2. Βyzantine architecture
Byzantine architecture is the architecture of the
Byzantine Empire.
The empire gradually emerged as a distinct artistic and
cultural entity from what is today referred to as the
Roman Empire after 330 A.D., when the Roman
Emperor Constantine moved the capital of the Roman
Empire east from Rome to Byzantium.
3. Byzantium, "New Rome", was later renamed
Constantinople and is now called Istanbul.
The empire endured for more than a
millennium, dramatically influencing Medieval and
Renaissance era architecture in Europe and, following
the capture of Constantinople by the Ottoman Turks
in 1453, leading directly to the architecture of the
Ottoman Empire.
4. Main Features
Early Byzantine architecture was built as a
continuation of Roman architecture.
A distinct style gradually emerged which imbued
certain influences from the Near East and used the
Greek cross plan in church architecture.
5. Main features
Buildings increased in geometric complexity
Brick and plaster were used in addition to stone in the
decoration of important public structures
Classical orders were used more freely
Mosaics replaced carved decoration
Complex domes rested upon massive piers, and
windows filtered light through thin sheets of alabaster
to softly illuminate interiors.
6. Early Period – The Churches
The establishment of Christianity as the official
religion of the Roman Empire brought with it a
monumental church building programme, under
official sponsorship.
The Emperor Constantine and members of his family
started building many churches, which served as
cathedrals, martyria or imperial chapels and
mausoleums.
7. The Basilica
A new architectural form was adopted for these new
Christian edifices: the basilica, widely used in the
Roman world for judicial, commercial, military and
ritualistic purposes.
This was a rectangular hall, internally divided by two
or four series of columns, ending with an elevated
chancel at the east end. Basilicas could accommodate
large congregations.
8. The central plan church
Another category was the central plan church. This
type featured a uniform arrangement around a centre.
Such were circular and polygonal churches, which
were mostly used as burial monuments and
baptisteries.
9. Eukterioi oikoi
Until 200 AD, private homes provided the meeting-
places for the devotional practices of the new religion.
But by the mid-3rd century there was a surge in the
number of believers. This increase and the need for
new places of worship led Christians to adapt houses
specifically for the purpose.
10. During the period following the first Christian
persecutions up to the early 4th century, larger
buildings were erected.
These were called eucteria, prayer places, or ecclesiae,
places of assembly for the faithful.
11. Eucterium
An example dating back
to 313-319 AD, has been
located in Aquileia in
north-eastern Italy. Its
floor-mosaic preserves
an inscription
mentioning the name of
the donor, Bishop
Theodore.
12. Early Byzantine Period
Common trends are evident in its most important
monuments, which are concentrated in the Italian
peninsula.
They are usually central plan buildings or three-aisle
basilicas with an elevated middle aisle and brick walls
without galleries.
The wealth of interior decoration, including Marble
inlay (opus sectile) and mosaics provided a marked
contrast to their simple exterior.
13. The Rotunda
Its buildings include the
Rotunda, a circular plan
Roman edifice of the
times of Galerius (306-
311), which was adapted
into the Christian
Church of St. George
around the mid-5th
century.
14. Santa Constanza
Santa Constanza at
Rome is one of the
earliest monuments of
this period. It is a
circular edifice with
abundant mosaic
decoration, built as a
mausoleum for
Constantia, daughter of
Constantine the Great,
who died in 354.
15. Santa Maria Maggiore
The three-aisle basilica
of Santa Maria Maggiore
(432-440) with its
interesting mosaics, the
Lateran baptistery,
founded by Constantine
the Great, should also be
mentioned among the
religious buildings in
Rome.
18. The Basilica of Sant' Apollinare
Nuovo
The Basilica of Sant'
Apollinare Nuovo is a
basilica church in Ravenna,
Emilia-Romagna (Italy).
It was erected by the
Ostrogoth King Theodoric
as his palace chapel, during
the first quarter of the 6th
century (as attested in the
Liber Pontificalis). This
Arian church was originally
dedicated in 504 CE to
Christ the Redeemer.
19. The Building Programme of Justinian 1
The ambitious building programme implemented by
Justinian (527-565) throughout the Empire during the
38 years of his reign reflected his vision to restore the
Imperium Romanum and to establish an absolute
central monarchy.
Our knowledge about this building programme is
based on the De Aedificiis by Prokopios and on the
monuments that still survive today.
