The Pedimental Sculpture of the Hephaisteion

T HE TEMPLE of Hephaistos, although the best-preserved ancient building in Athens and the one most accessible to scholars, has kept its secrets longer than any other. It is barely ten years since general agreement was reached on the name of the presiding deity. Only in 1939 was the evidence discovered for the restoration of an interior colonnade whicli at once tremendously enriched our conception of the temple. Not until the appearance of Dinsmoor's study in 1941 did we have a firm basis for assessing either its relative or absolute chronology.' The most persistent major uncertainty about the temple has concerned its pedimental sculpture. Almost two centuries ago (1751-55), James Stuart had inferred