Churches & Monasteries of Athens

Churches & Monasteries of Athens

The prevalence of Christianity and the construction of the first Christian churches during the 5th Century A.D. greatly influenced the shaping of the city of Athens.

During 437 A.D., Theodosius the 2ndʼs decrees forced the conversion of all ancient temples to Christian churches. Parthenon, Erechtheio, the south section of Propylaea, the Temple of Hephaestus, the Clock of Andronicus of Cyrrhus (The Tower of the Winds) and the Hadrianʼs Library were converted to churches.

Other churches were built in the vicinity of Olympieion (Temple of Olympian Zeus), the Odeon of Herodes Atticus, underneath Areopagus and various other locations. Most of the churches were built during the 10th to 12th Centuries, calculated to be more than 40.

Some of them remain today in their original shape, with only small repairs or additions, such as the Sotira Lykodimou, Agioi Apostoloi in the Ancient Agora area, Kapnikarea, Agioi Theodoroi in Klafthmonos Square, Panagia Gorgoepikoos (Agios Eleftherios) next to Metropolitan Cathedral of Athens.