Fortification of Dafni Monastery

The Daphni Monastery, an 11th century Byzantine foundation, is enclosed by fortifications that date from a later, Frankish phase, which is why the site is classified as a castle-monastery. The monastery was established around 1080 on the site of a sanctuary of Apollo Daphnaios, desecrated by Visigoths in 395 AD, and its portico once reused Ionic columns from the ancient temple; only one remains, the rest having been removed by Lord Elgin. After the Crusaders sacked the church in 1204-1205, the Burgundian Duke of Athens, Otho de la Roche, granted it to Cistercian monks. These French monks rebuilt the exonarthex and raised the defensive wall, among other alterations, until the Ottomans expelled them in 1458 and returned the monastery to Orthodox hands. The cloister then fell into decline, was disbanded in 1821, and restoration only began in 1888. The square fortification measured 97 metres per side with walls 8 metres high, several square towers, and two gates, the western one being principal; three towers survive on the better-preserved northern side. A World Heritage Site since 1990, the monastery suffered severe damage in the 1999 Athens earthquake and remains closed for restoration.