The Ephorate of Antiquities of Eastern Attica announces the completion of the conservation and restoration works of the Holy Church of St. Athanasios of Aphidne (Kiourka). The opening ceremony will take place in the presence of His Eminence Bishop of Ilion, Acharnon and Petroupoleos, Mr. Athenagoras, on Thursday 16 May 2024 at 19.00.

The post-Byzantine church of St. Athanasios is a one-roomed dome, probably of the 17th century, with a three-sided external niche on the east. The dome on the outside is octagonal and has two openings, while on the inside the hemispherical dome rests directly on the spherical triangles (lobes), without the creation of a turret. The construction of the arches in the domes and arches is elaborate with carved stones alternating with bricks. In the built altarpiece, as the lintel of the Great Gate, a Byzantine thorax (10th-11th century) has been used in a second use.

View of the excavation on the north side of the monument

The church was originally inscribed with frescoes, of which the Extreme Humiliation in the front, part of the Hierarchs in the niche, floral decoration in the chancel and various fragments sporadically on the walls are preserved.

The monument is built on the site of an early Christian-Byzantine building that was partially excavated. On the north-western side of the temple, a space defined by walls on three sides (east, north and west) was uncovered which probably belonged to a larger building that continued further west. The walls are stone-built, with a horizontal band of bricks inserted, and retaining a partial protective mortar. The floor was paved with rectangular and square brick slabs. In addition, a circular tank was uncovered on the north side of the temple and building remains on the south.

The existence of a ruined cross-shaped inscribed Byzantine temple (12th-14th century), located a short distance north of the post-Byzantine monument, completes the long-standing cult use of the site from the early Christian to post-Byzantine times.