“The naval wall engravings at Galataki Monastery on Euboea”
Approximately eight kilometers to the east of the picturesque port of Limne in Euboea, in the North Euboean Gulf and at the foot of mount Kanteli (known in antiquity as Makistos), one finds nestling in the landscape the Late Byzantine monastery of Saint Nicholas “Galatakes”. Its history is lost in the mists of time. According to the experts, it is built on the ruins of an ancient temple, or one of its outbuildings, where Poseidon, god of the seas, was worshipped. In addition to the great hagiographic murals of the 13th and 14th centuries found in the nave and vestibule of the monastery’s main church, the “hieron” (i.e. the Greek-Orthodox sanctum or chancel) contains a wealth of wall engravings showing boats driven by oar or sail, reminiscent of the age-old tradition of carving boats in places of worship. What did these carved vessels represent? Who carved them? To what end? Going back in time, the current film attempts to answer these questions.
- Direction: YIANNIS FAFOUTIS
- Production: YIANNIS FAFOUTIS
