Church of the Virgin, Eastern Orthodox church in Neo Ireo, Greece.
The Church of the Virgin is a Byzantine structure in Neo Ireo decorated with stone crosses on its northern, western, and southern walls, while the eastern facade features marble cladding. Its interior follows a cross-shaped layout with a dome supported by four columns.
The present church was built in the first quarter of the 12th century, during the late Komnenian period, on the site of an earlier church indicated by a 9th- or 10th-century marble inscription fragment. Restored probably at the start of the Second Venetian period (1686–1715), it had doors walled up, its dome and roof renewed, and a bell tower added over the west entrance. It was first documented as Agia Panagia in 1696 and declared a protected monument on 19 April 1921.
The church displays Eastern Orthodox traditions through its cross-shaped layout and central dome resting on four columns, a design common in Middle Byzantine times. Visitors walking through the interior experience the spatial arrangement that made this design meaningful in Orthodox worship practice.
The church stands on the central square of Neo Ireo, in the Argos-Mykines Municipality. It is a listed archaeological monument, so keep to the paths and do not touch the marble crosses or the wall inscriptions. The building is oriented east, with the main entrance and bell tower on the west side.
The church stands on an ancient three-stepped marble platform measuring 15.30 by 8.80 metres, reused from an earlier structure. A sundial is scratched into a marble block on the south wall, and two inscriptions record solar eclipses seen on 30 March 1661 and 13 June 1760.
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