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Abdulmohsen Alreesh

Arc 231 History of Architecture

Steven Ehlbeck

Word count 1581

Hagia Sophia

The architects of Hagia Sophia attempted to create an supreme house of god, one that no other building

could be compared to – a building which implied the presence of god through both the clever handling of light,

and the masking of structural elements to imply that the Hagia Sophia was held up by god himself. The structure

of the Hagia Sophia is an evolved version of a basilica church layout, vividly shifting the space from rectilinear

to circular and creating a spatial experience rivaling the Pantheon. Elaborate decorations and diffused light give

the interior of the divine house the sense of being lit from within by the presence of god himself. These designs

serve a dual purpose of submerging the structural aspects of the church: architectural functionality is concealed

by ornamentation, resulting in a form both delicate and sturdy and held up by the will of god alone. The

combination of a rectilinear with a centralized design is handled by making the nave inaccessible to all but the

holiest visitors; this serves the double purpose of reconciling two very different building styles, and reinforcing

the aura of spiritual mystery surrounding the cathedral. In this way, the Hagia Sophia is both an extraordinary

combination of distinct church traditions and a classic example of the early Christian approach to worship.

The architectural tradition of the Hagia Sophia rests on two primary building philosophies. The first is

the style of a rectilinear basilica. The layout of a traditional basilica emphasized the processional characteristic

of a church, as a longitudinal design resulted in a linear flow from narthex, to nave, and to apse, concluding at

the altar. The forward placement of the atrium was perfect as a gathering place for crowds and the transition

from the outside world to the sacred interior before the service, and in particular for accommodating the un-

baptized, who were not permitted to enter. Mosaics were often used for decoration, depicting stories, saints, and

Christian teachings. As church design advanced, both longitudinally based and centralized churches embraced

dome construction as a way of representing the heavenly sphere and complimenting the earthly realm of ground
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and walls. In fact, the Hagia Sophia was not the first church to integrate a longitudinal design with a dome; the

St. Irene Church is an earlier form of this design, which counters the thrust of its dome with large rectangular

piers.

The Hagia Sophia was, however, questionably the first church to achieve complete success in combining

the features of earlier basilicas with a domed design, linking longitudinal movement, centralized space, and

heavenly domes to create an impressive processional space that was both highly functional and visually

appealing. It was more or less a basilica with a central dome flanked by semi domes on both the front and back

facades. As in the St. Irene church, rectangular piers countered the dome’s thrust. Most strikingly, the difficult

marriage of a linear, processional space with the centralization implied by a heavenly dome was finally

perfected. This union was accomplished partly by the influence of the double shell concept from the Domus

Aurea in Rome. This system effectively splits the church space into two separate parts, the surrounding aisles

and galleries that could be accessed by common people, and the central area under the great dome where only

the priests and emperor were allowed. Therefore, the undeniable peak of the spatial experience was largely

denied to common people, and became almost the select domain of the emperor and the church leaders. This

division improved the mystical nature of the church, and linked the clergy and the emperor more closely with the

divine.

As a Christian church, the Hagia Sophia needed to be able to accommodate traditional forms of Christian

worship; the longitudinal form was well suited to the purpose, but the centralized dome, was treated in a

different way than in other domed structures such as the Pantheon. The collective nature of early Christian

worship required a space able to hold large crowds, and the processional nature of the worship necessitated a

longitudinal, linear design. The basilica design satisfied both of these requirements. At the same time, the

double shell structure separates the space into public and private areas. This is in contrast to the Pantheon,

which is centralized but lacks the double shell; this prevents the splitting of space that occurs in the Hagia

Sophia. Such a singular space is clearly not ideal for the Christian worship, as it lacks the necessary sense of
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procession. By preventing common people from accessing the central area, the longitudinal aspect is preserved

in a structure whose most striking characteristic from the outside is a central dome.

