The Byzantine church of St. George was built towards the end of the 12th century, succeeding an Early Christian church, which in turn was founded over the ruins of an ancient temple. The interior of the church was once covered with beautiful wall paintings, still preserved to bear testimony to the great art that flourished in the 13th century Attica. Since at least the 18th century the church has been referred to as Omorfokklessia (“Beautiful Church”). The monument was thus singled out among the largely intact at that time medieval churches of Attica, apparently due to its
elegant architecture and decoration.
Omorfokklesia is a small church (10,52m x 11,02m) of the cross-in-square type, built with the elaborate cloisonne masonry. During the 13th or 14th century a chapel was added to the southern side of the main church, which by the end of the 15th century was further extended by the addition of a narthex to its western side. The plurality of the ridged roofs is a typical element of the Middle Byzantine churches in the southern Greek mainland. Also, the octagonal dome with marble pillars crowned by arches is typically found in the region of Attica and therefore this type is called Athenian dome.
