Hagios Nikolaos, Ochia
| Department | Archive |
|---|---|
| Collection | Byzantine Research Fund |
| Reference No. | BRF/02/01/14/063 |
| Level | Item |
| Place |
Mani |
| Dates | 1909? |
| Donor/Creator |
Traquair, Mr Ramsay |
| Scope and Content | North-west view. The photograph is annotated in pencil at the back. |
| Further information | The area in the middle of the Peloponnese, on the Laconia/Messenia border, was known as early as the 10th c. as the ‘Mani’. It was occupied by the Slavs in the early Medieval period and was christianised in the 10th c. by Hosios Nikon. There are scores of Byzantine and post-Byzantine churches in the Mani: the first major phase of building activity in the region seems to run from the late 10th to the later 12th c. The church of Hagios Nikolaos to the east of Ochia is one of the most representative monuments in the Mani. It is of the simple distyle type with narthex. Noteworthy in the architecture of the monument is the absence of the wall between the naos and the narthex and the particularly elongated barrel-vaults. A meander frieze decorates the west side of the monument, abacus friezes enliven the walling on the south and the north sides. The masonry is of rough cloisonné. Besides the dentil cornices, worthy of note in the decoration of the church are the marble carved architectural members. The church was dated by Megaw to the middle of the 12th c. |