Page:The age of Justinian and Theodora (Volume 2).djvu/186

 occupied the four pendentives. Angels at full length were depicted in suitable spaces, and the whole was bordered by intricate designs in variously-tinted mosaic. For the consecrated furniture of the church, the precious metals and gems were requisitioned at great cost. The iconostasis, fifty feet wide, which crossed the apse to shut off the Bema, was completely encased in silver. It stood by means of twelve pillars arranged in pairs, back to back, the intervening portions of the screen being encrusted with images of angels and apostles with the Virgin in the centre. The holy table was a mass of gold and precious stones, and was covered by a ciborium resting on four pillars, the whole being of silver. Silken curtains, richly embroidered with appropriate designs, hung between the pillars. Beneath the dome was placed an elaborate ambo of unusual dimensions, approached on the east and west by flights of steps. It was built of marble, elevated on pillars, and enclosed by a circle of short columns rising from the pavement. Countless lamps suspended by rods and chains from the roof illuminated the church at night.

After five and a half years of labour St. Sophia was opened at Christmas (537), and made the occasion of a great popu-*