The city
Around
the
top
of the Thermaic
Gulf
there were
several small ancient
towns
with intense
commercial
activity, which further expanded after
the destruction
of Olynthus
by Philip
in 348
BC. According
to Strabo,
King Cassander founded a new city
in 316 BC, naming it Thessaloniki
after his wife, sister to Alexander the Great. The few traces of Hellenistic
buildings
identified
to date
- an important
administrative
building complex in Governing House
Square, and the east
part of the
wall -
indicate that from
the outset the
city
was
intended
to
be a major
political and
military centre.
Thessaloniki’s geographic
location at a key point on Macedonia’s
land and sea routes was an important factor in its growth down the centuries.
From the mid 2nd century BC onwards it was the most important
military and trading post on the Via Egnatia, which crossed the Balkan Peninsula from Durres to Byzantium (later Constantinople). Its port also began
to flourish, lying as it did at the end
of the road
leading from the
Danube
to
the Aegean. The city thus became the crossroads
of the major trading routes heading East-West and North-South in the Roman Empire.
Christian
history in Thessaloniki
began with the arrival
of
Paul
the Apostle,
who
preached
in
the city’s synagogue
in
51
or early
52
AD,
though archaeological traces are thin
on the ground until three
centuries later. The 1st century
saw the foundation of the Roman forum, along with several public buildings such
as the library, the gymnasium and the Gallery of Figurines, which may have
belonged to the imperial bath complex. In 298-299 Caesar Galerius moved
his headquarters from Sirmium in Panonnia to Thessaloniki, adorning it with new
monumental buildings such as the palace, the hippodrome, the
theatre-stadium and the Rotonda, which was originally a temple modelled
after the Pantheon in Rome. The famous Arch of Galerius, a dedicatory
tetrapylon known locally as the Kamara, was erected at this time, decorated
with scenes from Galerius’s victories against the Persians. In 322 Constantine
the Great built the port at the southwest end of the shore.
Thessaloniki became an important
ecclesiastical
centre from
the
late 4th century onwards. In 380, while staying in the
city with his court in preparation for a campaign against the Goths, Emperor
Theodosius I was baptized by Bishop Acholius (or Ascholios) and issued a
decree forbidding
sacrifices
throughout the
empire. Around
the same time, the
bishop
of
the city
was
promoted to
archbishop
and vicar (representative)
of the Pope
of Rome,
with
jurisdiction
over
the entire prefecture of East Illyria. The
Christian churches built over the next two centuries changed the city, as they
were the tallest buildings and most important landmarks in the new town plan
developed on either side of the imperial road (the Via Regia), along the axis
of what is now Egnatia Street.
The Episcopal Church was a large five-nave basilica, possibly dedicated
to Agios Markos; the Church
of Agios Demetrios became
the city’s major pilgrimage shrine. The large public buildings of the past either
fell into gradual decline and were abandoned (such as the forum, which became a
quarry for rocks and clay), or changed function (such as the Rotonda,
which was converted into a Christian church).
Excavations
in the city’s historic centre have brought to light numerous early Christian
buildings, the majority of which are houses. Most are urban villas in the
city’s north and east section, with a spacious vaulted banquet room
(triclinium) and a peristyle surrounded by rooms, baths, storage areas or cisterns.
The cemeteries outside the city walls contained graves of all types, from pit
graves to cist graves and tiled versions etc. Most important of all are the
vaulted tombs, with fresco decorations in the interior.
From
the late 6th
century
Thessaloniki
was
repeatedly
raided by the
Avaro- Slavs and suffered earthquakes which destroyed many buildings. Combined with a general decline in the state
economy, the raids and earthquakes altered living conditions in the city. This
change can be
traced in the construction of smaller, humbler houses with one or
at most two rooms, erected on the ruins of old buildings. Descriptions of the
houses
preserved in
legal documents
of the Mount Athos monasteries
provide an idea
of life
in the city;
workshops and houses stood cheek by jowl, around shared courtyards with ovens
and wells. House walls often incorporated earlier ruins and were constructed of
various materials - some were of plaster coated wooden boards. Small churches
and chapels were founded in the neighbourhoods on monastery-owned land. The
Archbishop of
Thessaloniki
came
under the
Patriarchate
of
Constantinople
and the new Cathedral of Agia Sophia was built in the late 8th century,
decorated with mosaics sponsored by the emperor. The establishment of the Theme
of Thessaloniki in the early 9th century offered security to the
inhabitants and
stability
in the region.
