Panagia Marmariotissa, Chalandri

The Panagia Marmariotissa (Greek: Παναγία Μαρμαριώτισσα) is a church located in Chalandri. The temple was originally a funerary monument from Roman times but was later converted into a church. Today it is located at the junction of Panagia Marmariotissis and Sofoklis Venizelou streets, behind the new church of the same name.[1] The name "Marmariotissa" refers to the marble from which the monument is constructed.[2][3]

Panagia Marmariotissa
Παναγία Μαρμαριώτισσα
Panagia Marmariotissa is located in Greece
Panagia Marmariotissa
Panagia Marmariotissa
38°0′56″N 23°47′54″E / 38.01556°N 23.79833°E / 38.01556; 23.79833
LocationChalandri, Attica
CountryGreece
Language(s)Greek
DenominationGreek Orthodox
History
StatusOpen
Architecture
Completed1717

The building was originally a mausoleum which was built in Roman times, in the municipality of ancient Phlya (note Chalandri). The expensive construction material indicates that it was built by a wealthy resident of the municipality. It appears to be a copy of the funerary monument of Kifissia, a now ruined mausoleum built by Herodes Atticus, and so it has been suggested that he was the builder of the monument.[1]

It is kept in excellent condition. Its floor is a few meters below the current ground surface. In the original monument, the entrance was on the eastern side, where today the sanctuary of the small, semi-hexagonal temple is located.[1] The entrance is now from the west. The ceiling is a semi-cylindrical vault, made of marble wedges. Inside, there are fragments of frescoes from the 17th century, and Anastasios Orlando noticed an engraving on them with the year 1717.[4]

References

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  1. ^ a b c Goette, Hans Rupprecht (2001). Athens, Attica and the Megarid : an archaeological guide. London: Routledge. p. 102. ISBN 978-0-203-45881-5.
  2. ^ "Παναγία Μαρμαριώτισσα, Χαλάνδρι". byzantineattica.eie.gr. Retrieved 2021-12-02.
  3. ^ Preserved buildings in Greece
  4. ^ Ορλάνδος, Αναστάσιος (1923). Μεσαιωνικά μνημεία της πεδιάδος των Αθηνών και των κλιτύων Υμηττού - Πεντελικού Πάρνηθος και Αιγάλεω. p. 177. Απόσπασμα εκ του Ευρετηρίου των Μνημείων της Ελλάδος εκδιδομένου υπό του Υπουργείου Παιδείας και Θρησκευμάτων επιμελεία Κ. Κουρουνιώτη και Γ. Σωτηρίου