First Cemetery of Athens
Foreground: Tomb of the Pesmazoglou family (right) and Melina Mercouri (middle). Background: Tomb of Heinrich Schliemann (left on the high pedestal). | |
Details | |
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Established | 1837 |
Location | Central Athens |
Country | Greece |
Coordinates | 37°57′47″N 23°44′16″E / 37.96306°N 23.73778°ECoordinates: 37°57′47″N 23°44′16″E / 37.96306°N 23.73778°E |
The First Cemetery of Athens (Greek: Πρώτο Νεκροταφείο Αθηνών, Próto Nekrotafeío Athinón) is the official cemetery of the City of Athens and the first to be built. It opened in 1837 and soon became a prestigious cemetery for Greeks and foreigners. The cemetery is located behind the Temple of Olympian Zeus and the Panathinaiko Stadium in central Athens. It can be found at the top end of Anapafseos Street (Eternal Rest Street). It is a large green space with pines and cypresses.
In the cemetery there are three churches. The main one is the Church of Saint Theodores and there is also a smaller one dedicated to Saint Lazarus. The third church of Saint Charles is a Catholic church. The cemetery includes several impressive tombs such as those of Heinrich Schliemann, designed by Ernst Ziller; Ioannis Pesmazoglou; Georgios Averoff; and one tomb with a famous sculpture of a dead young girl called I Koimomeni ("The Sleeping Girl") and sculpted by Yannoulis Chalepas from the island of Tinos. There are also burial areas for Protestants and Jews, however, this segregation is not compulsory.
The cemetery is under the Municipality of Athens and is declared an historical monument.
Notable interments
- George Averoff, philanthropist, businessman
- Sotiria Bellou, singer
- Yannoulis Chalepas, sculptor
- Richard Church, general
- Jules Dassin, director, actor
- Odysseas Elytis, poet
- Demetrios Farmakopoulos, painter
- Adolf Furtwängler, archaeologist
- Humphrey Jennings, filmmaker
- Georgios Kafantaris, prime minister
- Manos Katrakis, actor
- Dimitrios Kallergis, statesman
- Nikos Kavvadias, poet
- Michael Tositsas
- Theodoros Kolokotronis, general, politician
- Marika Kotopouli, actress
- Vassilis Logothetidis, actor
- Yannis Makriyannis, merchant, military officer, politician, author
- Orestis Makris, actor
- Melina Mercouri, actress, politician
- Andreas Michalakopoulos, politician
- Dimitris Mitropanos, singer
- Dimitri Mitropoulos, conductor, pianist, composer
- Kostis Palamas, poet
- Alexandros Rizos Rangavis, poet
- Alexandros Panagoulis, politician, poet, democracy activist
- Georgios Papadopoulos, military dictator during the Regime of the Colonels
- Antonios Papadakis, University of Athens' greatest benefactor
- Andreas Papandreou, Prime Minister of Greece
- George Papandreou, Prime Minister of Greece
- Katina Paxinou, actress
- Demis Roussos, singer
- Alekos Sakellarios, director, screenwriter, lyricist
- Rita Sakellariou, singer
- Stratos Dionysiou, singer
- Alexandros Papanastasiou, lawyer
- Grigoris Lambrakis, politician
- Ioannis Varvakis, member of Filiki Eteria
- Odysseas Androutsos, hero of Greek War of Independence
- Alexandros Mavrokordatos, politician
- Ellie Lambeti, actress
- Kalliroi Parren, feminist
- Stelios Kazantzidis, singer
- Christodoulos of Athens, Archbishop of Athens
- Heinrich Schliemann, amateur archaeologist who excavated the site of Troy
- Giorgos Seferis, poet
- Tzeni Karezi, actress
- Dimitris Horn, singer
- Angelos Sikelianos, poet
- Charilaos Trikoupis, Prime Minister of Greece
- Vassilis Tsitsanis, rebetiko composer
- Thanasis Veggos, actor
- Sofia Vembo, singer
- Aliki Vougiouklaki, actress
- T.H. White, author
- Emmanuil Xanthos, a founder of the Filiki Eteria
- Nikos Xilouris, singer and composer
- Nikos Zachariadis, politician, General Secretary of the Communist Party of Greece (KKE) from 1931 to 1956
- Ernst Ziller, architect
- Xenophon Zolotas, prime minister
References
External links
- Media related to First Cemetery of Athens at Wikimedia Commons