Under the statues… | Dawn

There is a route in the heart of Athens, which we often walk with a very large… company. It is the Polytechnic-Omonoia-American Embassy route. Along this great axis of protests, militancy and riots, at least of the Post-colonial period, we have recorded a multitude of memories, feelings and images. Between them, every little while along the route, a sculpture pops up, usually combined with snapshots of the respective demonstration.

Starting from the Propylaia, we see around great sculptures that have accompanied us for years now in the usual gathering place. The statues of Athena and Apollo stand out in front of the main building of the Academy of Athens, located on Ionic columns 10 meters high. We can see Athena’s spear and brass shield and the lyre in Apollo’s left hand. They are works by the sculptor Leonidas Drosis. Further on, in the same building, on either side of the entrance staircase, seated on thrones facing the street, are the imposing figures of Socrates and Plato. All related to Greek antiquity.

In the long-suffering area of ​​the Propylaea on the right stands the statue of the visionary Rigas Feraios, a work of the sculptor Ioannis Kossos from 1869. The figure of Rigas is rendered larger than life size, standing, with the head turned slightly to the left and the right leg extended, with a broken the chain that bound it. Correspondingly, on the left stands Patriarch Gregory V. In the courtyard, two seated figures, very familiar, have been watching us for years, Adamantios Korais and Ioannis Kapodistrias. The whole leads our thinking towards modern history.

Opposite, in Klathmonos square, the sculpture of National Reconciliation dominates. It is a monumental work by the sculptor Vassilis Doropoulos, from 1987, for the end of the Civil War. In about the middle of the square three hyperrealistic figures 8 meters high cross their legs and stretch their arms towards each other high, where they join and reach towards the sky. National reconciliation can lead us united high!

When the march starts for the predetermined route, at some point it will pass by the Old Parliament and the very popular statue of Kolokotronis on Stadiou Street. Our national hero is on horseback, with one hand on the reins and the other outstretched pointing somewhere far away. Work of the sculptor Lazaros Sochos, it conveys the mobility of the moment of battle. How many times did he accompany us at the great stops of the march!

Later, when we reach the big intersection of the Hilton, waiting for us is the modern glass Runner by Kostas Varotsos, the most controversial sculpture in Athens. We tired, he huge, thriving and on the move. And if all goes well, further up, in the Freedom Park, we find the statue of Eleftherios Venizelos, the work of the sculptor Yiannis Pappas, inaugurated in 1969 by the dictator Papadopoulos. For decades now, he has been resting on his steps the protesters and the youth day and night.

It is not an artistic assessment. It’s just an association…