On the way to Delphi we made a stop at Hosios Loukas, a monastery located in Boeotia. This monastery, founded in the tenth century, is one of the many UNESCO world heritage sites located in Greece.
The monastery was founded by St. Loukas, a man who predicted the conquest of Crete and whose body, still at the monastery, was reputed to heal people. This is, I believe, how the monastery funded its buildings, which are architecturally really interesting, and the decoration of these buildings, which was well known throughout the Byzantine world.
The monastery was undergoing some restoration work while I was there, so I unfortunately don't have pictures of the outside of the churches. There are two at Hosios Loukas, one from the 10th century (the Theotokos) and one from the early 11th century (the Katholikon.) This is a picture of some arches, which were not covered with scaffolding.
For this next picture- I would like to make it known that I do not generally take pictures of the insides of churches. Obviously, one does not want to take pictures with flash, since that could damage the paintings and that would be a bad idea. Also, I'm under the impression that in many cases this is considered rather rude, and I generally like to respect other people's religions. However, in this case, we were told that it was ok.
This is the inside of the Katholikon, and I would like to direct your attention towards the ceiling, or, specifically, the way that the dome is held up. The Katholikon is the earliest extant example of a kind of church called a "domed octagon" church, which means, essentially, that the naos has eight piers and that it has a dome. There are some architectural gymnastics that must be done to build a dome on top of an octagon, and you can see some of those in this picture. Also note the decorations- the insides of Greek Orthodox Churches are beautiful.
Next- off to Delphi!
The monastery was founded by St. Loukas, a man who predicted the conquest of Crete and whose body, still at the monastery, was reputed to heal people. This is, I believe, how the monastery funded its buildings, which are architecturally really interesting, and the decoration of these buildings, which was well known throughout the Byzantine world.
The monastery was undergoing some restoration work while I was there, so I unfortunately don't have pictures of the outside of the churches. There are two at Hosios Loukas, one from the 10th century (the Theotokos) and one from the early 11th century (the Katholikon.) This is a picture of some arches, which were not covered with scaffolding. 
For this next picture- I would like to make it known that I do not generally take pictures of the insides of churches. Obviously, one does not want to take pictures with flash, since that could damage the paintings and that would be a bad idea. Also, I'm under the impression that in many cases this is considered rather rude, and I generally like to respect other people's religions. However, in this case, we were told that it was ok. 
This is the inside of the Katholikon, and I would like to direct your attention towards the ceiling, or, specifically, the way that the dome is held up. The Katholikon is the earliest extant example of a kind of church called a "domed octagon" church, which means, essentially, that the naos has eight piers and that it has a dome. There are some architectural gymnastics that must be done to build a dome on top of an octagon, and you can see some of those in this picture. Also note the decorations- the insides of Greek Orthodox Churches are beautiful. 
Next- off to Delphi!
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