The Church of the Holy Apostles, also known as Holy Apostles of Solaki (), is located in the

Ancient Agora of Athens The ancient Agora of Athens (also called the Classical Agora) is an ancient Greek agora. It is located to the northwest of the Acropolis, and bounded on the south by the hill of the Areopagus and on the west by the hill known as the Agoraios ...

Greece Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. Located on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula, it shares land borders with Albania to the northwest, North Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to th ...

, next to the

Stoa of Attalos The Stoa of Attalos (also spelled Attalus; ) was a stoa (covered walkway or portico) in the Agora of Athens, Greece. It was built by and named after King Attalos II of Pergamon, who ruled between 159 and 138 BC. The building was reconstructed ...

, and can be dated to around the late 10th century.

History

"Solakis" may be the family name of those who sponsored a renovation of the church in the Ottoman Period, or from "Solaki" for the densely populated area around the church in the 19th century. The church is particularly significant as the only monument in the Agora, other than the

Temple of Hephaestus The Temple of Hephaestus or Hephaisteion (also "Hephesteum" or "Hephaesteum"; , , and formerly called in error the Theseion or "Theseum"; , ), is a well-preserved Greek temple dedicated to Hephaestus; it remains standing largely intact today. I ...

, to survive intact since its foundation, and for its architecture: it was the first significant church of the Middle

Byzantine The Byzantine Empire, also known as the Eastern Roman Empire, was the continuation of the Roman Empire centred on Constantinople during late antiquity and the Middle Ages. Having survived the events that caused the fall of the Western Roman E ...

period in

Athens Athens ( ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Greece, largest city of Greece. A significant coastal urban area in the Mediterranean, Athens is also the capital of the Attica (region), Attica region and is the southe ...

, and marks the beginning of the so-called "Athenian type", successfully combining the simple four-pier with the

cross-in-square A cross-in-square or crossed-dome floor plan was the dominant form of church architecture in the middle and late Byzantine Empire. It featured a square centre with an internal structure shaped like a cross, topped by a dome. Architecture Archite ...

forms. The church was built partly over a 2nd-century '' nymphaion'', and was restored to its original form between 1954 and 1957. From evidence of various repairs and reconstructions, four distinct building phases can be distinguished. The original floorplan is a cross with

apse In architecture, an apse (: apses; from Latin , 'arch, vault'; from Ancient Greek , , 'arch'; sometimes written apsis; : apsides) is a semicircular recess covered with a hemispherical Vault (architecture), vault or semi-dome, also known as an ' ...

s on four sides and a

narthex The narthex is an architectural element typical of Early Christian art and architecture, early Christian and Byzantine architecture, Byzantine basilicas and Church architecture, churches consisting of the entrance or Vestibule (architecture), ve ...

on the west side, with four columns supporting a

dome A dome () is an architectural element similar to the hollow upper half of a sphere. There is significant overlap with the term cupola, which may also refer to a dome or a structure on top of a dome. The precise definition of a dome has been a m ...

. The

altar An altar is a table or platform for the presentation of religion, religious offerings, for sacrifices, or for other ritualistic purposes. Altars are found at shrines, temples, Church (building), churches, and other places of worship. They are use ...

and floor were originally of

marble Marble is a metamorphic rock consisting of carbonate minerals (most commonly calcite (CaCO3) or Dolomite (mineral), dolomite (CaMg(CO3)2) that have recrystallized under the influence of heat and pressure. It has a crystalline texture, and is ty ...

. Tiles on the outer walls have

Kufic The Kufic script () is a style of Arabic script, that gained prominence early on as a preferred script for Quran transcription and architectural decoration, and it has since become a reference and an archetype for a number of other Arabic scripts ...

-like decorative patterns. A few surviving wall paintings in the central aisle date to the 17th century, and paintings from nearby churches were also placed elsewhere within the church.

References

External links

ASCSA Church of the Holy Apostles Overview

Byzantine church buildings in Athens 10th-century churches in Greece Church buildings with domes 10th-century establishments in the Byzantine Empire {{Greece-EO-church-stub