Introduction:
Your wonderfull private tour to Parnassus will begin with an English
speaking driver, tailored to your needs, along the highway to the
mountain.
You will have short stops, during the route, on points of interest and
any time you would love to, so you can enjoy the panoramic view and
capture photos.
After two and half hours, you shoud arrive at Delph, which is one of
the best known archeological sites in Greece, passing through Castalia
Spring.
On our way back, you may have a stop for dinner, so you can taste the
drational flavors and the local food at the picturesque mountain
village of Arachova.
**The duration of the tour will be 8-9 hours.**
**Hosios Loukas Optional Tour**
Information about Hosios Loukas
Hosios Loukas
The Monastery of Hosios Loukas is built at the foot of Mount Parnassos,
at west slopes of Mount Helicon,
under the acropolis of the ancient Steiris,
to which it owns the name Hosios Loukas the Steiriotis.
On your way up to the slopes of Mount Parnassos and the archaeological site of Delphi,
about 13 km before the town of Arachova,
leave the main road and turn towards the village of Distomï and Styri.
Keep driving for about 9 km and the road,
will bring you to the monastery of Hosios Loukas.
Monastery of Hosios Loukas
Byzantine Masterpieces at the foot of Mountain Parnassos.
On your way up to the slopes of Mt. Parnassos and the archaeological site of Delphi,
about 13 km before the town of Arahova,
leave the main road and turn towards the village of Distomï and Styri.
Keep driving for about 9 km and the road,
will bring you to one of the most impressive monuments in the Mediterranean Sea,
the monastery of Ossios Loukas,
situated in a picturesque valley teemed with olive trees.
Byzantine monasteries are built in sites characterized by amazing natural beauty,
always in harmony with the surrounding landscape, following the example of the ancient temples.
View from Hosios Loukas
In a landscape untouched by time, you will discover two magnificent Byzantine churches
decorated with frescoes and mosaics,
with their characteristic golden background (10-11th century AD).
The Byzantine abundance of the monastery still functioning today
was recently brought to light due to a successful restoration project.
The monastery was founded around the middle of the 10th century AD
by the monk Loukas from Styri.
His relics are exhibited in the Katholicon (main church of the monastery).
They were stolen by the Crusaders during the 13th AD
and kept in the Vatican for centuries.
The two churches of the monastic complex are built next to each other,
and there is access from one to the other through a passage.
The most ancient one is the church of the Virgin Mary (middle of the 10th century AD),
while the largest one was built a little later (early 11th century AD),
and it is dedicated to the founder.
The church of Virgin Mary is clearly one of the masterpieces
of Byzantine architecture.
It is the best example of the “cloisonne” style of masonry,
according to which the ashlar blocks of stone are surrounded by bricks,
forming lines of decorative motifs.
It became the prototype for all the classical Byzantine churches of southern Greece.
If the church of the Virgin Mary impresses us with its external appearance,
the Katholicon of the monastery surprises us with the multicoloured marble revetments,
while the ceilings are illuminated by the mosaicswith the golden background (11th century AD).
The scenes are religious, chosen and designed according to the strict rules
followed by the artists until nowadays. Byzantine painting doesn’t mean, though,
strictness and lack of movement. The Byzantine artists never ceased to be inspired by ancient art,
and its harmonious proportions and elegance.
Byzantine art is the only form of European art that began with the end of antiquity
and reached its conclusion with the Renaissance,
connecting the ancient world with the recent history.
Church of Hosios Loukas
Before you leave the monastery don’t forget to visit the crypt, located under the Katholicon.
There are no mosaics here but paintings and their subjects are similar,
though the style is different, more sentimentally charged and more expressive,
clearly proving the wealth and variety of Byzantine art.
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This programm can be combined with the previous one as an extension to it.
