Holy Church of Saint Kyriaki

About two minutes walk from the famous Central Municipal Athens Market is the Holy Church of Saint Kyriaki on Athinas Street. Almost as small as the Church of Hagia Dynamis, it is one of the smallest churches in Athens, measuring just 11m (36 ft) by 3.5m (11.5 ft)

It was built in the early 1600s to honour Agia Kyriaki, a Christian saint martyred under the Roman emperor Diocletian. Kiriaki was born on a Sunday (Kyriaki is the Greek word for Sunday). At an early age, Kyriaki dedicated her life to religion.

When she was 21, an Ottoman magistrate noticed her and decided she would make an ideal bride for his son. When the magistrate spoke to Kyriaki and her parents about the potential marriage, Kyriaki informed him that she had dedicated her life to Christ and rejected his proposal.

The magistrate did not take the rejection well and denounced the entire family to the Roman emperor Diocletian, who promptly ordered them arrested and tortured. After several extensive sessions of torture, Kyriaki was decapitated.

Local Christians took her remains and buried them, except for her skull, which was taken to the Sacred Monastery of the Archangels.

In 1830, following the victory in the Greek War of Independence, many buildings in the area were demolished in the name of modernization. But the Holy Church of Saint Kyriaki has successfully resisted all attempts to seize the valuable land it sits upon.

The church is open sporadically during the week, holds services most Sundays, and celebrates a feast in honour of the saint annually on the 7th of July.

The unique frescoes painted on the interior walls