Church of Agioi Theodoroi

At the centre of Athens, near Klathmonos square, is the church of Agioi Theodoroi, one of the most important Byzantine monuments of the city.

At the location of the present day church there was another smaller church, as testified by the inscription that is walled in at the western wall. The same inscription informs us that the new church was erected by the spatharocandidatus (Byzantine official), Nikolaos Kalomalos. A second inscription mentions the church’s foundation date, 1049 or 1065. After the liberation restoration works were carried out at the monument, with the contribution of, among others, king Otto and queen Amalia.

The church is built over the Roman mansion. Architecturally it belongs to a rare variation of the cross-in-square church, since the octagonal dome is supported by two columns on the east and on the west by two pillars, which are incorporated at the western wall of the church. On the east there is a tripartite altar with three sided apses.

It has been constructed according to the cloisonné masonry and is decorated with various ceramic motifs (plant, cufic etc.).

Marble parts of an older screen were used to build a steeple on the southern side. The present day screen is a marble one and dates from the 19th century.