GREECE IS / ATHENS WINTER / 2019 / 2020

EXPERIENCE CULTURE, GASTRONOMY & MORE

AT H E N S

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ISSN: 2529-041X

ISSUE #41 | WINTER 2019-20 EDITION

10 - 46

W E L C O ME

A section devoted to what’s new and hot in the city: insiders’ tips, cultural highlights, fresh places to be, and a world-class modern art museum.

48 - 86

E XPE RIE NC E

The commercial center of the city, also known as "the Triangle," has been transformed into a bustling playground for locals and tourists alike.

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122 - 158

Church-spotting in Athens; a walking tour of Plaka, the city’s most charming neighborhood; visiting the Acropolis Museum with kids.

The long tradition of marblesculpting in Greece; a unique exhibition on the birth and evolution of Greek chic; a look at the work of modern artisans.

DIS COVER

FOCUS

© BLEND HOTEL/GEORGE FAKAROS

WELCOME

HIGH AND FAR Athens is making serious noise as a city break destination.

B Y G I O R G O S T S I R O S / E D I T O R - I N - C H I E F, G R E E C E I S

For yet another year, the tourism numbers look good for Athens. Over the first 10 months of 2019, the Greek capital welcomed 5.7 million visitors from abroad. That’s an 11.6 percent rise year-on-year, and the same number that arrived in the whole of 2018; an astonishing feat, given that, back in 2012, the total number of arrivals from abroad came to just 2.5 million.

More, of course, doesn’t necessarily mean more satisfied, but Athens scores well on that front, too. According to data released in November 2019 by INSETE Intelligence, the research arm of the Greek Tourism Confederation, the city’s hotels ranked higher than those of other southern European city break destinations, including Rome, Barcelona, Istanbul and Marseilles, with overall guest satisfaction reaching an impressive 85.9 percent.

“Athens can go high and far,” declared the new mayor, Kostas Bakoyannis, during a recent official visit to China, noting that “the city must and will be present throughout the world, through outward-looking efforts and other significant initiatives.” The city is certain to welcome more Chinese tourists in 2020, in part thanks to a new direct flight linking Athens to Shanghai that is to be launched next June.

The transformation of Athens from a stopover for the

legions of tourists heading to the popular Greek islands into a destination in its own right is certainly leaving its mark on the commercial center of the city, known to locals as “the Triangle.” Historically an area of offices, stores and workshops, this district was hit hard by the recent financial crisis, only to regain its footing over the last few years, becoming a vibrant hub full of cafés, bars, restaurants, shops and stylish new boutique hotels. A whole section of this Greece Is issue, in fact, is dedicated to this transformation.

The main challenge for the city is to expand the tourism season even further. The good news is that, as of this past October, Athens has a major new attraction: the brandnew modern art museum of the Basil and Elise Goulandris Foundation, housing one of the most important private art collections in the world. Turn to page 36 to read all about it.

There’s plenty more to discover in the pages that follow.

We’ll walk through the historic district of Plaka, taste some of the best ethnic food in the city, check out the city’s most talked-about places to be, do some Byzantine church-spotting and meet members of a new generation of artisans who are breathing new life into timeless crafts, from marble sculpting to silk screen printing.

Enjoy your stay, enjoy our issue, and come back soon!

A bird’s-eye view of the city, courtesy of Blend Hotel.

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CONTENTS G R E E C E I S - I S S U E # 41 AT H E N S , W I N T E R 2 0 19 - 2 0 2 0

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10. THE COOL CHART

City influencers and their favorite spots.

14. AGENDA Get up to speed on the most exciting events in Athens’ packed winter cultural calendar.

26. ARRIVALS New food, drink and shopping options are popping up all over town. We help you find the latest and greatest.

one of the finest private collections in the world in a captivating and accessible way.

48. THE COMMERCIAL TRIANGLE From workshops and offices to a ghost town to the city’s most vibrant district: a story of transformation.

56. WHEN YOU’RE DOWNTOWN The places to be in central Athens.

88. STROLLING WITH THE GODS A walking tour of Plaka, the city’s most famous and historic neighborhood.

96. TAKE ME TO CHURCH Often overlooked, the city’s historic and architecturally significant places of worship are well worth a visit.

104. THE ESSENTIALS Archaeological sites and museums at a glance.

36. A MODERN ART AFFAIR

78. WORLD CUISINES

114. IT’S A KID’S WORLD, TOO

The fascinating museum of the Basil and Elise Goulandris Foundation showcases

If ethnic food is your thing, these eateries in Athens are excellent options.

The Acropolis Museum can be a fun experience for the whole family.

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122. FOCUS ON MARBLE

It’s the material with which ancient wonders such as the Parthenon were built, and from which masterpieces of sculpture were shaped across the ages; today it continues to feed the imagination of a new generation of creatives.

144. THE BIRTH OF GREEK CHIC One hundred years of Greek fashion, in an astonishing exhibition.

152. MODERN ARTISANS Breathing new life into traditional crafts.

ON THE COVER: Illustration by Anna Tzortzi

ISSN: 2529-041X PUBLISHED BY:

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WELCOME INSIDERS

THE COOL CHART

1

IT’S A DATE

2

GUILTY PLEASURE

3

PAMPER YOURSELF

4

SHOPPING TIP

5

A SECRET

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YORGOS NASTOS

JOURNALIST / @INSTANASTOS

The PALIO RADIOFONO BAR (12 Athanasiou Diakou) is small and cute, has a nice retro feel and is close to pedestrianized Dionysiou Areopagitou in case you need a proper setting for a romantic kiss.

WHENEVER I GO TO COLIBRI (9-13 EMPEDOKLEOUS) FOR A BURGER, I END UP ORDERING A PIZZA, TOO.

I wait in line at DA VINCI (4 Sellei), get three scoops of ice cream with lots of toppings and have a walk around Plaka – just like a tourist.

THE GIFT SHOP AT THE NEW MODERN ART MUSEUM OF THE BASIL & ELISE GOULANDRIS FOUNDATION (13 ERATOSTHENOUS) IS REALLY, REALLY COOL.

It won’t be a secret for long but the flat white at the specialty café and vegan/vegetarian restaurant ANANA (33 Praxitelous) is just amazing.

ANESTIS MICHALIS

INTERIOR STYLIST / ANESTISMICHALIS.COM / @ANESTISMICHALIS

AT DUENDE FOR ITS AMBIENCE AND JAZZ (2 TZIREON) OR AT THE LESS EDGY HETEROCLITO WINE BAR (30 PETRAKI).

When you pass by VARSOS patisserie and suddenly a box of meringues lands in your hands (5 Kassaveti, Kifissia).

WHEN IT’S SUNNY, LAKE VOULIAGMENI IS THE BEST PLACE TO UNWIND ALONG THE ATHENS RIVIERA (LIMNIVOULIAGMENIS.GR)

ANTIQUA (7 Irodotou) for unique modernist antiques and NUMBER 3 (16 Patriarchou Ioakim) for contemporary clothing and fashion accessories.

YOU CAN FIND THE BEST TIRAMISU IN TOWN AT AGLIO, OLIO E PEPERONCINO (13 PORINOU).

