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Omphalion in Greek means "navel (of the earth)"; compare the omphalos of Delphi.
| | This article needs additional citations for verification .(January 2013) |
Omphalion in Greek means "navel (of the earth)"; compare the omphalos of Delphi.
One of the most intriguing features of Hagia Sophia is a marble section of the floor known as the Omphalos. The Omphalos is located in the south-east quarter of the main square beneath the dome, exactly in the middle of the square. Each side measures 5.65 meters (18.5 feet). Within the square lay 30 circles of various sizes. There is one large circle in the middle; 4 circles of equal size at each corner; 2 smaller circles of similar size occupy the space between each corner circle; 16 smaller circles in-between these. The 3 remaining circles are on the south end and are linked to the 4 larger circles on that end. [1]
The most striking feature of the Omphalos is the brilliant marble, with myriad types and colors mixed in. Marble was the material of choice for Imperial churches: it was believed to be created by earthy matter freezing in water that had sunk into the Earth's crust. [2] The design is unusual and has been interpreted in many ways over the years. One interpretation could be that is that the central circle could be the sun[ disputed ], with the solar system orbiting around it.[ citation needed ] This would fit with the absolute rule of the Emperor. The asymmetry is particularly odd, given when compared to the omphalos at Hosios Loukas in Greece. This omphalos dates from the Middle Byzantine, some five hundred years after the Hagia Sophia's if it is indeed an original feature, and is completely symmetrical in design. Stylistically, the interiors of Hagia Sophia have been categorized as a "jeweled style". [3] The materials utilized were selected to retain and reflect light. The mosaics used tesserae of varying colors, texturized and oriented to reflect the light pouring in from the massive dome. Color was very important as certain colors, and certain materials, conveyed messages of status and prestige. The effect of the sunlight shining through the windows surrounding the base of the dome hitting the tesserae would have been awe-inspiring. Comparatively, the Omphalos is more demure and understated.
Historically, it was thought to mark the spot where Byzantine emperors were crowned during the coronation ceremony. Evidence of this comes from Antony of Novgorod, who wrote a description of Hagia Sophia in the early 13th century. He wrote "there is a red marble stone with a golden throne placed on it. On this throne the emperors were crowned". [4] This view has been challenged over the years because of the dearth of textual reference from writers and travelers in the Byzantine Era. Hagia Sophia herself has been altered so many times since the sixth-century that the Omphalion disappears and re-appears sporadically in the textual evidence that does exist. We know that it was covered over with carpets by the Ottomans after they converted it into a mosque. The design is unique to Hagia Sophia, with little in the way of direct comparisons. There are two examples from the 11th and 12th centuries, Hosios Lukas and Nea Moni. The comparison is difficult considering the 500 year difference. All of the marble used in the floors of St. Sophia was quarried around the time of construction. [5]
Byzantine architecture of the time favored the incorporation of spolia to celebrate the triumph of Christianity over Paganism, as much of the spolia was sourced from Greek and Roman temples throughout the Empire. Dating of the Omphalos has varied, with some dating it to the reign of Justinian, and some dating it as a later addition, particularly to the reign of Basil I (867-886). The evidence used to argue for this later dating is the seemingly odd placement within Hagia Sophia. However, it is placed in the center of one of the four squares beneath the dome, indicating the placement was not as random as it seems at first glance. Historian Nadine Schibille argues that it fits seamlessly into the original flooring, therefore she concludes that it was an original feature. [6] Historian Silvia Pedone does not attempt to assign a specific date to it, but she theorizes that it was arranged differently than what is seen today. Some of the smaller circles might have been an addition during re-decoration in the 9th century. The church suffered damage during an earthquake in 1346 that could have damaged the marble. This could account for the asymmetrical design, with repairs altering the overall design. [7]
The word omphalion is also used to describe other sacred circular marking slabs that were usually located in important or especially sacred churches throughout the Byzantine Empire.
The marble omphalion from the floor of the Church of Hagia Sophia in Trabzon (north coast of modern Turkey) was brought to Thessalonica by Greek refugees in 1924.
Isidore of Miletus was one of the two main Byzantine Greek architects that Emperor Justinian I commissioned to design the cathedral Hagia Sophia in Constantinople from 532 to 537. The creation of an important compilation of Archimedes' works has been attributed to him. The spurious Book XV from Euclid's Elements has been partly attributed to Isidore of Miletus.
Hagia Sophia, officially the Hagia Sophia Grand Mosque, is a mosque in Istanbul, Turkey.
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Byzantine architecture is the architecture of the Byzantine Empire, or Eastern Roman Empire.
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A templon is a feature of Byzantine churches consisting of a barrier separating the nave from the sanctuary near the altar.
The Church of the Holy Apostles, also known as the Imperial Polyándreion, was a Greek Eastern Orthodox church in Constantinople, capital of the Eastern Roman Empire. The first structure dates to the 4th century, though future emperors would add to and improve upon it. It was second in size and importance only to the Hagia Sophia among the great churches of the capital.
