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On one hillside on the Greek island of Aegina in the Saronic Gulf, and overlooking the magnificent modern church dedicated to Agios (Saint) Nektarios, are the remains of approximately 30 Byzantine chapels which, in their heyday, numbered 366, built in the 9th century CE. The thousand-year-old frescoes adorning the chapel walls, masterpieces of Byzantine art, are, tragically, slowly succumbing to the ravages of time and exposure to the elements, including a spectacular green mold, seemingly disintegrating before one's very eyes. One is torn between the awe of seeing them in situ and wishing they could be preserved (i.e., removed to a museum, most likely in Athens). I am neither Orthodox nor Christian, but was deeply moved by my visit here.
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