The markets
filled with
goods
and the number
of visitors grew.
The
city
was
proud of its scholar Bishop
Leo the Mathematician and of two
brothers:
Constantine, who
became a monk
named
Cyril,
and
Methodius.
In 863
they travelled
to
Moravia, where
they created
the
Old Slavonic alphabet
and translated
the Bible,
the Divine Liturgy and
important
canonical
texts
into the
language of the newly converted Slavs. Over the next centuries
many more chapels and churches were built, such as Agios Euthymios, next
to Agios Demetrios, and Panagia
Chalkeon (1028).
After
Thessaloniki
fell to the Saracens in 904, the next wave of destruction occurred when the
city was wrested by the Normans
in 1185. The Crusaders made it the capital of the Frankish kingdom from 1204 to
1224. From then onwards Thessaloniki
frequently changed hands between Greek rulers who laid claim to the imperial
throne, until 1246, when it was annexed to the Empire of Nicaea along with the
rest of Macedonia.
In 1303 Irene-Yolanda
of Montferrat,
second wife
of
Andronicus II,
came to the city
and remained there until her death
in 1317, while in 1320 Emperor
Michael IX died
in the city.
Important monuments of Paleologan art and architecture still survive from the
first third of the 14th century, such as the churches of Agioi Apostoloi, Agia
Aikaterini, Agios Panteleimon, Agios Nikolaos Orfanos and the Taxiarches
(Archangels). Art production continued over the subsequent turbulent decades,
though on various scales: the Church of Christ the Saviour, built after 1340,
is the smallest church in the city, while that dedicated to the Prophet Elijah,
built after 1360, is one of the largest. Several vacant plots within the city
walls were turned into vegetable gardens or cemeteries.
During
the
conflict
between
Andronicus
II
and
his grandson
Andronicus
III,
the Serbs and
Ottomans
became involved
in the internal
affairs of the
empire
as allies
for
one or other
party
vying for the
throne,
drawing
ever closer
to Thessaloniki
and its
surroundings. From 1342 until 1349 the city
was tormented by discord between the Zealots and the Hesychasts. In 1387,
following a four-year siege, the city was surrendered to the Ottomans. In 1403
it returned to Byzantine rule under Manuel II. In 1412 and 1416 it was besieged
by Musa, one of the aspiring successors of Sultan Bayezid. Fearing a new
conquest by the Ottomans, in 1423 Andronicus Palaeologus handed the city over
to the Venetians, on conditions that were never honoured. Thessaloniki finally fell to the Ottomans in
1430.
Glossary (6)
thermae or baths:
public or private baths that first appeared during the Roman period, later adopted by the Byzantines
five-nave basilica:
basilica with five naves.
Paleo-Christian (early Christian) era:
in Byzantine history, the period that typically starts in 330 AD, when Constantine the Great transferred the capital of the Roman Empire from Rome to his newly-founded city of Constantinople, and ends with the death of Justinian in 565.
cistern:
reservoir for collecting water. Usually rectangular in shape and roofed with arches.
chapel:
small
sized church, either
independent, belonging
to a religious foundation, or part of
a larger
church.
In Byzantium chapels were often
used for burials.
Empire of Nicaea:
One of the successor states of the Byzantine Empire established by the Byzantine aristocracy following the fall of Constantinople to the Crusaders of the Fourth Crusade in April 1204. Founded by Theodore Lascaris, whose successors recaptured Constantinople in 1261.
Information Texts (10)
The city:
Constantinople, the capital city of the Byzantine
Empire, was built on the site of the ancient Greek colony of Byzantium, on the
triangular peninsula formed by the Golden Horn,
the Bosporus and the Sea
of Marmara. This was an excellent location that controlled trade
routes linking the Aegean to the Black Sea. Emperor Constantine founded Constantinople
in 330 AD as a city to rival Rome
in splendour, wealth and power. The city grew fast, leading to problems of
space and facilities, so Theodosius I extended it to the west by building new
strong walls that protected Constantinople
until the end of the Byzantine Empire.
The
city was laid out after Rome.
