Monastery of Phaineromene, on the island of Salamis - Illustration from Edward Dodwell's Views of Greece

Phaineromene Monastery, Salamis Island is an illustration from Edward Dodwell's collection Views in Greece from Drawings published in 1821.

Phaineromene Monastery on the island of Salamis is a haven of peace and spirituality. Its white walls and red-tiled roofs stand out against the surrounding greenery, providing a tranquil refuge for monks and a place of meditation for visitors seeking serenity.

The literal transcription of the notice accompanying this plate is reproduced below:

This monastery was founded before the fall of the Eastern Empire. It is located on the north coast of the island of Salamis, a few hundred paces from the Gulf of Eleusis or Megara, on the other side of which rises the mountain whose two sharp peaks are called Kerata, or "the Horns." This mountain continues its branches towards Eleusis, from which one can glimpse the mines, as well as the ramifications of Parnes which point in the distance. The hills to the right are part of the island of Salamis. The trees and shrubs which beautify the surroundings of the monastery are the umbrella pine, the mastic tree, the juniper and the myrtle.

The palladium, or sacred relic of this sanctuary, is a miraculous image of the Virgin, said to have been found perfectly preserved, at a great depth beneath the surface of the ground on which the monastery now stands. The interior of the church is dark and dimly lit, but is richly adorned with lamps and icons of saints whose heads are surrounded by large halos of silver and bronze. The convent was erected, to all appearances, on the ruins and site of a more ancient building: some vestiges of antiquity and some fragments of Doric columns are to be observed in the vicinity. A hill rising behind the monastery presents the crumbling remains of walls and towers of considerable thickness and high antiquity. From this spot, the eye wanders with delight over the classical shores of the Saronic Gulf; The spectator cannot contemplate with indifference the undulating lines of the Argolic mountains, Acrocorinth and its isthmus, and in a greater distance the resplendent snow-capped peaks of the Arcadian mountains.