KAPNIKAREA

 

warfed by the surrounding modern shops, offices, and apartment buildings, the Kapnikarea Church appears suddenly in the middle of a little square at the intersection of the Ermou and Kapnikarea streets in Monastiraki (ill. 1-3).  The church was saved from destruction by Otto I, the first king of modern Greece, when his program of making the capital a modern city endangered the structure. Since a legend claimed that Kapnikarea was founded by the Empress Irene between 797 and 802, the church used to be called the Church of the Princess.  However, the name probably derives from the occupation of its real founder, a hearth-tax gatherer (kapnikareas), who donated the money for the church in the 11th century.  The building was restored in the 1950s and features some original Byzantine frescoes as well as excellent modern frescoes by Fotis Kontoglou (1895-1965), an icon and fresco painter who spent all his life reviving the traditions of "classical" Byzantine iconography before it was affected by Western "naturalistic" innovations (ill. 6).

 

Acropolis	Acropolis Museum	Byzantine Museum	Lykavittos Hill
Kapnikarea	Guards (Euzones)	Ancient Agora	Roman Agora
Plaka and Monastiraki	Academy of Athens	Churches in Athens	Iconographer's Studio

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