Churches> Saint Thomas

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Historical chapel near Asopos River. It is sacred to Saint Thomas, genius Loci of the village. Tradition wants the Saint to protect the villagers  from the bubonic plague that had spread  the district. So they honored him by giving his name to the village. In Greek: Ayios Thomas. According to Leiden University research, the chapel is considered mid Byzantine (12th century). the cupola is posterior. Ancient Tanagra lies opposite to the chapel.

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According to Schachter McGill, the chapel is considered first christian basilica of the 10th century. By the time Byzantine Empire reconquered Boeotia from slaves, starts a period of steady growth of rural population. The small hamlets take the role of ancient Tanagra. During crusades the district pases under the commandership of a Frank lord who converts the chapel into feudal chateau. (13th century).
Celebration at Sunday after Greek Orthodox Easter.
Ο βυζαντινός ναός του Αγίου Θωμά, ανήκει αρχιτεκτονικά στον τύπο του εγγεγραμμένου απλού δικιόνιου ναού με τρούλο. Εξωτερικά φαίνεται σαν ένας πέτρινος όγκος με επίπεδη στέγη πού στο κέντρο της εξέχει μικρός τρούλος. Το αρχικό κτίσμα έχει υποστεί διάφορες παρεμβάσεις με κυριότερη εκείνη τής μετασκευής του κατά την περίοδο τής Φραγκοκρατίας σε χωροδεσποτικό πύργο. Στην τοιχοποιία του ναού χρησιμοποιήθηκαν αρκετά αρχιτεκτονικά μέλη από αρχαία κτίρια της γειτονικής Τανάγρας, ενώ έχουν διατηρηθεί και πολλά βυζαντινά γλυπτά μεταξύ των οποίων και ένα με παράσταση ανατολικής επίδρασης.

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The temple of Ag.Thomas is built near the bridge Assopos, crossed by the road leading from the highway: Athens-Lamia to the village Ag.Thomas(Liatani). To the west rises the hill of ancient Tanagra and the memorial is located on elevated grounds, in a dominant position in the valley of Asopia.
The peculiarity of the monument is that presents cubic external form with nearly flat roof and small protruding dome. This format is the lower part of ruined tower,, which was incorporated into the preexisting temple. The original form of the church is indicated by traces of roofs, exposed mainly in western and east side only, which provide the possibility of a secure graphical rehabilitation.
The temple belongs to the simple two-columned cruciform with a dome with a wider dating to the 12th century, who probably built in the early Christian position. The plan is almost square (7.88 X 7.76m) and housing the eastern flats made with semi-cylindrical vaults, while the western with downcast oven styles. The area of the sanctuary includes three prominent hexagonal niches, of which the middle is illuminated with bilobed window with marble pillars, while the other two with smaller lobed windows. The main entrance of the church, has been processed, formed with petalomorfo bow, while the north and south exposures by a large arched window with red brick frame.
Externally, on the left of the entrance is fitted didialekti ancient inscription in black marble, signed KAFISIAS EPOEISE. On the south side appears closed today, bilobed limestone window positioned at height. The Middle Byzantine iconostasis was replaced with an Ottoman era built, with frescoes of 20th century which are the only that can be seen indide the church. Parts of the original temple (small columns, cornice) saved previously scattered in the temple and its courtyard. Externally, the western side of the church throughout its length, bounded by large stones, the base of a space like a splint with three openings. The walls of the church are mixed using normal spolia the base and corners, and cloisonne structure, typical of the Middle Byzantine period, from then on top. Semi-procesed stones placed in horizontal rows with vertical joints filled with vertical bricks, Koufos form Greek letters and pseudokoufik decorations. Greater care building appears in the recesses of eastern side with hewn stones and symmetric contour placement deaf. The walled precinct of the temple stand scattered many ancient states apparently the church, and dark gravestones from titanolitho. to the northwest preserved vaulted tomb with embedded cop. The incorporation of the church into a taller building that probably functioned as chorodespotikos tower was during Frank (14th), to surveillance of farmland underside plain Assopos where there were other similar. In this phase was important changes in its interior, but likely to change the use of the sanctuary at least as chapel. With this format is detected and by Leake in the early 19th century, by which, however, referred to as Frankish tower was converted into a church. Generally, most references are to the monument with respect to the adjacent Asopus and the cop which are embedded in it, and especially the aforementioned inscribed plaque, which attracted the interest of antiquity surfers 19th century. Until about 1900 as mentioned by Baedeker, the monument retains the form tower, while its current form should be acquired between 1900 and 1930, when removed a substantial part of the material in order to be used for demolition the construction of the road leading to the village. Since then it has undergone many repairs in an attempt ware and thefts. Typological features of Ag.Thoma is anisostathmia housing between the east and west because of oven housing the latter, the Kufic decorations, double-light windows with limestone within the petalomorfo bow entry, bilobed window of the sanctuary. The monument was restored in form, after removal of supplements to faces and restoring the original appearance of the dome, showing an elaborate and rich construction funerary chapel or not the Middle Byzantine period. From its elements dating from the mid 12th century and is associated with provincial monuments of the same period, Greek press, but with some special intentions mainly in the inner space, and must be integrated into a period of continuity construction activities of the century in the region of Thebes.

