This square is dominated by the Mitropolis (Cathedral), a modern basilica begun in 1840 and completed in 1855. The interior is over-decorated with indifferent paintings and marbles. Left of the entrance is the sarcophagus of the heroic Patriarch of Constantinople, Grigorios V, hanged by the Turks at the outbreak of the War of Independence in 1821. In marked contrast to the mediocrity of this huge, pretentious building is the small church beside it, the Little Mitropolis. This miniature masterpiece of simple grace was erected in the twelfth century on the site of a church which was built by the Byzantine Empress Irene, a native of Athens, in the eighth century. Although this enchanting little church is dedicated to Panaghia Gorgoepikoos (All Holy Virgin who quickly grants prayers), and to St. Eleutherios protector of women in childbirth, it is commonly known as the Little Mitropolis.
This church differs from all others in Athens in the material used in its construction. Instead of the characteristic masonry of square-cut stones with thin brick courses employed by Byzantine architects, it is built entirely of marble. Its beauty is enhanced by the usual treatment of the outer walls, into which parts of reliefs and other fragments of architectural detail, Classical, Byzantine and Frankish, have been built. The most interesting of these relics are to be seen on the west facade (the main entrance). Here, in the center of the lintel, two lions, one on either side of a cross, face each other. Above the lintel, on both sides of the entrance, are Byzantine reliefs of allegorical animals, at the far left is a relief- probably Frankish - of a young woman standing by the side of a Cross of Lorraine. Above the entrance is a long plaque in relief, flanked by two Corinthian capitals, all three from a monument of the fourth century BC. This plaque is the most remarkable decoration of the church and depicts a liturgical, or festal calendar, showing the twelve months and the five seasons of the Attic year. The Athenians observed a lunar year, which began with the first new moon of the summer solstice. The months are represented either by the conventional signs of the Zodiac or by human or animal personifications of them; the seasons by symbolical figures. The scenes illustrate the principal activities of each month and season and the religious festivals associated with them.
The calendar reads from left to right and begins with scenes from the festival of the Great Urban Dionysia in the month of Elaphebolion (March-April): a priest offers a libation to the god, while attendants lead animals destined for sacrifice; a ram represents the sign of Aries; Munychion (April-May): Artemis, as goddess of the chase, is shown holding a deer by the horns (festival of Elaphebolia); the fore and hind legs of a bull (the body is obscured by a Byzantine cross) stand for the Zodiacal sign of Taurus. The month of Thargelion (May-June, the first month of Summer) is represented by a torchbearer and the figure of Apollo, (festival of the Thargelia held in honor of this god), while the representations of the Dioscuri, Castor and Pollux, stand for the sign of Gemini. Skirophorion (June July) is represented by a naked athlete, (symbolizing summer); the sacrifice of a plough-ox (festival of Diipoleia, in honor of Zeus), and the sign of Cancer. Hekatombaion (July-August), shows representative figures of men and women participants in the procession of the Great Panathenaea; the prow of a ship, moving on wheels, on the mast of which Athena's peplos was hoisted as a sail. This is also obscured by the addition of a second Byzantine cross; the Lion and Sirius stand for the sign of Leo. Metageitnion, is represented by a winged woman bearing a basket of fruit; Hercules picking the Golden Apples of the Hesperides, his consort Hebe, goddess of eternal youth, while Persephone holding an ear of corn in her left hand represents the sign of Virgo. Boedromion (September-October), is represented by the figure of Apollo Boedromios (festival of the Boedromia), a horseman, and the claws i.e. of the Scorpion. The early Greek astronomers so designated the Zodiacal sign of the Balance, (Latin, Libra).
The month of Pyanepsion (October-November, the first month of Autumn), during which the harvest festival of Pyanepsia, in honor of the departing god of Summer, Apollo, was held, is illustrated by the figures of a patrician; a boy (symbolizing Autumn) carrying a branch of olive and small vessels full of honey, wine and oil; a man holding a cluster of grapes (symbolical of the vintage); a canephore (one of the nobly-born maidens who carried baskets containing sacrificial offerings on their heads during the great festivals) and the Zodiacal sign of Scorpio. Maimakterion (November-December, the first month of the Winter), during which the Lesser, or rustic, Dionysia was celebrated with the tasting of the new wine, shows actors performing at this feast, and the figures of a man sowing and another ploughing; a centaur symbolizes the sign of Sagittarius. The month of Poseidon (December-January), shows an old man wrapped in a heavy mantle (symbolizing Winter), a figure symbolic of gymnastics, judges presiding over a cockfight, a he-goat standing for the sign of Capricorn; and finally the month of Gamelion, during which the Lenea, the festival of the Vats was celebrated, and the favorite month for weddings, shows a bridegroom crowned with a wedding garland, a boy on a ram (symbolizing marriage), and a nymph.
From the plaque, which is in an excellent state of preservation, are only missing the six figures of Anthesterion (February-March, the first month of Spring), including its corresponding Zodiacal sign of Pisces; the first figure personifying Elaphebolion and Aquarius, the Zodiacal sign for Gamelion. North side (facing the cathedral): a short frieze of acanthus leaves above the doorway; Classical stelai with female figures; other stelai decorated with vases superimposed on shields; and an uncommon stele of a bearded man standing between two Latin crosses. The South side presents fragments of triglyphs and metopes from Classical friezes; above the doorway crossed torches; a deco rated wheel; a larger torch; a lamp, a bucranium (a sculptured ox skull, a common motif found in the metopes of Doric frieze); a heraldic eagle, and geometrical designs. To the east, classical stelai with female figures, under the gable; reliefs of the Cross of Lorraine, an eagle, a lion killing a stag, an armorial shield; geometrical designs, and various inscriptions. Apart from the finely sculptured door-frame separating the narthex from the sanctuary, the interior is in a deplorable state: the frescoes are either peeling, or age and neglect have rendered them almost invisible.
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