N.IOANNIDOU-Church of Taxiarchis Michael, Andros (Greece), history, visualizations and symbolism (original) (raw)
Interim Meeting of Five ICOM-CC Working Groups, that is organized in collaboration with the Istituto Superiore per la Conservazione e il Restauro (Rome),23 – 25 March, 2010 Byzantine church of Taxiarchis Michael in the island of Andros:science made visible through symbolism and allegories “Harmonia est Discordia concors: Harmony and discord as preserved in restoration works” With the permission of the competent 2nd Ephory of Byzantine Antiquities (Greece) One important byzantine monuments is the church of Taxiarchis Michail built in 1158, is to be sited in the island of Andros (north-west Aegean sea) at “Messarià” that was the medieval both Byzantine and Venetian capital of the island. The church located at the island of Andros a crossroad of the Byzantine Empire on the road to Italy and Constantinople, not far from Athens, may itself reveal certain historical facts and symbolisms. Despite the medieval and picturesque aspect of the church, the accurate architectural survey revealed its harmonious proportions and ratios between the whole and its elements. The cross-in square plan domed church of Taxiarchis Michael dates from 12th century and its model is due to the Byzantine Renaissance both of the House of Komninoi and of Macedonians. This church is among the few middle byzantine churches that we know the patrons and the owners and the dates of construction through 4 dedicatory inscriptions saved in loco at the church. As it derives from the 1st inscription, the sponsors of the construction of the church were Konstantinos Monastiriotis (Κωνσταντίνος Μοναστηριώτης) and his wife Eirini daughter of Prasinos), that belonged to noble families of the island. The design of the initial church and of the successive historical phases and the use of the appropriate lithic materials were no doubt intended to focus to the importance of the church. The dimensions of the church are multiples of number (3) or they have among them the following relations 1:2, 2:3, 3:4, 8:9, that go back to Pythagoras and Platon theories about Universe. Middle byzantine scholars continued being occupied by those theories about Universe Harmony Meanwhile several symbols have been incorporated on the church, though symbols in art are humans’ oldest form of visual communication. Artists have incorporated symbols into their work since humans first began to delve into the world of visual expression and they painted on cave walls. During later times, those unable to read could still follow religious events by looking at and understanding the After all, following some restoration examples, our purpose is to think over restoration project-restoration works as preserving the original “harmony and discord” coexisting in many Byzantine, renaissance and modern monuments.
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Early Byzantine Churches in Olympos
Journal of Archaeology and Art, 2019
Owing to the presence of the nine churches located in its city centre, Olympos has a great importance regarding Early Byzantine religious architecture studies. However, only three of these nine churches have been subject to individually published researches until the present day, while the others have only been mentioned within the general publications introducing the city as a whole. The increasing academic interest in the Early Byzantine Archaeology of the Aegean and Mediterranean regions of Asia Minor together with the growth of data collected from the archaeological excavations carried out at Olympos brought forth the need to write this paper. The aim of this paper is to collectively present and evaluate Early Byzantine churches in Olympos. In line with this aim, each church was assigned a number and its general characteristics presented. Although these churches may be evaluated within a vast geography spanning from Eastern Mediterranean to the Adriatic Sea in terms of structural and decorative features, they also carry unique characteristics. In the conclusions chapter, firstly the status of the churches during the urban transformation in Late Antiquity and related function suggestions are discussed. After that, the structural and spatial features, construction techniques and decoration elements are evaluated and the place of the Olympos churches in the Early Byzantine period outlined. Accordingly, it is concluded that the churches of Olympos were built sometime between the second half of the 5th century and the middle of the 6th century in coherence with the Olympos’ Roman era town layout and configured appropriately to Christianization process of the city.
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