Hagia Sophia paradox

1. Paradox a statement or proposition that seems self-contradictory or absurd but in reality expresses a possible truth.

2. Hagia Sophia is a paradox… square and round It was a church and a mosque Represents Rome and Jerusalem

4. Why Square? Basilica - a large and important church that has been given special ceremonial rites by the Pope

5. Why Round? Idea of the dome represents Rome Circles are infinite… Maybe it is a halo…

8. Church… In 532… afew days after the destruction of the second basilica, Emperor Justinian I built Hagia Sophia, larger and more majestic than its predecessors. Withstood earthquakes and stood for 1000 years

10. Hagia Sophia

11. Valuable items

12. Refuge place

14. Now it’s a museum…

15. How does this mosaic symbolize the Byzantine Empire?