The Temple of Hephaestus, located on the northwest side of the Ancient Agora of Athens, was a sacred site dedicated to the god of craftsmanship, metal, and fire. It is one of the better preserved ancient structures, and architecture is stupendous: including intricately laid out and decorated marble ceiling. The whole temple appeared to be meticulously carved from marble, and it is marvelous that one could walk 360° all the way round the temple with only a rope cordon that is just about a meter away from the marble walls. The Temple of Hephaestus offers a glimpse into the religious practices of ancient Greeks and their reverence for Hephaestus, the god of invention and craftsmanship. The intricate marble columns reflect the architectural style of ancient Greek temples and the artistic excellence prevalent in their construction methods. I would have loved to see a 3D model of what this temple looked like in ancient times or even have an immersive virtual visit. I guess such extra trappings would come in the future. , For now, this site is included in the Ancient Agora ticket, and for me, it is its crown jewel.

Temple is incredibly well preserved located in the ancient Agora complex at top of the hill. In the whole Acropolis complex maybe the best-preserved building to see, you can walk around whole temple and be within a few meters of it at all times. Detail to Temple is really good and I would put visiting Temple of Hephaestus on par with Parthenon. A must do while in Athens.

Built around 450 BC, during during the ‘Golden Age’ of Athens, the Temple of Hephaestus is one of the best preserved structures at the Ancient Agora. Together with the Attalos Stoa, it is one of the highlights here. The temple is dedicated to the Hephaestus, the Olympian god of fire and blacksmiths and son of Zeus. It's located at the top of a hill which means that you have to walk up to it. The Agora is a big place and on a hot day, you can quickly lose the will to continue. I was certainly flagging by the time we got to the base of the hill (especially as we had tried to combine the Acropolis and the Agora in the one day - big mistake). However I’m glad I didn’t give up. It’s only a very small hill and a gentle climb and is well worth continuing. The temple is an imposing sight - 13.7m wide and 31.8m long, with all of the columns, the architrave and frieze, still intact. Given that it was built around the same sort of time as the Parthenon, it gives you a really good idea of what the Parthenon would have looked like if it had also been so well-preserved. You can’t go inside, but from the front porch, we could see through to the cella, the temple centre which held the statues of the gods. You can also walk all the way around the outside. What you see here is an excellent example of a Doric temple. Six Pentelic marble columns stand at the front, and 13 columns run down each side. We could still see the friezes around the top of the inner columns, although they have been damaged by earthquakes and invasions.
 Apparently, the frieze and sculptures on the eastern side (front) show the labours of Hercules and the battle of Theseus with the Pallentides, (Pallas’ 50 sons). At the back, the sculptures show the fall of Troy. We tried but we couldn’t really make out this level of detail. We might have been able to see more detail if we'd had a good, long lens camera. The temple has had a long life. It was converted into the Orthodox church of St George in the 7th century. In 1834, the official welcome of King Otto, first king of the modern Greek state, was held here and it housed a museum right up until the 1930s. TICKET TIP: The combo ticket is very good value. It includes entry to both the Ancient Agora and the Acropolis as well as 5 other sites. At €30, it is well worth it (entry to the Agora on its own is €10 and the Acropolis is €20). It is worth noting that in winter, most sites are half price so the combo ticket is not such good value then.

Included in the combined ticket for the Acropolis, this is probably the most impressive of the other sites. Spent a good while wandering about and taking some great pictures. Really helps bring life in ancient greece back to life.

As one of the most complete temples in Athens, this gives you an amazing sense of what some of the other more ruined structures would have looked like. The size is incredible and there are a lot of surviving carvings on the walls. Provides a great view over the Athenian Agora as well.

Wow. What can I say. It’s incredible in every way. You can really see the history of the building as it’s still almost so perfect, It is totally worth the small walk from the acropolis to visit, we arrived and it was just us there and it really gave us time to look and be in awe of how incredible the building is!

I saw this temple on a beautiful Spring day. It is not the architectural marvel that the Parthenon is. But the fact that you can see it as the ancient Greeks saw it makes it very special. It is only about 1/2 mile from the Parthenon, so don't miss it.

One of the monuments which has been preserved well. Majestic and beautiful. The temple is within the ancient agora. You can easily spend 2-3 hours walking inside the remains of the agora, temple oh Hephaestus and the museum inside. Just try to go early to avoid line at the ticketing counter.

Located on the top of a small hill in the ancient agora, this is an unmissable temple. It stood out when we looked down from the Acropolis and up close, the detail was still amazing despite it's age. Worth visiting for a bit of unrushed time in your busy stay in Athens!

We were anxious to visit having spotted this temple in the ancient agora from a distance. It is wonderfully intact and in a peaceful sylvan setting. The location was uncrowded with just a couple of other visitors when we were there. Definitely worth a look.