aphni
Monastery, situated about 6 miles from the center of
Athens, was built in the late 5th--early 6th
century AD on the holy road leading from
Athens to Eleusis, on the spot adjacent to the
ancient sacred grounds of Aphrodite. The name of the
monastery probably derives from the word for the
laurel tree (dafni), common in the area and
sacred to Apollo, whose temple on the same site was
destroyed in 396 by Alaric and the Goths. The famous
church, one of the finest 11th-century churches in
Greece, dates back to around 1080 and features
amazing mosaics in mature Byzantine style.
From 1207, after the arrival of the Franks in
Greece, the monastery was occupied by Cistercian
monks and after the death of Guy de la Roche, the
dukes of Athens were buried there. After the
Franks, the monastery was taken by the Catalans
(1311-1387), the Florentines (1387-1458), and the
Turks (1458-1821). In the 1950s the
complex underwent a thorough restoration.
Today, a visit to the monastery allows one to admire
the beautiful mosaics and spend a little time in the
quiet oasis of the monastery's cloistered courtyard,
where time seems to stand still and the noise of the
capital fades away.
aphni
Monastery, situated about 6 miles from the center of
Athens, was built in the late 5th--early 6th
century AD on the holy road leading from
Athens to Eleusis, on the spot adjacent to the
ancient sacred grounds of Aphrodite. The name of the
monastery probably derives from the word for the
laurel tree (dafni), common in the area and
sacred to Apollo, whose temple on the same site was
destroyed in 396 by Alaric and the Goths. The famous
church, one of the finest 11th-century churches in
Greece, dates back to around 1080 and features
amazing mosaics in mature Byzantine style.
From 1207, after the arrival of the Franks in
Greece, the monastery was occupied by Cistercian
monks and after the death of Guy de la Roche, the
dukes of Athens were buried there. After the
Franks, the monastery was taken by the Catalans
(1311-1387), the Florentines (1387-1458), and the
Turks (1458-1821). In the 1950s the
complex underwent a thorough restoration.
Today, a visit to the monastery allows one to admire
the beautiful mosaics and spend a little time in the
quiet oasis of the monastery's cloistered courtyard,
where time seems to stand still and the noise of the
capital fades away.