What I can see

The monument has 2 domes. The main church (mid-11^th century) is a domed composite four-column cruciform inscribed church, and the north, smaller church, which used to be a chapel of the main one, was probably added during the Ottoman period. It is walled with bricks (i.e. surrounded by limestone rocks fringed with thin bricks). It also has kufic decorative elements and toothed strips. Inside, many interventions have been made over the centuries. The dome is of Athenian type (octagonal with marble panels) and the columns and capitals are from the early Christian and Roman eras. The chapel was constructed on the earlier northern part of the main church. It is dedicated to St. Barbara and an exonarthex, which was formerly an open arcade that was later closed, unites it with the main church. Its dome was intended to imitate the mid-Byzantine dome of the main church, but the clumsiness in terms of construction and masonry is visible.

What I can't see

The church is dedicated to the Virgin Mary (Presentation of Mary) and is built on top of an earlier Byzantine church which was built on top of an ancient temple of either Athena or Demeter. There are three theories regarding the origin of the name Kapnikarea, which prevailed after the Revolution of 1821. The first is associated with the burning of the city in 1690 by the Ottomans. The icon of Mary remained intact but was fumed (Kapnos means fume, in Greek). The second theory is that the church’s second name, Kamoucharea, derived either from the silk fabric on the icon (kamouchas) or from the fabric workshops in the area. The third and most conventional theory is that the name comes from the owner of the church, Kapnikaris, who, by order of Nikephoros I (802-811) collected the smoke tax, established to rescue the Byzantine economy (i.e. a tax for every building with a fireplace, which therefore produced smoke). Other names were: Vasilopoulas (Queen’s) Church, Virgin Mary of Prentzas (chieftain of the Revolution, who undertook its reconstruction), Kamoukarea, Kamikarea, Chrysokamouriotissa, Kamouchariotissa, Hamoukarea and Kamkarea.

Info

• Address: Ermou St.

Bibliography