frescos
"Very often, wandering the wilder parts of Greece, the traveller is astonished in semi-abandoned chapels where the liturgy is perhaps only sung on the yearly feast of the eponymous saint, by the beauty of the colouring of the wall-paintings and the subtlety with which the painter has availed himself of the sparse elbow-room for private inspiration that the formulae of Byzantine iconography allow him: a convention so strict that it was codified by a sixteenth-century painter monk called Dionysios of Phourna. He formalised the tradition of centuries into an iconographic dogma and deviation became, as it were, tantamount to schism. He it was who made the army of saints and martyrs and prophets identifiable at once by certain unvarying indices." Patrick Leigh Fermour, The Mani, 1958. Although Christianity came relatively late to the Mani, the Maniots certainly made up for lost time and the legacy of centuries of fairly prolific church building has resulted in the area being scattered with numerous “semi-abandoned chapels”. Wherever you are in Mani, a closer look around you will inevitably reveal a tiled church roof poking out above the olive groves or a chapel silhouetted on top of a hillside. The dates of these churches vary enormously and accordingly, so do the frescos inside. Religious painting in both western and eastern Europe may not be the most expressive art form ever conceived and the restrictive nature of the movement mentioned by Leigh Fermour may explain its rather limited appeal- however the church and therefore church art was, and still is, integral to Greek society and the Mani is no different. Therefore it could be said that a visit inside an Orthodox church to appreciate these paintings is as important an experience to the foreign visitor here as exploring the tower house villages in the Deep Mani, going into the caves at Pyrgos Dirou or visiting the major sites of the southern Peloponnese. It would require the work of a PHD thesis to go into the depth required to understand all there is to know about Byzantine and post Byzantine art. In the context of this magazine it is hopefully enough simply to give a brief guide to frescos worth visiting in the area (taking into account the infuriating problem of churches being locked with no key-holder to be found) as well as first giving a taste of the “unvarying indices” that so restrict their content.
Faced with bare plaster in a newly built church, the painter had two conventions to follow- the location of specific images in specific places within the building and then once work commenced, how these images were portrayed. There is uncertainty over the degree of impact the code laid down by the monk Dionysios of Phourna actually had on contemporary and succeeding painters- some argue that the nature of the work intrinsically required conformity and tradition- but the fact that this eighteenth century (not sixteenth as stated by Leigh Fermour) document was only re-discovered in the early nineteenth century at an Orthodox church in Munich where the artists were referring to the “painters manual” as it is now known, suggests that it did have widespread recognition. In any case, simply browsing through the document gives a clear indication of the attitude towards the serious business of religious painting. Not only does it give technical details ranging from making paints and varnishes to more purely artistic concerns- the proportions of the human figure, how to put highlights on garments, how to paint flesh etc- but it also states how the artist should portray certain biblical scenes and figures. Here, the role of the beard takes on great importance (to help the congregation identify who is who?). To quote an example from the Old Testament, the Creation of Adam: “Adam, a beardless young man, stands naked; the Eternal Father is in front of him, surrounded by a bright light, and holds him by the hand with his left hand and blesses him with his right. Around them are little hills with trees and various animals, while above is the sky with the sun and moon”. Equally from the New Testament and Christ Judged by Herod: “ A palace, and Herod, an old man with a rounded beard, sitting on a throne in royal robes; behind him are soldiers and Christ is before him. Two soldiers are clothing him in a white garment and a crowd of Jews is behind him.” Every significant event from the bible is mentioned in this way along with added tales of various martyrs and saints. As already mentioned the specific location of particular images and scenes was another tradition to follow and the Painters Manual also catalogues these rules; “When you wish to paint scenes in a church with a dome, up inside the cupola make a circle of various colours, similar to those in a rainbow that appears in the clouds in rainy weather; in the middle of it paint Christ blessing, holding the Gospels on his breast, and inscribe it with the title “Jesus Christ the Pantocrator”.” Or for a single barrel-vaulted church with no central dome “paint the Pantocrator up in the middle of the vault inside a circle, and to the east over the iconostasis the Virgin, and to the west the Forerunner”.
Other than the Pantocrator (“All Ruling”) image there are numerous other examples of these location specific rules. For example, on the templon (the stone wall dividing the altar from the main body of the church, called an iconostasis if wooden) the image to the left of the central door is usually Panagia Hodegetria- the Virgin with the infant Christ on her knee indicating ‘the way, the truth and the light’- and on the right is Christ Enthroned showing Christ wearing an archbishop’s mitre and robes, sitting on a throne attended by Angels and Saints. He is giving a blessing and has an open bible which often shows the text: “My kingdom is not of this world….” To the right of Christ Enthroned you will often find John the Forerunner (Baptist) who is always depicted as being somewhat scruffy with wild hair and course clothing as befits a man living in the desert.
In the conch of the central apse behind the altar the most common painting is Panagia Platytera- “The Wide Wings of Heaven”. The Virgin has her arms spread wide to both welcome and offer love and protection to the congregation and has a medallion of the young Christ on her chest.
