Matala.
Aghios Ioannis.
CRETE
269
430. Koudoumas, Saint John, wall painting (Κουδουμάς, Άγιος Ιωάννης,
τοιχογραφία)
426.
Matala.
Matala continued to be a large harbour throughout the Early
Christian period. Beneath the Byzantine church of Panagia
is a three-aisled basilica with mosaic floors and remarkable
sculptures of the 6th c.
427.
Hodegetria Monastery.
The monastery is 7 km S of Sives. Its catholicon is a barrel-
vaulted, single-nave church with a few frescoes of the mid-
14th c. W of the monastery stands the aisleless chapel of Saint
Andrew with well-preserved frescoes, some of the finest ex-
amples of Palaeologan art that completely penetrated Cretan
painting, dating to the first decades of the 14th c. Saint John,
nearby, is a barrel-vaulted, single-nave church with Gothic
doorframes and windows, a dominant type in the late 14th-
early 15th c., and features wall-paintings of the same period.
428.
Lasaia.
A large, three-aisled Early Christian basilica has been detected.
429.
Lentas.
E of the Asclepieion, beneath the church of Saint John The-
ologos (15th c.), a large three-aisled basilica of the 5th-6th c.
has been excavated.
430.
Koudoumas.
Saint John’s is a small church fitted into a rocky cavity. On
the external façade of the wall, next to the entrance, two large
Archangels are portrayed – guards – as well as Saint John
Prodromos and Saint Peter in their respective places. In the
interior survive a few painted evangelical scenes and full-body
figures of saints. The scene of the Assumption of Ephrem the
Syrian – ahead of its time and rare in Crete – is of great icono-
graphical interest. According to an inscription it dates to 1360.
431.
Kapetaniana.
The barrel-vaulted, single-nave church of Panagia, with a wide
transept, features Gothic doorframe and windows of a type
representative of certain monuments of the late 14th c. Its
wall-painted decoration is one of the largest iconographical
ensembles in Crete, with extensive presentations of cycles of
Miracles, the Passion, and the life of the Theotokos. Due to
their high quality these paintings are considered typical works
of Constantinopolitan artists of the late 14th c. An inscription
mentions monk Gregory Kalamaras as the founder and the
date as 1401-2. In the barrel-vaulted, single-nave church of
Archangel Michael are numerous painted scenes of the evan-
gelical cycle and of the Archangel, dating to the early 15th c.
432.
Aghia Triada.
The church of Saint George has a few wall-paintings in the
conch. The figures of the officiating prelates are indicative of
the new Palaeologan art that had penetrated Cretan painting
since 1302, according to the dedicatory inscription, and are of
provincial style.
433.
Aghios Ioannis.
The church of Saint Paul is a circular Early Christian struc-
ture, possibly a baptistery. To its W section there has been a
later extension of a rectangular room covered by a dome with
a high cylindrical drum. According to tradition, the church is
associated with the activity of Saint Paul, who baptised the
first Christians in Crete. The decoration dates from 1303-4, ac-
cording to the founder’s inscription, and is a typical example
of surviving archaic work, with limited influences from Palae-
ologan art.