A main road, the Mese Odos, linked the palace to the Golden
Gate. On this road was the Forum, a circular plaza with a statue
of Constantine
mounted on a column, surrounded by public buildings. Theodosius I and Arcadius later
built more forums decorated with their own statues.
Following
the Nika riots in the 6th century, Justinian adorned Constantinople
with magnificent edifices, palaces, baths and public buildings. This time also
saw the construction of Agia Sophia (the Holy Wisdom), the church which served
as the seat of the Ecumenical Patriarchate throughout the Byzantine period.
During
the 7th and 8th centuries Constantinople faced
major problems that threw it into disarray: attacks by the Avars (a siege in
674) and Arabs (attacks in 674 and 717-718); natural disasters (a powerful,
destructive earthquake in 740); and epidemics (plague in 747). Limited building
activity resumed in the 8th and 9th century, mainly concentrated on
strengthening the city's fortifications.
With
the recovery of the Byzantine Empire from the
9th to the 11th century, Constantinople became
the most populated city in Christendom; the majority of inhabitants were
Greek-speaking, but many other ethnic groups lived alongside them, such as
Jews, Armenians, Russians, Italians merchants, Arabs and mercenaries from Western Europe and Scandinavia. Many public, private and church-owned buildings were erected at the time, with
an emphasis on establishing charitable institutions such as hospitals, nursing
homes, orphanages and schools. Higher education flourished, thanks to the care
of the state and the emergence of important scholars. This renaissance lasted
until the mid-11th century, when economic problems due to poor management set
in, compounded by the adverse outcome of imperial operations beyond the borders.
The
Crusaders left Constantinople entirely
unscathed when first passing through, but in the Fourth Crusade of 1204 the
Franks conquered and ransacked the city, slaughtering those inhabitants they
did not take prisoner or drive out. In 1261 the city was retaken by Michael
VIII Palaeologus, who rebuilt most of the monuments and the walls but proved
unable to restore the city to its former splendour and glory. Enfeebled as it
was, the empire was incapable of checking the advance of the Ottomans, and in
1453 Constantinople finally fell into their
hands.
The fall signalled the end of the empire. Nevertheless, the Byzantine intellectual
tradition remained significant, as many scholars settled in the Venetian dominions
of Crete and the Peloponnese,
as well as in European countries, conveying Greek learning to the West.
Sports (Hippodrome):
Sports in Byzantium
were seen in a totally different way in comparison with the ancient greek world:
young people were not engaged systematically with sports, sports ceased to
function as a means of education, and the games turned into pure spectacle. In
the 2nd-1st century BC athletes were professionals, who demonstrated their
skills in the games and were paid for it receiving a salary. The games were
often not fair: the umpires and judges could get bribed and set up the games.
After Theodosius I established Christianity as the
official religion of the Empire (381 AD), all games that retained pagan
elements such as Olympia
(394 AD) were abolished. The Church Fathers and the ecclesiastic writers
condemned in their writings the nakedness of mimes, who appeared naked on the
scene making fun of the Christian ceremonies and the witnesses of faith.
However, the Fathers encouraged the care of the body for health reasons.
From the
Justinian Code (529 AD) we learn that the permitted events were: wrestling, high
jump, long jump and javelin. Traditional sports venues, such as the stadium, the
gymnasium and the palaestra continued to be in use during the first Christian
centuries, but when the economic problems began to arise, from the 6th century
onwards, these spaces were left without maintenance, resulting in their
abandonment and ruins.
Hippodrome
The hippodrome was a large open-air building for spectacles
and chariot races, that resembled the ancient greek stadium. Rome
had the largest and oldest hippodrome, while these type of buildings also
existed in Constantinople and other big cities of the empire, such as Alexandria, Antioch, Carthage and Thessaloniki.
The chariot races were held at fixed dates, on Sundays and major religious
festivals. Races were also held on the occasion of various official
celebrations, such as the official nomination of a new king, the royal
birthday, the palace weddings etc. The hippodrome also gave people the
opportunity to publicly express their views on the policy of the emperor: they
cheered him when there were happy or stated their dissatisfaction demanding
satisfaction of their demands.
