The earlier wall paintings of the south apse in the church of Hagios Panteleemon at Lakkomersina, Naxos. A neglected example of Early Byzantine art from the Aegean

In this article, I examine the first two wall painting layers of a neglected ap sidal decoration which are still visible in the church of Hagios Panteleemon at Lakkomersina, Naxos. Alpha monogrammatic (?) cross combined with a Chi in a medallion, painted in reddish brown on a thin off-white layer of plaster, survives from the first laye r. This rudimentary non-figural decoration was covered by a figural composition (second layer) depicting Christ in the middle, flanked by the titular saint of the church, St. Panteleemon and St. Isidore of Chios, a martyr widely venerated locally. I discuss the imagery of the apse as well as the stylistic features of the paintings in the context of Early Byzantine culture. I offer a new dating of the frescoes of the second layer to approximately the early seventh century. The reconstruction of this ap sidal composition contributes to the ongoing discussion regarding the themes employed in apses in the Early Byzantine period. Additionally, it sheds new light on the visual and devotional culture of Naxos and the wider Aegean, a subject that has not yet been systematically studied and assessed.