What secrets are kept by the most ancient rotunda in Greece with golden mosaics, and why is it called the Lesser Pantheon of Greece

2024 Author: Richard Flannagan | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-15 23:55

In the center of the second largest Greek city of Thessaloniki stands a mighty round brick structure with a conical roof - the ancient Rotunda of Galeria. While its appearance is awe-inspiring, the real treasure is the golden Byzantine mosaics hiding inside. This building has witnessed more than seventeen centuries of the city's history and welcomed Roman and Byzantine emperors, Orthodox patriarchs, Turkish imams and then Greeks again. Each of these peoples left their mark, which can be seen today in the Rotunda.

1. The Roman origins of the Rotunda

The Thessaloniki Rotunda is believed to have been built at the beginning of the 4th century, probably around 305-311 AD. e., by the Roman emperor Guy Galerius Valerius Maximian. The first date is the year when Galerius became the August of the first Roman tetrarchy, and the second is the date of his death. The main reason for attributing the Rotunda to the Galerius is its proximity and connection with the palace complex, definitely dating back to the times of this emperor. However, another theory attributes the building in question to the era of Constantine the Great.

2. The original function of the building

Although the chronology of the building is more or less clear, its original function is lost in the fog of time. Based on the cylindrical shape and typological similarity to late antique mausoleums, one theory suggests that this is Galerius' tomb, but the fact that he was buried in Romulian in modern Serbia contradicts this. Some researchers have suggested that this is the planned mausoleum of Constantine the Great, built around 322-323. n. e., when the emperor considered Thessaloniki as his new capital. However, the most common hypothesis is that the Rotunda is a Roman temple dedicated either to the imperial cult or to Jupiter and Kabir.

3. Lesser Pantheon Galerius

The round shape of the Rotunda is reminiscent of the two-hundred-year-old ancient monument of Rome - the famous Hadrian's Pantheon. Despite its smaller size, the Rotunda is still almost twenty-five meters in diameter and thirty meters high. The similarities between the two buildings are not as striking today as they should have been in late antiquity, but they were obvious enough to educated Romans. Of course, the similarities were not accidental. In its original appearance, the building was very reminiscent of the Pantheon - a round temple with a monumental porch with columns and a triangular architrave on the south side. However, unlike the Pantheon, inside the Rotunda there were eight niches, five meters deep, with large windows above them.

The similarities were evident in the interior as well. Between each of the deep niches were small niches in the wall, with two columns and a triangular or arched pediment similar to those in the Pantheon. Probably, each of them once had a marble sculpture. The walls were lined with multicolored marble, as in other public Roman buildings, but the most striking resemblance was seen in the ceiling. In the center of the dome there was a large round hole - the oculus. It has not survived to this day, but its existence is evidenced by the details of the structure of the dome and a round drain in the middle of the floor, designed to collect rainwater from the hole. The existence of the oculus indicates that the conical roof was also a later addition, and therefore the dome should have been visible from the outside, as in the Pantheon.

4. Imperial Piety and Church Conversion

Even today, scientists argue about the exact date of the transformation of the Rotunda into a church. While some have speculated the first decades of the 6th century, the shift most likely occurred at some point between the 4th and 5th centuries. The widespread opinion connects the transformation of the Rotunda with Theodosius the Great, who was closely associated with Thessaloniki and visited them many times. He lived there from January 379 to November 380, then again in 387-388, not counting other, shorter visits. In 388, Galerius celebrated his decency, that is, ten years of his reign, and married Princess Galle in Thessaloniki. This emperor was a true believer who proclaimed Christianity as the official religion of his empire. Indeed, it is very likely that it was Theodosius I who turned the Rotunda into a church, in all likelihood to use it as a palace chapel. To adapt the former Roman temple to its new role, he ordered extensive rebuilding and renovation.

5. Rotunda as a palace church

During the transformation of the Rotunda into a Christian church, the oculus was closed and the southeastern niche was enlarged to create a vast liturgy room with a semicircular apse illuminated by additional windows. Seven other niches have been opened to connect it to the expansive, eight-meter wide, circular corridor now surrounding the main building. The entire structure with this extension was fifty-four meters in diameter, the same as the Pantheon. At this stage, there were two entrances with vestibules on the southwest and northwest sides. A round chapel and an octagonal extension were added to the first of them.

The latter probably served as a room for the imperial retinue or a baptistery. Moreover, the interior has undergone some significant changes. The small niches between the larger ones were closed, the blind arcades at the base of the drum were open, and the windows in the middle zone were enlarged to compensate for the absence of the oculus as a light source. The dating of this stage is mainly based on evidence of brick stamps and early Byzantine mosaics, which are believed to be contemporary with the closure of the dome.

6. Byzantine mosaics

The decoration of the barrel vaults of the niches and the smaller windows at the base of the dome is purely decorative and largely devoid of a deeper theological meaning. Among the objects depicted are birds, fruit baskets, vases of flowers and other images borrowed from the natural world. However, most of this space is covered with geometric motifs. Today, only three early Byzantine mosaics in barrel vaults have survived; the rest have deteriorated during various earthquakes over the centuries. The decoration of the small windows is very similar in terms of motifs, but the color palette used is different.

While bright colors such as gold, silver, green, blue and purple dominate the lower mosaics, the lunettes have darker, pastel colors such as green, green-yellow, lemon and pink on a white marble background. This contrast was created for a specific purpose: the upper mosaics had constant and direct contact with sunlight due to their proximity to the windows, and therefore the colors had to be darker, while the lower mosaics had only an indirect reflection.