The Hippodrome of Constantinople was founded in the
late 2nd century by Septimius Severus imitating the one of Rome. It was restored by Constantine the
Great in the early 4th century and it operated until the 12th century. It had a
horseshoe shape, with two long sides. The openings, constructed on one end of
the building, closed with doors with bars; these were the starting point of the
chariots. The opposite end had a closed shape and it was where the chariots
turned. An oblong obstacle, the Euripus, was placed in the middle of the track,
dividing the space in two parts. Euripus was surrounded by a ditch with water. Offerings
and sculptures for timing and counting laps were placed on the Euripus, while flexors,
which were the boundaries that marked the turning point for the chariots, were placed
on its edges. The spectators sat at the stands on both sides of the track as
well as at the curve. Ancillary areas (stables, warehouses, storage of floats,
preparation areas, etc.) were placed under at the stands, while at the top, a
corridor with columns connected by arches offered a panoramic view of the city.
In the middle of the long side of the hippodrome the Seat was built, the special
royal gallery from where the emperor, isolated from the surrounding stands,
used to watch the races. The Seat had banquet halls and resting rooms for the
emperor, the officials and the courtiers.
On the eve of the races a piece of cloth was hang at the gate of the
hippodrome by the demes announcing that the next day racings will be held. The
final series of the chariot races was decided with an officially draw taking
place at the afternoon of the same day. Nobody
worked on the days of the races: shops, workshops, shipyards, everything was
closed, and people of all classes, even the clergy, went to the hippodrome.
When the emperor appeared on his Seat after the cheering, he raised his hand
which was holding a white linen cloth; the falling of the cloth was the sing
permitting the beginning of the chariot races. Of the four chariots appearing
on the field, one from each deme, the winner was the chariot that first
completed seven full rounds around the Euripus. Eight chariot races were held during the day, four in the morning and
four in the afternoon.
Meanwhile an intermission
between
the
races
gave
to
the
spectators
the
opportunity
to dine and be entertained by groups of dancers,
actors, mimes, acrobats and tamers of wild animals. These
spectacles
intended
to
keep the public's interest and avoid potentially
violent manifestations.
The four groups, the demes, taking part in the chariot races were sports
clubs, with particularly significant power and influence on the people of the
capital. Their names, Greens, Blues, White and Rousseau (red), derived from the
distinctive color of clothing that their charioteer was wearing. Demes had
their own horses, chariots, facilities and personnel as veterinarians and
notaries for making records and keeping the accounts, people for keeping
archives, poets for writing the slogans of the races, musical instruments and
musicians. Demes were responsible for the acquisition and maintenance of
horses, the payment of the charioteers and the distribution of tickets. They
also had a parallel social and political presence: their members helped each
other, assisted in the construction of public works or participated, if it was
necessary, in the defence of the capital.
Other medieval events
Popular sport of the imperial court and the aristocracy was tzikanion,
probably imported from Persia.
It was played in open court, where players on horseback were trying with long
sticks to hit a ball and score. Other popular games among the aristocracy of
the period were tornemes and tzostra imported from the West and played
according to the rules of the knightly encounters. In tzostra, a man with a
helmet riding a horse and holding a shield and a spear was trying to throw his
opponent off the horse while in tornemes, a sport of similar philosophy, the encounter
occurred between two groups of horsemen confronting each other.
The Rotonda (church of Agios Georgios):
The Rotonda owes its name to its round shape. Located
in the eastern part of the historic centre of Thessalonica, a short distance north
of the Via Egnatia, it was founded around 300 AD and is thus one of the oldest
monuments in the city. Part of the complex built by Galerius, it lies on
the same axis as the Arch of Galerius, the palace and the Hippodrome.
Although its original function remains unclear, it is believed to have been a
mausoleum for its founder or - according to the dominant view - a place of
worship dedicated to Zeus or the Cabeiri. It has also recently been suggested
that the building was the mausoleum of Constantine the Great.
The Rotonda is a centrally planned building, with an internal
diameter of 24.50m covered with a brick dome rising to 29.80m. The interior is
divided into eight oblong recesses ending in semi-domes. The southernmost of
these faces the Arch of Galerius and the palace, and served as the main
entrance. The piers had shallow conches resembling chapels, as their fronts had
pillars that supported an arc or a triangular pediment.
