The Little Metropolis ( el, Μικρή Μητρόπολη), formally the Church of St. Eleutherios () or Panagia Gorgoepikoos (, "

Panagia Panagia ( el, Παναγία, fem. of , + , the ''All-Holy'', or the ''Most Holy''; pronounced ) (also transliterated Panaghia or Panajia), in Medieval and Modern Greek, is one of the titles of Mary, mother of Jesus, used especially in Eastern ...

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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 ...

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. ...

(the "Great Metropolis").

History and dating

The church is built on top of the ruins of an ancient temple dedicated to the goddess

Eileithyia Eileithyia or Ilithyiae or Ilithyia (; grc-gre, Εἰλείθυια; (''Eleuthyia'') in Crete, also (''Eleuthia'') or (''Elysia'') in Laconia and Messene, and (''Eleuthō'') in literature)Nilsson Vol I, p. 313 was the Greek goddess of ch ...

. Various dates for its construction have been proposed in the past, from the 9th century under Empress

Irene of Athens Irene of Athens ( el, Εἰρήνη, ; 750/756 – 9 August 803), surname Sarantapechaina (), was Byzantine empress consort to Emperor Leo IV from 775 to 780, regent during the childhood of their son Constantine VI from 780 until 790, co-ruler ...

to the 13th century. Until recently, the common view among scholars, especially in Greece, ascribed it to the tenure of

Michael Choniates Saint Michael Choniates (or Acominatus; el, ; c. 1140 – 1220) was a Byzantine Greek writer and cleric, born at Chonae (the ancient Colossae). At an early age he studied at Constantinople and was the pupil of Eustathius of Thessalonica. Around ...

Metropolitan of Athens The Archbishopric of Athens ( el, Ιερά Αρχιεπισκοπή Αθηνών) is a Greek Orthodox archiepiscopal see based in the city of Athens, Greece. It is the senior see of Greece, and the seat of the autocephalous Church of Greece. Its ...

, 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 A cross-in-square or crossed-dome plan was the dominant architectural form of middle- and late-period Byzantine churches. It featured a square centre with an internal structure shaped like a cross, topped by a dome. The first cross-in-square chu ...

style, it is, uniquely, almost entirely built of reused ''

spolia ''Spolia'' (Latin: 'spoils') is repurposed building stone for new construction or decorative sculpture reused in new monuments. It is the result of an ancient and widespread practice whereby stone that has been quarried, cut and used in a built ...

'' from earlier buildings, ranging from

Classical Antiquity Classical antiquity (also the classical era, classical period or classical age) is the period of cultural history between the 8th century BC and the 5th century AD centred on the Mediterranean Sea, comprising the interlocking civilizations of ...

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 Cyriacus of Ancona or Ciriaco de' Pizzicolli (31 July 1391 – 1453/55) was a restlessly itinerant Italian humanist and antiquarian who came from a prominent family of merchants in Ancona, a maritime republic on the Adriatic. He has been called ...

mentions one of the inscriptions from the ''spolia'' of the church as lying in the

Ancient Agora of Athens The ancient Agora of Athens (also called the Classical Agora) is the best-known example of an ancient Greek agora, 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 ...

, 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 in 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 ...

—by the Turks and its conversion into a mosque. Originally dedicated to the

Gorgoepikoos after a miraculous icon of the

Virgin Mary Mary; arc, ܡܪܝܡ, translit=Mariam; ar, مريم, translit=Maryam; grc, Μαρία, translit=María; la, Maria; cop, Ⲙⲁⲣⲓⲁ, translit=Maria was a first-century Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Joseph and the mother of ...

housed there, it acquired the name "Little Metropolis" because it was located within the bounds of the residence of the

. Following the Greek War of Independence, 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, 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 A brick is a type of block used to build walls, pavements and other elements in masonry construction. Properly, the term ''brick'' denotes a block composed of dried clay, but is now also used informally to denote other chemically cured cons ...

have been used, except for the dome. Its interior was originally decorated entirely with frescoes, 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

* * {{Authority control Byzantine church buildings in Athens 15th-century Eastern Orthodox church buildings Eastern Orthodox church buildings in Greece 15th-century churches in Greece