An Evzone standing guard outside the Presidential Palace. Photograph: Why Athens | Evzones Uniform - costume of an elite Greek Soldier
Athenian Stories
With a depth of talent in the city, it seemed imperative that we share and celebrate the stories of people with big ideas, who are starting new businesses, despite the hard economic times. It is the people that make up a city and Athenians are dynamic, creative and talented. Above all they’re brave. Athenian Stories is about those who are bold enough to have a go. You will also find cultural stories that make up the many parts of Athens today, including food, trends and modern architecture.
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Evzones uniform, the costume of an elite Greek soldier
The Greek Presidential Guard or Evzones are a group of elite Greek soldiers who are trained to perform various ceremonial duties. They stand guard at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier and the Presidential Palace and also raise and lower the flag at the Acropolis every Sunday. The Evzones uniform is handmade with intricate detail, taking many months to complete…
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Detours in Athens
Everywhere you look in Athens, there’s a story to be told. There are so many things that make this city unique; from its ancient and modern history, to its architecture, food and way of life. It’s the small things too, from sunflowers basking in the summer sun, to the gentle old Greek tortoises you’ll find crawling around ancient monuments.
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Churches in Athens and the remains of Byzantium
The churches and monasteries throughout Athens and indeed Greece represent an enduring tale of strength and defiance through centuries of crusades and occupation that tightly bound the Orthodox Church and the Hellenic nation together. It was in the middle Byzantine period during the 11th and 12th centuries when the most significant churches were built in…
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The Acropolis of Athens in the age of Pericles
The Acropolis, with its towering buttress walls that project dramatically skyward in central Athens, has been a focus of human attention for more than three millennia. Our contributing archaeologist John Leonard explores how the Acropolis, as we know it today, came to be, under the leadership of the influential, democratically-minded statesman, Pericles. By the Late…
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Beautiful neoclassical buildings in Athens
In the charmingly cluttered Athens, examples of glorious neoclassical architecture provide insights into monumental events in Greece’s history since its independence. A walk through central Athens uncovers some of the city’s most beautiful neoclassical buildings. Neoclassical Buildings in Athens Zappeion Hall One of the most important buildings in Athens, the neoclassical Zappeion Hall is closely linked…
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A new age for Athens at the Stavros Niarchos Cultural Center
The Stavros Niarchos Foundation Cultural Center (SNFCC) is modern architectural elegance at its best. A glass-fronted multi-angular building is built on the edge of the Faliro Delta and perched above a hill that connects and punctuates it into the Athenian skyline. It was in 2006, well before any sign of the global or Greek economic…
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