The monument was converted into a Christian church in the early
Christian period, though precisely when it changed name and function is not
known. It was then that alterations and additions were made to the original
building, affecting its stability and architectural coherence. The east conch
was enlarged and widened and the sanctuary was built in the form of a
rectangular room with semicircular apse to the east; a closed portico
was also
erected around the Roman core of the building, but probably
destroyed by earthquakes in the early 7th century. A new entrance with a narthex
was opened in the west conch, and a propylon added to the south conch, with
a round chapel to the east and an octagonal one to the west. It is believed
that this work was carried out between the end of the 4th century and
the early 6th century, most likely during the reign of Theodosius
the Great (379-395 AD). The dominant view is that the church was consecrated to
the Incorporeal Saints, as attested in written sources by the name of the
adjoining gate in the city walls and the neighbourhood around the church. None
of the early Christian additions apart from the eastern conch have survived.
When the building was converted into a church, the lower surfaces of the
inside walls were dressed with marble revetments, below exquisite mosaics
by a renowned artistic workshop. The subjects depicted in the recession vaults
and skylights are purely decorative in nature, displaying an impressive variety
of plant and geometric motifs, birds, baskets of fruit, flowers, intersecting
circles and squares.
The dome has large compositions arranged in three zones, believed to
depict the triumphant appearance of Christ as Heavenly King. The lower zone is
wider and divided into eight separate panels, of which the east was destroyed
when part of the dome collapsed. The remaining panels retain the original
mosaics depicting people (probably martyrs) praying, like an illustrated calendar
of saints’ days, in front of two-storey buildings with multiple openings and
complex structure, reminiscent of theatre facades and the tombs of Arabia
Petraea. The middle zone contained depictions of apostles, though only their
feet have survived. All that remains in the upper zone is the heads of three of
the four angels supporting a mandorla of stars and a wreath with leafs
and fruit. In their midst is the mythical phoenix, standing out on a radiant red
disk. The complex meaning of the decor culminates in the centre of the mandorla,
where there are traces of the original design of a triumphant Christ shown in
full figure, outlined in charcoal at the top of the dome. A different
interpretation of the decoration holds that the representations are associated
with imperial iconography in late antiquity, in which case they may have been
created in the 4th century as part of the monument’s conversion into the third
mausoleum of Constantine the Great.
In the late 9th century the apse in the sanctuary was decorated with a wall
painting of the Ascension stylistically reminiscent of the mosaic version in
Agia Sophia.
The two surviving sections of the exquisite marble pulpit in the
Rotonda are now in the Archaeological
Museum at Istanbul, while the base
still stands near the church’s south entrance, where it was found during excavations
in 1918. It is shaped like an open fan and decorated with scenes from the
Adoration of the Magi that are unique among early Christian
pulpits.
After the conversion of Agia Sophia into a mosque, the church was
probably used as the cathedral of Thessalonica from 1523/24 up until its
conversion in 1590/91. In its current form the Ottoman period alterations are
still visible: the minaret and fountain to the west of the church; the porticoes
at the west and south entrances; and various repairs. The name Agios Georgios
is derived from the chapel dedicated to the same saint a short distance
to the west, where the church vessels were stored after the Rotonda was
converted into a mosque.
Constantine the Great :
Roman emperor from
324 to 337. Born in Naissus c. 272 to Roman Caesar Constantius I Chlorus and
Helena. Constantine
received military training, took part in campaigns alongside his father and attained
the rank of tribuno, head of the
imperial bodyguards. After a series of conflicts in which he eliminated all his
opponents, he ascended the throne in 324. As sole emperor, Constantine reorganized the administrative
and military system, changed the currency and founded Constantinople,
which he made new capital of the empire (330). A perceptive man who realized
the growing power of the new religion, he lent subtle support to Christianity,
and signed the Edict of Milan in 313, establishing the principles of religious
tolerance. He took an active part in religious debates and convened the first
Ecumenical Council of Nicaea, which proved crucial to the development of the
Christian Church. Through these actions, and above all by supporting Christians
and transferring the capital to Constantinople,
he was in essence responsible for shaping the future course of the Byzantine Empire.
Goths:
German tribe that
probably came from Scandinavia. Around the 1st
century they migrated south along the Vistula River
to settle in Scythia (modern Ukraine). In
the 3rd century they were divided into the Visigoths and the Ostrogoths.
Several Goth generals seem to have gained considerable influence in the Byzantine
imperial court, to the discontent of the aristocracy and the people. Early in
the 5th century a large-scale massacre of soldiers in Constantinople
aimed to exclude the Goths from army ranks. This eventually cost the empire dearly,
as it was deprived of particularly skilful military personnel.
