Hagios Ioannis, Keria
| Department | Archive |
|---|---|
| Collection | Byzantine Research Fund |
| Reference No. | BRF/02/01/14/069 |
| Level | Item |
| Place |
Mani |
| Dates | 1909? |
| Donor/Creator |
Traquair, Mr Ramsay |
| Scope and Content | View of the interior looking east. The photograph is annotated in pencil at the back. |
| Further information | The area in the middle of the Peloponnese, on the Laconia/Messinia border, was known as early as the 10th 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 imposing church of Hagios Ioannis at Keria is of the simple four-column cross-in-square type. Worth noting in the monument is the walling and the propylon on the west side: good-quality marble, both classical and Byzantine, spolia –some with impressive carvings- enliven the rough cloisonné on the south and west sides of the church while the propylon is one of the most representative examples of the type in the region. Glazed ceramic bowls and brickwork ornaments decorate the gables. The carved lintels of the iconostasis are similar to those at Boularioi. Hagios Ioannis has been assigned a date around the 13th c. |