Temple of Hephaestus Temple of Hephaestus The Temple of Hephaestus or "Hephaisteion" (also "Hephesteum"; , ) or earlier as the Theseion (also "Theseum"; , ), is a well-preserved Greek temple; it remains standing largely as built. 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. From the 7th century until 1834, it served as the Greek Orthodox church of Saint George Akamates. The building's condition has been maintained due to its history of varied use. Hephaestus was the patron god of metal working, craftsmanship, and fire. There
Love of God the gods (τὸ θεοφιλές) was identified as the virtuous or pious. Socrates famously asked whether this identification is a tautology (see "Euthyphro dilemma"). In Greek, "philotheos" means "loving God, pious", as "philosophos" means a lover of wisdom ("sophia"). , using the word "philotheos" in the plural form, speaks of certain people as φιλήδονοι μᾶλλον ἢ φιλόθεοι (lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God). The word "Theophilos" was and is used as a proper name, but does not appear as an adjective or common noun in Greek, which uses instead the form "theophilês," which means "dear to God" but also