Церква св. Миколая Рагави Church of St. Nicholas Raghava

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The church of Agios Nikolaos Ragavas is located at the northern foot of the Acropolis within the late Roman wall, and was accessible from the north, probably via the ancient Tripodon Street. The temple dates from the mid-11th century and, due to its name, old Athenian tradition associates the monument with the aristocratic Ragavas family. This hypothesis is supported by the existence of an engraved inscription on a column of the dome referring to Leon Ragavas, probably the founder of the temple.
The temple belongs to the architectural type of simple four-column cruciform churches with a particularly elegant octagonal dome. The original appearance of the Byzantine church is read today in the dome of the "Athenian" type and the north side. On this facade, the masonry in the easternmost Byzantine part is faced with brick, includes massive vertical limestone in the lower part and presents a ceramic decoration with Kufic elements and simple or denticulated brick stripes that surround the arches of the openings. Among them, the largest is formed by a horseshoe and corresponds to the older entrance opening, which was then surrounded by a two-bladed brick barrier.
With the transformation into a parish church in the 19th century, the church underwent significant interventions and additions, including a large narthex to the west, which led to the demolition of the original narthex, the chapel of Agia Paraskeva on the south side and a massive buttress along the east side. The picturesque decoration of the church dates back to modern times. In the late 1970s (1979-1980), a series of works were carried out by the Archaeological Service to identify, restore and conserve the Byzantine phase of the church. This important Byzantine monument remains a landmark for the residents of Plaka, as it functions as the parish of the area.