APOSTOLIS GOFAS

STYLIST & FASHION DIRECTOR / @SOHOSOHOBOUTIQUE / @APOSTOLISGOFAS

The perfect date would start with a stroll downtown and end with dinner at MALCONI’S (43 Patriarchou Ioakim); the gnocchi is to die for.

OHH BOY (32 ARCHELAOU) IS THE FLAGSHIP OF GUILTY PLEASURES, WITH HOMEMADE DESSERTS TO CURE ANY LOWS (THE BANOFFEE IS MY ALL-TIME FAVORITE).

The owner of TALKIN’ HEADS (5 Massalias) is a music producer, which makes this hair salon super groovy (ask for George).

SOHO-SOHO (21 VOUKOURESTIOU) FOR HOT NEW DESIGNERS (AND, EXCLUSIVELY, MY FAVORITE CREED PERFUMES) AND ME THEN (36 ODYSSEA ANDROUTSOU), AN ATHENS-BASED CLOTHING BRAND. SECRET GARDEN (3 Olympou, Marousi) is a cool florist’s that helps transform my home with their beautiful bouquets.

ILLUSTRATION: FILIPPOS AVRAMIDES

Six city influencers recommend some of their favorite spots.

ETERNAL ELEGANCE Visit the landmark Hotel Grande Bretagne and receive the unique chance of a lifetime experience through a collection of utmost accommodation services and indulging moments.

The mythical views and the history of Europe’s oldest capital, Athens, promise to compose an unsurpassed cultural journey through its indigenous sights and unique flavors.

EXPLORE THE DESTINATION AT GRANDEBRETAGNE.GR

MH.T.E.: 0206K015A0021500

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H O T E L S T H AT D E F I N E T H E D E S T I N AT I O N ™

WELCOME INSIDERS

ALEXANDRA SPYRIDOPOULOU

MAKEUP ARTIST / @ALEXANDRASPYRIDOPOULOU

1

IT’S A DATE

2

GUILTY PLEASURE

3

PAMPER YOURSELF

4

SHOPPING TIP

5

A SECRET

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CHERCHEZ LA FEMME (46 MITROPOLEOS), FOR OUTSTANDING GREEK MEZE, A GREAT SETTING AND NICE MUSIC.

A cute all-day bar in a great neighborhood KYRIOS HOU (1 Yperionos) serves weekend brunches with hard-tobeat pancakes.

POLIS HAMMAM (6-8 AVLITON) IN THISEIO IS A REASONABLY PRICED, AUTHENTIC TURKISH BATH IN ATHENS.

MY NICE SHOP (3 Harilaou Trikoupi) has perfect clothes, perfect bags, fantastic designs and wonderful colors.

THE EFIMERON TAVERNA IN EXARCHIA (58 METHONIS). FOR LOVERS OF GENUINE REBETIKO MUSIC, IT’S A SMALL PARADISE WHERE THE BEST PLAY THE BEST.

I would definitely go for drinks at GALAXY (10 Stadiou), a bar that’s older than me and impervious to passing trends.

I HAVE A WEAKNESS FOR ICE CREAM, SO I OFTEN VISIT KOKKION (2 PROTOGENOUS); TOO OFTEN, ONE MIGHT SAY. I’m passionate about cinema. I particularly enjoy watching movies at MIKROKOSMOS (106 Syngrou Ave) because it shows lots of independent films.

I’M A FASHION ADDICT, SO MY FAVORITE PLACE TO SHOP IS THE ATELIER OF SUPER-TALENTED DESIGNER SOTIRIS GEORGIOU (52 PANAGIOTOU ANAGNOSTOPOULOU).

On a sunny day, my niece and I enjoy playing chess at the PANELLINIOS CAFETERIA (2 Evelpidon) in the shade of jasmine arches by the tennis courts.

MARIALENA KONDOU

OWNER OF VINTAGE CLOTHING BRAND L’ON / @LON.SPACE

DUENDE (2 TZIREON) IN KOUKAKI, FOR ITS COZY ATMOSPHERE AND NICE RUM COLLECTION TO WARM YOU UP AND GET YOU TALKING.

FITA is a modern eatery in Neos Kosmos (1 Ntourm and Kasomouli), with a cool vibe and great food based on fresh raw materials. I love the unexpected things they do with shi drum. Their pumpkin soup is a must.

AT BIRDMAN (35 VOULIS), A JAPANESE PUB. ON WEDNESDAYS, WE DRINK WHISKEY AND DANCE TO MUSIC FROM DJ GEORGE FAMELIARIS.

Athens street boutique MINISTRY OF CONCRETE (5 Athanassiou Axarlian) is my source for premium sneakers and skate wear.

NESO STUDIO (33 PRAXITELOUS), A JEWELRY WORKSHOP/SHOWROOM IN A 1960S APARTMENT SPACE. THE DESIGNER USES 925 SILVER, 24K GOLD AND THE TECHNIQUE OF WAX SCULPTING.

ILLUSTRATION: FILIPPOS AVRAMIDES

IRO BEZOU

ACTRESS / @IROELENIBEZOU

WELCOME AGENDA

ALWAYS SOMETHING ON

Outstanding exhibitions and exciting performances fill the city’s cultural calendar.

BY X E N I A GEORGI A DOU

26012020 POINTS OF VIEW

10122019 01032020 ART NOTEBOOKS

In 1926, Kefalonian-born art publisher, gallerist and critic Christian Zervos launched the Paris-based magazine Cahiers d’Art – a beautifully produced and splendidly illustrated showcase for art and architecture from prehistory to modern times – which ran until 1960. The exhibition of works from his personal collection at the Benaki Museum casts light on Zervos’ contribution to the modern art scene and on his role in linking ancient Greek and contemporary art. • “Christian Zervos & Cahiers d’Art: The Archaic Turn,” Benaki Museum - 138 Pireos, 138 Pireos & Andronikou, benaki. gr (Metro: Kerameikos)

15032020

OUTSIDE-THE-BOX MODERN

Greek-American sculptor Lynda Benglis burst onto the New York art scene in the 1960s with pioneering and provocative creations. Figures made of poured latex, brightly colored polyurethane, gold, tin and aluminum pushed sculpture in new directions and shook minimalism and modernism to their foundations. An exhibition at the Museum of Cycladic Art, curated by writer and art historian David Anfam, features 30 pieces representing 50 years in the artist’s career.

• “Lynda Benglis: In the Realm of the Senses,” Museum of Cycladic Art - Stathatos Mansion, Vasilissis Sofias & 1 Irodotou, cycladic.gr, neon. org.gr (Metro: Evangelismos) 14

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© LYNDA BENGLIS. COURTESY THE ARTIST, THOMAS DANE GALLERY AND PACE GALLERY. PHOTO: TODD WHITE PHOTOGRAPHY

MALVINA PANAGIOTIDI, WRONG SIDE OF THE BED, 2019, COURTESY OF THE ARTIST © MARIA THEODORAKI, AT SEA, 2007

Five contemporary artists – Maria Theodoraki, Marcos Lutyens, Basim Magdy, Kosmas Nikolaou and Malvina Panagiotidi – use innovative media to explore how we see art, what we get from it and how that changes every time we revisit it. Curated by Eva Vaslamatzi, the exhibition is part of a series being launched by AnnexM, an Athens Concert Hall initiative to showcase the work of young curators.

