The exonarthex of the Katholikon of the monastery of Hosios Loukas (pl. 3-14)

Abstract

The exonarthex of the katholikon of St. Luke was removed by the monks at the end of the 19th century. During the same years the monks reconstructed the small octagonal church (1888 according to inscription) turning it into a bell tower and in doing so, used at least some of the material brought down from the exonarthex, as the door posts and the door lintel built in the first floor opening of the south façade (pi. 13). The four columns placed in the last floor openings of the bell tower appear to have come from the exonarthex also, belonging originally to the grouped windows of the west façade. Two unpublished drawings by E. Ziller (pi. 3), a precious picture published by O. Wulff (pi. 5, fig. 1), the sketch of Barskij (pi. 4, fig. 2), on site observation, and the descriptions of Ch. Diehl and G. Kremos, permit a complete restoration of the lost monument (fig. 1, 2, 3) which could not have been erected in 1582, as was believed until now. The shape and size of the fine grouped windows, as well as those of the central door, the tympanum filling, the carefully executed cloisonné masonry with the double and triple horizontal tiles, suggest that the erection of the monument must have taken place at a date within the limits of the twelfth century. The ornamentation of the door posts and lintel (pi. 13), as well as remains of the inner decoration (pi. 7), make the suggested dating even more probable. Careful observation of the west façade of the katholikon, for possible traces of the exonarthex offer some new information about the katholikon itself: a. Similarities in the construction of the vault above the central door with the one of the south basement opening of the bell tower, make probable the suggested contemporary erection of the two monuments. b. The front elevation masonry of the katholikon is being marked by a final treatment. At places, a layer of mortar has been added to even the differences of the rough material. On that mortar survive several foliated pseudo-cufic characters in fresco, single (pi. 9), or grouped in the form of inscriptions (pi. 8), which consist an obvious imitation of the pseudo-cufic decorations of the Panagia Church. c. The soffit of the double windows of the upper storey appear to have been decorated with frescoes, just as the tympanum of the double windows of the basement. The remains of these frescoes prove to belong to the figures of two prophets, Elias and David.