You can navigate this site by using the tabs at the top navigation bar, which are:
About this site – Churches – Figures – Scenes
Home
This is a welcome page, which provides information on the history of the project; a link to Acknowledgments; a link to this document (User Guide); and a link to the Terms and Condition.
Acknowledgements
This is a page acknowledging the work of all colleagues who worked for the structure and launch of this database and with information regarding the permission holders of all the photographs it includes.
User Guide
You are here
Terms and Conditions
This is a page which outlines the terms and conditions for using this database
Churches
The Churches tab allows you to search the database via Prefecture – Location – Dedication.
Prefecture
Crete has four Prefectures. From West to East these are:
Chania, Rethymnon, Herakleion and Lassithi (see map of Crete).
The Prefectures in the Churches database are sorted alphabetically, not geographically.
When you click on a specific Prefecture, you get a list of all the Churches with Hell scenes within that specific Prefecture.
Location
Within each Prefecture, the Location is sorted alphabetically by default.
Clicking on the Location heading will sort the entire database alphabetically by Location (irrespective of Prefecture). If you wish to return to the default view click the Prefecture heading.
Clicking on a specific Location, presents a list of all the Churches with Hell scenes within that specific Location, which are sorted alphabetically by Dedication.
Village Location
Village Location heading is provided for geographical accuracy, since it is sometimes necessary to specify the exact location of the church within a village.
Clicking on Village Location heading will group all churches with Village Location together at the bottom of the database. If you wish to return to the default view click the Location heading and then the Prefecture heading.
Dedication
Dedication identifies the patron saint or feast the church is dedicated to. When there is more than one church in a Location, they are sorted alphabetically by Dedication as a default.
Clicking on Dedication heading will sort the entire database alphabetically by Dedication. If you wish to return to the default view, click the Location heading and then the Prefecture heading.
Individual church view
Clicking on a specific Dedication, will present a page that lists all the images available for this church. They are organised in the following order:
| Church view | This contains general exterior and interior images of the church you have selected |
| Paintings in the Narthex*
*Only present if church has a narthex. |
This contains all images of Hell scenes present in the narthex of the church you have selected, arranged by Register (see below) |
| Paintings in the Nave | This contains all images of Hell scenes present in the nave of the church you have selected, arranged by Register (see below) |
| Sanctuary | Please note that Hell scenes are never located within the sanctuary of an Orthodox church |
| Register | The number of registers varies depending on how many are present in the church you have selected. The 1st register is always at the top; the highest number always at the bottom |
Individual image view
Each Register includes a list of all the images of Hell scenes present in that specific register.
If a Hell scene contains more than one sinner, the first link always shows the overview of the complete scene. For research purposes, we have created images of individual sinners within each Hell scene, which follow immediately after the overview. They are presented based on their placement in the original scene from left to right. If there is more than one row of sinners, this is considered a different register [see, for example, (Prefecture) Chania – (Location) Achladiakes – (Dedication) Saint Zosimas].
Inscription
If a Hell scene includes a legible inscription [see for example, (Prefecture) Chania – (Location) Meskla – (Dedication) Christ the Saviour – 3rd Register – Compartment of the Damned in Hell: The Sleepless Worm], the following transcriptions are provided:
- Inscription: The original Greek spelling as it appears in the inscription
- Greek: The grammatically correct Greek spelling
- Phonetic Greek: The phonetic Greek spelling
Please note that the Greek-language materials are not searchable. You can only search via their English translations.
Paintings
Paintings heading indicates the number of images of Hell scenes within each church.
Clicking on the Paintings heading will sort the entire database numerically based on the number of images of Hell scenes within each church. If you wish to return to the default view, click the Dedication heading, then the Location heading and then the Prefecture heading.
Search
Use the Search box to perform a free text search of the Churches view only. You cannot search the entire database from this particular view (to search Figures and/or Scenes, see below).
Figures
please note:
- the grouping of the figures reflects the surviving Greek inscriptions that accompany them
- when unclear, the gender of a sinner (i.e. male, female) is not indicated
Figure
Figure heading contains an alphabetical list of individual sinners found in Hell scenes across Prefecture, Location and Dedication.
Paintings
Paintings heading indicates the number of images of each category of sinners currently present in the database.
Search
Use the Search box to perform a free text search of the Figures view only. You cannot search the entire database from this particular view (to search Churches see above; to search Scenes see below).
Scenes
Please note:
- the grouping of the scenes reflects the surviving Greek inscriptions that accompany them
Scene
Scene heading contains an alphabetical list of Hell scenes across Prefecture, Location and Dedication.
Paintings
Paintings heading indicates the number of images of each category of Hell scenes currently present in the database.
Search
Use the Search box to perform a free text search of the Scenes view only. You cannot search the entire database from this particular view (to search Churches and/or Figures, see above).