The mosaic of the southern niche is unique. The decoration is a gold Latin cross with slightly flared ends. He is depicted on a silvery-greenish background, surrounded by symmetrically arranged stars, birds with ribbons around their necks, flowers and fruits. The cross was depicted in this niche, most likely because it led to the side entrance to the palace and its revered emperor.

7. Dome Mosaic: A Treasure of Early Byzantine Art

The Byzantine mosaics in the dome consisted of three concentric zones, of which only the lowest one has been preserved quite well, but the skill of their creators is unmatched even in the famous mosaics of Ravenna. It is also the widest part and the only one that was already visible before the conservation works in 1952 and 1953.

The lowest zone of the Byzantine mosaic of the Rotunda is known as the "Frieze of the Martyrs". The main stage of each image was set against an elaborate golden architectural backdrop, reminiscent of the backdrop of Roman theater scenes, scenae frons. There are four types of structures, arranged in such a way that the building above the eastern niche is almost the same structure as the one above the southern niche. The northeastern panel corresponds to the southwest, and the north to the west. In addition, the northwest panel was supposed to match the southeast one, but the mosaic above the apse was destroyed and in its place an Italian artist named S. Rossi painted an imitation of the original in 1889. The mosaics are arranged in pairs symmetrically along an axis marked by an apse and a northwest entrance dedicated to church ceremonies.

In front of the architectural background are fifteen (originally twenty) male figures identified by inscriptions as martyrs. Their images are idealized. For example, saints known as hermits are as elegant and dignified as bishops. The saints are portrayed in this way, emphasizing their spiritual strength, peace and beauty, because they are no longer preoccupied with earthly affairs, but live in the golden city of Heavenly Jerusalem, and their bodies are heavenly, not earthly. Their appearance reflects their inner beauty, values and excellence in the eyes of early Christians.

Unfortunately, the middle zone of the domed mosaic is almost completely lost, and the only surviving remains are some short grass or shrubbery, several pairs of sandals and the edges of long white rags. They belonged to perhaps twenty-four to thirty-six figures in motion, grouped in threes. They have been identified in various ways as prophets, saints, or, more likely, as the twenty-four Elders or angels adorning Christ.

These wonderful Byzantine mosaics were made in small tesserae, that is, glass or stone cubes of various colors. On average, it occupies about 0.7-0.9 cm2, and the entire dome program covers approximately 1414 m2. Since one mosaic cube weighs about 1-1.5 g, it is estimated that the entire domed mosaic weighed about seventeen tons (!), Of which about thirteen tons were made of glass.

8. Dome medallion

The last part of the mosaic decoration, located at the very top of the dome, is a medallion held by four angels, and between them is a phoenix - an ancient symbol of the resurrection. The medallion is relatively well preserved and consists of: (outside) a rainbow ring, a rich strip of vegetation with twigs and leaves of various plants, and a blue strip with fourteen surviving stars. Inside this circle there used to be an image of a young Christ holding a cross. Only a part of the halo, the fingers of the right hand and the top of the cross have survived.

Fortunately, the missing piece contains a charcoal drawing that once served the mosaicists. Today, this sketch allows you to recreate the mosaic. The general theological image of the early Byzantine dome mosaics is the image of heaven with the golden city of Heavenly Jerusalem, known from the Apocalypse, then higher in the heavenly hierarchy are angels or Elders, and in the center is Christ himself.

9. Painting of the apse

In the Middle Byzantine period, around the 9th century, after iconoclasm, the scene of the Ascension was painted in the half-house of the apse. The painting is divided into two horizontal zones. On the top - Christ sits inside a yellow disk, supported by two angels in bright clothes. The Virgin Mary stands right under Christ with her hands raised in prayer. She is surrounded by two angels and apostles. Above them there is an inscription with the text of the Gospel. This composition is typical of Byzantine Thessaloniki and probably repeats the same scene from the dome of the Hagia Sophia Cathedral of Thessaloniki, a local cathedral that should not be confused with the Hagia Sophia Cathedral of Constantinople.

10. Occupation and liberation

In 1430, Thessaloniki was invaded by the Ottoman Empire and many of their churches were converted into mosques. In 1525, this fate was shared by the Cathedral of Hagia Sophia, leaving the role of the episcopal center of Rotunda. This situation lasted only until 1591, when by order of Sheikh Hortchla Suleiman Efendi Suleiman Efendi it was transferred to the Order of Muslim Dervishes as a mosque. During this period, a thin minaret was erected, the only one that survived the capture of the city by the Greeks in 1912 and has survived at full height to this day.

It is noteworthy that the lower mosaic of the dome with the Christian theme of Heavenly Jerusalem was not covered by the Turks during the construction of the mosque, unlike the fresco of the apse. In 1912, the Rotunda was re-converted into a church after more than three hundred years, but its original Byzantine name was already forgotten. and the temple took the name of St. George, which it still bears. In 1952 and 1953, and then again in 1978, the mosaics were rebuilt after the strong earthquake that struck Thessaloniki. Currently, the Rotunda is accessible to visitors as a UNESCO heritage site, but also serves as an Orthodox church every first Sunday of the month.

Continuing the topic, read also about what happened to the Acropolis and why it one "fine" day became a Christian churchas well as a mosque.