Temple of Hephaestus

Hephaestus was the patron god of metallurgy and craftsmanship. There were numerous potters’ workshops and metal-working shops in the vicinity of the temple, as befits the temple’s honoree. Archaeological evidence suggests that there was no earlier building on the site, except for a small sanctuary that was burnt when the Persians occupied Athens in 480 BC. in 480 BC. The name Theseion, or Temple of Theseus, was attributed to the monument under the assumption it housed the remains of the Athenian hero Theseus, who was brought back to the city from Skyros by Kimon in 475 BC. The theory was refuted after inscriptions from within the temple that associated it firmly with Hephaestus.