Eleventh century wall mosaic, Daphni Monastery, Haidari, Attica

 Eleventh century wall mosaic, Daphni Monastery, Haidari, Attica

--- This beautiful church contains many fine mosaics depicting early Christian saints.

Saint Sergius is depicted wearing ornate white clothing, holding a sword and a rod. His appearance shows that he was both a military officer and a Christian martyr. He is identified by a Greek inscription ‘Ο ΑΓΙΟC CΕΡΓΙΟC’ --- Saint Nicholas is shown wearing clerical vestments, holding a book and giving a blessing. He is identified by a fragmentary Greek inscription ‘Ο ΑΓΙΟC ΝΙΚΟΛΑΟC’ --- Saint Bacchus – Like Saint Sergius, Saint Bacchus is depicted wearing fine white clothing and holding a sword and a rod. He is identified by a Greek inscription ‘Ο ΑΓΙΟC ΒΑΚΧΟC’

Saints Sergius and Bacchus were early fourth century Roman military officers who were martyred under the Emperor Galerius (305-311) because of their Christian faith. After their martyrdom, Sergius and Bacchus were widely venerated as Christian martyrs and protectors of the army. Saint Nicholas was the Christian bishop of the city of Myra in Asia Minor (Demre in modern Turkey). In the early fourth century, he was imprisoned because of his Christian faith during the persecution initiated by the Emperor Diocletian (284-305), and later attended the First Council of Nicaea in 325. Saint Nicholas was remembered as a good, faithful and generous bishop and has been widely venerated since Late Antiquity.  The current monastery of Daphni was completely rebuilt and decorated with beautiful mosaics and frescoes in the eleventh century. Artisans were thought to have been brought to work on the mosaics within the church at this time and there are over sixty fragments of these mosaics that survive today. In 1205, the monastery became part of the Duchy of Athens and the monastery became home to Cistercian monks. The monastery was abandoned by the Cistercians in 1458, at the time of the Ottoman conquest of the Duchy of Athens. The monastery lay largely abandoned during the Ottoman period. In 1821, the buildings were damaged in fighting at the time of the Greek war of independence and the structure was briefly used as a barracks and hospital after Greek independence. The systematic restoration of the monastery was begun in 1888 and in the following century significant archaeological excavations and restoration work was carried out. In 1990, the Monastery of Daphni was recognized by UNESCO as a World Heritage site.