The floor mosaics had patterns consisting of the cross, the circle, and the cube, with interlacing lines, the ornamental forms here as elsewhere being of a symbolical character. Reliquaries, shrines, and chalices in gold, and enamels, crosses, and other accessories of the altar, and sculptured ivories of a devotional character, of Byzantine workmanship, were made in great abundance. The larger churches especially, such as Santa Sophia, and St. Mark’s at Venice, possessed great quantities of these treasures. Sculpture was subordinate to painting as plastic art was not encouraged, because of the dislike to images shown by the early Christians, and so painting which led to the mosaic picture, which in its turn led to enamelling on metals, was favoured to a great extent by the Byzantine artists. Even flat bands with inscriptions and ornament were used instead of mouldings in relief. [Illustration: Fig. 339.—Byzantine Capital from Santa Sophia, showing the bossing-out of the ornament.] The city of Ravenna being situated between Constantinople and Rome possessed some remarkable buildings, that do not belong exactly to the Eastern or Western type of architecture; but on the other hand have strongly marked influences of each. [Illustration: Fig. 340.—St. Nicholas at Moscow.] The most important is that of the Church of St. Vitale; it is octagonal in plan, and is like Santa Sophia in having a principal central dome, half-domes, and vaulted aisles. It is resplendent in elaborate decoration and carvings. The cathedral of St. Mark’s at Venice is so well known from illustrations and photographs that it requires very little description. It was built in the years A.D. 977-1071, and its plans are said to have been drawn by Greek architects at Constantinople. Originally it possessed all the features of a genuine Byzantine edifice, but has been altered externally, and in some places internally in both Gothic and Renaissance periods. The Byzantine domes have had bulbous coverings placed over them in later times. St. Mark’s like Santa Sophia is square in plan, but has five principal domes, one in the centre, and one at each angle or end of the Greek cross plan. The aisles, with their series of low-level dome roofs, make the whole building nearly square. The surrounding countries of Bulgaria, Servia, Roumania, Armenia, and Russia, which embraced the Christian religion of the Greek Church, possess examples of Byzantine architecture. The Russian type in its later developments has distinctive characteristics of its own, particularly in the use and shape of the dome. Russian churches consist usually of a storied tower on which is placed five small domes of a bulbous shape; these are built on the tops of elongated drums. The bulbous tops of the domes grow into points, on which are placed tall crosses. These and other fantastic elements are derived from the timber edifices of Persia and other Asiatic countries (Fig. 340).