The Little Metropolis ( el, Μικρή Μητρόπολη), formally the Church of St. Eleutherios () or Panagia Gorgoepikoos (, "
Panagia Who Grants Requests Quickly"), is a
Byzantine church located at the Mitropoleos Square (Cathedral of Athens), next to the
Metropolitan Cathedral of Athens
The Metropolitan Cathedral of the Annunciation ( el, Καθεδρικός Ναός Ευαγγελισμού της Θεοτόκου) popularly known as the "Mētrópolis", is the cathedral church of the Archbishopric of Athens and all Greece.
H ...
(the "Great Metropolis").
History and dating
The church is built on top of the ruins of an ancient temple dedicated to the goddess
Eileithyia.
Various dates for its construction have been proposed in the past, from the 9th century under Empress
Irene of Athens to the 13th century. Until recently, the common view among scholars, especially in Greece, ascribed it to the tenure of
Michael Choniates as
Metropolitan of Athens, at the turn of the 13th century. However, the Little Metropolis differs considerably from other Byzantine churches of the same period in Athens, and indeed elsewhere; although it follows the typical
cross-in-square style, it is, uniquely, almost entirely built of reused ''
spolia'' from earlier buildings, ranging from
Classical Antiquity to the 12th or even 13th centuries, thus precluding an earlier date of construction. The historian Bente Kiilerich further pointed out that during his visit to Athens in 1436, the antiquarian
Cyriacus of Ancona mentions one of the inscriptions from the ''spolia'' of the church as lying in the
Ancient Agora of Athens, i.e., far from its present location. This suggests that the church was built after 1436. Kiilerich suggested an early
Ottoman-era date for the church, perhaps connected with the takeover of the city's old cathedral—the
Theotokos Atheniotissa The Church of Our Lady of Athens or Panagia Atheniotissa ( el, Παναγία η Αθηνιώτισσα, , Panagia the Athenian) was a Greek Orthodox basilica adapted from the ruins of the Parthenon sometime in the 6th century CE. During the Franki ...
in the
Parthenon—by the Turks and its conversion into a mosque.
Originally dedicated to the
Panagia Gorgoepikoos after a miraculous icon of the
Virgin Mary housed there, it acquired the name "Little Metropolis" because it was located within the bounds of the residence of the
Metropolitan of Athens.
Following the
Greek War of Independence
The Greek War of Independence, also known as the Greek Revolution or the Greek Revolution of 1821, was a successful war of independence by Greek revolutionaries against the Ottoman Empire between 1821 and 1829. The Greeks were later assisted by ...
, the church was abandoned. From 1841 it housed the public library of Athens until 1863, when it was re-dedicated as a church, first to
Christ the Saviour
Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label=Hebrew/Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and religious ...
, and then to
Saint Eleutherios.
In 1856, the church underwent restoration to its original state, in which its more recent additions, such as its bell-tower, were removed.
Description
The church has a typical Byzantine layout, being cross-in-square, with a three-aisled nave with the central aisle higher than the flanking ones.
The octagonal dome was originally supported by four columns, but these were replaced in the 19th century by piers. It is a small structure, just long and wide. The walls are built exclusively of reused marble ''spolia'', comprising undecorated masonry up to the height of the windows, and featuring a total of ninety sculptures above that; this feature makes the church unique among Byzantine sacred architecture. Unlike common practice in contemporary Byzantine architecture, no
bricks have been used, except for the dome.
Its interior was originally decorated entirely with
fresco
Fresco (plural ''frescos'' or ''frescoes'') is a technique of mural painting executed upon freshly laid ("wet") lime plaster. Water is used as the vehicle for the dry-powder pigment to merge with the plaster, and with the setting of the plaste ...
es, but only one of these survives today: an image of the Panagia over the entrance apse.
Gallery
File:Alte Kathedrale in Athen - Schweiger Lerchenfeld Amand (freiherr Von) - 1887.jpg, Sketch of 1887
File:AgiosEleftherios athens 1901.jpg, Photo of 1901
File:Panagía Gorgoepíkoös interior 2010.jpg, Interior
File:1994. Марка России 0150 hi.jpg, The church on a Russian stamp of 1994
References
Sources
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{{Authority control
Byzantine church buildings in Athens
15th-century Eastern Orthodox church buildings
Eastern Orthodox church buildings in Greece
15th-century churches in Greece