaestus & The ancient Agora in Athens

[Spartan_X]

Today i visited the site of the ancient Agora and took some photos First i will upload the photos i took from the Temple of Hephaestus. Soon the rest of the photos i took from the ancient Agora and the Stoa of Attalos will follow.

The Doric order temple is located in the NW side of the ancient Agora archeological site, on the top of Agoraios Kolonos hill. The name of the architect is lost, but it is known that the temple was built around the middle of the 5th century bc. For long it was believed to be the temple that the mythological Greek hero Thiseas was buried so people was reffering to the temple as the "Thission". Although later it was discovered that the temple was a temple of Hephaestus, The surrounding area is still known as "Thission".

Today the building is one of the best-preserved ancient Greek temples in Greece, since it is one of the few temples to actually have parts of its original roof almost intact.







































I hope that you liked the photos

[Raleigh-NC]

I loved the pictures!!! Let's hope they find a way to clean the temple without destroying it. Never ceases to amaze me how these structures have stood the test of time. All these centuries and they still look great... except for the pollution that slowly ruins these beautiful creations.

Thanks for the photos.

[Spartan_X]

Thank you Its time to upload the 2nd part of the photos i took yesterday.

First We will see the Stoa of Attalos. This Hellnistic age building was named after King Attalos the 2nd of Pergamon who ruled during the 2nd century b.c. It was a "gift" by him to Athens for the education he recieved there. Used as a shopping center and housing, it was finally destroyed during a Herul invasion in the 3rd century a.d.

In modern times, during the 50s the building was fully reconstructed ( with funds donated by the Rockefeller family ) and opened its doors again, now serving the role of the ancient Agora museum. It is the only ancient building in Athens to be restored completely today.

The stoa viewed from street level, before entering the ancient agora. Metro line 1 passes right beside it and between ancient ruins as you can see


Entering ancient agora.


The ruins of a small round temple, a "monopteros".


Reaching the Stoa. The stones with the lion heads are parts of the ancient fortification.
























Leaving now the Stoa, some pictures of the surrounding ancient ruins.






These three columns with the statues were once the entrance to the odeion of Agrippa.


















Here ends the collection of the photos i took yesterday. Im sorry for the small number of the photos, since it is impossible to cover a site like the ancient agora in such a small number of photos. The agora is actually nothing else but the start to a journey in ancient Athens, that ends in the crown jewel of ancient Greek architecture, the Acropolis and of course the Parthenon.

Thats all for today, i hope that you liked the photos

[gm2263]

The photos are excellent and so is your presentation. As for the number, it's never enough and remember, for a non-payed job it's the best it can be.

Congrats for an excellent work overall. Athens needs this, since there are many spots that need further exploration, especially this archaeological park in the heart of the city which is much more rewarding to visit than the nightlife venues.

Again, very good work and thanks for the pics!!!

[Arpels]

gorgeous pics, what caind of material they use to cover the temple? something close to te tegulae made of adobe/clay or marble plates

[Raleigh-NC]

Your photos make me anxious to visit Greece and take thousands of photos Loved the second set, too

[Spartan_X]

Thank you all The Hephaestus temple, like most of the Athenian ancient temples ( the Parthenon included ) is made almost entirely of Pentelic marble.

[Arpels]

I see, thanks