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
Hephaestus was based in Lemnos. Hephaestus' symbols are a smith's hammer, anvil, and a pair of tongs. Hephaestus is probably associated with the Linear B (Mycenean Greek) inscription , "A-pa-i-ti-jo", found at Knossos; the inscription indirectly attests his worship at that time because it is believed that it reads the theophoric name "Haphaistios" or "Haphaistion". The name of the god in Greek ("Hēphaistos") has a root which can be observed in names of places of Pre-Greek origin, like Phaistos ("Pa-i-to" in Linear B). Hephaestus is given many epithets. The meaning of each epithet is: Hephaestus had his own palace on Olympus,