Joanne Sisco

Church Doors – Greek Style

All the gates and doors I am featuring in this week’s Thursday Doors were from two churches I found in Athens.

The first one had a charming little outbuilding at the rear of the property.  I have no idea what the purpose might have been for this building, but it was so cute with its little bell and impressive door.

Greece - Doors Part 2 -2

The main church had several doors – like this one.  It wasn’t until I downloaded the photos from my camera, that I noticed the Alpha and Omega signs on both the door and archway above it.

Greece - Doors Part 2

According to my limited research, Alpha and Omega are the first and last letters of the Greek alphabet, but there is also a reference in the Bible, under Revelations … “I am the Alpha and Omega, the Beginning and the End”.

Do I have a picture of the church itself?  Only indirectly … I did manage to get its profile when I captured a photo of its beautiful gates.

Greece - Doors Part 2 -3

The second church was found on the top of Mount Lycabettus –  the ‘hill’ opposite the Acropolis.

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Mount Lycabettus on the left, the Acropolis on the right

Climbing Mount Lycabettus was not a cake walk – in spite of the paved path.  We climbed until I started to despair that the top was just an illusion and we would in fact never reach it.

However, once we did, the view was amazing, and the small church had great doors.

Greece - Doors Part 2 -4 Mt Lycabettus

Inside the small chapel were more doors – although I have no idea what was behind them.  It felt very disrespectful to start exploring around.

Greece - Doors Part 2 -4 Mt Lycabettus2

 

These were the gates to the pathway for the long walk back down. Although descending is much easier from a cardio perspective, it can be – and was – just as challenging for the leg muscles.

I’m so happy to have been in Greece during off-season with no crowds and moderate temperatures. A climb like this would have been out of the question for me in the famous Mediterranean summer heat.

Greece - Doors Part 2 -4 Mt Lycabettus3

This has been Part 2 of Thursday Doors from Greece, and I give you fair warning that there will be more to come.

Thursday Doors is a weekly photo feature hosted by Norm Frampton at Norm 2.0.

94 comments

  2. I love seeing these structures from athens – the little building out back sure was built to be strudy and beautiful – maybe that was a special prayer place??

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      • yeah – and my first thought was maybe it was where someone went to decompress and get away from it all – but that did not make sense cos isn;t the monk life (or that life there ) already low key – oh I dunno – but it would be cool to find out

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  5. I’ve walked up some steep inclines. That journey is not enjoyable. I’m glad that you found a treasure at the top. Those doors are magnificent! The perspective of the church through the gate is awesome. You definitely nailed that view!! I’ve finally begun to understand the descent issues on the body after walking a dog downhill. 🙂 Thanks for sharing your finds Joanne. 🙂

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  8. As always some amazing doors Joanne but I am afraid what steals the show in this post is your photos of the Acropolis hill and Mount Mount Lycabettus. That is a fabulous perspective and definitely helps me feel your pain in the climb. Glad to hear the trek was worth the summit!

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  9. The church, gates, and doors are lovely! Your story makes them even more interesting.
    I found Dan’s comment about the sanctuary great, and I learned a new word!

    Looking forward to more images, and doors from Greece.

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  10. I love the photo of the gate and the side view of the church. This photographing of doors is fascinating – all the coming and going, hellos and goodbyes, beginnings and endings – very apt to focus on the Alpha and Omega. Greece. *sigh* and *sigh* again.

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    • Those profile type photos rarely work out for me, so I was quite thrilled with this one.
      I admit that Greece was never really on my radar as a destination, and I agreed to it somewhat reluctantly.
      … but now I’m smitten. I would definitely go back!

      Your comment about all the comings and goings, hellos and goodbyes, beginnings and endings struck a chord with me. I think of any kind of *portal* as having a magical quality to it – perhaps the product of an over-imaginative childhood. All those lives – dramas, comedies, romances – that have passed through before me.

