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This book explores the topography of Mount Athos, emphasizing the significance of silence and communal ritual in its understanding. Mount Athos, a mountainous peninsula in northern Greece, is a valuable case study of sacred topography, as it is one of the world's largest monastic communities and an important pilgrimage destination. Its phenomenological examination highlights the importance of embodiment in the experience of religious places. Combining interdisciplinary insights from architectural theory, philosophy, theology and anthropology with archival and ethnographic materials, the book brings a fresh contribution to both Athonite studies and scholarship on sacred space. By focusing on the interrelation between silence and communal ritual, it offers an alternative to the traditional art historical, objectifying approaches. It reintroduces the phenomenological understanding of place, investigating also how this is expressed through a number of narratives, such as travel literature, maps and diaries.
List of contents
Chapter 1: Exploring the Sacred.- Chapter 2: Mountain, Cave and Hermitage.- Chapter 3: Footpaths.- Chapter 4: Monastery and the Cell.- Chapter 5: The Main Church: Silent Presences and Communal Rituals.- Chapter 6: Silence and Ritual of Communal Meals.- Chapter 7: The Cemetery and the Grave.- Chapter 8: Athonite Embodied Topography.
About the author
Dr. Christos Antonios Kakalis is a Senior Lecturer in Architecture at the School of Architecture, Planning and Landscape, Newcastle University, UK.
