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Daphni or Dafni (
Modern Greek Modern Greek (, , or , ''Kiní Neoellinikí Glóssa''), generally referred to by speakers simply as Greek (, ), refers collectively to the dialects of the Greek language spoken in the modern era, including the official standardized form of the ...
: Δαφνί;
Katharevousa Katharevousa ( el, Καθαρεύουσα, , literally "purifying anguage) is a conservative form of the Modern Greek language conceived in the late 18th century as both a literary language and a compromise between Ancient Greek and the contempor ...
: Δαφνίον, ''Daphnion'') is an eleventh-century
Byzantine The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantinopl ...
monastery northwest of central
Athens Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates ...
in the suburb of
Chaidari HaidariFor the spelling, see thmunicipal website ( el, Χαϊδάρι, ''Khaidari'') is a suburb in the western part of the Athens agglomeration, west of central Athens. Geography The municipality has an area of 22.655 km2. The geography of ...
, south of Athinon Avenue ( GR-8A). It is situated near the forest of the same name, on the
Sacred Way The Sacred Way ( grc, Ἱερὰ Ὁδός, ''Hierá Hodós''), in ancient Greece, was the road from Athens to Eleusis. It was so called because it was the route taken by a procession celebrating the Eleusinian Mysteries. The procession to Eleus ...
that led to Eleusis. The forest covers about , and surrounds a laurel grove. "Daphni" is the modern Greek name that means "laurel grove", derived from Daphneion (Lauretum). The Daphni Monastery, along with the famous monasteries of
Hosios Loukas Hosios Loukas ( el, Ὅσιος Λουκᾶς) is a historic walled monastery situated near the town of Distomo, in Boeotia, Greece. Founded in the mid-10th century, the monastery is one of the most important monuments of Middle Byzantine architec ...
near Delphi and
Nea Moni Nea Moni ( el, Νέα Μονή, lit. "New Monastery") is an 11th-century monastery on the island of Chios that has been recognized as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It is located on the Provateio Oros Mt. in the island's interior, about 15 km f ...
on the island of
Chios Chios (; el, Χίος, Chíos , traditionally known as Scio in English) is the fifth largest Greek island, situated in the northern Aegean Sea. The island is separated from Turkey by the Chios Strait. Chios is notable for its exports of masti ...
, are designated
UNESCO World Heritage Sites A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNESCO for ...
for their significant historical and architectural value. These monasteries are famed as masterpieces of middle Byzantine architecture, and are especially noted for their sumptuous interior
gold-ground Gold ground (both a noun and adjective) or gold-ground (adjective) is a term in art history for a style of images with all or most of the background in a solid gold colour. Historically, real gold leaf has normally been used, giving a luxuriou ...
mosaics.