• “Gone Today, Here Tomorrow,” AnnexM, Megaron Athens Concert Hall, Vasilissis Sofias & 1 Kokkali, annexm. megaron.gr (Metro: Megaro Moussikis)

© BEIJING FINE ART ACADEMY

12012020

SELF-TAUGHT ARTIST

Having produced work that today fetches as much as a Picasso or a Warhol at auction, the Chinese artist Qi Baishi is treasured by international collectors and the people of China alike. Born in 1863 to a poor family of farmers, he taught himself how to paint from a book on Qin dynasty art. At the age of 40, he dedicated his life to his art and set out to travel across China, capturing the details of its natural beauties in his fine brushstrokes.

• “Qi Baishi: The Mysterious East,” B&M Theocharakis Foundation of Fine Arts & Music, 9 Vasilissis Sofias & Merlin, thf.gr (Metro: Syntagma) AT H E N S W I N T E R 2 019 - 2 0 2 0

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ART OF ANDREAS RITZOS. THE VIRGIN OF TENDERNESS, 2ND HALF OF 15TH C © LASKARIDIS FOUNDATION EMMANUEL TZANES, PIETÀ. 1657 © LASKARIDIS FOUNDATION

WELCOME AGENDA

VALUABLE ICONS

Sixty-eight post-Byzantine icons from different parts of the Greek world, including El Greco’s early “Passion of Christ,” have been added to the Aikaterini Laskaridis Foundation’s permanent exhibit. These treasures from the Emilios Velimezis Collection are, in their majority, splendid examples of the craftsmanship of Ionian and Cretan workshops from the 15th to the 17th century, and some are even signed. • “Faith and Art: Selected Icons from the Emilios Velimezis Collection,” Aikaterini Laskaridis Foundation Historical Library, 36 Defteras Merarchias & Akti Moutsopoulou, Piraeus, laskaridisfoundation.org

08,13,15,19,21&28122019 02&05012020 INTERNATIONAL EFFORT

© ROH PHOTO BY CATHERINE ASHMORE

The Greek National Opera presents “Don Carlos,” one of Verdi’s greatest operas, renowned for its soaring arias and majestic ensembles, in an impressive production carried out in cooperation with London’s Royal Opera House, the New York Metropolitan Opera and the Norwegian National Opera. The five-act opera is directed by the British director (and former head of that country’s National Theater) Sir Nicholas Hytner, with sets and costumes by Bob Crowley. • “Don Carlos,” Greek National Opera, Stavros Niarchos Foundation Cultural Center, 364 Syngrou, Kallithea, nationalopera.gr

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WELCOME AGENDA

01032020 COLORFUL NEIGHBORHOODS

Peddlers, water carriers, people entering and exiting hammams and children playing in the streets of Casablanca’s old neighborhoods are captured by the lens of Melita Vangelatou. Her images highlight the cosmopolitan port city’s history and architectural legacy, showcasing customs and rituals that have stood the test of time. • “Melita Vangelatou: Casablanca,” Museum of Islamic Art, 22 Aghion Asomaton & 12 Dipylou, benaki.gr (Metro: Thiseio)

12012020

©MELITA VANGELATOU

POETRY AND ART

30012020

Works by famous artists Takis and Nan Goldin are illuminated by Vico Magistretti table lamps. In another arrangement, Paolo Buffa armchairs are paired with old wooden trunks and handmade buffet tables. Design meets modern art in an exhibition organized by the Martinos Antiques store and the Rebecca Camhi Gallery, and staged to resemble the interior of a collector’s apartment. • “L’appartement du collectionneur,” Rebecca Camhi Gallery, 9 Leonidou, Metaxourgeio, rebeccacamhi.com (Metro: Metaxourgeio) 18

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© GEORGE VDOKAKIS

THE COLLECTOR’S HOUSE

© JANNIS PSYCHOPEDIS

A major retrospective of the distinguished Greek artist Jannis Psychopedis, at the Atrium of the National Library of Greece, focuses on his fascination with poetry. He put both words and ideas onto canvas and paper, creating pieces that illustrated the strong link between the two art forms.

Arranged in 22 sections, the show casts his own work in conversation with that of Homer, Byron, Cavafy, Seferis, Ritsos, Elytis and Embirkos, among others.

• “Jannis Psychopedis: Poetical Works – Painting Meets Poetry,” National Library of Greece, Stavros Niarchos Foundation Cultural Center, 364 Syngrou, Kallithea, snfcc.org

Located on the 7th floor of the King George, Tudor Hall Restaurant features a unique neo-classical décor, unrivaled views of the Acropolis and Modern Greek Cuisine.

FOR RESERVATIONS, PLEASE CALL 210 3330 265 OR VISIT: TUDORHALL.GR ΜΗ.Τ.Ε.: 0206K015A0000701

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MODE R N G R E E K CU I S I NE OVE RLOOK I N G T H E FAM E D ACR O P O L I S

NIKOS HADJIKYRIAKOS-GHIKA, PARTY BY THE SEA II, (1970-1979) BENAKI MUSEUM - GHIKA GALLERY

©NIKOS SKALKOTTAS ARCHIVE

WELCOME AGENDA

31012020

MUSICAL GENIUS

NIKOS NIKOLAOU, HYDRA, 1953 - NATIONAL GALLERY ALEXANDROS SOUTSOS MUSEUM

Handwritten scores, personal letters, concert programs from all over the world and other fascinating items from the Nikos Skalkottas Archive highlight different aspects of the life and work of this great early 20th-century Greek composer. The exhibition is part of a series of events organized by the Athens Concert Hall to commemorate the 70th anniversary of Skalkottas’ death.

• “Discovering Skalkottas,” MegaronAthens Concert Hall, Vasilissis Sofias & Kokkali, megaron.gr (Metro: Megaro Moussikis)

16022020

MASTERPIECES ON THE LOOM

The exhibition of tapestries hosted at the Benaki’s Pireos Street annex showcases a lesser-known side of Greek handicrafts. It comprises loom-woven tapestries depicting paintings by great Greek artists such as Hadjikyriakos-Ghikas, Vassiliou, Moralis and Tsarouchis, as well as rugs based on motifs found in paintings and etchings by Katrakis and Mytaras, among others. It also features three-dimensional pieces made of string that highlight the evolution of fiber art. • “Weavings: Painting and Tapestry in Greece from 1960 to the Present,” Benaki Museum - Pireos 138, 138 Pireos & Andronikou, benaki.gr (Metro: Kerameikos) 20

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SPYROS VASSILIOU, THE MERMAID, 1960, PRIVATE COLLECTION

WELCOME AGENDA

Spyros Vassiliou, “Gorgona,” 1960. One of the many works from the ‘60s that was reproduced on fabric.

