gates of his palace, as a symbol for
universal adoration.' A similar iconoclastic decoration and a portion of
the same verses from Psalm lxv. formed the original decoration of the
apse in S. Sophia, Salonica.

Thus also is the presence of capitals bearing the monograms of Justinian
and Theodora explained, seeing those sovereigns were intimately
connected with the church. And thus also is a reason suggested why those
monograms face the aisles instead of the nave; it was a position which
would be assigned to them by a later restorer of the church who was
obliged to use old material, and at the same time felt anxious to
conceal the fact as much as possible, lest the glory of the previous
benefactors of the church should eclipse his own renown.

[Illustration: PLATE XXIII.
(1) S. IRENE. CAPITAL IN SOUTH ARCADE, SEEN FROM THE SOUTH AISLE.
(2) S. IRENE. BASE OF COLUMN IN THE SOUTH AISLE, SEEN FROM THE SOUTH
AISLE.
_To face page 102._]

The conclusion that in the present building we have parts representing
different periods solves also the problem of the elliptical domical
vault. For it is difficult to imagine that a Byzantine architect with a
free hand would choose to build such a vault. But given the supports Mr.
George believes were left standing after the earthquake of 740, and
given also the narthex on the west, the architect's liberty was limited,
and he would be forced to cover the space thus bounded in the best way
the circumstances allowed.

How the western portion of the church was roofed in Justinian's time it
is impossible to say with certainty. There are buttress slips in the
south wall at gallery level and in the nave below, where the break
occurs in the arcade, that suggest the existence, in the church as
originally built by Justinian, of a narthex carrying a gallery. In that
case the length of the barrel vault over the western part of the church
would be about the length of the barrel vault over the eastern part, and
the church would then show in plan a regular cross with a dome at the
centre, two lateral doors, one of which is now built up, giving access
to the ends of the narthex.

The dates here assigned to the different parts of the building simplify
the problem of the tall drum below the main dome. That this could have
been built by Justinian, as has been supposed, is difficult of belief if
the large domes which are known to have been built by him are carefully
examined. It is true that t