20. In six volumes Prokopios describes the innumerable
building projects implemented by the emperor
according to geographical units. He makes individual
reference to Constantinople, the Persian-Roman
frontier, the Black Sea, Europe - in other words
Macedonia, Thessaly, the Greek mainland and the
Peloponnesos - Asia Minor and Palestine and finally
North Africa, from Alexandria to Gibraltar.
21. Justinian Architecture
Justinian's era is a landmark in the evolution of
Byzantine architecture.
The most important achievement of this period was
the emergence of a new architectural type, the domed
basilica, which fused elements of the two building
types that prevailed in church building in the 4th and
5th centuries, that is, the basilica and the central plan
edifice.
23. San Vitale, Ravenna, 547 AD.
Justinian is depicted in the
famous mosaic in the
sanctuary, as is the bishop
Maximian, under whom
the church was
consecrated in 547.
The monument is a central
plan octagonal edifice, very
much resembling the
architecture of imperial
buildings in the capital city
such as the Church of
Saints Sergios and Bakchos
(527-536).
24. Hagia Sophia
Hagia Sophia (from the Greek: Ἁγία Σοφία, "Holy
Wisdom"; Latin: Sancta Sophia or Sancta Sapientia;
Turkish: Ayasofya) is a former Orthodox patriarchal
basilica, later a mosque, and now a museum in
Istanbul, Turkey.
From the date of its dedication in 360 until 1453, it
served as the Greek Patriarchal cathedral of
Constantinople
25. Between 1204 and 1261 it was converted to a Roman
Catholic cathedral under the Latin Patriarch of
Constantinople of the Western Crusader established
Latin Empire. The building was a mosque from 29 May
1453 until 1931, when it was secularized. It was opened
as a museum on 1 February 1935.
26. Hagia (Saint) Sophia is one of the most important
monuments of world architecture. Every Byzantine
emperor of any importance has associated his name
with the history of the monument.
Dedicated to Divine Wisdom, the original church was
built by Constantine the Great. Yet, it was soon to be
destroyed by fire, in 404. It was rebuilt by Theodosios
II in 415, before it was burnt in the Nika revolt in 532.
27. On February 23 of the same year building began anew,
following an ambitions architectural design conceived
by Anthemios from Tralleis and Isidoros from Miletos,
the two architects selected by Justinian.
The emperor himself oversaw the construction works,
which lasted five years. It was consecrated on
December 21, 537, and Justinian is reported by
contemporary sources to have exclaimed: 'I have
defeated thee, Solomon!'
32. Hagia Irene 4th c. A.D.
Hagia Irene or Hagia
Eirene (Greek: Ἁγία
Εἰρήνη, "Holy
Peace", Turkish: Aya
İrini), often erroneously
rendered in English as St
Irene, is a former Eastern
Orthodox church located
in the outer courtyard of
Topkapı Palace in
Istanbul, Turkey.
It is open as a museum
every day except Monday
but requires special
permission for admission.
33. Justinian churches in Greece
Three ecclesiastical buildings on the Greek mainland
that combine a traditional basilica plan with the new
architectural elements introduced in the Justinian era,
namely the dome and barrel vaults, are particularly
interesting.
34. These are: the Churches of Basilica II at Philippi,
Virgin Hekatontapyliane at Paros and Saint Titos in
Gortys, Crete. The Philippi monument was built
shortly before 540, following the model of a three-aisle
basilica with a lateral aisle. Yet this does not feature
the typical two-aisled wooden roof but a combination
of arched elements such as barrel vaults, cross vaults..
35. View of the Panagia (the Virgin)
Hekatontapyliane, Paros, 550 AD.
36. The Mausoleum of Theodoric
The Mausoleum of
Theodoric (Italian:
Mausoleo di Teodorico) is
an ancient monument
just outside Ravenna,
Italy. It was built in 520
A.D. by Theodoric the
Great (king of the
Ostrogoths) as his future
tomb.
37. Greece
Around 300 monuments from this period have been
excavated in the mainland and on the islands of
Greece.
The oldest basilica, identified in Epidaurus on the
outskirts of the holy ground of Asklepios' sanctuary,
has been dated to 400 A.D. (on the evidence of its
floor-mosaics).
38. Thessalonike
Substantial and well preserved monuments are to be
found in Thessalonike, which was becoming an
important commercial, economic and cultural centre
of the Empire by the 5th century.
39. St. Demetrius
The Church of Saint
Demetrius, or Hagios
Demetrios (Greek:
Άγιος Δημήτριος), is the
main sanctuary
dedicated to Saint
Demetrius, the patron
saint of Thessaloniki,
dating from a time when
it was the second largest
city of the Byzantine
Empire.
