Holy Church of the Presentation of the Virgin Mary (Panagia Kapnikarea)

The Byzantine Church of the Presentation of the Virgin Mary, known as Kapnikarea, is located in the center of Athens, on Ermou Street, the most commercial street in the historic center of the city. The name Kapnikarea, which prevailed after the liberation struggle of 1821, probably comes from the surname of the founder, who would have been a collector of the so-called tobacco tax. The tobacco tax was established at the beginning of the 9th century by the emperor Nikiforos L ogothetis I and concerned buildings, which were inhabited and therefore from their chimneys came out… smoke. Among other names, we find the name Kamoucharea, probably derived from the word Kamouhas, a valuable Byzantine silk fabric, which was manufactured in the adjacent workshops. Nowadays in the wider area there are shops that specialize in the trade of textiles, somehow continuing the tradition.

The temple dates to the 11th century, specifically shortly after 1050, and is said to have been built over an ancient temple, dedicated to a female deity, Athena or Demeter. During the liberation struggle it had been damaged. In 1834, it was in danger of being demolished, because the Bavarian architect Leon von Klenze, who had undertaken the planning of the new Greek capital, wanted Ermou street to be unified and free of obstacles. The monument was saved thanks to the intervention of the King of Bavaria Louis, father of Otto, who later became the king of Greece. The monument faced the same danger in 1863 and was saved due to the reaction of the Metropolitan of Athens and the parishioners. From 1931 the church was granted to the University of Athens for the practice of the students of the Theological School.

As far as the architecture is concerned, the main church typologically belongs to the complex cruciform inscribed with a dome, with a three-part sanctuary and arched narthex. The dome rests on four ancient columns with Roman capitals. On the north side, shortly after the construction of the main church, a chapel with a dome in memory of Saint Barbara was added, whose current form is the result of an unfortunate restoration in the 19th century. On the west side, along the two temples there was an open portico, which later, when the temple became part of the University of Athens, was closed and turned into an exonarthex. At the south entrance of the exonarthex there is a colonnaded porch. Of particular interest is its masonry, for which the so-called mid-Byzantine brick-enclosed system has been used. Crosses are formed in the lower part, in some places at the joints there is decoration with ceramic Kufic complexes (complexes which imitate the first orthogonal Arabic writing), while ancient and early Christian sculptures have been incorporated.

In the interior of the church, we can distinguish frescoes of a westernizing mentality dating back to around 1900. However, most of the frescoes that adorn the interior of the church are the work of the artist Fotis Kontoglou, who introduced the Byzantine mentality to modern Greek iconography. Kontoglou is considered as one of the most important intellectual personalities of the Neo-Hellenic period. In 1942 he painted Platytera on the arch, which is also his first monumental hagiographic work. The decoration was completed in the year 1955 with the contribution of his partners. The mosaic of the Infant Virgin Mary, on the porch, was created by Elli Voila in 1936.