Theodosius I :
Roman emperor from 379 to 395. Later also known as the
Great, Theodosius was the last ruler of the combined Eastern and Western Roman Empire. He himself divided the empire to secure
an imperial throne for each of his sons, Arcadius and Honorius. Having
successfully warded off barbarian invasions, he left the state to his
successors with the same borders as those laid down by Constantine the Great.
He was an advocate of Christianity, which he helped to spread throughout the
Empire, circumventing the famous Edict of Milan. His strict religious policy outlawed
ancient cults. When Theodosius died in January 395, he bequeathed his empire to
his two sons: the eastern part to Arcadius and the western one to Honorius.
The church of Agios Demetrios :
The Church
of Saint Demetrius, patron
saint of Thessalonica, lies in the historic city centre, where the street of
the same name bisects an imaginary line extending from Aristotelous Street.
In Roman times the site was taken up by a large bathhouse, at the east
end of which is the present day Crypt, on the spot where tradition holds
that Saint Demetrios was martyred. After the Edict of Milan the faithful
built a small house of worship there. Leontius, Prefect of Illyricum, erected a
basilica in the same place in 412, transferring the saint’s grave to a ciborium
in the main nave. Originally silver, the ciborium was later replaced by a
marble version containing an urn, in all likelihood a cenotaph, and an icon depicting
the saint. The fifth century basilica is unlikely to have differed
greatly from the present church; its precise form remains unknown, as it burnt
down shortly after a major earthquake in 620. It was rebuilt in a remarkably
short time, under the supervision of the Bishop of Thessalonica and Leon the Prefect,
resulting in a church very similar to that seen today. Even in Byzantine times Saint
Demetrios’ renown went far beyond the city limits, for he was credited with protecting
Thessalonica against enemy raids. So it was that the celebrations held in honour
of the saint’s feast day in October drew pilgrims from many countries in Europe and Asia. In 1493
the church was converted into a mosque, leaving the Christians only a small
area in the northwest, where the saint’s cenotaph was moved. In 1912 the
building was restored to Christian worship, but suffered extensive damage in
the great fire that swept through a large area of the upper city in 1917. The
restoration work that followed was completed in 1949. During the work the Crypt
was restored, and now houses an exhibition on the monument’s evolution over
time.
In its present form the church is a prime example of an early 7th
century five-nave basilica with transept. Of particular interest
is the surviving mosaic decoration which, though fragmented, includes works of
great historical and artistic value, illustrating the evolution of Byzantine
art in the early Christian period and beyond. There are capitals of many
different types, styles and technical development; cornices; marble
revetments; opus sectile panels, of which few examples now survive; the
marble funerary monument
of Luke Spantounis (a fine
example of Venetian Renaissance art); mosaic votive representations; offerings
from ordinary citizens or city officials; and a small number of wall
paintings. Only nine of the mosaics survived the fire of 1917 – these are
to be found on the two large pillars in front of the altar and the west wall of
the nave, covering the period from the 5th to the 9th century.
According to an inscription, the mosaic on the south pillar depicts Agios
Demetrios between the bishop of the city and Prefect Leon (sponsors of the church
renovation).
Of the few
surviving wall paintings, that on the south church wall is of historical significance.
It depicts an emperor entering the city on horseback, identified by scholars as
either Justinian II (7th-8th century) or Basil II (11th cent.) The first pillar
in the south colonnade bears a depiction of Agios Demetrios and a prelate in smaller
scale holding a censer, identified as Gregorios Palamas, Archbishop of
Thessalonica. The painting dates to 1360-1380 and relates to 14th
century theological disputes and the Hesychasm movement
in Thessalonica, concerning experiential prayer.
Abutting the
east side of the south wing of the transept is the Middle Byzantine chapel
of Agios Euthymius, in the form of a small basilica. According to an
inscription, the chapel murals were sponsored in 1302-1303 by Michael Ducas
Tarchaneiotes Glavas, founder of the Pammakaristos Monastery in Constantinople, and his wife Maria Palaeologina. The murals
are representative of Palaeologan art and are stylistically very close to the
murals in the Protaton on Mount Athos, which
have been attributed to the painter Manuel Panselinos.