Hagia Irene or Hagia Eirene, sometimes known also as Saint Irene, is an Eastern Orthodox church located in the outer courtyard of Topkapı Palace in Istanbul. It is one of the few churches in Istanbul that has not been converted into a mosque, as it was used as an arsenal for storing weapons until the 19th century. The Hagia Irene today operates as a museum and concert hall.
The Great Palace of Constantinople, also known as the Sacred Palace, was the large Imperial Byzantine palace complex located in the south-eastern end of the peninsula now known as Old Istanbul, in modern Turkey. It served as the main Imperial residence of the Eastern Roman or Byzantine emperors until 1081 and was the centre of imperial administration for over 690 years. Only a few remnants and fragments of its foundations have survived into the present day.
Little Hagia Sophia Mosque (church), formerly the Church of Saints Sergius and Bacchus, is a former Greek Eastern Orthodox church dedicated to Saints Sergius and Bacchus in Constantinople, built between 532 and 536, and converted into a mosque during the Ottoman Empire.
The Hagia Sophia in Thessaloniki, Greece, is one of the oldest churches in the city still standing today. It is one of several monuments in Thessaloniki included as a World Heritage Site on the UNESCO list.
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The Nea Ekklēsia was a church built by Byzantine Emperor Basil I the Macedonian in Constantinople between 876 and 880. It was the first monumental church built in the Byzantine capital after the Hagia Sophia in the 6th century, and marks the beginning of the middle period of Byzantine architecture. It continued in use until the Palaiologan period. Used as a gunpowder magazine by the Ottomans, the building was destroyed in 1490 after being struck by lightning. No traces of it survive, and information about it derives from historical accounts and depictions.
The Church of St. Polyeuctus was an ancient Byzantine church in Constantinople built by the noblewoman Anicia Juliana and dedicated to Saint Polyeuctus. Intended as an assertion of Juliana's own imperial lineage, it was a lavishly decorated building, and the largest church of the city before the construction of the Hagia Sophia. It introduced the large-scale use of Sassanid Persian decorative elements, and may have inaugurated the new architectural type of domed basilica, perfected in the later Hagia Sophia.
Verd antique, also called verde antique, marmor thessalicum, or Ophite, is a serpentinite breccia popular since ancient times as a decorative facing stone. It is a dark, dull green, white-mottled serpentine, mixed with calcite, dolomite, or magnesite, which takes a high polish. The term verd antique has been documented in English texts as early as 1745.
Arslan Hane was a Byzantine Eastern Orthodox church converted into a profane building by the Ottomans in Istanbul, Turkey. The Church was dedicated to Christ of the Chalke, after the image of the Savior framed above the main entrance of the nearby Chalke Gate. This building, whose name stems possibly from its doors or tiles made with bronze, was the monumental vestibule of the Great Palace of Constantinople. The desecrated church, already heavily damaged by fire, was demolished in 1804.
The Panagia Episkopi is the previous middle-Byzantine cathedral of the Greek Cycladean island of Santorini (Thira). It is also called Panagia tis Episkopis or Church of Episkopi Thiras. According to a traditional, now almost completely destroyed inscription, the church building was commissioned by the Byzantine Emperor Alexios I Komnenos at the end of the 11th century, and took the place of a previous three-aisled early Byzantine basilica. The church was dedicated to the Panagia ("All-holy"), a Greek Orthodox appellation for the Virgin Mary. The second part of the name (Episkopi) means "episcopal". The Panagia Episkopi was the seat of the Orthodox diocese of Santorini until 1207 and from 1537 to 1827.
Domes were a characteristic element of the architecture of Ancient Rome and of its medieval continuation, the Byzantine Empire. They had widespread influence on contemporary and later styles, from Russian and Ottoman architecture to the Italian Renaissance and modern revivals. The domes were customarily hemispherical, although octagonal and segmented shapes are also known, and they developed in form, use, and structure over the centuries. Early examples rested directly on the rotunda walls of round rooms and featured a central oculus for ventilation and light. Pendentives became common in the Byzantine period, provided support for domes over square spaces.
Byzantine mosaics are mosaics produced from the 4th to 15th centuries in and under the influence of the Byzantine Empire. Mosaics were some of the most popular and historically significant art forms produced in the empire, and they are still studied extensively by art historians. Although Byzantine mosaics evolved out of earlier Hellenistic and Roman practices and styles, craftspeople within the Byzantine Empire made important technical advances and developed mosaic art into a unique and powerful form of personal and religious expression that exerted significant influence on Islamic art produced in Umayyad and Abbasid Caliphates and the Ottoman Empire. In addition, Byzantine mosaics went on to influence artists in the Norman Kingdom of Sicily, in the Republic of Venice, and, carried by the spread of Orthodox Christianity, in Bulgaria, Serbia, Romania and Russia. In the modern era, artists across the world have drawn inspiration from their focus on simplicity and symbolism, as well as their beauty.
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