Byzantine Greece

Under Byzantium churches were built with a dome over a square or cross-shaped space, lined inside with mosaics and frescoes. They are small compared with the cathedrals of the West but rich in images.

The monastery church of Hosios Loukas in Boeotia, from the early 11th century, has a large dome over a square space and mosaics on a gold ground. Together with the monasteries of Daphni near Athens and Nea Moni on Chios it is a World Heritage Site.

In Thessaloniki churches stand from early Christian times to the 14th century, and on Mount Athos monastic life continues to this day.

• Hosios Loukas