Monastery church at Daphni
Date:
c. 1100
Location or Findspot (Modern-Day Country):
Greece
Description:
Byzantine art flourished from the ninth to twelfth century, the period after the end of iconoclasm. The mosaic decoration at the monastery church at Daphni, located approximately 10 km from Athens, belongs to this flourishing of figural decoration in religious buildings. The interior of the octagonal monastery church is decorated to reflect the cosmos, with Christ at the highest point. Bays forming a square surround the central octagonal space. Below the mosaic Pantokrator in the dome, executed with silver and gold tesserae, there are prophets in the drum. In lower registers, including the squinches, scenes from the life of Christ and the Virgin are arranged according to the feast cycle of the Orthodox liturgy (e.g., the Annunciation, the Nativity, and Christ's Transfiguration). The monastery was dedicated to the Virgin and the scenes related to her life include her parents praying for a child, her birth, her presentation in the Temple, and Christ receiving her soul after her death (a scene called the Dormition, which is Latin for "sleep"). In addition to mosaics, the interior has decorative brickwork and marble.
Relevant Textbook Chapter(s):
7
Repository and Online Resources:
• The monastery of Daphni is part of UNESCO's World Heritage List.
Image Credits:
Wikimedia Commons
