art6

Byzantine Architecture A mixed style, i.e. a style composed of Graeco-Roman and Oriental elements which, in earlier centuries, cannot be clearly separated. The form of the church used most in the west, a nave supported on columns and an atrium (see BASILICA), appears in many examples of the fifth century in Byzantium as well as in Rome; the sixth century saw such churches erected in other regions outside Rome, at Ravenna, in Istria, and …

…transept, which is terminated at either end by a round apse. A narthex, or rather two lead into the lengthened main hall. The real architectural ornaments are forced into the background by the frescoes which take the place of the costly mosaics and which practically cover all available wall surface. The architecture of this period remained stationary. It continued unchanged in the countries of the Greek Rite after the fall of Constantinople (1453). Bibliography G. GIETMANN