5. BUILDINGS OF THE EARLY CHRISTIAN PERIOD IN THE ROMAN EMPIRE, MAINLY IN CONSTANTINOPLE

Milan's church of St Lawrence

Starting from the buildings of Italy, which were not mentioned in the previous post, it should be mentioned that one of the most famous early Christian buildings in the north of the country is St. Lawrence in Milan, which was built shortly before 378 AD.

Milan's church of St Lawrence

Regarding Greece and more specifically the city of Athens, at the beginning of the 5th AD. century it was three times walled. Its walls at that time had 13 gates. Within its walls there was development. Nevertheless, the city began to lose its spiritual radiance and was turned into a small city.

At that time the Erechtheion was turned into a church. The same happened with the Doric temple of Hephaestus, which was transformed into a church of St. George. Such conversions of ancient temples into Christian churches saved them from destruction and abandonment.

The Erechteion

The ancient temple of Hephaestus in Athens

In the capital of the Roman state, Constantinople, southeast of its hippodrome, the Constantine Palace was developed, which remained as an administrative seat until the 11th century AD.

In the same city, at the same time, Santa Sophia and Santa Irini were built. Of course, Santa Sophia was burned during the synod of Chalcedon and was restored during the reign of Theodosius the Great. As for the church of Agia Irini, it was the first episcopal church in the city.

Santa Sophia during the Theodosian times

The church of Santa Irini

A social feature of the period was that many Western Europeans sought to marry Byzantine princesses in order to claim the title of Roman emperor.

At that time, the Middle Street of Constantinople had arches. A well-known work of art of the city of that period was the statue of Constantine the Great, in the Forum of the same emperor, who was likened to Apollo.

The city had, during the early Christian period, an area equal to that it had in its Fall, many centuries later. Its Theodosian walls reached the church of Vlacherna and closed with an islet. As shown in a representation by F. Krischen, there was something special about their architecture: Inside there was a moat with bridges, in between there was a first wall with towers and even further outside there was a second wall with towers. The material of the wall is stone. Inside the mixed masonry there are small stones with plenty of mortar while outside there are slab stones. Between the zones of the stones much thinner zones of bricks are inserted. About the gates of the walls, it is worth mentioning the Golden Gate, which was located at the beginning of the Middle Road and through which the emperor and the troops entered.

                                        The Theodosian walls

The Theodosian walls

The Golden Gate

During the reign of the Komnenian emperors, with the reduction of naval power, the city limits receded from the sea to its land walls. In these, at a much later period, the Tecfur Serayi was built. It is, however, difficult to determine precisely the form of Byzantine Constantinople. This is due to the Ottoman and newer constructions built on it, such as the 19th century railway.

Tekfur Serayi

In early Christian times, in the Philadelphios’ square in Constantinople, where the Middle Road branched into two parts, there was a statue of the tetrarchs. The historians Eusebius and Procopius left us a lot of information about the city of that time.

The church of the Holy Apostles is also a building of the same period in this city. This was created as the tomb of Constantine the Great. It was later considered unacceptable for a mortal to be buried inside a church, so the emperor's tomb was moved elsewhere.

The church of the Holy Apostles

In the wider area of ​​the palace there was also the racetrack and the Milion (where the kilometers of Constantinople from other European cities were recorded). There were also the small palaces of Antiochus (416 - 418 AD) and Lausos, Daphne (on the hippodrome) and the hall of 19 Akkuvites. The obelisk of Theodosius I was erected on the hippodrome in 390 AD.

The racetrack

Milion

Palace of Antiochus

Palace of Lausos

Daphne

The hall of the 19 Akkuvites

The obelisk of Theodosius I

The palace of Lausos contained many works of art. As for the palace of Antiochus, it gradually lost its administrative function and was transformed into a shurch of Santa Euphemia. This building was hexagonal with a pericentral plan and a wide arched niche on each side. The columns of the temple had pieces of glass.

The church of Santa Euphemia.

The church of Santa Euphemia.

In the Forum of Theodosius in Constantinople there was a very nice triumphal arch with exceptional carvings.

The forum of Theodosius I in Constantinople

The triumphal arc in the Forum of Theodosius I 

In the period 524- 527 AD the church of St. Polyefktos was also built in the city. Its columns were later moved to St. Mark's Square in Venice.

The church of St. Polyefktos

A well-known Christian monastery of the same period in Constantinople is St. John of Studios (453-463 AD). It is a three-aisled basilica with a narthex, about 30 meters long. It has about square proportions. Characteristic morphological and typological elements are the pillar, the entablatures, the Theodosian capitals, the shields, the three-part separation of the narthex and its windows. In the temple corbels are preserved that reveal the existence of a gallery. The composition of its entablatures testifies the tradition of antiquity. No “spoglia” were used in this building. As for its floors, they are much later and date back to the 11th AD century.

The monastery of St. John of Studios.

*** The pictures were taken from various internet sites.