File:The Byzantine church of Agios Eleftherios - Panagia Gorgoepikoos (Little Metropolis) in Athens, Greece (19).jpg

English: “The building is not dated on external evidence, and suggested dates have ranged from the 9th to the 13th century. Today it is generally believed to belong to the later 12th century, perhaps ca. 1182-1204, on the assumption that the commissioner was the learned Metropolitan Michael Choniates….The spolia span roughly one and a half millennium. About one fourth of the sculpted reliefs pre-date the Herulian incursion of 267 A.D.; a little more than three fourth are of medieval origin. Among the earliest pieces, the reliefs with Nike and a female figure are in the style of the Panathenaic frieze of the Parthenon, the drapery imitating that of the young girls of the eastern part of the frieze. The satyr derives from the Lysippan type, suggesting a date no earlier than 300 BC. To tell from the sharply drawn folds the male with a shield is archaising, first century B.C.-A.D., and the woman in profile view next to the double cross is also likely to belong to this period. Based on hairstyle and fashion of dress, the stele with two women dates towards 200 A.D. The Corinthian ante-capitals on the front find their closest match on the Arch of Hadrian, ca. 120-140 A.D. To the early Christian period may be assigned some ornaments, such as the palmetto frieze of the eastern side. Even though middle Byzantine reliefs are notoriously difficult to date with precision, it is apparent that the reused pieces represent the output of several centuries of Athenian sculpture. To the 9th or 10th century belongs, among others, the closure slab with an orthogonal design of stylized palmettos. This has an almost identical twin in the Byzantine and Christian Museum in Athens. The foliate cross in aedicula reused on the western lintel is comparable to 10th century works, and the combination of astragal, cable and rope pat-tern is closely matched on a relief from the 10th century. The slabs with fantastic animals heraldically flanking the tree of life show the influence of Eastern textiles. Specifically the sphinx with the elegant jewelled collar (W 13) [24] finds a counterpart in a fragmentary relief from the 10th to 11th century. On the eastern wall, the circular interlaced panel is comparable to a slab with an eight-petalled rosette in the centre, carved in the 10th to 11th century and which stems from the church in the Horologion of Kyrrhestes. The leaved cross with rosettes and the distinctive interlaced cross can be compared with 11th century works. The intricate interlaced lozenge is typical of eleventh century art, examples can be found in most parts of the Byzantine world, Athens, Thessaloniki, Constantinople and, for instance, Bari. Since the spolia provide a terminus post quem for the building of the church, it is imperative to establish a more precise date for the latest reliefs. One may ascribe to the 12th century: the large panel with a tightly knit pattern of interlaced stylized acanthus inscribed in squares and the angular inter-laced band in one of the narthex doors, a design found also on the Acropolis. All three doors leading from the inner narthex to the naos are framed by spolia. The ‘art nouveau’-like scroll framing both lateral doors is identical to that right above the door on the northern flank, a design comparable to a fragment from the Monastery of Ag. Ioannou tou Kynegou at Hymettos, which is dated by inscription to 1205. That these frames are also spolia can be gathered from the fact that the block over the southern door was too short and had to be extended with a small fragment with a different ornament. The symmetrical design and rather thick strands of the scroll on the central lintel bring to mind works assigned to the 12th or 13th century. Similarly, the scroll on the block below belongs more or less to this same period. The graphic light-dark design is reminiscent of wood-carving, for it is extremely simplified, with a strictly symmetrical floral element; it finds correspondence in works from the 13th century, e.g., a fragment from Aphendiko at Mistra. The flat design displaying Arabic influence is typical of the 13th to 14th centuries, although it does appear earlier. André Grabar placed this ornament in the 12th century, although he did concede that it was also seen later. All in all, it would appear that the latest spolia found on the interior and exterior date from around 1200 or later and that they were subsequently at some point in time reused in the church of the Panagia Gorgoepikoos.” TEXT CREDIT: Bente Kiilerich, Making Sense of the Spolia in the Little Metropolis in Athens (For the full text go to: https://www.academia.edu/2971890/Making_Sense_of_the_Spolia_in_the_Little_Metropolis_in_Athens)