There are a lot of monuments of the Byzantine Empire in Athens. Thanks to them, travelers can track the establishment, the period of flourishing, and the decline of the developed state. Nevertheless, the main attraction sits in the suburb of the city, in a 9-kilometer distance away from the city center, in the middle of the Sacred Way to Eleusis. We are talking about the Monastery of Daphni. It is impressive in size and boasts an abundance of elaborated ornamental decorations, which have well preserved to the present days, make this landmark the masterpiece of the Byzantine architecture and modern art in Greece.
Being of great historic and cultural importance for researchers, the Monastery of Daphni was included in the UNESCO World Heritage List, together with Nea Moni Monastery in Chios and the Monastery of Hosios Loukas near Delphi. These monasteries belong to the Middle Byzantine Architecture, characterized by peculiar interior golden mosaics.
From ancient times, this place has been a sacred site. Throughout centuries, it hosted the ancient Greek temple. People were coming there to bring gifts to Apollo from Daphni. In translation from Greek, the word “Daphni” denotes “Laurus.” The temple was destroyed in 395, after the attacks of the Goths. Their leader issued a directive, prohibiting the heathenry. That is why the temple could not survive until the present days in its authentic form. Nevertheless, the reminiscences about this place survived in the name of this place.
Interesting fact: the landmark managed to survive the Gothic attacks but it could not survive the rule of Lord Elgin in the XIX century. This British lord took three of the four Ionic columns in London. The only column left there is now a part of the narthex colonnade.
In the VI century, people established a monastery devoted to the Virgin Mary on the ruins of the temple. It was fenced with strong protective walls. Its catholicon looked like a three-aisled basementless, standing in the center of the yard. Its area was expanded with the two-storey buildings, built along the inner north-eastern side of the walls. They have later become the cells for the monks. Despite its sumptuous decoration and popularity among pilgrims in the past, this place is abandoned nowadays.
The works on its reconstruction began only in the XI century. The name of the sponsor who donated a huge sum of money on its renovation is still unknown. During this time, the Byzantine Empire reached its peak, which is evidenced by the buildings, which survived until nowadays.
In 1204, these territories fall under the influence of Othon de la Roche, the lord of Athens. In 1207, the monastery was captured by the Cistercian Abbey of Bellevaux (the west Catholic monastic order). They add some changes to the structure of the building. They add one more temple and double façade gothic-style arches. They owned the monastery for almost 250 years. Two powerful influential Frankish dukes, Othon de la Roche and Walter de Brienne were buried in it.
In 1458, during the invasion of the Turkish conquerors, the monastery was handed down to the Orthodox Christian monks.
During the times of the Greek War of Independence, this building was used as the place of the military post location. In 1838, it housed the Bavarian soldiers. In 1883, the monastery building served as the accommodation for mentally sick people.
Thanks to modern technologies, the researchers have found a seismic fault line near the monastery. On the one hand, this fact explains why this place was used for religious purposes from ancient times. There is a specific hypothesis that the fault lines of the earth’s crust set particular conditions, which can affect the mental state of a person. On the other hand, this fact is as favorable as it sounds. A strong earthquake can easily destroy the building with its premises. Thus, after the earthquakes in 1889 and 1897, the Greek Archaeological Society had to clean the mosaics and reconstruct the western side of the narthex and the dome. In 1955, the Department of Restoration of the Ministry of Culture launched a larger-scale restoration project. The foundation of the church was underpinned and the monastery was restored, while its mosaics were cleaned again. In 1960, the walls, filling the arches by the western entrance of the exonarchis, were removed. In 1968, the western entry was cleaned.
After the earthquake in 1999, the monastery was significantly damaged. Thus, one decided to close it for the urgent renovation that is kept on going in the present days. No one knows the exact date when those works will be fully completed as the renovation of the cracked frescoes and the floor requires meticulous works.
The first excavations took place here in 1892 by D. Kambouroglou. In 1936-39, J. Travlos supervised the works in the ancient temple of Apollo. In 1955-57, in the course of the renovation works, the researchers have found the trenches in several parts of the site, in particular, in its chapel.
The Monastery of Daphni is a classic example of the church construction in the form of the cross in the square territory, with a wide central octagonal dome. From an engineering point of view, the building has a very complex plan. Due to the elaborate space organization, the inner part looks open and airy. The massive dome provides an impression as it is floating above, having eight points of support. This effect is achieved through the arches, connecting four corners with the four holes around the dome. The corners, supporting the dome, are carved in the wall, which made it possible to make a beautiful mosaic décor that has perfectly preserved to the present days. Its shimmering gold background depicts the Biblical scenes from the lives of the saints and prophets. It is considered to be the best one in Greece. High quality of performance and expensive materials provoke disputes over the monastery construction. A lot of people wonder whether it was built by the order of the emperor by the best artisans of Byzantium.
The central dome depicts Christ Pantocrator. The constructions, holding the dome, are adorned with pictures, depicting the main religious events: the Annunciation Day, Christmas Day, Благовещение, Рождество, Epiphany Day, and the Transfiguration. There are the depictions of the 16 angels between the windows of the dome.
The eastern apsis is represented by fragmental mosaics of the Virgin Mary, the patroness saint of the church, painted among well-preserved archangels.
The most complete mosaics are found in the southern part of the narthex. They depict the representation of the Virgin Mary and the prayer of Joachim and Anna. The vault right inside the south entrance depicts the Adoration of the Magi and the Resurrection; while the northern vault demonstrates the Triumphal entry, Crucifixion, and the Birth of the Blessed Mary.
Such placement of mosaics is a classic example of classic idealism of the Middle Byzantine art, where the nave represents the universe with the dome, standing for the copes of heaven, while the floor – the earthy things.
Apart from mosaics, you can admire 4 well-preserved frescoes in the lower part of the narthex.
The exonarthex was built in the early XII century. The chapel was added to it in the XVIII century. During the times of the Greek rebellion, it was turned into a tank. The porch with three pointed arches on the narthex’ west facade was constructed in the XIII century by the Frankish monks. Here, you can also see two sarcophagi, adorned with flowers and Latin crosses. It is quite probable that they are the graves of the Frankish dukes of the XIII century, buried here. During the same period, the second floor was built above the narthex and the exonarch. There was a spiral staircase in a square tower on the north wall. It was probably used as the residence of the abbot or as a library. The walls of the church are built in plain masonry with poor finishing. Under the narthex, there is a crypt. It is hidden from the attention of the public.
In 1650, the lower part of the walls was decorated with beautiful marble plates, which were later replaced by wall paintings of lower quality. To the north of the church, there is a canteen, a rectangular building with an apse that was also decorated with wall paintings. At a distance of about 100 meters southeast of the monastery, there is a cemetery with the Church of St. Nicholas, built in the IX century.
Despite the monastery’s location, 9 kilometers from Athens, it is quite difficult to reach. A ride via a rental car or a taxi might take more than one hour due to the poor quality of the road. A trip by bus will require making several changes. The best variant in such a case is Athens Metro. You should take the train and leave it at the station Daphni. After that, catch the bus or a taxi and travel to the site along the road, leading to Eleusis or Peloponnese.
If you do not want to give up an idea to reach the landmark by bus, you should take off the bus not at the stop “Monastery of Daphni,” but on the previous one. This will make your trip longer, but safe. If you decide to get off the bus at the “right” stop, you will need to cross the road with several lanes with busy traffic, which do not have any traffic lights and pedestrian crossings.
