Byzantine Cistern - Parthenonos 45

Not a Christian but i liked it..

Great historic things to see

Another example of Ancient Greek engineering.

Cistern

Not quite sure what all this was. Not much information. Some nice stone inscriptions though.

Not nearly as interesting as the Acropolis, but nice to see the inscriptions on the stone fragments that you don't generally see elsewhere on the grounds.

The stone inscriptions are nice and worth while to see when you pass by on your way to more famous monuments and temples nearby in the Acropolis area.

The Byzantine Empire in the Byzantine period (ca. 330–1204 AD) and the Eastern Roman Empire are names used to describe the Roman Empire during the Middle Ages, with the capital in Constantinople (Istanbul). During the thousand-year existence of the empire, its influence spread widely into North Africa and the Near East. After the decline of the Roman Empire, water supply systems experienced fundamental changes. Medieval cities in Western Europe, as well as castles and monasteries, had their own wells, fountains or cisterns. On the other hand, the eastern part of the empire retained for a few centuries the relevant Roman construction tradition, implemented mostly on the watering system of Constantinople and other major centers of the eastern Mediterranean. That tradition slowly diminished over the centuries, but some of the techniques that survived were incorporated into the Ottoman building practices, and were improved by the implementation of pointed arches and other innovations of that era. On the other hand, the more advanced technology of Western Europe, during the late Middle Ages, contributed to the cistern technology, incorporating knowledge of the Gothic arch dome construction. The surviving relevant Roman tradition was applied to the water system of Constantinople. The system included aqueducts that supplied water to covered cisterns, but also open air cisterns that were supplied by rainwater, such as Xerokipion (“dry garden”) and the Aetius cistern. In Constantinople, at least 36 cisterns were constructed. (Research by Larry Mays, George P. Antoniou and Andreas N. Angelakis.)