#CLST6 #RR9 I will be describing the Hephaisteion. It's a really cool, extremely well preserved (for ancient Greece at least) temple that overlooks the Agora from the west and sits atop a hill. https://twitter.com/FlintCLST6/status/1314278987657510915

It was dedicated to the god of crafts, Hephaestus, hence its name. This also means that those sorts of workers tended to congregate in the area. It wasn't far from the Agora where those crafts would be sold, after all.

The temple survives for us to see it so well for two reasons. The first is that it isn't in a major earthquake zone, which is fairly straightforward. The second is that it was converted into a church as Christianity spread through Europe.

Thus, it wasn't torn down as a heathen structure (although some parts of it were modified or defaced), nor was it carted away in pieces to be used for building new structures like so many other monuments were. The priests probably would have thrown a fit if anyone tried to.

Citations:

First image and discussion: The Athenian Agora: a Short Guide, John Camp, pp 12-13
Second image and further discussion: The Athenian Agora (Video), Flint Dibble