Daphni Monastery
UNESCO World Heritage Site | |
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Location | Greece |
Part of | Monasteries of Daphni, Hosios Loukas and Nea Moni of Chios |
Criteria | Cultural: i, iv |
Reference | 537-002 |
Inscription | 1990 (14th Session) |
Area | 0.94 ha |
Coordinates | 38°00′47″N 23°38′09″E / 38.01296°N 23.63588°E |
Daphni or Dafni (
The Daphni Monastery, along with the famous monasteries of
History
The Daphni Monastery was founded towards the end of the sixth century A.D. on the site of the Sanctuary of
The first monastery on the site was constructed in the style of a castle with a basilica 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.[1] 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 and a chapel for the cemetery were built.[3] 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, holding a scroll. The craftsmanship used in the church construction suggests Basil II brought in workers from Constantinople.[1]
The Daphni Monastery fell into decline after it was sacked by
Architecture
The exterior of the church has a cloisonné style, which is very common for middle Byzantine churches in Greece.[3] 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
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
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 (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”[1]
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.[7] 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.
On the
According to the Encyclopædia Britannica, "the ensemble represents a visualization of the Christian cosmos, 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, The Washing of the Disciples, 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[8] The decoration of the monastery is inspired by the spirit of the times.[1] 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.[1]
See also
References
- ^ a b c d e f g h Kyriacopoulou, Helen (1956). The Daphne Monastery: History, Architecture, Mosaics. Athens: Society for Peloponnesian Studies, 1956. p. 10.
- ^ "Monasteries of Daphni, Hosios Loukas and Nea Moni of Chios". UNESCO World Heritage Convention. United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization. Retrieved 20 November 2022.
- ^ a b c d Darling, Janina (2004). Architecture of Greece. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press. p. 69.
- ^ Diez, Ernest (1931). Byzantine Mosaics in Greece. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press. p. 409.
- .
- ^ Entwistle, Christopher (2013). New Light on Old Glass: Recent Research on Byzantine Mosaics and Glass. Loneon: British Museum. p. 242.
- JSTOR 20462776.
- ^ 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.
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