Art: Millennium Regained

Glory be to God, who hath thought me worthy to accomplish so great a work; 1 have vanquished thee, O Solomon!

This was the proud thanksgiving uttered by Justinian the Great at the dedication of the church of St. Sophia ("Divine Wisdom") in Constantinople 14 centuries ago. Justinian had something to crow about; "compared with the formation of the vilest insect," as Historian Edward Gibbon pointed out, the church might be dull and insignificant, but the peak of its interior is one of the Highest in the world (180 feet) and as art, St....

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