Paros, Ekatontapyliadi Cathedral 326 - A History of Romanesque Architecture 300 - 1300 (sitios de interés)
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This marker is part of an illustrated Survey of Romanesque Architecture, 300 to 1300 AD. To see and read all comments you have to download the post to your hard disk.Paros, Ekatontapyliadi Cathedral 326
Extensiv archeological work during the past 20 years has revealed that a first church, dedicated to St. Nikolas was built in 326 AD during the time of Emperor Justinian with and inside the ruins of an Artemis temple - 211 years before the Aghia Sofia in Constantinople (537 AD). Of this first church the baptistery and the nave and apse with a bishop's throne, the left of the present church, have survived. This is one of the oldest Byzantine churches. .
Legend has it that the Byzantine Empress, Saint Helena (6th century AD) brought one of the architects of the Aghia Sofia to Paros to erect the present cathedral filling the space between the two older buildings. Its grand-style architecture - provincial Byzantine churches are usually low, dark mole hills - seems to confirm this story. Like in the Aghia Sophia the 6th century addition is heavily indebted to spolia taken from 26 different classical temples - about which little seems to be known .
The baptismal font in the Baptisterion is the oldest such baptistry (326 AD) preserved in the Orthodox East
The rare Synthronon (seat of the bishop and the church council) in the apse of the Agh. Nicholaos church (4th century). (photo 1996)
View of the iconostasis and the Byzantine chandelier in the nave of the main church. (560 AD). Photos RWFG.