40. Other Basilicas in Greece
Other important centres in northern Greece included
Philippi and Amphipolis, where excavations brought
to light many Roman and Christian buildings.
Basilicas were also found in
Phthiotid Thebes, a Christian city that was destroyed
around the mid-7th century, was excavated near the
modern city of Volos.
in Nikopolis, Epiros.
41. in the Peloponese, in Corinth, Sikyon and Tegea,
where an important floor-mosaic survives, and in
Lechaion where one of the largest basilicas in Greece
was found. This building, dedicated to the martyr
Leonides, totalled 186 metres in length and featured
impressive sculptural decoration.
Also devoted to Leonides, the smaller church of Ilissos
in Athens features an architectural design that is
regarded as predecessor of the domed basilica.
42. "Christian architecture in Greece culminated in
around 500 and its magnificence overshadowed all
other east-coast provinces except of course
Constantinople.“ Richard Krautheimer
43. Middle byzantine period
Liturgical changes influenced the architectural
development of Byzantine ecclesiastical buildings
from the end of the 6th century onwards.
There was a change in the two Introits in the ceremony
of the Mass, and in particular regarding the carrying of
the Holy Gospel (Small Introit) and the Holy Gifts,
which were escorted in a procession so that the
sacrament of the Holy Eucharist could be conducted
(Big Introit).
44. Those changes brought about the arrangement of the
sanctuary in three parts with greatest space and
emphasis being given to the central part.
Up to the first half of the 6th century, the sacred
vessels and the Holy Gospel were kept in the
diakonikon, a room at the southern part of the narthex
or of the atrium, while offerings were kept in the
prothesis.
From here they were escorted in the procession
through the middle aisle to the altar.
45. Around the middle of the 6th century, these rooms
were taken to the south and the north of the nave and
gradually they were incorporated into the sanctuary,
with apses on the eastern side. The course of the two
Introits no longer took place along the central aisle but
around it.
46. This period, there was a trend in architecture for
concentration around a centre, a tendency for
squaring, and, as a result, the dimensions of churches
were reduced in length and increased in width.
The four barrel-vaults gradually came to form an
isosceles cross and the piers became square.
47. Besides, the cross was emphasized by making it
obvious both internally in the ground plan as well as
externally in the roofing. These characteristics
appeared in the domed basilica which was evolved in
the cross-in-square church.
48. Another architectural feature of this period is the
change in the structure of the sanctuary.
The prothesis at the north and the diakonikon at the
south of the Holy Altar, which at first was not
connected with the nave, were little by little
harmonized into a unified, tripartite Holy Altar with
three apses projecting on the eastern side. All parts
were connected with the naos as well as with each
other. These changes were gradual and do not become
standard until the 10th century.
49. Viewed externally, the proportions of the majority of
churches appeared heavy. Main features :
the drum of the dome is fairly low
the dome is not a perfect circle.
the doors and windows are minimal and irregular
50. the walls are of heavy dimensions and sometimes
narrow at the top and often require external supports
or (buttresses).
As for the construction, the materials used were rather
cheap, usually rubble masonry without brick or marble
decoration - evidence of the economic decline of the
Byzantine state.
51. Sparta. Plan of the Church of
Hosios Nikon. 7th century.
The tripartite Holy Altar
projects at the side, has
three three-sided apses
in the eastern part and
the narthex to the west.
In the middle apse there
is a semicircular
synthronon along with
the kyklion.
52. Other examples in Greece
The basilica in Tegani, in Mani (end of the 7th century)
The Basilica of Mastros in Aetolia (end of the 7th
century) an episcopal church with central horseshoe
apse.
The basilica near the village of Byzari in Crete (c. 700 )
53. The main feature of the period 610-867 is the domed
basilicas evolving towards the inscribed cruciform
plan.
The main characteristic of such basilicas was a central
room covered by the dome, which was supported by
four, bulky piers, with arches and pendentives.
The tripartite sanctuary was attached to the central
room and the lateral aisles.
54. As churches, an effort was been made to incorporate a
cross shape both in the ground plan and externally in
the roofing.
The lateral aisles along with the narthex frequently
formed a unified perimetric portico with lower roofing
than the central core, and there were passages of
communication between the two sections, while
sometimes there was also a gallery.
Thus came about the domed church with ambulatory,
which most likely originated from domed basilicas.
