The church of Agia Foteini is located approximately 12 kilometers from the city of Tripoli, on the provincial road to the village of Artemisio, at the foot of the homonymous Holy Mountain of the goddess Artemis, on the border with the Prefecture of Argolis.
From the National Highway it is easier to get there, turning right immediately after the toll, following the signs to Vytina.
The church stands out for its original architecture which is an amalgam of various styles, from traditional Greek architecture to Byzantine architecture, as well as its hagiographic decoration which refers to classical antiquity. The temple is built in such a way that it "marries" in a harmonious way Byzantine, ancient Greek and Egyptian elements of architecture. The precincts of the temple are decorated with constructions of ancient Greek inspiration and monumental nature. The architect's desire is clearly to combine traditional Greek influences with ancient Greek aesthetics, proposing a bridge-continuity between the old - the classical era represented here by ancient Mantineia - and the new, i.e. the modern Greek architectural tradition.
The architecture of the temple, like the classical conception and rendering of the forms of the hagiographies, caused and continues to cause conflicting criticisms, disputes and controversies. In the past, it even caused the intervention of the official Church, which demanded, and finally imposed, the partial replacement of the hagiographies.
In the forecourt of the church is an ancient building, the Heroon, in honor of all those who fought for the homeland and come from the area of the Municipality of Mantineia. West of the church is the Jacob Friar which symbolizes the meeting of Jesus with the Samaritan woman.
Probably the architect wanted to convey the message that "truth" is not the privilege of any religious trend. He may also have wanted to pass the message of reconciliation of religions.
Editor: Fotini Anastasopoulou