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WELCOME AGENDA

09022020

THE TRIBULATIONS OF MARRIED LIFE ©JAN BAUER COURTESY JONATHAN MEESE.COM

Fallen aristocrat Anzoletto strives to fulfill the whims of his spoiled yet beloved new wife Cecilia, despite his straitened circumstances and her love of finery, as they make their home together. Written in 1760, Carlo Goldoni’s comedy pokes fun at the social ills of that era but also underscores how little times have changed: the anxiety to keep up appearances, the desire to climb the social ladder and the predominance of money are eminently current themes addressed in this play, which is being staged by the Greek National Theater for the first time, under the direction of Yiannis Skourletis. The performance includes English supertitles every Thursday and Saturday. • “The New House,” Rex Theater - Marika Kotopouli Stage, 48 Panepistimiou, n-t.gr (Metro: Omonia)

11012020

HISTORICAL CONNECTIONS

YANNIS MITARAKIS, SANTORINI/© OPANDA GEORGE BOUZIANIS, CANAL IN DIEPPE/© OPANDA MICHALIS OIKONOMOU, HOUSES ON WATER/© OPANDA

MICHALIS OIKONOMOU, HOUSES ON WATER/© OPANDA

In his second show in Greece, acclaimed German artist Jonathan Meese presents a series of new paintings in which he ponders modern man’s connection to history and to the world around him. Figures from mythology and from the pages of history books – including Nero, Caligula and Hitler – emerge from his dynamic brushstrokes and fine lines, juxtaposed with self-portraits and extracts from literary and political texts. • “Nanny Guinevere (Dr Excalibur is Back),” Bernier/Eliades Gallery, 11 Eptachalkou, Psyrri, bernier-eliades.com (Metro: Thiseio)

05012020

“I was looking for something that would give me an internality, an expression that I was not getting from impressionism and even less so from naturalism,” said Giorgos Bouzianis, one of the key proponents of expressionism in Greece.

Drawing inspiration from his career path, the Athens Municipal Gallery presents a selection of wonderful pieces by Greek artists from the first half of the 20th century who broke away from both the dominant style of academic realism and the modernist trends of the Thirties Generation. • “Exceptions: Aspects of Expressionism in Greece,” Athens Municipal Gallery, Leonidou & 32 Myllerou, Metaxourgeio, opanda.gr (Metro: Metaxourgeio) 22

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© PATROKLOS SKAFIDAS

EXCEPTIONS IN GREEK ART

3 Esperidon Square, Glyfada 21 Mitropoleos Street, Athens Attica Golden Hall, Marousi

© HUGO GLENDINNING

WELCOME AGENDA

19 2102&23 25022020 ON MASCULINITY

Eight guys downing pints of beer around the jukebox of a dingy pub sets the stage for a piece that examines modern-day stereotypes about masculinity. This landmark piece of physical theater, which was first directed by the iconoclast of dance Lloyd Newson and went on to tour 18 countries, comes to the Onassis Stegi with a new cast and a modern approach in a new world premiere. • “Enter Achilles,” Onassis Stegi, 107-109 Syngrou, onassis.org (Metro: Syngrou Fix)

07, 08,14,15, 21, 22, 26 & 27122019 01&02022020 THE JOY OF LIVING

Franz Lehar’s legendary operetta “The Merry Widow” tells the tale of the romance between the young, beautiful and rich widow Hanna Glawari and the fun-loving Count Danilovitsch. It returns to Athens’ historic Olympia Theater in a production directed by Isidoros Sideris, who has relocated the action to early 20th-century Paris and the famous cabaret Maxim’s. • “The Merry Widow,” Olympia Municipal Theater, 59 Academias, opanda.gr (Metro: Panepistimio)

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31012020

GENIUS MIND

Alternating electrical current and the radio are just two of the achievements of the great Serb inventor and electrical engineer Nikola Tesla, whose innovative mind and technical skills helped shape the 20th century. An exhibition in Athens presents small-scale models of some of his most fascinating creations, such as his hydroelectric power plant at Niagara Falls and his vertical takeoff-and-landing aircraft, as well as working models of things like his induction motor and the Tesla coil.

• “Nikola Tesla: The Man Ahead of his Time,” Kostas Kotsanas Museum of Ancient Greek Technology, 6 Pindarou & Academias, kotsanasmuseum.com (Metro: Panepistimio)

W E LC O M E A R R I VA L S

JUST IN

The Athens scene is constantly expanding and evolving, with new shops, art spaces and places to eat and drink.

BY N E NA DI M I T R IOU, A L E X K I NG, PAU L I N A B J Ö R K K A P S A L I S A N D E L E F T H E R I A A L AVA N O U

ELYSIAN

There are plenty of photogenic cafés in Athens, but the city’s first “flower café” has social media influencers lining up for tables. The fact that the flowers covering the walls are plastic doesn’t seem to bother anyone; after all, you can’t smell an insta-feed. The most attractive seats are upstairs, where lupins hang from the ceiling, and the windows let in the perfect light for capturing tall slices of pretty frosted cakes, mugs of pink flat whites and heart-shaped pancakes.

They also serve smoothies, matcha bowls, classic brunch and cocktails. Owner Eftichia Lazarou recommends the bright turquoise “Big in Japan” cocktail, with gin, matcha tea, blue curaçao, lemon and lavender. - P.B.K. INFO: 11 Aghiou Filippou, Monastiraki. Brunch is served 09:00-18:00.

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THE EDITOR HOTEL

This new four-star boutique hotel is located in a former printing house, which provides the inspiration for its name, The Editor Hotel Athens.

As every editor knows, attention to detail is paramount and all of the I’s have been dotted and all of the T’s crossed in carrying out the meticulous renovation. The hotel has 40 rooms and suites, with bold stone and wooden touches, and a rooftop restaurant and two bars where no word is out of place. The location is great, too: in the heart of Monastiraki and just around the corner from hip nightlife spots. - A.K..

INFO: 5-7 Voreou and Karori, Tel. (+30) 210.331.1444, editorhotel.gr

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©DIMITRIS VLAIKOS

W E LC O M E A R R I VA L S

DOPE ROASTING CO.

The brand-new creation of Athenian café-bar owner (and interior design enthusiast) Panagiotis Pilafas and fourth-generation coffee roaster Antonis Tzarougian, Dope Roasting Co. is housed in an 1830s building on busy Athinas Street. Stripped down and fitted with large windows and plenty of power outlets that make it ideal for remote working, the industrial space nonetheless maintains a welcoming feel, partly thanks to the homey aroma of freshly baked pastries and bagels, made there daily. Two or three times a week at noon, that soft fragrance bows to the stronger scent of coffee beans, as Antonis works the roaster in the back room. - P.B.K. INFO: 25 Vyssis, Monastiraki, Tel. (+30) 210.321.5209

GARGARETTA BISTRO

Doubling as a deli that sells select products from around Greece, but with a focus on Crete in particular, Gargaretta serves locally-sourced dishes prepared following recipes from around the Mediterranean. We love the kavourmas (slowcooked beef) from Thrace, shaped into a log with a crispy bread crust and topped with sweet potato mayo and egg; the chef ’s innovative take on fish and chips, where thin slices of

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The latest arrival on the trendiest street of Koukaki is a stylish design and record shop, with a love for all things analog. Lo-Fi Concept has an interesting range of jewelry, artwork and homeware, all created by its co-founders. The music section of the store has more to offer than most of its kind. Alongside an expertly curated selection of vinyl records, spanning genres from hip hop to jazz and electronica, it also stocks cassettes and offers customers the chance to press their own records on site. “Brother Singer” is the name of their home-built record-making machine, which cuts music to order onto PVC discs – playable on turntables, just like lacquer vinyl, but more hard-wearing. Check for upcoming parties, where you’ll be able to appreciate the music alongside the discerning audiophiles that make up the shop’s clientele. - A.K. INFO: 38 Odyssea Androutsou, Tel (+30)

213.045.7027, loficoncept.com

potatoes have been wrapped around salted cod, then fried and served with a black garlic dip; and the latest addition to the menu, the BBQ beef burger with spicy caramelized pineapple. For a bite on the go, pick up one of the salads served in glass jars, perfect for a picnic on the slopes of the Acropolis, just a short walk away. - P.B.K..

