Turist Rehberleri – Tourist Guides

Longitudinal Section of St. Sophia.
A, the original dome as built by Anthemius and Isidorus.
B, reconstruction of the dome in A.D. 558 by Isidorus the Younger.

Page 17

29-For it proudly reveals its mass and the harmony of its proportions, having neither excess nor deficiency, since it is both more pretentious than the buildings to which we are accustomed, and considerably more noble than those which are merely huge, and it abounds exceedingly in sunlight and in the reflection of the sun’s rays from the marble.

30-Indeed one might say that its interior is not illuminated from without by the sun, but that the radiance comes into being within it, such an abundance of light bathes this shrine.

31-And the face itself of the church (which would be the part which faces the rising sun, that portion of the building in which they perform the mysteries in worship of God) was constructed in the following manner.

32-A structure of masonry (oikodomia) is built up from the ground, not made in a straight line, but gradually curving inward on its flanks and receding at the middle, so that it forms the shape of half a circle, which those who are skilled in such matters call a half-cylinder (hêmikylindron); and so it rises precipitously to a height.

33-The upper part of this structure ends in the fourth part of a sphere (sphaira), and above it another crescent-shaped (mênoeides) structure rises, fitted to the adjoining parts of the building, marvellous in its grace, but by reason of the seeming insecurity of its composition altogether terrifying.

34-For it seems somehow to float in the air on no firm basis, but to be poised aloft to the peril of those inside it. Yet actually it is braced with exceptional firmness and security.

Page 19

35- On either side of this are columns arranged on the pavement; these likewise do not p19stand in a straight line, but they retreat inward in the pattern of the semicircle (hêmikyklon) as if they were yielding to one another in a choral dance, and above them hangs a structure of crescent shape (mênoeides).

36-nd on the side opposite the east is reared a wall containing the entrances (eisodoi), and on either side of this there stand in a semicircle (hêmikyklon) not only the columns themselves but also the structure above them, all this being very similar to the columns and structure I have just described.

37-And in the centre of the church stand four man-made eminences (lophoi), which they call piers (pessoi), two on the north side and two on the south, opposite and equal to each other, each pair having between them just four columns.

38-The piers (lophoi) are composed of huge stones joined together, carefully selected and skilfully fitted to one another by the masons, and rising to a great height. One might suppose that they were sheer mountain-peaks.

39-From these spring four arches (apsides) which rise over the four sides of a square, and their ends come together in pairs and are made fast to each other on top of these piers (lophoi), while the other portions rise and soar to an infinite height.

40-And while two of the arches rise over empty air, those namely on the east and the west sides, the other two have under them certain structural elements (oikodomia), including a number of rather small columns.

Page 21

41-Upon the crowns of the arches rests a circular structure (kykloterês oikodomia), cylindrical (strongylon) in shape; it is through this that the light of day always first smiles.

42- For it towers above the whole earth, as I believe, and the structure is interrupted at short intervals, openings having been left intentionally, in the spaces where the perforation of the stone-work takes place, to be channels for the admission of light in sufficient measure.

43-And since the arches where they are joined together are so constructed as to form a four-cornered plan, the stonework between the arches produces four triangles (trigôna).

44-And while each supporting end (krêpis) of a triangle, having been contracted to a point by the coming together of each pair of arches, makes the lower point an acute angle, yet as the triangle rises and its width is extended by the intermediate surface,

45- it ends in the segment of a circle (kykloterês) which it supports, and forms the remaining angles at that level. And upon this circle rests the huge spherical dome (sphairoeidês tholos) which makes the structure exceptionally beautiful.

46- Yet it seems not to rest upon solid masonry, but to cover the space with its golden dome (sphaira) suspended from Heaven.

47-All these details, fitted together with incredible skill in mid-air and floating off from each other and resting only on the parts next to them, produce a single and most extraordinary harmony in the work, and yet do not permit the spectator to linger much over the study of any one of them, but each detail attracts the eye and draws it on irresistibly to itself.

Page 23

48- So the vision constantly shifts suddenly, for the beholder is utterly unable to select which particular detail he should admire more than all the others.

49 But even so, though they turn their attention to every side and look with contracted brows upon every detail, observers are still unable to understand the skilful craftsmanship, but they always depart from there overwhelmed by the bewildering sight. So much, then, for this.

50 -It was by many skilful devices that the Emperor Justinian and the master-builder Anthemius and Isidorus secured the stability of the church, hanging, as it does, in mid-air. Some of these it is both hopeless for me to understand in their entirety, and impossible to explain in words; I shall record only one of them for the present, from which it should be possible to gain an impression of the strength of the whole work.

51 -It is as follows: The piers (lophoi) which I have just mentioned are not constructed in the same way as other structures, but in the following manner. The courses of stone were laid down so as to form a four-cornered shape,

52- the stones being rough by nature but worked smooth; and they were cut to the angles when they were destined to form the projecting corners of the sides of the pier, but when they chanced to be assigned to a position between the angles, they were cut in rectangles (tetrapleuron).

