Hekatompedon Temple

Address: Hekatompedon (ancient temple site), Acropolis area, Athens, Attica, Greece

Hekatompedon is the name given to an Archaic temple on the Acropolis in Athens that predates the classical Parthenon. The term refers to one or more earlier stone temples that occupied the site during the 6th and early 5th centuries BC.

On the Acropolis visitors can see the archaeological footprint and surviving architectural fragments attributed to the earlier Hekatompedon structures; much of what is known comes from excavated foundations and stone fragments displayed on site or in the Acropolis Museum.

The Hekatompedon was built during the Archaic period as a substantial stone temple and later altered, replaced or incorporated into subsequent temple phases that culminated in the Parthenon in the 5th century BC. Its remains are interpreted from foundations and scattered architectural members recovered by archaeologists.

The temple site is on the Acropolis of Athens, immediately beneath and adjacent to the later classical monuments that form the core of the Acropolis complex.

• Name and meaning: The name derives from ancient Greek and literally means ‘hundred-foot’, a reference to the temple’s approximate length of about 100 feet (roughly 30 metres).

The Acropolis is in central Athens and is served by the Acropolis metro station (Line 2). The site is a short uphill walk from the Plaka and Thissio districts and is often combined with visits to the Parthenon, Erechtheion and the Acropolis Museum.

• The site is in the Acropolis area - combine with an early visit to the Acropolis to avoid crowds and heat.
• Archaeological layers can be crowded with tourists; guides provide context that makes small fragments meaningful.