INFO: 1 Rovertou Galli, Koukaki, Tel. (+30) 210.922.8713

© GEORGE MESSARITAKIS

© CLAIRY MOUSTAFELLOU

LO-FI CONCEPT STORE

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CHEZ LUCIEN @ BIOS French restaurant Chez Lucien, an Athens staple for the past 17 years, has relocated to the famed Bios multi-function space. In what resembles an Athenian residence from the 1960s, with an open-plan kitchen and retro

furniture, you can enjoy classics like the piping-hot onion soup – and it really is hot, so be careful – herring with boiled potatoes and onions, and meat dishes such as duck breast, entrecôte or rooster.

For your side dish, we recommend the

melt-in-your-mouth potatoes au gratin.

The atmosphere is homey and friendly, while the entire restaurant team makes a point of thanking every diner when they leave by ringing a bell. - N.D.

INFO: 84 Pireos, Tel. (+30) 210.342.5335

MOZZART PIZZA

© DIMITRIS VLAIKOS

For a long time, pizza in Athens usually involved a thick crust with a mountain of toppings. At the newly opened Mozzart Pizza, however, you’ll be treated to a slice that’s more about quality than quantity. They import cheese, cold cuts and flour from Italy, and prepare two different doughs: in the morning, they use twice-fermented pala dough, to make a focaccia-like crust for their sauce-less breakfast pizzas. Try the Mortadellina, with mortadella, ricotta and pistachios. At noon, they turn the heat up in the Italian oven, and bake classics like Margarita and Spianata. - P.B.K. INFO: 1 Chrysospiliotissis, Tel. (+30) 210.321.4183

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AMAGICCABINET.COM

Many fairy tales feature a magical place or thing: a bag, a hidey-hole or a closet that contains everything the hero needs to conquer adversity and go on to lead a wonderful life, happily ever after. The new e-shop amagiccabinet.com has taken inspiration from that notion and features beauty, fashion, decorative, culinary and even pet products by well-known and up-and-coming Greek firms and brands. You’ll find, for example, scarves by Mary Katrantzou, jewelry

by Minas, cosmetics made with donkey milk and honey from remote pasturelands, stylish stationery as well as many other one-of-a-kind items. The website also features brief accounts by artists and celebrities, describing what they would put in their own “magic cabinets.” - N.D.

ADVERTORIAL

THERE’S A HIGHBALL IN YOUR FUTURE

IT’S TIME FOR YOU TO BREAK UP WITH OTHER DRINKS It’s time for a change from the same old conversations and standard, unimaginative drinks.

Whether you’re visiting Athens or you call yourself a local, downtown is the place to be if you’re on the lookout for new and exciting flavor combinations.

Following the global trend for long drinks, Johnnie Walker presents three new serves inspired by three cosmopolitan cities around the world: Cape Town, New York and Rio de Janeiro.

Ten selected bars in downtown Athens are introducing these three new twists on the classic highball serve, all made with Johnnie Walker Black Label.

If you prefer the balmy temperatures and sunny days of Cape Town, then Johnnie and Ginger is your highball. Let the flavors of the ginger tickle your senses – it’s a firewalk on the tongue, sure to impress.

Feel the tingling sensation of fizzy lemonade in your Johnnie and Lemon highball, letting the rhythm of the music take you from the sunny beaches of Rio de Janeiro to the dance floor of your favorite bar.

www.apolafste.ypeftina.eneap.gr

From New York, the city that never sleeps, to the buzzing streets of Athens, Johnnie and Peach is the ultimate highball with a twist. Nectar sweet with a candied sting, this long, cool fizzer makes even peach fuzz stand on end.

These three different combinations of Scotch and carbonated mixers over ice in a tall glass can be found in the following 10 Athenian bars: l 42 Barstronomy, 3 Kolokotroni l Barrus, 27 Aiolou l Crust, 13 Protogenous l Faust, 11 Kalamiotou l Fouar, 72 Mitropoleos, 1st floor l Gulliver, 11 Kolokotroni l Tall’s Toy, 10 Karytsi l The Dude Bar, 14 Kalamiotou l Tyco, 11 Romvis l Xorostasion, 2B Skouleniou

No matter what the occasion is, Johnnie Walker is just the ticket, with fresh takes on the classic whisky highball. Quick and easy to make but big on taste, these tall mixes light up with perfect flavors no matter what the occasion.

Visit your favorite bar in Athens and share your highball experience with #JohnnieWalkerHighball.

Απολαύστε Υπεύθυνα

ART HOTSPOTS

Three new art spaces in and around the downtown area are well worth your attention. Located near the National Archaeological Museum, Hot Wheels Athens has already made an impact on the capital’s art scene. Its owners are artists themselves and have a good eye for talent, showcasing artists from Greece and Cyprus (41 28is Oktovriou, hotwheelsprojects.com, open Wed-Sat).

For photography buffs, Luminous Eye is an exhibition space near the Acropolis that is wholly dedicated to the medium.

Created by a group of avid shutterbugs,

© CHRISTINA GEORGIADOU

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it hosts exhibitions, book presentations and other events (2A Mitsaion, Tel. (+30) 211.116.1206, open Tue-Sun). Just a few kilometers south of downtown, Tavros is a quiet residential suburb between Athens and Piraeus that few Athenians have reason to visit. But here, away from the trendy gallery clusters, the artistic duo known as Locus Athens operates a non-profit space called Tavros that showcases new art forms such as video installations. INFO: 33 Anaxagora, 1st floor, Tel. (+30) 210.342.5360, tavros.space, open

REDD COFFEE

This boutique coffee shop only serves espresso and flat white, making precision blends for every beverage ordered using state-ofthe-art equipment. Quality beans, a good roast and modern technology come together to produce a great cup of java. - N.D.

INFO: 8 Kapsali, Kolonaki, Tel. (+30) 216.900.2141

Wed-Sat. - E.A.

THE ARTIST ATHENS

This stylish hotel was once an industrial building, but has been given a dazzling makeover to cater to the creative crowd. Billing itself as a “living canvas,” The Artist Athens boasts cutting-edge design and imaginative touches from top to bottom. An impressive range of rooms and suites are complemented by a first-floor private inner yard and a third-floor roof garden bar with a view of the Acropolis and Aghios Dimitrios Church. The ground floor lounge bar and restaurant is open to both guests and the public, and spills out onto hip Melanthiou Street. - A.K. INFO: 7 Kalamida, Tel (+30) 210.323.8012, theartistathens.com 32

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Andora first opened in 1966, but stood empty for more than seven years after shutting its doors in late 2011. In 2018, this historic cinema was given a new lease of life and an extensive restoration by independent film distributors Weird Wave. In a short time, the Andora has reestablished itself on the Athens’ cinema scene, with an impressive program of celebrated arthouse titles from Europe and around the world. It also hosts regular special events for cinephiles, including the Unseen Film Festival and 2018’s screenings in celebration of the 100th anniversary of the birth of Swedish auteur Ingmar Bergman. Films are presented in their original language, with Greek subtitles, but some special screenings have additional English subtitles. Check their program online. - A.K. INFO: 117 Sevastoupoleos, Ambelokipi, Tel (+30) 210.698.0796, andora.gr

MORNING BAR & ME THEN

Here for breakfast or shopping? The aroma of freshly baked cinnamon buns and sourdough bread fills the upstairs area, while good-quality cotton T-shirts emblazoned with statement mottos beckon the fashionistas downstairs. The brands Me Then and Morning Bar have been cozily squeezed into just a few square meters, offering good coffee, a small selection of breakfast and brunch options, fashion and urban chic decor in a space that resembles a Danish concept store. - N.D.

