The Greek song tells of a lover’s despair, describing the doorstep of their beloved as at the same time the best and the worst place for them to be in this life. To convey the powerful feelings, the songwriter borrows the imagery of Paradise and Hell, the Christian account of the permanent post-mortem destinations of the human soul.2 This imagery, still an important part of Western cultural and religious baggage today, has fascinated people over the centuries since the emergence of the Christian faith. This publication explores a significant part of that fascination, pertaining to the Christian place of eternal punishment for the souls of sinners: Hell.

A single-nave church.

The exterior is plastered, with the carved-stone frame of the western entrance and the lateral windows left exposed. The church does not have an exterior roof cover. There is a single entrance in the centre of the west wall, with a framed pointed-arch niche in the exterior wall above the lintel. Modern windows have been inserted in the centre of the north and south walls.

The interior is covered by a pointed barrel vault with two transverse arches. Nave and sanctuary are separated by a modern wooden iconostasis.

The wall paintings have suffered extensive damage, but the surviving parts are clearly legible.

Angeliki Lymberopoulou identifies the basic characteristics of the imagery of Hell (the Place of Hell Formed by the River of Fire, Individual Sinners and Communal Punishments), but highlights the absence of iconographical standardisation. Since Hell signified divergence from the preaching of the Orthodox Church and highlighted to the faithful the consequences of sin, it was often formed according to the degree to which communities were affected by each transgression. As such, the professions depicted offer us valuable insight into the economic structure of the society and the role of women within a male-dominant society. To highlight the significance of repentance, individual sinners are often placed at eye level, creating a telling proximity between sinners and churchgoers, who are brutally reminded of the significance their own deeds could have in determining their final destination – Paradise or Hell. It can be argued that Cretan imagery of Hell acts as the Church’s call for repentance from the faithful, encouraging social disapproval of those who transgress against penal and ethical law.

The exterior has exposed stonework with reinforced masonry corners. It is covered by a tiled gable roof. Indentations suggest five glazed bowls were once inserted in a cross-shaped pattern at the top of the west wall. There is a single entrance in the centre of the west wall; it has an arched niche in the exterior wall above the lintel. A modern window has been inserted in the centre of the south wall.

The interior is covered by a pointed barrel vault with two transverse arches. Nave and sanctuary are separated by a modern wooden iconostasis.

A single-nave church; one of two churches dedicated to Saint Zosimas on Crete, and the only one to contain Hell scenes.1

The exterior is plastered and whitewashed and covered by a tiled gable roof. There is a single entrance in the centre of the west wall and a small modern window in the centre of the south wall.

The interior is covered by a barrel vault with one transverse arch. Nave and sanctuary are separated by the original stone templon.2 The north and south walls have two blind arches each.

Garipas (Kydonia), Saints George and John the Baptist, date unclear – too little survives (cat. no. 8)

Kakopetros (Papadiana, Selino), Archangel Michael, date unclear – due to the very poor state of preservation of the wall paintings (cat. no. 14)

Kandanos (Ellinika, Selino), Saint Catherine, date unclear – mostly destroyed (cat. no. 18)

Koufalotos (Selino), Holy Apostles, date unclear – surface of wall paintings largely covered in salt deposits (cat. no. 23)

Palaia Roumata (Kissamos), Saints Spyridon and John, destroyed (cat. no. 29)

Stratoi (Selino), Saint Marina, whitewashed (cat. no. 37)

Vouvas (Chora Sfakion), Christ the Saviour, largely whitewashed (cat. no. 45)