We've been seeing this elsewhere but somehow two things strike me here on Naxos: there are super old things (Mycenae, ruins from the Golden Age, and there are ruins from say Byzantine eras, say Hosios Lukas from the 10th Century, Mistras 14-15th Century. I haven’t seen much that is more recent, thinking about the churches in other parts of Europe: Gothic churches, Baroque era churches and such. Part of that is from the split in the church with Constantinople. And perhaps building styles although even in Napflio which had a lot of Venetian influence I didn’t notice any styles other than the typical church style that we have seen.
The other thing is the gap between the end of the Greek and Roman eras and the beginning of the early Christian churches. I had to do some research (https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Early_Christian_art_and_architecture) to find the following:
Of course many of the old ruins were co-opted into Christian churches. We know that the Parthenon was both a Christian church and a mosque.
And let us not forget that the Greeks also co-opted even earlier sites. Here on Naxos, the Temple of Demeter is all of these things. An old site of offering made into a temple for the Greek deity of harvest in Demeter. In reading the above site, and a couple of others, the very early church was a Jewish sect(pre Nicene) and afterwards when it starting being more state sanctioned with Emperor Constantine. ( oh by the by, here in Greece, it’s still Constantinople, not Istanbul). In the 6th and 7th centuries is when the early churches start appearing.
On Naxos, there is the Panagia Drosiani, with what is though to be one of the oldest churches in the Balkans. Parts of it dates to the 4th and 7th centuries. The tiny windows and the ultra thick walls are an example of how much architectural know how was lost.
The temple of Demeter had a church built inside and a monastic community by the 7th century and they also then co-opted the site itself.
It begs the question: when doing the excavation of a site, what century do you preserve? Which era is of value? I know this was a topic covered briefly at the Acropolis, but here at the Demeter they really embrace the balance. The old basilica was faithfully rebuilt adjacent to the site. The layout of the nave is left in place and the old offering basins from the more ancient cult are also visible. It is architectural expedience, religious expedience and very messy for the archeologists.
Sorry I can’t put these in order, technical difficulties.
The other thing is the gap between the end of the Greek and Roman eras and the beginning of the early Christian churches. I had to do some research (https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Early_Christian_art_and_architecture) to find the following:
Of course many of the old ruins were co-opted into Christian churches. We know that the Parthenon was both a Christian church and a mosque.
And let us not forget that the Greeks also co-opted even earlier sites. Here on Naxos, the Temple of Demeter is all of these things. An old site of offering made into a temple for the Greek deity of harvest in Demeter. In reading the above site, and a couple of others, the very early church was a Jewish sect(pre Nicene) and afterwards when it starting being more state sanctioned with Emperor Constantine. ( oh by the by, here in Greece, it’s still Constantinople, not Istanbul). In the 6th and 7th centuries is when the early churches start appearing.
On Naxos, there is the Panagia Drosiani, with what is though to be one of the oldest churches in the Balkans. Parts of it dates to the 4th and 7th centuries. The tiny windows and the ultra thick walls are an example of how much architectural know how was lost.
The temple of Demeter had a church built inside and a monastic community by the 7th century and they also then co-opted the site itself.
It begs the question: when doing the excavation of a site, what century do you preserve? Which era is of value? I know this was a topic covered briefly at the Acropolis, but here at the Demeter they really embrace the balance. The old basilica was faithfully rebuilt adjacent to the site. The layout of the nave is left in place and the old offering basins from the more ancient cult are also visible. It is architectural expedience, religious expedience and very messy for the archeologists.
Sorry I can’t put these in order, technical difficulties.
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