Temple of Ares

Estimated floor plan of the original Temple of Ares with adjacent altar

The Temple of Ares was a building located in the northern part of Ancient Agora of Athens. The Temple was identified as such by Pausanias but the ruins present today indicate a history.

The foundations are of early Roman construction and date, but fragments of the superstructure, now located at the western end of the temple, can be dated to the 5th century BCE. From the fragments archaeologists are confident that they belonged to a Doric peripteral temple of a similar size, plan and date to the Temple of Hephaestus. Marks on the remaining stones indicate that the temple may have originally stood elsewhere and was dismantled, moved and reconstructed on the Roman base - a practice common during the Roman occupation of Greece.

The temple probably came from the sanctuary of Athena Pallenis at modern Stavro, where foundations have been found but no temple remains are present.

References

• Camp II, John McK. (2003) The Athenian Agora: A Short Guide to the Excavations. The American School of Classical Studies at Athens. ISBN 0-87661-643-0.