Michael the Archangel at Lakonia
The single-nave, externally simple, church of Michael the Archangel, in the south outskirts of the settlement of Lakonia, has in its interior one of the best preserved wall painting compositions of the 15th century in Crete, painted in 1431/32. The iconographic programme in the main church includes only five scenes from the Gospel cycle as well as four scenes in a compact cycle of Michael the Archangel: the prophet Nathan censures David, the Archangels announce the forgiveness of his sins to David, the Miracle at Chonais, and the Gathering of the Bodiless Powers. Particular reference should be made to the two panels with gold background on the west wall of the church with the depictions of the four donors of the church. Michael and Nicholas Mochiotes dressed in the garments of the period are depicted on the west panel, the younger of the two holding a bow and quiver full of arrows, while on the south panel is John Mochiotes with his wife holding a simulacrum of the church.