55. Agia Sofia, Thessaloniki (8th c., based on the
Hagia Sofia in Constantinople)
Its ground plan is that of a
domed Greek cross
basilica.
Together with the Gül and
the Kalenderhane Mosques
in Istanbul and the
destroyed Church of the
Dormition in Nicaea, it
represents one of the main
architectural examples of
this type, typical of the
Byzantine middle period.
56. The complex tetrastyle : Ag. Demetrios,
Katsouri, Arta (mid 8th c.)
The cross was formed
within a quadrangle and
the dome supported by
four columns .
They are found in
Constantinople and in the
regions influenced by the
metropolis.
A tripartite sanctuary
whose rectangular form
was divided up with an
isosceles cross was added
to these churches.
57. Cappella Palatina, Palermo
The Palatine Chapel
(Italian: Cappella Palatina) is
the royal chapel of the
Norman kings of Sicily at the
center of the Palazzo Reale in
Palermo, southern Italy.
The sanctuary, dedicated to
Saint Peter, is reminiscent of
a domed basilica. It has three
apses, as is usual in Byzantine
architecture, with six pointed
arches (three on each side of
the central nave) resting on
recycled classical columns.
58. Church of Pantokrator/ Zeyrek
Mosque c. 1118 - 1136
Zeyrek Mosque (full name in
Turkish: Molla Zeyrek Camii),
is a mosque in Istanbul, made
of two former Eastern
Orthodox churches and a
chapel. It represents the most
typical example of
architecture of the Byzantine
middle period in
Constantinople and is, after
Hagia Sophia, the second
largest religious edifice built
by the Byzantines still extant
in Istanbul.
59. Late byzantine period
The older architectural types continued to be used,
while on the Greek mainland a new type of church
appeared, known as the transverse-vault church,
which soon spread to Epiros, central Greece, Euboea,
and the Peloponnese.
The usually small size of these churches and the
disposition of the roof in the form of a cross, must
have contributed to the particularly wide diffusion of
this type of church construction, which was
continually used in Greece until as late as the 18th
century.
60. At the same time, in the Latin-occupied areas, besides
the transverse-vault churches, most prevalent were
simple architectural types, such as the single-cell
barrel-vaulted churches. These were usually small
buildings without particular external
decoration, reflecting the limited means of the local
community and of the ecclesiastical representatives
who saw to their construction.
62. Examples
The most important and characteristic examples of
Palaiologan architecture are found
in Thessalonike and
in Mistra, the capital city of the despotate of the
Morea.
63. Thessalonike
In Thessalonike, the first half of the 14th century is a
time of intense building activity.
As it can be seen in the churches of the Holy Apostles,
of St Catherine, St Panteleemon and others the main
features are:
the exclusive use of bricks in the upper part
the preference given to the type of the cross-in-square
church with a peristyle and the very definite stress on
the decorative aspect of the outer facades, which are
embellished with blind arcades, small niches and
elaborate brick patterns.
64. Mistra
The monuments of Mistra, on the other hand, are
characterised by the combination of architectural
elements of the Helladic school - of mainland Greece,
that is - with elements of the school of
Constantinople, to which are added local devices and
elements of Western origin.
65. Here, a new architectural type is devised: the
composite type of church, which is a combination of
the three-aisled basilica on the ground floor and the
cross-in-square plan in the gallery.
The external conformation of the walls using bricks
and stones, in accordance with the cloisonne system of
masonry, which is a characteristic feature of the
Helladic school, is combined with blind arcades and
brick decorative patterns - reticulated patterns, dentil
courses etc. - which differ from those encountered in
the churches of Thessalonike.
66. Ground plan of the church of the
Holy Apostles in Thessalonike
67. View from the
northeast of the
church of the Holy
Apostles in
Thessalonike
A special characteristic
of the Palaiologan
architecture is the rich
decoration of the
exterior masonry.
68. Terminology
The distinct characteristics of Byzantine church
architecture are:
Basilica: This is a public congregation building
according to Roman architecture.
Apse: Semicircular recess which is generally found in a
Christian Church and a Roman basilica.
Fresco: It is a type of painting on new and slightly wet
plaster.
Dome: It is a hemispherical vault or roof
Mosaic: designs or pictures
69. Terminology
Iconostasis: It is a screen in all churches of the
Byzantine period which separates the sanctuary and
nave
Nave: It is the church's primal passageway
Vault: It is a roof, which is arched and made of stone or
brick
Sanctuary: A holy place like a mosque, church and
temple.
Narthex: It is the main entrance hall
Pantokrator
