Steni ( gr, Στενή) is a village in the

Paphos District Paphos District ( el, Επαρχία Πάφου, tr, Baf kazası) is one of the six districts of Cyprus and it is situated in the western part of Cyprus. Its main town and capital is Paphos. The entire district is controlled by the internationa ...

Cyprus Cyprus ; tr, Kıbrıs (), officially the Republic of Cyprus,, , lit: Republic of Cyprus is an island country located south of the Anatolian Peninsula in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Its continental position is disputed; while it is ...

, located 6 km southeast of

Polis Chrysochous Polis (or Polis Chrysochous; el, Πόλη Χρυσοχούς or Πόλις Χρυσοχούς, tr, Poli) is a town at the north-west end of the island of Cyprus, at the centre of Chrysochous Bay, and on the edge of the Akamas peninsula natur ...

. In his book "Historic Cyprus" (second edition 1947),

Rupert Gunnis Rupert Forbes Gunnis (11 March 1899 – 31 July 1965) was an English collector and historian of British sculpture. He is best known for his '' Dictionary of British Sculptors 1660–1851'', which "revolutionized the study of British sculpture, p ...

(Inspector of Antiquities on the island at the time) writes: "About two miles from the village lie the ruins of the rich and important Monastery of Chrysolakhourna. The original thirteenth-century church consists of a central

nave The nave () is the central part of a church, stretching from the (normally western) main entrance or rear wall, to the transepts, or in a church without transepts, to the chancel. When a church contains side aisles, as in a basilica-typ ...

and two side aisles ending in a semicircular

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

. Over the west door was a small

lancet window A lancet window is a tall, narrow window with a pointed arch at its top. It acquired the "lancet" name from its resemblance to a lance. Instances of this architectural element are typical of Gothic Gothic or Gothics may refer to: People and ...

of two lights. In the sixteenth century, owing to an

earthquake An earthquake (also known as a quake, tremor or temblor) is the shaking of the surface of the Earth resulting from a sudden release of energy in the Earth's lithosphere that creates seismic waves. Earthquakes can range in intensity, from ...

, the church was much remodelled. The west front was covered with a heavy

buttress A buttress is an architectural structure built against or projecting from a wall which serves to support or reinforce the wall. Buttresses are fairly common on more ancient buildings, as a means of providing support to act against the lateral ( ...

wall four feet thick at the base, which blocked the two entrances into the side aisle. The north wall was rebuilt, and the windows in the west and east end of the church were blocked up. All the paintings which remain are of the period of the rebuilding, save a figure of St.

John the Baptist John the Baptist or , , or , ;Wetterau, Bruce. ''World history''. New York: Henry Holt and Company. 1994. syc, ܝܘܿܚܲܢܵܢ ܡܲܥܡܕ݂ܵܢܵܐ, Yoḥanān Maʿmḏānā; he, יוחנן המטביל, Yohanān HaMatbil; la, Ioannes Bapti ...

in the west end, and even this has been chipped to form a key for the later series of

frescoes 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 plast ...

. The monastic buildings are of considerable size, but are now much ruined. A number of

Hellenic Hellenic is a synonym for Greek. It means either: *of or pertaining to the Hellenic Republic (modern Greece) or Greek people (Hellenes, el, Έλληνες) and culture *of or pertaining to ancient Greece, ancient Greek people, culture and civiliz ...

tombs surround the monastery, and the scattered marble columns and pillars suggest that there was perhaps a heathen temple here at some period. Just below the church is a tiny valley shaded by giant

oak An oak is a tree or shrub in the genus ''Quercus'' (; Latin "oak tree") of the beech family, Fagaceae. There are approximately 500 extant species of oaks. The common name "oak" also appears in the names of species in related genera, notably ''L ...

s, and from a cleft in the rocks trickles a holy spring, which is frequented by those who suffer from

ophthalmia Ophthalmia (also called ophthalmitis) is inflammation of the eye. It results in congestion of the eyeball, often eye-watering, redness and swelling, itching and burning, and a general feeling of irritation under the eyelids. Ophthalmia can have d ...

. According to the local tradition, this monastery was once the resident of a

bishop A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ...

, and it is possible that during the Latin domination (note: the

Kingdom of Cyprus The Kingdom of Cyprus (french: Royaume de Chypre, la, Regnum Cypri) was a state that existed between 1192 and 1489. It was ruled by the French House of Lusignan. It comprised not only the island of Cyprus, but it also had a foothold on the Ana ...

) the

Orthodox Orthodox, Orthodoxy, or Orthodoxism may refer to: Religion * Orthodoxy, adherence to accepted norms, more specifically adherence to creeds, especially within Christianity and Judaism, but also less commonly in non-Abrahamic religions like Neo-pa ...

Bishop of

Paphos Paphos ( el, Πάφος ; tr, Baf) is a coastal city in southwest Cyprus and the capital of Paphos District. In classical antiquity, two locations were called Paphos: Old Paphos, today known as Kouklia, and New Paphos. The current city of ...

was forced to reside here. The last

Abbot Abbot is an ecclesiastical title given to the male head of a monastery in various Western religious traditions, including Christianity. The office may also be given as an honorary title to a clergyman who is not the head of a monastery. Th ...

is said to have been

hanged Hanging is the suspension of a person by a noose or ligature around the neck.Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed. Hanging as method of execution is unknown, as method of suicide from 1325. The ''Oxford English Dictionary'' states that hanging in ...

by the

Turks Turk or Turks may refer to: Communities and ethnic groups * Turkic peoples, a collection of ethnic groups who speak Turkic languages * Turkish people, or the Turks, a Turkic ethnic group and nation * Turkish citizen, a citizen of the Republic ...

in 1821. Near Steni are the Turkish

hamlet ''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play, with 29,551 words. Set in Denmark, the play depi ...

s of St. Isidoros (note:

Ayios Isidhoros, Paphos Agios Isidoros ( gr, 'Αγιος Ισίδωρος) is a village in the Paphos District of Cyprus, located 6 km southeast of Polis Chrysochous Polis (or Polis Chrysochous; el, Πόλη Χρυσοχούς or Πόλις Χρυσοχούς, tr ...

) and Myrimikoph; each still contains the ruined

mediaeval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire a ...

church dating from before the time of the Turkish conquest."

References

{{Paphos District Communities in Paphos District