The Doric temple is among the best-preserved Greek temples of classical Athens. It was dedicated to Hephaestus, the patron god of metal workers and potters, and Athena Ergane, the patron goddess of craftsmen and artists. The depiction of the labours of Theseus on the frieze resulted in the erroneous identification of the temple as the Theseion. In antiquity, though, the building housed bronze statues of Hephaestus and Athena; therefore, it is almost certainly the Hephaisteion. The frieze of the opisthodomos shows the battle of Centaurs and Lapiths. The west pediment shows the Return of Hephaestus to Olympus, while the east pediment is decorated with the Birth of Athena. The temple is built of Pentelic marble and was elaborately painted as was common in ancient Greece. In the 5th or the 7th century, the temple became a Christian church dedicated to Saint George. In 1204 the Franks used the church as the katholikon of a monastery. The Athenians derisively characterised Saint George as “Akamates” (Sluggard) during the Ottoman period because the church was used only on the saint’s feast day. In 1834, the building became an archaeological museum and a storage facility for Athenian antiquities.