On the southeastern edge of the settlement of Akraifnio, near Thebes, is the important Byzantine church of Agios Georgios, a monument with great historical value to the area.
It is built to the foothills of the ancient city, at the location where an ancient temple of Dionysus was located. Its foundation is related to the battle that took place on the 15th of March 1311, at the area of Kopaida, between the Franks, who already occupied a large part of southern Greece, and the Catalan mercenaries who fought with them because they refused to leave the area. The Franks suffered a tremendous defeat with very few survivors. One of them was the Flemish knight Antonio da Flamma, lord of Akraifnio, who had made a pledge to Agios Georgios that he would build him a church if he managed to survive the battle. The church was constructed in just six months after the battle and the fulfillment of the knight’s promise is mentioned in the inscription over the pulpit.
The church is a complex cross-in-square with a dome, supported by four columns and initially it was aisless. Later they added the narthex and in the end of the 19th century the exonarthex, without altering significantly the initial shape of the building. It is characteristic that during its construction they used several ancient stones from the ruins in the area. The interior of the church is decorated by interesting wall paintings, which date from different periods. Remarkable are the two figures of angels that date from the period of the construction of the church, and the excellent figure of Prophet Elias, of the 16th century, which is considered the work of the famous painters George and Fragos Kontaris, who originated from Thebes.
The church celebrates on the day of Agios Georgios.