The manner in which the Hagia Sophia linked the square structure of a basilica with the circular form of

a central dome is also outstanding. This was accomplished by resting the dome on pendentives, shifting the

square form of the basilica into a circle. This again contrasts with the Pantheon, which utilized only a circular

shape. Additionally, the Hagia Sophia featured numerous domes, which streamlined the connection between a

curved space and the rectilinear basilica layout.

Another dramatic shift in the representation of a dome when comparing the Hagia Sophia to the

Pantheon was in how structural necessities were highlighted or downplayed. In the Pantheon, the dome was held

in place with thick walls that were not hidden, revealing the structural system supporting the dome. The Hagia

Sophia attempted to mask the architectural necessities of its massive dome, instead preferring to create the look

that the dome was held aloft by the hand of god himself. The cathedral’s dome applied powerful forces, and

immense piers were required to support its weight. Despite these massive structural necessities the interior of

the Hagia Sophia however attains a feeling of lightness. The Pantheon dome also has an occulos letting in light

from above – this also serves as a mark of respect to the deities who dwell in the heavenly sky. The Hagia

Sophia takes a different approach, opting to instead filter in light through many windows. The light becomes

much more dispersed with the external light source hidden from the visitor. This reinforces the perception that

luminosity is created within the building itself, symbolizing the presence of god. The diffused light is used to

amplify the decorations within the Hagia Sophia. Reflective marble surfaces thrive, reflecting the abundant light

and mirroring descriptions of the holy city of Jerusalem, which is said to not need the sun, or the moon for the

glory of god is its light. The Hagia Sophia attempts to replicate this feeling by splitting the connection between

illumination and the sun or moon. Another function of the reflective surfaces is to render structural masses as

surfaces, lessening the weight of the building like a membrane.

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Most if not all ancient accounts of the Hagia Sophia give the impression of a viewer left almost

overwhelmed by the sheer scale of the temple. It is almost as though the language lacks the capability to

describe how beautiful the temple was, and so metaphors are regularly used. Procopius Justinian’s court

historian, for example, says of the four central piers that, “you could suppose them to be precipitous mountain

peaks.” The dome seems to be “suspended from heaven by that golden chain.” Procopius’ contemporary Paulus

Silentiarius compares the manner in which the central dome towers over the rest of the church to a peacock

raising his feathers. The overall perception is that the Hagia Sophia is simply too stunning to not have been

divinely inspired. His goal in description is not to leave readers impressed at the skill and craftsmanship that

went into the cathedral, but instead to marvel at the undeniable hand of God in its construction and decoration.

Procopius claims that visitors to the Hagia Sophia are so awestruck by its beauty that they cannot focus

on a single detail for long. Every aspect of the cathedral is a work of art, and the vastness of the religious

spectacle leaves a visitor unable to figure out its construction; they instead always leave the cathedral amazed by

the mystifying spectacle they just experienced. This result was partly by design. Only an exceptionally

privileged few were allowed to enter the nave of the temple, while most visitors were confined to the outer shell.

This restriction enhanced the mystery of the inner areas, and left the common visitor with an incomplete

knowledge of the cathedral that served to heighten the sense of a divine presence.

In some ways the planners and architects of the Hagia Sophia stretched their building techniques to an

amazing extent when they designed and built the Hagia Sophia. Certainly the cathedral was a phenomenal

accomplishment, but it proved structurally unstable. By the time the church was constructed, the art of casting

concrete had been lost, and the builders were forced to rely on weaker bricks and mortar. This weakness

ultimately resulted in multiple collapses during the ensuing centuries. Nevertheless, the Hagia Sophia still

stands today as proof to the architectural achievements of Byzantine society. It remains as a marvelous example

of early Christian worship and as the successful merging of very different building styles.
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References

- Cyril A. Mango, The Art of the Byzantine Empire, 312–1453: Sources and Documents, Englewood Cliffs,

1972. (http://www.learn.columbia.edu/ma/htm/or/ma_or_gloss_proko.htm)

- Michael Fazio, Marian Moffett, and Lawrence Wodehouse. 2nd Edition. 2008. A World History of Architecture.

Steve C. USA