NAXOS APOTHECARY

© VANGELIS ZAVOS

ANDORA CINEMA

Downtown Athens’ newest natural cosmetics and herb store draws you in with its attractive window displays and keeps you there with a wide selection of natural and homeopathic remedies, as well as a range of cosmetics from the famous Greek brand Korres. You can often see members of staff at work measuring, grinding and mixing all sorts of natural ingredients, most of which are sourced from the island of Naxos, to create a variety of weird and wonderful remedies. - N.D. INFO: 3-5 Kolokotroni & Voulis, Tel. (+30) 210.722.2774, thenaxosapothecary.com

© DIMITRIS VLAIKOS

© DIMITRIS VLAIKOS

INFO: 36 Odyssea Androutsou, Koukaki

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Marble Art Galeos: two brothers from Santorini introduce handmade marble jewelry

Panagiotis and Christos Galaios, two talented brothers, born of Santorini, are working in a modern privately owned marble sculpture workshop, influenced by Santorini’s unique Cycladic architecture to create unique marble jewels and decorative ideas.

Discover the Marble Art Galeos marble jewelry Shop online: https://www.marbleartgaleos.com/en/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MarbleArtGaleos/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/marbleart_galeos/

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The Basil & Elise Goulandris Foundation

A MODERN ART AFFAIR

Elise and Basil Goulandris purchased their first painting in 1956.

This October, that piece and many others from their incredible collection went on public display in the museum they’d envisioned, attracting thousands of visitors in the first weeks alone. © CHRISTOFOROS DOULGERIS

BY ELINA DIMITR I A DI

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Basil and Elise Goulandris at the 1957 auction in Paris where they acquired Paul Gauguin’s “Still Life with Grapefruits” (pictured on the left) for a record sum.

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veryone wants to understand art,” Pablo Picasso once said. “Why don’t we try to understand the songs of a bird? Why do we love the night, the flowers, everything around us, without trying to understand them? But in the case of a painting, people think they have to understand.”

Children first perceive the world through their senses. First come the images, then the words. I studied art history because, even when I learned to use words, I continued to think in images.

When you first visit the new museum of the Basil & Elise Goulandris Foundation on Eratosthenous Street, don’t attempt to explain anything to yourself. Surrender to everything that you feel as you take in both the museum, on the edge of the central Athens neighborhood of Pangrati next door to the Panathenaic Stadium, and its fabulous contents.

The 25,000 people that have already

by rising Greek artists such as Nalyssa Green, in which music is combined with colors to create exhilarating syntheses. The bookbinding and lithography workshops that have taken place were designed for both kids and adults. The yoga lessons, which take place among the artworks of modern Greek masters such as Fassianos and Moralis, are gaining in popularity all the time.

Watching the stories and the posts on my Instagram feed, I’ve noticed that more and more people are discovering the museum’s café-restaurant, an open urban garden where dishes of Greek simplicity featuring the best raw materials can be found for breakfast, lunch or early dinner.

It’s no wonder, then, that more than a thousand members have joined the Basil & Elise Goulandris Foundation so far.

But let’s go back to our very first explorations of this new Athenian gem. In July, when Kathimerini photographer Vangelis Zavos shot the first photos of

© VANGELIS ZAVOS

“

visited the museum since it opened its doors to the public on October 2, 2019, have moved through its beautiful spaces with wide smiles and exclamations of wonder, awed by the rare and precious works of art gracing the museum. Many have taken part in the guided tours or the educational programs on offer.

People of all ages return again and again to learn more about the collection and its history, and, through activities and creative workshops, to explore the different artistic techniques that were used to create the pieces. A number of visitors have attended the innovative children’s play based on events in the life of Pablo Picasso, in which a young girl travels from Malaga to Paris, bringing to life along the way Picasso’s most famous paintings so that young audiences can acquaint themselves with the beauty of art. Others came for the public discussion on the relationship between mental health and art, and for the concerts

The new museum and the open area in front of its entrance have helped transform this corner of the neighborhood of Pangrati.

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© CHRISTOFOROS DOULGERIS

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© VANGELIS ZAVOS

the museum, there was only the architecture to supply the first pieces of the puzzle. There was white marble, and the graceful curves of the interior staircase, which gave a sense of flow.

The sculptures followed; they appeared, unexpectedly, in every alcove of the new museum, keeping us on our toes as we took a tour that the foundation’s president, Fleurette Karadontis, dubbed “loving and discovering art.”

In the basement, there was still only a piano, shrouded in a dark green velvet cover, but it wasn’t some modern art installation. It was simply a part of the space where future traveling exhibitions will be hosted at the museum, the first of which has been scheduled for autumn 2020.

I returned in September, and on this visit the first thing that I saw was the iconic portrait of Elise Goulandris by Marc Chagall, created in 1969. Approaching, I could see that Elise is not alone in the painting. The faint outline of her husband, Basil Goulandris, hovers over her, with the artist capturing in a painting the essence of a special relationship between two people who were bound in life and in art.

I looked at the colors visible outside the window, a rectangle of orange from a shop across the road, the deep green of the surrounding awnings, the ochre of the Church of Aghios Spyridonas next door to the museum, and it all reminded me of color as used by Cézanne. Color as structure.

Like the foreshadowing in Homer’s epics, all of this set the stage for what I would see on the next floor.

Edgar Degas’ “Little Dancer Aged Fourteen”

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COLLECTION FULL A OF EMOTION But nothing can prepare you for the moment that you lay eyes on El Greco’s “The Veil of Saint Veronica,” the first artwork purchased by Elise and Basil Goulandris in 1956.

“This is a personal collection. The works they chose, they lived with them; they enjoyed them in their daily lives; they discussed them with their friends and they constantly explored the dialogue between the works every time they

© CHRISTOFOROS DOULGERIS

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The museum’s magnificent paintings aren’t the only outstanding artworks on display.

repositioned them,” said Maria Koutsomalli, head of collections of the Basil & Elise Goulandris Foundation.

For me, this is a collection filled with emotion, with subtle connections like that which leads from El Greco’s ascetic figure of Christ to the ascetic life of Van Gogh and his painting “Still Life with Coffee Pot,” which depicts the painter’s sole belongings when he moved to Arles alone, without even a bed to sleep in.

On that first tour, a number of days before the official opening, the labels for the paintings had yet to be affixed,

but I immediately recognized the small self-portrait of Cézanne, “the father of us all,” as Picasso had said, and undoubtedly the father of this collection as well, as it was the second and most important work that was purchased by the couple.

