ABSTRACT
Architecture, perhaps more than any other discipline, grows directly from the life, beliefs and aspirations of the society its serves. This paper sets out to examine the general architectural form of the Athonite monastery, to identify common factors in the positioning of the principal elements of the monastery (but not to explore those individual elements in detail), and to examine any major developments that took place in the general layout of the complex. A broad survey such as this may perhaps demonstrate, at least in general terms, the interaction between life and architecture on Athos.1