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  14. Lovely doors Jo, love the double headed eagle and the Alpha and Omega symbols you captured. Always exciting to see something in a photo that is quite unexpected. I never climbed up Mount Lycabettus so thank you for doing the hard work to show us what is up on top 😀

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  16. Was in Athens for a week for a wedding anniversary, but at that time I didn’t have a digital camera yet – and your captures show it – love the atmosphere of Athens, and many beautiful things to see – othe Acropolis was disappointing though – it appears in all art history books, maybe that’s when I made more of it, than it would be in reality.
    That first door image is just stunning Joanna! Now I hear your story I’m glad I didn’t climb that mountain:)

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    • I didn’t have any expectations of Athens – truth is, I didn’t really want to go to Greece – so happily, I was delighted by everything I experienced.

      I hear what you’re saying about the Acropolis. There is something very magnetic about it because it’s sitting above the city. I have so many photos of it from different vantage points … but it’s not the most spectacular thing I saw.
      For me, that was Delphi.

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  17. So much beauty…sigh. Good call on going off-season. I can’t take the crowds or the heat anymore myself.
    I have a feeling if I ever get over to Greece I’m going to be very busy with my camera 😀

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    • SO. MANY. PHOTOS!!
      It was so easy to get bogged down because I’d want to photograph everything … but it just wasn’t possible.
      Gilles managed to keep me in check otherwise we wouldn’t have managed to do half the things we wanted.

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  18. What beautiful little churches. They appear a lot more approachable than many of the large cathedrals we’ve seen on our trips. I get a few of those heavy sighs from my husband too, but he’s also been known to point out a few doors for me to photograph (and suggest better angles).

    Thanks for the tip to visit Greece off-season. I definitely want to go, but would prefer cooler weather and fewer people.

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    • I’ve never travelled anywhere off-season before so I didn’t know what to expect. It was great and I recommend it.

      Weather in the off-season can always be a gamble, but we were very lucky. It was beautiful and the few occasions it rained, it didn’t interrupt our plans.

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    • I have a blog post planned about the little roadside ‘chapels’. I don’t recall ever seeing them in our travels through France or anywhere else, but they were EVERYWHERE in Greece.

      That little chapel in the first photo was much larger than any I saw roadside – and yet it appeared rather small to be mausoleum of sorts.
      It still puzzles me, but I do love it.

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  23. Joanne, your doors photos are outstanding! It brought me right back to 1975-80. I lived outside Athens in Kifissia for 5 years and made many trips into Athens & to the islands. Loved the country & the people. 🌷Christine

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    • Wow! What were you doing in Kifissia for 5 years? I’ve never lived anywhere but Canada, and I always wished I had lived abroad for a while after I graduated from university.

      It really is a beautiful country. It surprised and delighted me in so many ways ❤️

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  24. I’d always thought of the double-headed eagle as a Habsburg symbol, but after seeing that in your photo I was surprised to note how old it is. Is this particular door something to do with the Palaiologos family?

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    • I had a very similar thought to you. I thought it unusual to see a symbol I associate with Austria in Greece. I have no idea what it might relate to.
      … but I think you’re on to something. When I looked up the Palaiologos family, the symbol looks identical to the one of the door. Great call!! You know your Greek history!!

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  26. A wonderful post, Joanne. I am happy to read all about your trip, because we are still debating if we should go on next year 😉 Well, the more I see your photos, the more I want to go. Thanks.
    Have a wonderful day.

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  27. Gorgeous. All of them. So amazing to see such beauty, seemingly casually added to buildings. Just like it belongs there, so it is. There’s nothing like these doors and gates around me.

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  33. Having helped the priest in my wife’s (Russian) Orthodox church, hang the doors you were wondering about, behind them is the sanctuary. The wall of icons and religious paintings, (separating the nave from the sanctuary) is refereed to as an iconostasis.

    The churches, doors and gates are beautiful.

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  34. In the second photo that’s a beautiful entrance to the church. I like the confessional doors as well. Hope you discover what the purpose is of the little outbuilding. Cute indeed. —-Ginger—-

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    • Thanks 🙂
      I’m often in a hurry when I take photos of doors and don’t see all the details until afterwards. That’s the case with these 2nd doors. I was even more impressed with them afterwards when I could study the photo.

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