Cézanne’s gaze led me across the hall, to Monet’s work “Rouen Cathedral in the Morning (Pink Dominant),” with its pastel shades reflecting those of the adjacent work, “Olive Picking” by Van Gogh.

The youthful lightness of Degas’ “Little Dancer Aged Fourteen” was in con-

DON’T ATTEMPT TO EXPLAIN ANYTHING TO YOURSELF. SURRENDER TO EVERYTHING THAT YOU FEEL AS YOU TAKE IN BOTH THE MUSEUM AND ITS FABULOUS CONTENTS.

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versation with the optimistic surrealism of Joan Miró’s “The Grasshopper“ and Picasso’s “Young Man with Bouquet,” a work from 1905. A sweet young man from the circus looked into my eyes as if seeking my approval. “Nude Woman with Raised Arms,” the second Picasso work in the collection, which dates to 1907, couldn’t have cared less.

Painting had become geometry, and the mask that she wore as a face appeared to be telling me, “I’m like this, and I don’t care if you think I’m beautiful or not.” The expressive sculptures of Auguste Rodin and Camille Claudel, another couple that joined forces in life and art, made the final painting next to them etch itself into my memory all the more deeply – “Le Solitaire” by Georges Braque. It is 1942, and the woman in the painting is drinking wine and telling her fortune with cards, waiting to find out whether her lover will return from World War II.

* Offer expires December 31, 2019 and is valid for new subscribers in Athens and Thessaloniki only. This offer is not avalaible in all markets and hand delivery is subject to confirmation by our local distributor. Smartphone and tablet apps are not supported on all devices.

© VANGELIS ZAVOS

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The third floor is home to works by modern Greek artists.

NEW BEGINNINGS On the next floor, World War II had ended, and I could see the desire for a new beginning, evident in Lichtenstein’s pop-art “Sunrise,” and in other pieces: Legér avenging the dead with intense colors, lyricism coexisting with abstraction; Pollock painting energetically over baseball board games; Klee and Hundertwasser trying to understand the “human head”; and the existentialism in the Giacometti sculptures evincing “a sensitive humanity that stands and persists, despite the fact that it can fall at any moment,” as Koutsomalli told me. Artists were improvising as well, like Matisse did for the series that he created using collage techniques when he was seriously ill.

This floor is also filled with sketches on paper by artists such as Modigliani and de Chirico, sketches that have end44

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ed up surviving the test of time. Anselm Kiefer and Francis Bacon remind us how vulnerable man is and how painful life can be, but there’s evidence of love on this floor, too; I stopped to admire the sculptures of the avant-garde couple Barbara Hepworth and Ben Nicholson before moving on to the Goulandris’ important collection of French furniture with which they decorated their homes.

THE GREEK FLOOR On the next two floors, one finds early work by Konstantinos Parthenis, the characteristic works of Hadjikyriakos-Ghikas, and the portrait of George Seferis by Makris which reminds us that on small Agras Street, just a stone’s throw from the museum, stands the home where the Greek poet once lived.

There is the island of Hydra as depicted by Veroukas and Tetsis, “Ascent

to Square” by Opy Zouni, Tsarouchis’ “Sailor Sitting at the Table, Pink Background,” Moralis’ “Erotic” and works

by Gaitis, Samios, Tsochlis, Sophia Vari, Fassianos, Mytaras and Bouzianis. They are all here, and there’s one more; I found myself back where I began, not downstairs, but again in front of a portrait of Elise and Basil Goulandris, this time by George Rorris.

The director of the Basil & Elise Goulandris Foundation, Kyriakos Koutsomallis, perhaps said it best, speaking at the press conference, shortly before the new museum opened its doors to the public on October 2: “Art does not divide, art unites,” he said.

As for me, I left the museum that day thinking about the five different generations of artists on display, and about the generations of art lovers who will look upon their work for the first time.

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© VANGELIS ZAVOS

The museum’s café is fast becoming a local favorite.

SINCE YOU’RE HERE...

Yoga sessions at the museum.

There’s plenty more to experience in Pangrati Follow the locals to the best takeaway specialty coffee.

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25 Spyrou Merkouri

PLEIADES BOOKSTORE

Get help finding a great read in Pangrati’s coziest bookstore.

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62 Spyrou Merkouri

THE MARKET

Shop from a well-curated selection of healthy organic food.

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32 Archelaou

RABBIT PUNCH

Pair your brunch with coffee by award-winning baristas.

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40 Effranoros

FARMERS’ MARKET Indulge in fresh, seasonal produce at the Friday farmers’ market.

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Archimidous

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OHH BOY

Have a sandwich or dessert at a vegan-friendly café.

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32 Archelaou

NAIL JOB

Pause for a pampering pedicure.

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32 Archelaou

LEXIKOPOLEIO

Find a dictionary, or a novel, in your language.

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© GIANNIS GOULATIS

KOKKOS

13 Stasinou

TRE SORELLE

Join the after-work crowd for pizza and aperitivo.

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19 Archelaou

FRATER & SOROR Sip gin cocktails and dine royally in a secret basement.

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6 Aminta

SPONDI

Treat yourself at Athens’ first two-Michelin-starred restaurant.

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5 Pyrronos

ODEON BAR

Grab a drink at a sophisticated neighborhood bar.

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19 Markou Mousourou

HIPPY 3

Party until the morning any day of the week 22A Spyrou Merkouri & Stravonos

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INFO

Basil & Elise Goulandris Foundation 13 Eratosthenous, Pangrati Open Tue-Thu & Sat-Sun 10:00-18:00, Fri 10:00-22:00 Tel. (+30) 210.725.2895 l goulandris.gr

“Veiled” in the most picturesque site of Attica, on the Athenian Riviera, Lake Vouliagmeni is a unique destination for the seekers of well-being. It is one of nature’s miracles.

This unique environment comes together by the existence of a daunting rock, thermal waters, labyrinthine underwater tunnels and the lush vegetation. Situated on an idyllic landscape, this rare geological phenomenon is waiting to be discovered.

Being globally defined as a unique geological phenomenon, the Lake is included in Greece’s national NATURA 2000 network and as a Site of Outstanding Natural Beauty by the Ministry of Culture. In addition, Lake Vouliagmeni is also included on Greece’s list of recognized thermal springs.

The lake’s brackish waters which are continuously replenished by the sea and underground thermal springs, with a temperature between 22 to 29 degrees Celsius all year round, offer a natural and unique thermal spa experience.

A holistic experience for rejuvenating both body and

mind! Swimming in the lake is more than pleasurable, stimulating the swimmers’ energy and balancing their wellness.

The Doctor Spa fish, part of the Lake’s unique ecosystem, rids the skin of its scales and offers a natural rejuvenation.

Sunbeds and Umbrellas are offered around the Lake’s shoreline.

Privé Area promises moments of lavishness and complete relaxation. Immersed in the pine shade, Privé exuding an air of cosmopolitan luxury. Synonymous to absolute relaxation, is the ideal choice for escaping from the ordinary…

Nero restaurant, gracefully nested in the Lake’s scenic location, is one of the most alluring fine dining destinations.

Embracing Greek hospitality, Nero’s menu is dedicated to Greek and Mediterranean cuisine reaffirming that authentic food brings back memories and experiences which please the eye and delight the soul.

