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Middle-byzantine church architecture on Salamis

• Ασλανίδης, Κλήμης
• Πινάτση, Χριστίνα

The present article is devoted to the seven surviving Middle-Byzantine churches on the island of Salamis, which are examined both with relation to each other and within the context of the church architecture of the same period and area.The churches of the Dormition and the Transfiguration in Eantion (Moulki) belong to the simple, four-column, cross-in-square type. Their construction and architectural forms (stone-carving, limited use of brick, octagonal dome-drums with horizontal cornices, and four single-light windows with brick arches) point to a date in the 12th century, and in the later part of it in the case of the Transfiguration.St. George, on the road to the Faneromeni Monastery, belongs to the same type, but has a square plan, and the corner bays are all roofed by domical vaults. There are pillars instead of columns in the west part of the church, which we believe to be later elements, though the church belongs to the Middle- Byzantine period. The precise extent of later interventions in it cannot be determined, because all the surfaces are covered with later plaster.St. Gregory is a triconch church, belonging to the first category of Prof. P. Vokotopoulos’s classification system, with a semi-circular sanctuary apse, flanked by two semi-hexagonal apses, and a circular dome-drum. These elements, combined with the architectural forms, indicate that the monument belongs to a transitional period, probably in the first half of the 11th century.St. John Kalyvitis, which is of the same type, but with three semi-hexagonal apses, has many features in common with the churches in Eantion, and may also be dated to the 12th century. The monument has several original features, such as the cufic patterns executed in the mortar, the form of the dome, which resembles a cube with chamfered corners, and the presence of a second door in one of the apses.St. John the Baptist in Resti, a triconch church with three semi-hexagonal apses and a dome of Athenian type, belongs to Vokotopoulos’s third category, and is also dated to the 12th century.St. Demetrios at Saterli is a free-cross church with an octagonal dome that has a horizontal cornice. Its architectural forms, when compared with those of the other monuments of the island, and particularly the cross of cut bricks, place the building in the years around 1200.In conclusion, the churches on Salamis, unlike most of the islands, belong to the ‘Helladic School’ and, owing to the position of the island, were directly influenced by the architecture of Athens. The monuments share common characteristics in both typology and forms, apart from St. Gregory, which retains some archaic elements. They thus form part of the group of 12th century churches in Attica and the surrounding area, the characteristic features of which are the simplicity and refinement of the architectural forms, the stone-carving style, the limited use of decoration, and the absence of ‘picturesque irregularity’.The existence of so many monuments from this period indicates that Salamis followed the general trend in Greece, despite the activity of pirates in the Saronic gulf, for this seems either to have been intensive only during the years of Michael Choniates (late 12th century), or to have involved some form of cooperation between the pirates and the local inhabitants. Finally, it can be deduced that there was a fair-sized population on the island during the Middle-Byzantine years, in contrast with the so-called ‘Dark Ages’.

• History and Archaeology

• Αρχαιολογία
• Ανασκαφές (Αρχαιολογία)
• Architecture
• Archaeology and art

Η μελέτη παρουσιάστηκε ως σπουδαστική διάλεξη στο τμήμα Αρχιτεκτόνων του Ε.Μ.Π., υπό την εποπτεία του καθηγητού κ. Χαράλαμπου Μπούρα, στον οποίο εκφράζουμε τις θερμότερες ευχαριστίες μας. Επίσης, ευχαριστούμε τον κ. Σταύρο Μαμαλούκο για τις χρήσιμες παρατηρήσεις του., Το άρθρο περιέχεται στο τεύχος: Μέρος Α'-Μελέτες, Περιέχει σχέδια