Syntagma Square and the Monument of the Unknown Soldier
Syntagma Square (Constitution Square) is located in central Athens, in front of the Greek Parliament (Old Palace). The Square is named after the Constitution that King Otto was forced to grant to the people, after a popular and military uprising on September 3rd 1843.
The Monument of the Unknown Soldier was decided on in 1928 and designed by the architect Emmanuel Lazaridis in 1929/30. The main element of the monument is a large bas - relief representing a dying Greek heavily armed soldier (hoplite, in the Archaic and Classical periods) by Kostas Demetriadis (1881 - 1943). This is based on the dying nude hoplite in the east pediment of the early 5th - century BC temple of Aphaia on the island of Aigina in the Saronic Gulf. On either side of the relief is the ancient Greek text of Perikles funeral oration given in 431/30 BC (Thucydides, History of the Peloponnesian War, II, 34 - 46): The bronze shields on other walls commemorate military victories since the Greek War of Independence (1821). The monument was unveiled on 25 March 1932 (Greek Independence Day) during the last government of Prime Minister Eleftherios Venizelos (1928 - 1932). It is guarded 24 hours a day by two Evzoni (or Tsoliades), members of the Presidential Guard (Proedriki Phroura), an elite, specially chosen unit of the Greek Army. The Evzoni (meaning well-dressed) were created by King Othon to serve as the personal guard of the royal family. Their uniforms are based on a traditional 19th - century style costume form southern Greece. The red Ottoman - style felt cap symbolizes the bloodshed in the revolution against Ottoman occupation, or the Struggle. Its black tassels stand for the tears of the Greeks shed during 400 years of Ottoman rule. The 400 pleats of the kilt (foustanela) equal the number of years the Greeks were enslaved. The pigskin shoes (tsarouhia) with pompoms are a traditional form. The Evzoni now serve as an honorary guard for this monument and the presidential palace.
Watch the Greek changing of the guard
Noteworthy for: Every Sunday morning at 11am you can watch the ceremonial march of the Presidential Guard to the monument of the Unknown Soldier followed by a military band.
