DOI Page / Citation link:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.24719#0219
THE PRESENT STATE OF THESSALONICA.
151
The plan of the church of St. Elias is in the form of a Latin cross, three arms of which
are terminated by semicircular absides of equal diameter. The nartliex occupies the lower
part of the cross. It is composed of a square apartment, and has Ionic columns and a vaulted
roof.
Above the nartliex is a tribune, which occupies only half the room below. It is reached by
a staircase in the thickness of the wall. This tribune communicates with the nave by three
arches, supported by Ionic columns.
The centre of the nave is surmounted by a dome, 64 ft. 1 in. in height from the floor,
lighted by twelve high narrow windows. The pendentive on the west side rests upon two
Corinthian columns, which appear to have been taken from some ancient edifice. Apparently
similar ones could not be found to correspond with them on the east side; so pieces of masonry
have been employed there.
This church differs from others in not having chapels on each side of the iconostasis.
There is, indeed, no place at all resembling a sacristy; and it is therefore difficult to conceive
how the Greek rite, which consists of so many different ceremonies, could be performed there.
In the present day the interior of the church is whitewashed, so that no trace of internal
decoration is visible.
The style of the building, which is built of bricks, reminds one of the edifices of Manuel
and of the Basils. The bricks are arranged in patterns of lozenges, and meanders of original
character. This mode of building is to be seen in the walls of Nicaea, and also in the church
of the Apostles just described, which apparently was taken as an example by the builders of
St. Elias.
Externally the cupola has twelve small engaged columns. The roofs of the absides die
against its base in a manner that gives a certain degree of elegance to the structure. The front
elevation has three arches, with a door in that in the middle. There are windows to light the
nartliex in the other two.
THE PRESENT STATE OF THESSALONICA.
riwpiE buildings which we have described, which form the finest collection of ecclesiastical
edifices erected by the Greeks between the 5th and 10th centuries, are not the only
vestiges of antiquity that the ancient metropolis of Macedonia presents. There are other small
churches, of which we have only had glimpses in passing, existing in many quarters of the town ;■
but they possess no peculiar interest, as they resemble in some degree one or other of the
churches that we have given.
The citadel commanding Thessalonica was a collection of buildings which resembled a small
town. Its erection was contemporary, if not anterior, to that of the walls built by Cassandra.
The Byzantine Emperors, Justinian and Zeno, executed important works there. As a
reminiscence of the celebrated fortress of Constantinople, the Greeks gave it the name of
Heptapyrgion (the Castle of the Seven Towers). Nowadays the Turks call it Yedi Ivouleler
Kalessi. Within the circuit of the walls of the citadel is a quarter formerly occupied by the
Janissaries. At the foot of the castle, by the side of the present Greek church, is a monastery,
which is the residence of the Metropolitan.
The Homan remains of Thessalonica consist of a portion of a fine colonnade of a rich
Corinthian order. The columns rest on pedestals, and the frieze is carved; both these show
that the building was erected in a late period; and above the entablature is an attic adorned
with statues. This colonnade was published in Stuart’s Athens. It goes by the name of the
Incantada. The entablature and attic are finished, and the figures exist on both sides.
Many conjectures have been made about these ruins, but no one seems yet to have satisfactorily
explained what the edifice originally was used for.
A triumphal arch in a tolerable state of preservation spans the principal street, and there
are the remains of another in the citadel.
151
The plan of the church of St. Elias is in the form of a Latin cross, three arms of which
are terminated by semicircular absides of equal diameter. The nartliex occupies the lower
part of the cross. It is composed of a square apartment, and has Ionic columns and a vaulted
roof.
Above the nartliex is a tribune, which occupies only half the room below. It is reached by
a staircase in the thickness of the wall. This tribune communicates with the nave by three
arches, supported by Ionic columns.
The centre of the nave is surmounted by a dome, 64 ft. 1 in. in height from the floor,
lighted by twelve high narrow windows. The pendentive on the west side rests upon two
Corinthian columns, which appear to have been taken from some ancient edifice. Apparently
similar ones could not be found to correspond with them on the east side; so pieces of masonry
have been employed there.
This church differs from others in not having chapels on each side of the iconostasis.
There is, indeed, no place at all resembling a sacristy; and it is therefore difficult to conceive
how the Greek rite, which consists of so many different ceremonies, could be performed there.
In the present day the interior of the church is whitewashed, so that no trace of internal
decoration is visible.
The style of the building, which is built of bricks, reminds one of the edifices of Manuel
and of the Basils. The bricks are arranged in patterns of lozenges, and meanders of original
character. This mode of building is to be seen in the walls of Nicaea, and also in the church
of the Apostles just described, which apparently was taken as an example by the builders of
St. Elias.
Externally the cupola has twelve small engaged columns. The roofs of the absides die
against its base in a manner that gives a certain degree of elegance to the structure. The front
elevation has three arches, with a door in that in the middle. There are windows to light the
nartliex in the other two.
THE PRESENT STATE OF THESSALONICA.
riwpiE buildings which we have described, which form the finest collection of ecclesiastical
edifices erected by the Greeks between the 5th and 10th centuries, are not the only
vestiges of antiquity that the ancient metropolis of Macedonia presents. There are other small
churches, of which we have only had glimpses in passing, existing in many quarters of the town ;■
but they possess no peculiar interest, as they resemble in some degree one or other of the
churches that we have given.
The citadel commanding Thessalonica was a collection of buildings which resembled a small
town. Its erection was contemporary, if not anterior, to that of the walls built by Cassandra.
The Byzantine Emperors, Justinian and Zeno, executed important works there. As a
reminiscence of the celebrated fortress of Constantinople, the Greeks gave it the name of
Heptapyrgion (the Castle of the Seven Towers). Nowadays the Turks call it Yedi Ivouleler
Kalessi. Within the circuit of the walls of the citadel is a quarter formerly occupied by the
Janissaries. At the foot of the castle, by the side of the present Greek church, is a monastery,
which is the residence of the Metropolitan.
The Homan remains of Thessalonica consist of a portion of a fine colonnade of a rich
Corinthian order. The columns rest on pedestals, and the frieze is carved; both these show
that the building was erected in a late period; and above the entablature is an attic adorned
with statues. This colonnade was published in Stuart’s Athens. It goes by the name of the
Incantada. The entablature and attic are finished, and the figures exist on both sides.
Many conjectures have been made about these ruins, but no one seems yet to have satisfactorily
explained what the edifice originally was used for.
A triumphal arch in a tolerable state of preservation spans the principal street, and there
are the remains of another in the citadel.