"...You might say that the space is not illuminated by the sun from without, but that the radiance is generated from within, so great an abundance of light is spread. Thus the whole temple is filled with light, as though the sun were shining in it. And the golden stream of light is poured from the high-set rim of the dome, and strikes upon the spacious arches, and runs over them..."
Paul the Silentiary, Ekphrasis