Sorce: Simatou Α. Μ., Christodoulopoulou R., "Agios Thomas Tanagras", Lampidon. Athens 2003.
figures: Chr. Boura, Attica's churches

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On the left bank of the Asopus river, a little above its junction with the Lari, stands a mill which is turned by derivations from both the rivers, and opposite to their junction, not far from the right bank of the Asopus, is one of the high towers which has been built probably by the Franks.
This tower has since been converted into a Greek church, in which are lying several fluted Doric shafts covered with coat of stucco, and a large rectangular block of the same kind of black marble as that which was used in the great building in the city.
Inscribed on it, in characters of ancient date, is the name ΗΣΧΙΝΑΣ, the Boeotic form of Αισχύνης.
In the wall on the outside of the tower is another inscribed marble, but not of the dark kind. The inscription begins with an epigram in two elegiac couplets, showing that the stone supported a statue dedicated by one Phorystas, son of Triax, who had obtained a victory in the games of Jupiter, and who, upon several other occasions, had been the first in the foot race.
Below the verses, which are in common Hellenic, there is a decree of Proxenia, in Boeotic, by the people of Tanagra, in favour of one Dioscorides of Athens.
There is no apparent connection of subject between the epigram and the decree, and it is difficult to understand how they came to be on the same stone. But that the verses should be in Hellenic and the decree in Boeotic is not surprising, even if we suppose them to be contemporary, since Pindar preferred the Doric to his own dialect, and poets claimed the privilege as early as the time of Homer, of using any dialect or all of them at once.
Diplomacy on the other hand, appears to have preserved the local forms in many parts of Greece, even after the period when they ceased to be in common use. we find in the first inscription, that while the poet wrote in Hellenic, the maker of the statue recorded his name in Boeotic by the words Καφισια επόεισε.

Source: Travels in Northern Greece. William Martin Leake, 1835

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3D reconstruction of the church of Saint Thomas transformed into a feudal tower in Frankish times © ArtLandS Lab

3D reconstruction of the Middle Byzantine phase of the church of Saint Thomas © ArtLandS Lab

Recorded and digitally reconstructed under the direction of Chiara Piccoli (Leiden University) and with the assistance of Chrystalla Loizou (University of Cyprus) and Katerina Ragkou (University of Cologne)

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The well spring outside of the surrounding fence.

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Icons from the left side of the temple. From the left: Saint Theodoros and the touch of the Tomas.

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Icons from the right side of the temple. From the left: Christ, Saint John the Baptist and Saint Nikolaos.

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