The cathedral church of Agia Sophia:
The Cathedral Church of Agia Sophia, dedicated to the Holy Wisdom and
the Word of God, lies within the old walled core of the historic city, a short
distance south of Egnatia Street. In 10th and 13th
century texts it is referred to as the Great Church, or the Catholic Metropolis
(i.e. baptismal cathedral) or the Metropolis. During the Frankish occupation of
Thessalonica (1204-1224) the church was temporarily converted into a Latin-rite
cathedral, but following the restoration of Byzantine rule it became seat of
the city’s Orthodox bishop once more. That until 1523/1524, when it was
converted into a mosque. It was restored to Christian worship after the
liberation of Thessalonica. The existing church was built in the 8th century, over the remains of a
5th century five-naved Episcopal basilica destroyed by earthquake in
around 620. That had in turn been erected on the site of a 4th
century basilica, most probably with three naves, which was gutted by fire in
the second quarter of the 5th century.
The present day building can be classified as a transitional domed
cruciform church with peristyle, itself a development of the domed basilica. Combined with the
construction date, this peculiarity renders Agia Sophia in Thessalonica one of
the most important Byzantine period church buildings.
Its present form, which is the result of successive
additions and modifications, remains true to the original bulky yet monumental
character, supplemented in the interior by Byzantine mosaics, wall paintings
and marble revetments.
All that survives of the sculpted decoration inside the church are the columns
and capitals in the north colonnade of the ground floor, which
were probably spolia from the earlier basilica on top of which
Agia Sophia was built.
The church mosaics date to various periods. The nonfigurative
decoration in the sanctuary vault dates to 780-788, as
evidenced by the cruciform monograms of Emperor Constantine VI and his mother
Irene of Athens, and the inscription mentioning Bishop Theophilus of
Thessalonica. Part of the same nonfigurative decoration was the large cross in the
sanctuary niche, traces of which can be seen over the halo and beside the
shoulders of Mary. The mosaic representation of the Virgin Mary is problematic as
regards date. The lower part was previously held to be the oldest (9th century),
with the upper one dating to a later phase, in the 11th or 12th century. More
recent studies have shown that the main body does not differ from the lower section,
so it has been argued that the scene is contemporary with that in the dome.
The large monumental representation of the Ascension
in the centre of the dome dates to the end of the 9th century, most probably to
885, if we accept that the Archbishop Paul mentioned in an inscription in the
decorative band surrounding the subject is to be identified as the like-named
Metropolitan of Thessalonica, who had ties with Ecumenical Patriarch Photios.
The scene depicts Christ at the centre of a circular mandorla supported by flying angels; lower down at the base of
the dome is a rendition of olive trees in a rocky landscape, where the figures
of the apostles are walking. The Virgin Mary can be seen among them, flanked by
two archangels pointing towards the Divine Presence in the heavens.
The frescoes in the arcs of the west narthex wall
date to the 11th century. Figures of monks are still visible, together with
local saints from Thessalonica such as Agia Theodora.
The painted decoration imitating marble revetments owes its existence to
repairs carried out during the Ottoman period. The building was damaged by fire
in 1890, and restored by Charles Diehl in 1907-1909. Yet it was the impact of the
1978 earthquakes that led to systematic study and maintenance, both vital steps
in bringing to the fore what is a very special monument, a part of World Cultural
Heritage and an important place of worship in present-day Thessalonica.
Τhe church of Panagia Chalkeon:
The Church of Panagia
Chalkeon (the Virgin Mary of the
Coppersmiths) lies near the intersection of Egnatia and Aristotle Street, in an
area taken up from antiquity by coppersmiths
workshops. According to the inscription on the lintel of the west
entrance, the church was erected in 1028 on the site of a pagan sanctuary by Christopher,
Protospatharios and Catepano (Commander) of Longobardia, his wife Mary and his
children Nicephorus, Anna and Katakali. The founder’s tomb is in an arcosolium
in the middle of the north wall.
