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THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL. 



[July, 



the top. The inside, as observed in our last number (p. 141), is 

 covered with cement, decorated with mosaics on a gold ground. To 

 the round churches of France we have already alluded at j). 143. 



Fig. 7. — Church of Sergius and Bacchus at Constantinople. 





We now proceed to consider the works of a later date, from the 

 6th to the 13th century, when we come to the church of Sergius and 

 Bacchus, now called by the Turks Chulchuk agia Sophia, or Little 

 Sancta Sophia. This was built by Justinian, as was the large church 

 of Sancta Sophia. The architects were Anthemius of Thrales and 

 Isodore of Miletus. In the central area the plan is the same as at Ra- 

 venna, the same polygon and the same semicircular arrangements ; on 

 the first floor is the gynecisum, running round the nave. Like the 

 church of Ravenna, it is adorned with columns of valuable stone, sur- 

 mounted with Byzantine capitals. The whole is covered with a cu- 

 pola. A modification is, however, introduced into the plan; the ex- 

 terior is a square, enclosing the central octagon. The church of Sancta 

 Sophia is also square externally, and the arrangement of the interior 

 preserves all the leading features of that of Sergius and Bacchus. 

 The example of Sancta Sophia affected art everywhere, and the square 

 system was adopted in every part of the east, to the exclusion of the 

 circle and the octagon. The two succeeding engravings, Figs. S & 9, 

 of the Panagia Lycodimo, and Cathedral at Athens, illustrate this. 

 The Panagia Lycodimo is towards Mount Hymettus, on the west of 

 the city ; the Cathedral is now the public library. 



Fig. 8. — The Panagia Lycomido at Athens. 



[qo.0^0 



Fig. 9.— The Cathedral of Athens. 



The plan of the Ea Miazin, or the Three Churches, at Erivan, in 

 Persia, one of the most celebrated Christian monuments of Asia, pub- 

 lished by Chardin in his Persian travels, resem!)les the Cathedral of 

 Athens. The only difference is in the form of the mirlhex or porch, 

 which is square and open on three sides, whilst generally the vesti- 

 bules occupy the whole breadth of the. building. The Ecs Miazin 

 has also a salient ahsis on each of its two lateral faces. 



We may observe that it is from these models the Turks have bor- 

 rowed the form of their mosques. Thus, also, they adopt a Temenoa 

 or square area isolating the building, and on the boundary of which 

 are the residences of the officiating ministers and the tombs of their 

 predecessors.* 



ELEVATIONS. 

 Fig. 10. — Front of the Panagia Lycodimo at Athens. 



The earliest Greek churches have a very simple front, a large mass, 

 bounded at top by a horizontal line, without any pediment to indicate 

 the inclination of the roof, carpentry not being used in Byzantine ar- 

 chitecture, as cupolas and terraces only were used to cover in the 

 building. Eusebius,'!' describing the basilica of the Apostles, says 

 that rails cut out of gilt bronze were used to decorate the upper ter- 

 race, called the Solarium. It may be supposeil from that, that the 

 faces of the building were surmounted with horizontal cornices. The 

 churches of Sergius and Bacchus, of Sancta Sophia, and of the Pana- 

 gia Lycodimo (represented above), are all of the same kind; the 

 square form being apparently preserved as late as the eighth and 

 ninth centuries. These Byzantine churches are badly crowned, the 

 upper entablature being composed only of a few mouldings, in which 

 bricks are so placed as to form salient angles, and through which 

 gutters are cut at different distances to carry off the water from the 

 terraces or domes. 



The first floor is generally marked on the front by a certain num- 

 ber of windows lighting the gytwceum. In the church of Sancta 

 Sophia these windows are of large dimensions, semi -circular, and 

 divided into three parts by two columns, which hold thin slabs or 

 plates of stone, pierced with holes to let in the light. 



Under the windows of the first story, or women's gallery, are placed 

 the doors giving admission to the narthex, or porch. These doors are 

 generally formed of lintels and door-posts, ornamented with elaborate 

 mouldings, much in the style of the antique. Over the lintel a full 

 arch, sometimes q^ stone and sometimes of brick, protects the door 

 from the pressure of the superincumbent structure. The narthex was 

 the place devoted to the catechumens, but in some of the later edi- 

 fices it was used as a gyneceum, and thus the men entered the church 

 by the north and south doors (Noteiomeros, Boreiomeros). 



The early Byzantine basilicas have only a single dome, as in that of 



* Around the temple was a large space, on each of the sides of which were 

 raised porticoes, connected together. Besides the basins (for purification) of 

 the l)asilica, there were the habitations of the guardians supported by the 

 porticoes, which they equalled in extent." — Eusebius in the Life of Constan- 

 iine, 1. xiv, c. 58, describing the Church of the Apostles, built at Byzantium 

 by Constantine. We may. perhaps, find here the origin of the monastic 

 cloister attached to our cathedrals. 



t Eusebius, 1. iv. c. 58. 



