The old temple of Dionysos sheltered the old, cult statue of Dionysos Eleuthereus. It was constructed in the 6th century B.C. , during the rule of tyrant Peisistratos and his successors. The later temple of Dionysos sheltered the chryselephantine statue of the god, a work of the sculptor Alkamenes. The building cannot be dated earlier than the middle of the 4th century B.C. as is attested by the pottery found in its foundations in 1963.
Restoration is soon going to be carried out so as to give more prominence to this remarkable monument.