53- These were held together neither by lime (titanos), which they call “asbestus”, nor by asphalt, the material which was the pride of Semiramis in Babylon, nor by any other such thing, but by lead (molibdos) poured into the interstices (telma), which flowed about everywhere in the spaces between the stones and hardened in the joints (harmonia), binding them to each other.

Page 25

54- Thus were these parts constructed; but let us proceed to the remaining portions of the church. The whole ceiling is overlaid with pure gold,b which adds glory to the beauty, yet the light reflected from the stones prevails, shining out in rivalry with the gold.

55- And there are two stoa-like colonnades (stoai), one on each side, not separated in any way from the structure of the church itself, but actually making the effect of its width greater, and reaching along its whole length, to the very end, while in height they are less than the interior of the building.

56- And they too have vaulted ceilings (orophê tholos) and decorations of gold. One of these two colonnaded stoas has been assigned to men worshippers, while the other is reserved for women engaged in the same exercise.

57- But they have nothing to distinguish them, nor do they differ from one another in any way, but their very equality serves to beautify the church, and their similarity to adorn it.

Page 27

58- But who could fittingly describe the galleries (hyperôa) of the women’s side (gynaikonitis), or enumerate the many colonnades and the colonnaded aisles (peristyloi aulai) by means of which the church is surrounded?

59- Or who could recount the beauty of the columns (kiones) and the stones with which the church is adorned? One might imagine that he had come upon a meadow with its flowers in full bloom.

60 -For he would surely marvel at the purple of some, the green tint of others, and at those on which the crimson glows and those from which the white flashes, and again at those which Nature, like some painter, varies with the most contrasting colours.

61 -And whenever anyone enters this church to pray, he understands at once that it is not by any human power or skill, but by the influence of God, that this work has been so finely turned. And so his mind is lifted up toward God and exalted, feeling that He cannot be far away, but must especially love to dwell in this place which He has chosen.

62 -And this does not happen only to one who sees the church for the first time, but the same experience comes to him on each successive occasion, as though the sight were new each time.

63 -Of this spectacle no one has ever had a surfeit, but when present in the church men rejoice in what they see, and when they leave it they take proud delight in conversing about it.

64- Furthermore, concerning the treasures of this church — the vessels of gold and silver and the works in precious stones, which the Emperor Justinian has dedicated here — it is impossible to give a precise account of them all. But I shall allow my readers to form a judgment by a single example.

Page 29

65- That part of the shrine which is especially sacred, where only priests may enter, which they call the Inner Sanctuary (thysiastêrion), is embellished with forty thousand pounds’ weight of silver.

66-  So the church of Constantinople (which men are accustomed to call the Great Church), speaking concisely and merely running over the details with the finger-tips, as it were, and mentioning with a fleeting word only the most notable features, was constructed in such a manner by the Emperor Justinian.

67- But it was not with money alone that the Emperor built it, but also with labour of the mind and with the other powers of the soul, as I shall straightway shew.

68- One of the arches which I just now mentioned (lôri the master-builders call them), the one which stands toward the east, had already been built up from either side, but it had not yet been wholly completed in the middle, and was still waiting.

69- And the piers (pessoi), above which the structure was being built, unable to carry the mass which bore down upon them, somehow or other suddenly began to crack, and they seemed on the point of collapsing.

70 -So Anthemius and Isidorus, terrified at what had happened, carried the matter to the Emperor, having come to have no hope in their technical skill.

71 -And straightway the Emperor, impelled by I know not what, but I suppose by God (for he is not himself a master-builder), commanded them to carry the curve of this arch to its final completion. “For when it rests upon itself,” he said, “it will no longer need the props (pessoi) beneath it.”

Page 31

72- And if this story were without witness, I am well aware that it would have seemed a piece of flattery and altogether incredible; but since there are available many witnesses of what then took place, we need not hesitate to proceed to the remainder of the story.

73 -So the artisans carried out his instructions, and the whole arch then hung secure, sealing by experiment the truth of his idea.

74- Thus, then, was this arch completed; but in the process of building the other arches, indeed, those namely which are turned toward the south and the north, the following chanced to take place.

75- The so‑called lôri had been raised up, carrying the masonry of the church, but everything underneath was labouring under their load, making the columns (kiones) which stood there throw off tiny flakes, as if they had been planed.

76- So once more the master-builders were dismayed at what had happened and reported their problem to the Emperor.

77- And again the Emperor met the situation with a remedy, as follows. He ordered them immediately to remove the upper parts (akra) of the masonry which were strained, that is, the portions which came into contact with the arches, and to put them back much later, as soon as the dampness of the masonry should abate enough to bear them.

Page 33

78- These instructions they carried out, and thereafter the structure stood secure. And the Emperor, in this way, enjoys a kind of testimonial from the work.
Kaynak: http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/