History

The Daphni Monastery was founded towards the end of the sixth century A.D. on the site of the Sanctuary of
Apollo Apollo, grc, Ἀπόλλωνος, Apóllōnos, label=genitive , ; , grc-dor, Ἀπέλλων, Apéllōn, ; grc, Ἀπείλων, Apeílōn, label= Arcadocypriot Greek, ; grc-aeo, Ἄπλουν, Áploun, la, Apollō, la, Apollinis, label ...
which had been desecrated by the
Goths The Goths ( got, 𐌲𐌿𐍄𐌸𐌹𐌿𐌳𐌰, translit=''Gutþiuda''; la, Gothi, grc-gre, Γότθοι, Gótthoi) were a Germanic people who played a major role in the fall of the Western Roman Empire and the emergence of medieval Europe ...
in 395. The Sanctuary of Apollo was built in the
Ionic style The Ionic order is one of the three canonic orders of classical architecture, the other two being the Doric and the Corinthian. There are two lesser orders: the Tuscan (a plainer Doric), and the rich variant of Corinthian called the composite ...
using the thinnest and smallest columns. The columns stand on a base with an ornamental scroll at the top. A few of the columns of the temple have been preserved. One of the four Ionic columns of the ancient Sanctuary of Apollo remains at the site, as it was re-used in the Daphni Monastery. The other columns were removed and taken to London by Thomas Bruce, Earl of Elgin (best-known for taking the
Parthenon The Parthenon (; grc, Παρθενών, , ; ell, Παρθενώνας, , ) is a former temple on the Athenian Acropolis, Greece, that was dedicated to the goddess Athena during the fifth century BC. Its decorative sculptures are considere ...
Marbles). The columns, column bases, and column tops from the Sanctuary of Apollo are currently in the possession of the
British Museum The British Museum is a public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is among the largest and most comprehensive in existence. It docum ...
; they are currently not on display but can be seen on the museum’
website
. The first monastery on the site was constructed in the style of a castle with a
basilica In Ancient Roman architecture, a basilica is a large public building with multiple functions, typically built alongside the town's Forum (Roman), forum. The basilica was in the Latin West equivalent to a stoa in the Greek East. The building ...
in the middle. It was fortified with enclosing walls and small cells that were usually just inside the walls and used by monks or nuns. The walls were attached to the church rather than standing free around the perimeter of the property and one of the columns from Apollo was built into the southern wall of the church. Some of the rectangular blocks of porous stone were also salvaged and used in the western outer wall of the church. This first monastery fell into decline when Greece was severely damaged following invasions of barbarians from the North and the sea in the ninth and tenth Centuries A.D. During a period of renewed prosperity In the eleventh and twelfth centuries, the Daphni Monastery was restored. A new octagonal church, a
refectory A refectory (also frater, frater house, fratery) is a dining room, especially in monasteries, boarding schools and academic institutions. One of the places the term is most often used today is in graduate seminaries. The name derives from the Lat ...
and a chapel for the cemetery were built. The old basilica was completely demolished except for the enclosing walls and cells from the former church which were incorporated into the new church. Traces of old frescoes found on the walls show a person with bands, perhaps Emperor
Basil II Basil II Porphyrogenitus ( gr, Βασίλειος Πορφυρογέννητος ;) and, most often, the Purple-born ( gr, ὁ πορφυρογέννητος, translit=ho porphyrogennetos).. 958 – 15 December 1025), nicknamed the Bulgar S ...
, holding a scroll. The craftsmanship used in the church construction suggests Basil II brought in workers from
Constantinople la, Constantinopolis ota, قسطنطينيه , alternate_name = Byzantion (earlier Greek name), Nova Roma ("New Rome"), Miklagard/Miklagarth (Old Norse), Tsargrad ( Slavic), Qustantiniya ( Arabic), Basileuousa ("Queen of Cities"), Megalopolis ( ...
. The Daphni Monastery fell into decline after it was sacked by
Frankish Frankish may refer to: * Franks, a Germanic tribe and their culture ** Frankish language or its modern descendants, Franconian languages * Francia, a post-Roman state in France and Germany * East Francia, the successor state to Francia in Germany ...
crusaders The Crusades were a series of religious wars initiated, supported, and sometimes directed by the Latin Church in the medieval period. The best known of these Crusades are those to the Holy Land in the period between 1095 and 1291 that were in ...
in 1205. The region became part of the
Duchy of Athens The Duchy of Athens (Greek: Δουκᾶτον Ἀθηνῶν, ''Doukaton Athinon''; Catalan: ''Ducat d'Atenes'') was one of the Crusader states set up in Greece after the conquest of the Byzantine Empire during the Fourth Crusade as part of th ...
under
Othon de la Roche Othon de la Roche, also Otho de la Roche (died before 1234), was a Burgundian nobleman of the De la Roche family from La Roche-sur-l'Ognon. He joined the Fourth Crusade and became the first Frankish Lord of Athens in 1204. In addition to Athen ...
. Othon gave the Daphni Monastery to the Cistercian Abbey of Bellevaux, who added their own cloister and twin pointed arches in the Gothic style to the façade of the church. The Daphni Monastery became a popular burial place for Knights. In 1458, immediately after the coming of the Turks and the visit of Sultan Mehmed II to Athens, the Cistercians abandoned the Daphni Monastery and the Duchy of Athens was abolished.


Architecture

The exterior of the church has a
cloisonné Cloisonné () is an ancient technique for decorating metalwork objects with colored material held in place or separated by metal strips or wire, normally of gold. In recent centuries, vitreous enamel has been used, but inlays of cut gemstones, ...
style, which is very common for middle Byzantine churches in Greece. The cloisonné style of masonry consists of rectangular blocks of stone separated or framed on all four sides by bricks. The windows are set off from the cloisonné work by arched frames made of brick. The contrast between the light color of the stone blocks of the cloisonné and the red bricks around the windows, and the orange roof create a sophisticated and understated elegance. The floor plan for the Church of Daphni is a simple Greek cross-octagon arranged with various levels of light and illumination. The upper church, particularly the dome symbolizes the Heavens while the lower area symbolizes the earth. A square bay in the center of the church is covered by a broad dome. Squinches, small half-domes that span the corner of a square are connected by tall L-shaped piers to form the transition from the square to the circle of the dome. The four squinches in the square bay transform it into an octagon. The wall surfaces fan out at the top above the squinches and join together to form the circular base of the dome. A
Greek cross The Christian cross, with or without a figure of Christ included, is the main religious symbol of Christianity. A cross with a figure of Christ affixed to it is termed a ''crucifix'' and the figure is often referred to as the ''corpus'' (La ...
is formed by four
barrel-vaulted A barrel vault, also known as a tunnel vault, wagon vault or wagonhead vault, is an architectural element formed by the extrusion of a single curve (or pair of curves, in the case of a pointed barrel vault) along a given distance. The curves are ...
arms of the same length that project from the center bay. Small bays covered with groin vaults (ceilings made up of two barrel vaults) that intersect at right angles give the building its rectangular shape. The bays that fill in the cross are only one-story high and with a low-level of illumination to subordinate them from the Greek cross.


