Nothing special... sure? Two exceptional Greek temples.

The temple of Hephaistus or Hephaistaion (5th century BC) in the Ancient Agora of Athens, Greece, that can be seen in the background, is an exceptional piece of ancient Greek architecture in that is almost intact, due probably to the fact that it was turned into a church in Christian times. 

In sharp contrast with it we can see the poor remains of the temple of Ares, in the foreground, from which only a few elements remain: not really surprising, most of the structures the ancient Greeks built have almost disappeared.

But this scant elements have also something exceptional to them. As can be read in its Wikipedia article (that I copy-past from now on and recommend you to read), "it is the largest of several "itinerant temples," which were relocated to the Athenian Agora in the age of Augustus".

Moving temples ???

Yes.

The temple of Ares was originally located in the sanctuary of Athena Pallenis in Pallene (modern Gerakas, NE of Athens), where it was dedicated to Athena and - probably - Apollo, not to Ares, and where foundations of a temple have been found that match the dimensions of the temple in the Ancient Agora.
The temple was transferred to the Agora and rededicated to Ares during the reign of Augustus. The mason's marks carved on the blocks facilitated the reassembly of the temple by using letter forms which are characteristic of the Augustan age. As the temple at Pallene was demolished, a mason's mark was carved on each block, consisting of two or three letters, which would allow it to be placed in its proper location on the new site.

So next time you go to Athens visit the ancient Agora and don't let yourself be fooled: the most inconspicuous things may hide something very, very special to them.

Europe / Greece

Lat: 37° 58' 31.82" N
Long: 23° 43' 22.72" E

→ maps.google.com [EXT]

Precision is: Medium. Nearby, but not to the last decimal.

Z8, 7Artisans 10mm II, NX Studio, PTGui Pro, handheld shot