The Orthodox Christian tradition, besides its great production of works of art, it did not sufficiently elaborate and incorporate the art of sculpture. On the one hand, this is attributed to the fact that sculpture was considered to be mostly adequate in expressing the secular life and material existence of man. On the other hand, it was closely associated with idolatry and pagan religions. In Mount Athos, as well as in all other monasteries of the Orthodox Christian world, sculpture is used mainly for decorative purposes on the relief surfaces of the architectural structures.
Sculpture in the athonite monasteries is closely linked to the building material, marble. It mainly concerns the capitals and the surfaces of the iconostasis. In the Holy Monastery of Iviron there are four ornate capitals, which date back to the 15th century and support the dome of the Katholikon. Four individual columns, placed along the walls, have also richly decorated capitals with reliefs depicting animal heads. They were created in the late 10th - early 11th century and are in perfect harmony with the floor and its marble slabs. There are also Corinthian columns on both sides of the entrance.
Columns
The columns of the old Katholikon of the Holy Monastery of Xenophontos date back to the early Byzantine era. Their decoration, with rich leaves, pericopes and the symbol of the cross, betrays their connection with the time of Justinian. The column capitals of the columns of the Katholikon of the Docheiariou Monastery also come from an earlier iconostasis and are decorated with rich sculptural details.
Iconostasis
The part that has the most intense presence of sculptural art within the Orthodox Christian church is the iconostasis. In Mount Athos there are numerous ornate iconostasis that adorn the Katholikos and the chapels of the monasteries. In the past, they were predominantly marble and about one meter high. Their marble slabs rested on fluted columns. The purpose of the iconostasis was to separate the nave from the sacred space of the Holy Altar. During the 5th century its form changed, while from the 10th century onwards it took on the form it still has today. Wood began to be used and the height of the iconostasis was increased in order to accommodate portable icons and representations that could not be included in the general iconographic program of the frescoes. In the 14th century there were introduced the representations of the figures that are still depicted today. Images of Jesus Christ and the Virgin Mary were placed to the right and the left of the royal gate. Right next to them, there were the images of John the Baptist and the saint to whom the church was dedicated. Finally, the Archangels Michael and Gabriel were represented.
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From the 17th century onwards, the form of iconostasis became more complex and its surface was divided into three parts. The lower one consisted of individual sections with limited decoration. The second was covered by a rich floral decoration. The third part contained representations of the twelve great feasts. The reliefs combined with the icons and columns separating the individual parts gave the altarpiece a special monumental appearance.
In Mount Athos, together with the new iconographic trends, the marble temples were replaced by wooden ones during the 15th century. These structures were rather small in size, which is why they were later replaced by new ones, which were again made from wood. The temples that exist today in the churches of Mount Athos date back to the 17th century.
Fragments of older marble structures have survived in the monasteries of the athonite state. The most remarkable iconostasis is undoubtedly the one of the Protaton, which was created together with the church and it dates back to the mid-10th century. Over the years it has been covered by a newer wooden iconostasis, without however being destroyed. Furthermore, the Katholikon of the Holy Monastery of Xenophontos has a great blue marble iconostasis, which was made in the 14th century.
The marble slabs of the older iconostasis were often used as building materials for the construction of the new monastic buildings. For example, the slabs of the old iconostasis of the Holy Monastery of Great Lavra, dating back to 964, decorate the baptistery of the monastery today. It is of great interest since it offers examples of the early Christian representations and the symbols used on them, such as the cross, lions, peacocks and geometric shapes. 
The marble slabs of the early iconostasis of the Katholikon of the Holy Monastery of Docheiariou are now mounted on the outer wall of the church. One of them depicts Alexander the Great sitting on a chariot. The icons date back to the 11th century. Parts of the first wooden iconostasis from the 15th century are still preserved in the Katholikon of the Holy Monastery of Saint Paul.
The iconostasis of the chapel of Saint Demetrios in the old Katholikon of the Holy Monastery of Xenophontos is typical of the 18th century. It is decorated with vines, flowers, flowering branches, etc. The iconostasis of the chapel of Saint John the Baptist in the Holy Monastery of Iviron, which was created in 1711, has a similar decoration. Among other things, there is depicted an inscription held by two angels.
During the 18th century, the construction of the temples became even more impressive, as it was influenced by the European Baroque. In the iconostasis of the Katholikon of the Holy Monastery of Grigoriou, a relief arch is formed at the top above each icon. The height of the third zone has also been increased, forcing the addition of new columns. The iconostasis of the Holy Monastery of Dionysiou, made in the early 19th century, is one of the most elegant examples of sculptural art in Mount Athos. The icon of full-faced angels is preserved there.
The iconostasis of the Katholikos of the Holy Monasteries of Stavronikita, Vatopaidi, Karakallou, Philotheou, Xeropotamou, Zografou, Koutloumousiou and Esfigmenou date from the same period.
Among the other relief works of Mount Athos, it is worth mentioning the door of the Katholikon of the Holy Monastery of Vatopaidi, created in 1567, and the door of the Katholikon of the Holy Monastery of Iviron, dating back to the end of the 16th century. In the Holy Monastery of Xeropotamou there is an 11th century marble slab with a relief image of Saint Demetrios holding a cross in his right hand. It is a work embedded in the right outer wall of the antechamber of the Katholikon. According to traditional, this it once adorned the church of Hagia Sophia in Constantinople.
Another rare relief surface is found in the Holy Monastery of Xeropotamou. It was created in 1783 and depicts a monastery. In addition to the ancient marble sarcophagi found in the area of Mount Athos, it is worth noting that the burial monument of Saint Athanasios the Athonite, founder of the Holy Monastery of Great Lavra, is also made of marble.