Mosaics

The interior of The Daphni Monastery has an elegant interplay of spaces and light with the windows at the base of the dome illuminating the vertical space above; as the space becomes taller, it also become brighter. This graduated light enhances the radiant gold-ground
tesserae A tessera (plural: tesserae, diminutive ''tessella'') is an individual tile, usually formed in the shape of a square, used in creating a mosaic. It is also known as an abaciscus or abaculus. Historical tesserae The oldest known tessera ...
used to create the remarkable quality of the mosaics. The unknown artist was from the early
Komnenian period The Byzantine Empire was ruled by emperors of the Komnenos dynasty for a period of 104 years, from 1081 to about 1185. The ''Komnenian'' (also spelled ''Comnenian'') period comprises the reigns of five emperors, Alexios I, John II, Manuel I, A ...
(). The wide assortment of colored shades of glass tesserae further enhances the mosaics. Several important studies have been conducted on the composition of the glass used in the tesserae for these mosaics as the unusually bright color of the gold-ground tesserae and the deep brilliance of the colors combine with important stylistic qualities to make these mosaics unique One of the factors that identifies mosaics from different areas is the variance in glass used. The glass can be crafted locally or imported from other areas; in the case of Daphni, it is believed the glass was created on site. This group of mosaics is considered one of the most important and best-preserved mosaic cycles from this period. They are evidence of the iconographic and stylistic conceptions formulated at the end of the iconoclastic crisis (AD 843) by the Church of Constantinople. The decoration shows a rigid consistency in the distribution of subject characteristic of Constantinopolitan art. In Byzantine theology, the church building was a symbol of the Christian universe, intended to reflect the splendor of heaven. A standardized program in Byzantine churches established the order in which the representations were arranged. The most sacred characters were depicted in the dome and the apse, while below, the dome scenes were arranged from higher to lower levels relating to their level of religious importance. Visitors to the church are immediately drawn to the most important and famous of the mosaics:
Christ Pantocrator In Christian iconography, Christ Pantocrator ( grc-gre, Χριστὸς Παντοκράτωρ) is a specific depiction of Christ. ''Pantocrator'' or ''Pantokrator'', literally ''ruler of all'', but usually translated as "Almighty" or "all-po ...
(Lord of the Universe) watching over all from the crown of the dome. He is depicted with a stern face and a threatening gaze with only his head and shoulders shown. This medallion is recognized as representing high artistic quality and as “one of the greatest creations in art” Christ is wearing a purple robe and a blue mantle, he is the King of Kings and shows strength, austerity and power. The artist created a bold and realistic drawing, executed with very simple means. The eyebrows are shown with a strong arch to accentuate the vertical lines and the long nose that intersects with the horizontal lines of the halo to create a symbolic cross. Several studies have been conducted in an attempt to determine whether significant changes have been made during restorations to the appearance of the Christ Pantocrator mosaic, but there is general agreement that changes have not been significant. Christ is surrounded by sixteen Prophets at the base of the dome, between the windows that illuminate Christ as the dominant figure in the church. The prophets are wearing ancient garments and hold a parchment containing text proclaiming the glory of Christ or the
Second Coming The Second Coming (sometimes called the Second Advent or the Parousia) is a Christian (as well as Islamic and Baha'i) belief that Jesus will return again after his ascension to heaven about two thousand years ago. The idea is based on messian ...
. On the
pendentives In architecture, a pendentive is a constructional device permitting the placing of a circular dome over a square room or of an elliptical dome over a rectangular room. The pendentives, which are triangular segments of a sphere, taper to point ...
there are four scenes from the life of Christ. The
Crucifixion Crucifixion is a method of capital punishment in which the victim is tied or nailed to a large wooden cross or beam and left to hang until eventual death from exhaustion and asphyxiation. It was used as a punishment by the Persians, Carthagi ...
scene shows three figures: Christ on the cross, with Mary and Saint John are at the foot of the cross, one on each side. The figures are arranged in the shape of a triangle against the empty golden background. Each figure is separate and unified with the other figures. This balanced arrangement is similar to the way Greek sculptors placed their figures in the pediments of temples. The figure of St. John is depicted in a bending position, with his weight on one leg – a pose used by Greek sculptors. The body of Christ is depicted in a classic, athletic style, but unlike Greek sculpture, the anatomy is not true to life. The faces of Saint John and the Madonna have the flatness and heavy lines of the Byzantine style, but they express the calm of Greek statues. According to the ''
Encyclopædia Britannica The (Latin for "British Encyclopædia") is a general knowledge English-language encyclopaedia. It is published by Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.; the company has existed since the 18th century, although it has changed ownership various t ...
'', "the ensemble represents a visualization of the Christian
cosmos The cosmos (, ) is another name for the Universe. Using the word ''cosmos'' implies viewing the universe as a complex and orderly system or entity. The cosmos, and understandings of the reasons for its existence and significance, are studied in ...
, its effect created by an intricately conceived interplay of pictures and architecture. Space in fact fuses the decoration into one giant image, in which the ruler, hailed by the prophets surrounding him, presides in his sphere above the host of saints that people the lower part of the room." Other important mosaics include: Prayers of Joachim and Anna, Annunciation of Joachim, The Virgin with Anna, Annunciation of the Mother of God, The Baptism of Christ, The Washing of the Disciples, Entering Jerusalem, Christ at the Last Supper, The Crucifixion, The Resurrection, Dormition of the Mother of God, Angel to Receive the Mother of God, Prophet Sophonia, St. Bacchus. Byzantine art often survives as an ecclesiastical art. The Daphni Monastery was built during a period of renaissance in culture and art and a return to classical traditions. The figures in the mosaics are more naturalistically represented, and they blend more smoothly into their surroundings''The Latins in Greece and the Aegean from the Fourth Crusade to the End of the Middle Ages'', K. M. Setton, ''The Cambridge Medieval History:Vol IV, The Byzantine Empire'', ed. J.M. Hussey, D.M. Nicol and G. Cowan, (Cambridge University Press, 1966), 409. The decoration of the monastery is inspired by the spirit of the times. Faces are dematerialized, austere and depicted with unemotional expressions. The bodies are heavy and rigid, common characteristics in depicting the icons of the Bishops, Monks and the Martyrs. The pictorial perspective, the figure styles and gestures, the modeling of the figures along with simplicity of design, and the dazzling splendor of color reflecting from the gold and silver tesserae distinguish the Daphni mosaics among the mosaics of the eleventh and twelfth centuries as particularly grand specimens of Byzantine art in general.


