Lot Essay
Lear spent two weeks in Athens in the summer of 1848 remarking on first sight of the city that 'surely never was anything so magnificent as Athens!...far more than I could have had any idea of' (V. Noakes, Edward Lear: The Life of a Wanderer, Stroud, 2006, p. 73.).
The Temple of Hephaestus, also known as the Hephaesteion, was dedicated to Hephaestus, the Greek god of blacksmiths and metallurgy. It was, for many years, thought to be the Theseum, a temple reputedly built over the tomb of the Greek hero Theseus, but it was later discovered that he was buried closer to the Acropolis.
The Temple of Hephaestus, also known as the Hephaesteion, was dedicated to Hephaestus, the Greek god of blacksmiths and metallurgy. It was, for many years, thought to be the Theseum, a temple reputedly built over the tomb of the Greek hero Theseus, but it was later discovered that he was buried closer to the Acropolis.