What is unusual about Hagia Sophia?

It served as a center of religious, political, and artistic life for the Byzantine world and has provided us with many useful scholarly insights into the period. It was also an important site of Muslim worship after Sultan Mehmed II conquered Constantinople in 1453 and designated the structure a mosque.

What was St Sophia known for?

Saint Sophia of Rome is venerated as a Christian martyr. She is identified in hagiographical tradition with the figure of Sophia of Milan, the mother of Saints Faith, Hope and Charity, whose veneration is attested for the 6th century.

What kind of information do we get from hagiographies?

A hagiography (/ˌhæɡiˈɒɡrəfi/; from Ancient Greek ἅγιος, hagios ‘holy’, and -γραφία, -graphia ‘writing’) or vita (from Latin vita, life, which begins the title of most medieval biographies) is a biography of a saint or an ecclesiastical leader, as well as by extension, an adulatory and idealized biography of a founder.

Who is Sophia in religion?

According to The Apocryphon of John, one of the main texts of Gnosticism dating to circa 180, Sophia represented divine wisdom and the female spirit. In the Gnostic creation story Sophia, seeing God’s creations, desired to make something of her own.

What happened to Hagia Sophia?

HAGIA SOPHIA. Several earthquakes happened and gave damaged to Hagia Sophia. The earthquakes on August 553 and December 557 caused cracks in the main dome and the eastern half-dome, and with the earthquake on 7 May 558, the main dome collapsed completely while destroying the ambon , the altar and the ciborium over it.

Who originally built the Hagia Sophia?

The name Hagia Sophia means ‘holy wisdom’. It is a dome shaped monument that was originally built as a cathedral. It was built in the 6th century at Constantinople which is now Istanbul, Turkey. This was originally called Megale Ekklesia that means Great Church.

Why was the Hagia Sophia built?

Hagia Sophia is famous for the light that reflects everywhere in the interior of the nave, giving the dome the appearance of hovering above. This effect was achieved by inserting forty windows around the base of the original structure. Moreover, the insertion of the windows in the dome structure lowers its weight.

Where is the Hagia Sophia located?

Hagia Sophia. Hagia Sophia, also known as the “Church of Holy Wisdom”, is located in Istanbul, Turkey. The church now serves as a museum. The building was originally ordered by the first Christian Emperor, Constantine the Great, who is also known as the founder of Constantinople .