Panagia Gorgoepikoos

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The Church of Panagia Gorgoepikoos (also called Agios Eleutherios or Little Mitropolis)
Historic photo (1887)

The Panagía Gorgoepíkoos ( Greek Παναγία Γοργοεπήκοος ) is a Byzantine church in downtown Athens, in a small park next to the cathedral , the seat of the Orthodox Archbishop of Athens . A special feature of this church are around 90 reliefs from different epochs, which turn the facade into a kind of open-air museum of ancient and Byzantine architectural sculpture.

Names

The church was originally dedicated to the "quick to hear" ( gorgoepikoos ) Mother of God; this name refers to an icon considered miraculous and representing the most precious treasure of the church. This church formerly served the Archbishop (Metropolitan) of Athens as a private chapel (hence the name Little Mitropolis, by which it is also known).

After the Greek War of Independence , the Panagia Gorgoepikoos church was not used at all for two decades and was converted into a library in 1841, the predecessor of today's National Library . A small collection of inscriptions was also housed here.

In 1868 the church was rededicated to Christ the Redeemer, a name that could not prevail and was replaced after a short time by the popular name Ágios Elefthérios (Άγιος Ελευθέριος).

history

West side, main portal with Attic calendar frieze. At the first Maltese cross at the top left: Ship carts of the Panathenaic Mountains
Detail of the west facade: Spolie with pictures of the months from the Attic calendar
Sphinx and grasping
Symbolic frieze above the south entrance
Eagle and hare

Although local tradition regards church building as the foundation of Empress Irene , who was born in Athens, most experts date church building to the 12th or 13th century.

Since the middle of the 7th century, the previous building of the current church belonged to the monastery of Agios Nikolaos , which in turn was again subordinate to the monastery Kaisariani . The Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople had given the Kaisariani monastery with all its possessions to the Archbishop of Athens as benefice ; so it turned out that the Athens archbishop had his residence at the monastery of Agios Nikolaos and used the church Panagia Gorgoepikoos as a private chapel. As old pictures show, the church Panagia Gorgoepikoos was surrounded by a wall and ancillary buildings around 1800.

During the siege of Athens in 1827, the monastery of Agios Nikolaos was destroyed, the outbuildings of the Panagia Gorgoepikoos church were laid down, but the small church itself remained intact. In 1834 the interior decoration was still there; it was lost when it was used as a library. The decorative effect of the facade through the various reliefs was not recognizable at that time, because a painted stucco layer covered the building material.

Building description

The Panagia Gorgoepikoos church is a cross- domed church (7.6 mx 12.2 m), the high octagonal dome of which was originally supported by four columns, which were replaced by four pillars during the renovation in the 19th century. It has a vestibule ( narthex ) in the west and three apses in the east, with the middle apse being larger. It is built almost entirely from building materials taken from older buildings, including white Pentelic marble and bluish Hymetto marble , porous lime and bricks.

The main entrance is from the west through a central door that is believed to be from the previous church. There are two side doors on the north and south sides. Three doors lead from the narthex into the choir.

Of the frescoes with which the church was once completely painted, only the representation of the Virgin Mary in the apse (13th / 14th century) has survived.

Description of some spolia

  • West side, above the entrance portal: four relief panels with sphinxes and griffins , which, according to Michel / Struck, were side panels of Byzantine fountains; one of the panels with the griffin motif has a very similar counterpart on the facade of the church of San Marco, Venice .
  • West side, above the entrance portal: antique frieze depicting the Attic festival calendar with monthly works and signs of the zodiac. The month of Hekatombaion , the first month of the Attic year, is important among the monthly representations . The picture of the month is the ship's cart of the Panathenae with the holy Peplos; it is the only pictorial representation of this ship known from literature. Unfortunately, the representation is impaired by two Maltese crosses that were attached here during the years of the Latin rule .
  • North side: bas-relief depicting two rosette-decorated jugs on bowls. Michel / Struck see this as a reference to the Eucharist and, accordingly, in this plate a second-use decoration of the chancel.
  • North side: Greek post-classical grave relief with two mourning women.
  • North side: Reworked antique relief, of which the depiction of a male figure with a beard and tangled hair has been preserved in the center, while the antique motifs have been made unrecognizable by placing crosses on the left and right.
  • North side: Antique ex-voto reliefs.
  • East gable: two reliefs which, according to Steiner, are contemporary to the Parthenon frieze and represent a festive victory: a) the victorious Attic phyle receives her prize, next to it a youth and prancing horses, which probably indicates a competition in the horse race; b) a Nike presents a woman wearing a peplos with an indefinable object.
  • East side: marble cuboid with an archaic frieze; depicted is a funeral procession for the fallen in a battle.
  • East side: Byzantine fountain plate showing a lion that has captured a deer.
  • East side: relief depicting dancers.
  • South side, above the side entrance: antique relief plate. Motifs from left to right: poppy seed pods, a symbol in the Eleusinian mysteries ; an omphalos cup; a two-handled vessel with a lid; a Bukranion decorated with woolen bands .
  • South side: Byzantine fountain plate with the motif of the eagle grasping a hare in a straight run.

literature

Web links

Commons : Panagia Gorgoepikoos  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ^ K. Michel, A. Struck: The Middle Byzantine Churches of Athens . S. 285 .
  2. ^ K. Michel, A. Struck: The Middle Byzantine Churches of Athens . S. 282 .
  3. ^ K. Michel, A. Struck: The Middle Byzantine Churches of Athens . S. 300 .
  4. ^ K. Michel, A. Struck: The Middle Byzantine Churches of Athens . S. 308 .
  5. ^ Paul Steiner: Antique sculptures . S. 331 .
  6. ^ Paul Steiner: Antique sculptures . S. 334-335 .
  7. ^ Paul Steiner: Antique sculptures . S. 325-327 .
  8. ^ K. Michel, A. Struck: The Middle Byzantine Churches of Athens . S. 305 .
  9. ^ K. Michel, A. Struck: The Middle Byzantine Churches of Athens . S. 303 .

Coordinates: 37 ° 58 '30 "  N , 23 ° 43' 48.1"  E