The Little Metropolis (), formally the Church of St. Eleftherios () or Panagia Gorgoepikoos (), is a

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 ...

church located at the Mitropoleos Square, next to the Metropolitan Cathedral of Athens (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 Ilithyia (; ; (''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 childbirth and midwifery, and the daughter o ...

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

Irene of Athens Irene of Athens (, ; 750/756 – 9 August 803), surname Sarantapechaena (, ), 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 from 792 unti ...

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; ; 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. In 1182 ...

Metropolitan of Athens The Archbishopric of Athens () 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 incumbent (since 2008) is Ieronymos II 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 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 ...

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

spolia ''Spolia'' (Latin for 'spoils'; : ''spolium'') are stones taken from an old structure and repurposed for new construction or decorative purposes. It is the result of an ancient and widespread practice (spoliation) whereby stone that has been quar ...

'' from earlier buildings, ranging from

Classical Antiquity Classical antiquity, also known as the classical era, classical period, classical age, or simply antiquity, is the period of cultural History of Europe, European history between the 8th century BC and the 5th century AD comprising the inter ...

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 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 ...

, 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 (; ; ) is a former Ancient Greek temple, temple on the Acropolis of Athens, Athenian Acropolis, Greece, that was dedicated to the Greek gods, goddess Athena. Its decorative sculptures are considered some of the high points of c ...

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

Panagia Panagia (, fem. of , + , the ''All-Holy'', or the ''Most Holy''; pronounced ) (also transliterated Panaghia or Panayia), in Medieval and Modern Greek, is one of the titles of Mary, Mother of God, used especially in Orthodox Christianity and E ...

Gorgoepikoos after a miraculous icon of the

Virgin Mary Mary was a first-century Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Saint Joseph, Joseph and the mother of Jesus. She is an important figure of Christianity, venerated under titles of Mary, mother of Jesus, various titles such as Perpetual virginity ...

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 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. In 1826, the Greeks were assisted ...

, 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. On 16 January 2023, the Little Metropolis was used as the location of the lying-in-state of

Constantine II of Greece Constantine II (, ; 2 June 1940 – 10 January 2023) was the last King of Greece, reigning from 6 March 1964 until the abolition of the Greek monarchy on 1 June 1973. Constantine was born in Athens as the only son of Crown Prince Paul and ...

, the last

King of the Hellenes The Kingdom of Greece was ruled by the House of Wittelsbach from 1832 to 1862 and by the House of Glücksburg from 1863 to 1924 and, after being temporarily abolished in favor of the Second Hellenic Republic, again from 1935 to 1973, when it ...

, whom a "crowd of thousands" prostrated and mourned.

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 construction material used to build walls, pavements and other elements in masonry construction. Properly, the term ''brick'' denotes a unit primarily composed of clay. But is now also used informally to denote building u ...

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

fresco Fresco ( 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 plaster, the painting become ...

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 File:Piccola Metropoli Atene02272023 11.jpg File:Piccola Metropoli Atene02272023 08.jpg File:Piccola Metropoli Atene02272023 09.jpg File:Piccola Metropoli Atene02272023 10.jpg File:Piccola Metropoli Atene02272023 06.jpg File:Piccola Metropoli Atene02272023 05.jpg File:Piccola Metropoli Atene02272023 07.jpg File:Piccola Metropoli Atene02272023 04.jpg File:Piccola Metropoli Atene02272023 02.jpg File:Piccola Metropoli Atene02272023 03.jpg File:Mottivi murali esterni 1.jpg File:Ναός Θεοτόκου Γοργοεπήκοου 01.jpg File:Ναός Θεοτόκου Γοργοεπήκοου.jpg

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