See also

*
History of Roman and Byzantine domes Domes were a characteristic element of the architecture of Ancient Rome and of its medieval continuation, the Byzantine Empire. They had widespread influence on contemporary and later styles, from Russian and Ottoman architecture to the Italian ...


References


Bibliography

* Cormack, Robin. ''Byzantine Art''. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2002. * Cormack, Robin. “Rediscovering the Christ Pantocrator at Delphi.” ''Journal of the Warburg and Courtauld Institutes'' 71:55-74 * Darling, Janina Kacena, ''Architecture of Greece''. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 2004 * Diez, Ernest, and Otto Demus. ''Byzantine Mosaics in Greece''. Hosios Lucas & Daphni. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press, 1931. * Entwistle, Christopher, and Liz James. ''New Light on Old Glass: Recent'' ''Research on Byzantine Mosaics and Glass.'' London: British Museum, 2013. * James, Liz. “Byzantine Glass Mosaic Tesserae: Some Material Considerations. “Byzantine and Modern Greek Studies 30, no. 1” (2006): 29-47 * Kyriacopoulou, Helen D., Argyrios Petronotes, Nilkos A. Belels, and T.S.R. Boase. ''The Daphni Monastery: History, Architecture, Mosaics''. Athens: Society for Peloponnesian Studies, 1956. * Setton, K.M. ''The Byzantine Empire''. Vol. IV. The Cambridge Medieval History. ''The Latins in Greece and the Aegean from the Fourth Crusades'' ''to the End of the Middle Ages'', Cambridge University Press, 1966, 409. * Mosaic images: Ellopos http://www.ellopos.net {{Authority control West Athens (regional unit) Byzantine church buildings in Athens Byzantine art Greek Orthodox monasteries in Greece World Heritage Sites in Greece Cistercian monasteries Gothic architecture in Greece Macedonian Renaissance architecture Burial sites of the De la Roche family 11th-century churches in Greece