Ilisos basilica

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Martyrion of the Ilisos Basilica

The Ilisos Basilica ( modern Greek Βασιλική Ιλισσού ) was an early Christian church in Athens , which was built on an island in the Ilisos River . It was probably consecrated to St. Leonidas of Athens , which is why it is also called Leonidas Basilica, and is considered the most important early Christian church in Athens. It is also the only early Christian church building in Athens that was not created by converting an ancient temple.

history

In the 4th century, a martyrdom was established on Ilisos Island . Presumably the bones of Leonidas of Athens, who died in the 3rd century, were transferred there. The basilica was built in the first half of the 5th century . The builder was probably Aelia Eudocia , the wife of the Eastern Roman emperor Theodosius II. At the time of Michael Choniates around 1300 the basilica was in a poor condition. According to Michael Choniates' account, the bones of Leonidas of Athens and his seven companions were not placed in the crypt until his timebrought. How and when the church was destroyed is not known. It seems possible that it was brought to collapse by a flood of the Ilisos. It could also be that the Ottoman governor Haci Ali Haseki demolished the building. At least he built stones from the basilica in the city wall of Athens in 1778. In 1893, the Greek classical archaeologist Andreas Skias discovered the crypt and relics . In 1916 and 1917, Georgios Sotirou exposed the foundations of the basilica.

description

Plan of the basilica
Basilica mosaics

The foundation walls of the Ilisos basilica are now located on Ardittoustraße about 200 m south-east of the Olympieion and 300 m west of the Panathinaiko stadium . The three-aisled church was 58.50 m long and 23.50 m wide. To the west of the entrance to the building there was likely an atrium and outer porch . However, this area is located on the premises of the Fokianos Sports Club and has been partially destroyed by a swimming pool. Access to the inner vestibule was presumably through two entrances - one in the north, the other in the south. The vestibule had a north and a south side room, so that the total width was about 33 m. The northern side room is probably the baptistery .

As usual for this type of building, the central nave of the basilica was higher and twice as wide as the side aisles. By columns with a barrier wall which were naves separated. In the eastern part the church expanded to five naves. In the middle was the sanctuary with the altar . Above that there was a ciborium , which consisted of a domed roof supported by four mighty, rectangular pillars. This architectural peculiarity makes the Ilisos basilica a transition type from a pure basilica to a domed basilica. Behind the sanctuary was the apse .

The basilica had a very high quality mosaic floor. The representations consisted partly of Roman motifs such as guilloche , rosettes , ivy , fish and birds and from the Christian repertoire such as vine leaves with grapes, bay leaves, crosses, geometric patterns and plants. The color spectrum of the mosaic stones was very large: white, black, deep red, orange, gray, pale pink, brown, yellow, pink, blue and green. The marble mosaics and architectural fragments are now exhibited in the Byzantine and Christian Museum in Athens.

From the north side of the nave, a staircase led north to the subterranean Martyrion. It was outside the basilica, right next to the north outer wall. It was almost square with 3.80 m by 3.87 m and had a domed roof. There was an arcosolium for burial of the dead on the western, northern and eastern sides . The floor was made of stone slabs and the walls were covered with marble.

Web links

Commons : Ilisos Basilica  - Collection of Images, Videos and Audio Files

Individual evidence

  1. ^ History, Art, and Architecture in Mets Neighborhood
  2. ↑ ΒΑΣΙΛΙΚΗ ΙΛΙΣΣΟΥ ΜΑΡΤΥΡΙΟ ΑΓΙΟΥ ΛΕΩΝΙΔΗ
  3. ↑ Michael Akominatos : ΤΑ ΣΩΖΟΜΕΝΑ , Volume 1, Athens 1879, pp. 150–156 ( online )

Coordinates: 37 ° 58 ′ 6 "  N , 23 ° 44 ′ 10.4"  E