There are literally hundreds of churches and chapels to visit in the Mani to get a taste of how these formulae were passed on from generation to generation of painters, eventually culminating in the manual of one painter monk in the early eighteenth century. However, some are fairly inaccessible, some are permanently locked, in some the paintings have been plastered over and in others the building is so derelict that the paintings are barely decipherable. But thankfully some gems still exist. If you are out and about in the Mani, our recommendations, running north to south, would be; Aghioi Theodoroi, Kambos Aghia Triada, Proastio Aghios Nikolaos, Nomitsi Dekoulou Monastery, Oitylo Aghios Ioannis Prodromos (John the Baptist), Areopolis Aghioi Theodoroi, Kambos Location: Coming through the village from the north, just after the tight right hand bend, the church is on your right. There is room for parking to the left of it and it is always open. Date: Early post- Byzantine though the frescos are mid eighteenth century (1750-1760) Standard paintings: A badly damaged Pantocrator in the central dome, the wooden iconostasis has the usual Panagia Hodegetria and Christ Enthroned and on either side of them are icons of the two saints Theodore and Panagia Platytera in the conch of the apse. The main body of the church is adorned with usual scenes from the Bible, parades of saints and numerous martyrs coming to their sticky ends. To look out for: The ceiling of the main vault shows a number of paintings collectively known as “the Praises” (Psalms 148-151). In the centre is Christ Enthroned encircled by the sun and moon and signs of the Zodiac, a reference to “praise him all his angels…….ye sun and moon….praise him all ye stars of light.” Radiating outwards you will be able to identify other references to these psalms- “praise the Lord ye dragons and all deeps……beasts and all cattle; creeping things and flying foul” explains the strange beasts and the numerous musicians refer to “let them praise his name in the dance, let them sing praises to him with the timbrel and harp”. You will also see notables chained together and guarded by swordsmen; “Let the high praises of God be ion their mouth and a two-edged sword in their hand: to execute vengeance upon the heathen and punishments upon their hand; to bind their kings with chains and their nobles with fetters of iron.” Close to these scenes in the north- west corner is a two-tiered, domed building. The top tier depicts two, crowned Byzantine nobles and the lower tier shows a muslim caliph and a man in western clothing wearing a stylish hat and a rough. These represent the ‘Earth’s Judges’ from psalm 148; “ Kings of the earth, all nations, princes, earth’s judges all; both young men, yea, and maidens too, old men and children small. Let them God’s name praise.”
Aghia Triada, Proastio Date: Post Byzantine, frescos painted 1745. Standard paintings: Because there is no dome, Pantocrator is in the centre of the single vault, otherwise everything else in standard and note the Crucifixion above the entrance door. To look out for: As you enter the church half way along the south wall (on your right) there is a rarely painted scene showing the Archangels Michael and Gabriel having just rescued a boy from being drowned by some monks in a boat who had thrown him in with a millstone around his neck- this conforms directly to the “painter’s manual”. On the same wall above a window there is a lengthy inscription written by the painter, including instructions on keeping the church clean!
Aghios Nikolaos, Nomitsi Location: Heading south from Kardamyli/ Stoupa, Nomitsi is the next village after Platsa. Once in the village take the obvious left turn and park in the little square with a large modern church. As you face this church, walk up its left hand side, follow the little lane bearing left and you will soon see Aghios Nikolaos on your right. Date: Post Byzantine, frescos painted mid eighteenth century. Standard paintings: All the usuals- the templon is quite wide and so includes scences either side of Hodegetria and Christ Enthroned. Unfortunately there are some white washed gaps on the main walls. To look out for: As you face the templon, the wall to its left shows scenes from the life of saint Nikoloas including him fulfilling his role as protector of sailors and fishermen (hence the numerous coastal villages in Greece that bear his name or at least have the main church dedicated to him). At the back of the church above the alter there are various scenes including Adam and Eve, the Serpent and the Banishment from the Garden- not usually depicted here. Dekoulou Monastery, Oitylo Location: As you descend down towards the beach at Oitylo, half way down there is a tarmac road to your left that takes you back into Upper Oitylo. A short way along here a concrete road dropping to your right (seawards and in fact is a little virtigenous). Follow this road to its end and undoubtedly you will greeted by some dogs. The owners of these dogs live in the house next to the monastery and they are the designated key- holders. Knock on the door to ask for the key and they will escort you in. Date: Frescos painted 1765.
Standard paintings: Because this church is probably the best preserved in Mani, it gives the clearest overall impression of how a freshly painted church would have looked. It has all the usual frescoes and a very intricate wooden iconostasis (if it has finally been returned from restoration in Crete). To look for: The Praises seen in Kambos are in better condition here and reveal a little room for artistic expression in the portrayal of the beasts, dragons and flying foul, although clearly the artist had never seen the elephant he has painted!
On your left as you enter, the back wall of the church has a very detailed Last Judgement showing Christ Enthroned, flanked by Mary, John the Baptist and a host of saints. From his feet a river of fire carries the condemned down into the jaws of a fish-like beast, signifying hell. Also in this scene look out for Adam and Eve flanking an empty throne, signifying the Second Coming and below them is a scene showing the weighing of souls, those found wanting are taken by devils and those saved are taken by angels- Archangel Michael is busy fighting the good fight by prodding a devil with his spear. Aghios Ioannis Prodromos (John the Baptist), Areopolis Location: Refer to the map. Date: Frescos painted in 1859. Standard paintings: All the usuals for a single vaulted church, including another Last Judgement above the entrance door. As you face this wall look at the bottom right corner- a woman is holding a boat while fish swim around her with body parts in their mouths. This is a personification of the Sea giving up her dead on the Day of Judgement.
To look out for: It is easy to follow the pictographs of the life and death of Christ, painted in such a clear sequence that the intention of teaching the stories of the Bible to the illiterate members of the congregation is obvious. Watch out for Jesus “floating” in the scene showing Pilot washing his hands of the affair- a slight error in proportion and perspective. Note: When visiting a church, you should not be displaying bare legs and women should not display bare shoulders as this can cause offence. It is also usual to leave a small donation.
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