The church is of particular
architectural and morphological interest. It is a composite four-column
cross-in-square church
with a central dome and two further domes
at the ends of the two-storey narthex, and a sanctuary with a
three-sided apse to the east. It is built of alternating layers of thin and
thick brick (using the so-called recessed brick technique), with the thinner,
recessed layers covered in mortar to create alternating red (brick) and white (mortar)
surfaces. Morphological features that lend the monument intense plasticity
include slender domes, pediments, blind arches, brick half columns,
arched ends, and successive openings and conches, all contributing to harmonious
spatial composition and carefully balanced proportions. A marble cornice
runs around the church; below this on the south side are clay tablets decorated
with kufic ornaments to form a frieze. The columns in the church are crowned
with tectonic capitals bearing cord-shaped ornaments on the edges, and circular
frames with crosses, rosettes and whirls of fire
on the sides.
According to an
inscription on the intrados of the sanctuary arch that mentions the same
sponsor, the greater part of the painted decoration was carried out when the
church was first erected. The iconographic programme includes scenes from the
Christological cycle in the nave (Nativity, Presentation, Adoration of the
Magi, Pentecost), with the Ascension in the dome. The sanctuary has a depiction
of the Platytera (Virgin of the Sign), together with full face portraits of
prelates and the Communion of the Apostles. The Second Coming is depicted in
the narthex.
The original
decoration in parts of the north and south walls and on the west side seems to
have been replaced in the Paleologan period. All that remains of the paintings
are remnants of the Assumption, the Akathist Hymn and some individual saints.
In Ottoman times the
church became a mosque, but was restored to Christian worship thereafter. It
suffered major earthquake damage in 1933, but was completely restored before
World War II. Damage caused by quakes in 1978 led to a new series of
restorations from 1980 onwards.
The church of Agioi Apostoloi:
Agioi Apostoloi
(the Church of the Holy Apostles) is located in the western part of the
historic centre of Thessaloniki, near the west wall and the now destroyed
Litaia Gate.
The church was the
catholicon
of a monastery. Surviving structures include part of the once
imposing tower-shaped portal to the southwest, and a large cistern
to the northwest, the size of which attests to the large number of monks living
there, and by extension to the monastery’s wealth. According to tradition, the church
takes its name from the popular belief that it had a twelve-domed roof
symbolizing the apostles, though the subject matter of the frescoes in the peristyle
reveals that it must initially have been dedicated to the Virgin Mary.
The catholicon
was built from 1310 to 1314 under the sponsorship of Patriarch Niphon I, as
attested by the inscription above the entrance, the monograms on the capitals
of the west facade and the ceramoplastic inscriptions on the west and
south sides. The second founder referred to is Paul, abbot and former pupil of
Niphon, who is depicted praying before the Virgin Mary above the entrance
leading from the narthex to the nave. Circa 1520-1530 the monastery was
converted into a mosque. The mosaics and frescoes were covered with plaster once
the gold background tesserae had been carefully removed. The building was restored
to Christian worship following the liberation of Thessaloniki in 1912.
The Holy Apostles
is a composite cross-in-square church with a narthex and Π shaped peristyle. This ends in two chapels to the east, and has
four low domes in the corners. The east side is dominated by the large
seven-sided sanctuary niche, flanked by smaller three-sided conches forming the
Prothesis and the Diaconicon. The exterior features finely
constructed elements typical of Paleologan architecture (numerous arches,
conches and brick half columns). Inside, refined proportions combined with a
variety of morphological elements make for a superbly balanced and
sophisticated composition.
Remains of the
interior decoration include mosaics and frescoes of exceptional historical and
artistic value. The mosaics were sponsored by Patriarch Niphon, who apparently
intended to decorate the lower sections with marble revetments. The
Pantocrator is depicted in the central dome, surrounded by ten full-length
prophets. Lower down, the figures of the four Evangelists still survive, alongside
scenes from the Dodecaorton depicted in the arches: the Nativity, the
Transfiguration, the Entry into Jerusalem, the Resurrection, the Crucifixion and
the Assumption. Together with the mosaics in the Chora and Pammakaristos
monasteries in Constantinople, those in the Holy Apostles are the latest
examples of such decoration in Byzantium, numbering among the sublimest
manifestations of Paleologan art.
Niphon was ousted
from the patriarchal throne in 1314, and thus could not complete his ambitious
plan. The decorations were supplemented with equally high quality frescoes in
the lower parts of the nave, the
narthex, the peristyle and the north chapel
dedicated to John the Baptist, bearing scenes from the Old and New Testaments,
and subjects either inspired by hymnography or of a symbolic nature. The wall
paintings date to the late 1410s, and have
been linked to the abbacy of Paul, the second founder.
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