EXPERIENCE DOWNTOWN

A TRIANGLESHAPED HEART

The “Commercial Triangle,” the enduring epicenter of trade in downtown Athens, has long been home to all manner of small businesses and specialist merchants. After being rocked by the economic crisis, it has swiftly bounced back as a vibrant mix of the time-tested and the new.

BY SA K I S IOA N N I DI S , P HOTOS PE R I K L E S M E R A KOS

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AIOLOU STREET

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here he is, just across from me. I reckon he’s about 35. Lanky, with blond hair (I bet he gets it cut by some hip barber), and clad in a dark, skinny suit.

He unwraps something that looks too healthy to be tasty. He tries to get comfy on his bench on the pedestrianized street, as the sun browns his face and mopeds whiz around him, all entangled in a landscape dotted with colorful bolts of fabric standing proudly upright outside old shops. I think I see him laughing. This is the center of Athens, a buzzing hub for people who form part of a motley mosaic coming and going from thriving commercial ventures. It is a constantly evolving scene.

Trying to find out how the district known as the Commercial Triangle of Athens changed from a place of protests, demonstrations and tear gas to a neighborhood full of life and positive energy, I leave Syntagma Square behind and walk along Karagiorgi Servias. This little street, which at rush hour features a line of motionless cars, leads to an area crowded with shops offering furniture and door-related hardware – these businesses, known as pomoladika, sell everything from doorknobs to hinges to deadbolts. The center of Athens was once a big open-air shopping center, with neighborhoods defined by the type of shops they had.

If you look at a map of the city, you’ll understand why it’s called a triangle; three squares – Syntagma, Omonia and Monastiraki – make up its points, while its three sides are Stadiou, Mitropoleos and Athinas streets. If the Commercial Triangle is the heart of Athens, then Karagiorgi Servias, Ermou, Kolokotroni, Perikleous and the dozens of other small streets and even tinier lanes within it are the arteries and capillaries supplying the area with both its distinct atmosphere and some surprising contrasts. On these streets, two-story 19th-century houses coexist with interwar apartment blocks and with large, stately buildings from the 1960s that, once used as offices and small industrial facilities, are now being converted into hotels. Fabric and linen shops stand side-by-side with smoothie bars on sidewalks littered with rental bicycles and electric scooters. But it wasn’t always this way.

Going out onto the roof of the five-story building that houses the main offices of the Nota underwear company – one of the oldest family businesses in the city center – I’m overwhelmed by the view of the Acropolis. While walking along little Leocharous Street, which is located behind Klafthmonos Square, I’d seen nothing to prepare me for the hidden surprises that were to come just a bit higher up. Vassilis Masselos, the company’s managing director, shows me another building which, until recently, housed the local police station; a group of workers are now busy converting it into a hotel. “Real estate values are such that, in a little while, it won’t be in our interest to stay here,” he tells me.

Masselos speaks of the Commercial Triangle, which he has known well since he was a child, with love and considerable erudition; he uses the Nash equilibrium from game theory to explain the clustering of similar businesses in the area. I learn that Praxitelous – the street below us – used to be where all of the kasmiradika (shops selling cashmere goods) were located, that the electrical appliance stores were on Klafthmonos Square, that the goldsmith and silversmith workshops were on Thiseos and Romvis streets, that the florists and plant nurseries were on Aghias Irinis Square, and that the furniture and pomoladika were on Vyssis. “The center has always been made up of clusters of businesses offering similar products or services. It was the site of what we would call a ‘mall.’ There were about 450 businesses; it was a center of processing and manufacturing activity,” he notes.

The commercial district began to deteriorate gradually during the 1990s, as, one after another, small shops started closing down. There were few signs at first, but as Athens changed and commercial activity shifted to areas on the periphery of the center, the Triangle lost its old cottage industries and the kafeneia (traditional coffee houses) tucked away in the larger buildings. The hosting of the 2004 Olympic Games gave the area a boost, but a sharp decline was to come a few years later.

Hard times peaked in 2011-2012, when Greece had fallen deep into crisis. There were street demonstrations, riots, property damage and abandoned shops. When talking of those days,

KALAMIOTOU STREET

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Once home to various small businesses, the atmospheric Stoa Emporon (“Merchants’ Arcade,” 8-10 Voulis) today temporarily houses social enterprises selling imaginative handmade and upcycled items.

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PRAXITELOUS STREET

THE INTERSECTION OF AIOLOU, NIKIOU & VYSSIS STREETS.

“WE SAW SHOPS OPENING UP, ONE AFTER THE OTHER. WHAT HAS HAPPENED HERE DURING THE LAST FEW YEARS IS UNIQUE.” 52

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businesspeople, professionals and residents paint a forlorn picture. Property values had plummeted, and the heavy metal doors of desolate graffiti-covered buildings stayed shut. It looked as though the lights had gone out in the center of Athens.

One of the larger investments – perhaps the biggest – that contributed to the transformation of the Commercial Triangle and signaled the rebirth of this area of the capital was the opening of the Electra Metropolis Athens hotel on Mitropoleos. The building, designed by the renowned architect Patroklos Karantinos, had formerly housed the Greek Ministry of Education. Yiannis Tsakalos, director of marketing at Electra Hotels & Resorts at the time, recalls the first signs of a positive change in the area.

“We announced the construction of the hotel in early 2014, and later, after we had covered up the building in order to carry out the work, we saw shops opening up, one after the other. What has happened in the center during the last few years is unique.

Businesses have been created using a lot of imagination, and the Commercial Triangle has once again become a key destination for everyone.” As for the special “Relove Athens” package offered by the hotel, through which Athenians were given the opportunity to reacquaint themselves with the revived center of their city, Tsakalos explains that the hotel “tried to bring an optimistic note to the center.”

It isn’t just the locals, however, who rediscovered the cocktails on offer in the city center, the brand name shops along Ermou, the traditional Athenian markets, the eggs Benedict dishes served up on Aiolou, and the little shops where people can get their watch straps changed or find a new lampshade for their living room. It’s also the countless visitors who poured into the small boutique hotels and Airbnbs, breathing new life into the district and consequently driving up real estate values. The Commercial Triangle acquired a retro chic style; the colors turned earthy, 1960s-style lettering appeared on new signs and marquees, and commercial arcades that had gone dark turned their lights back on. The Municipality of Athens created pedestrianized streets and special signage, and event organizers began staging activities on the streets and in old buildings.

Today, it seems that those“crazy people,” who had invested in the center’s decayed charm have been vindicated. Among them is Panagiotis Pilafas, general manager of six d.o.g.s, the avant-garde entertainment spot that has been setting the musical tone on Avramiotou Street from the first day it opened some ten years ago. “Those were tough times; most people avoided the center. They thought I was nuts investing here, but I thought its development was inevitable,” he tells us as we sit chatting outside in the new restaurant in the establishment’s famed courtyard.

He cites the Tribeca neighborhood in New York City as an example. It, too, was an area with offices that turned into a ghost town every evening. In just a few years, however, it was transformed into one of the most expensive and touristic areas of Manhattan. Pilafas saw the same potential in the Commercial Triangle. “Visitors experience a scene that is less ‘sterilized’ compared to other cities,” Pilafas says, “and they enjoy the vibrant energy of the city center. This also attracts many foreign artists to Athens. However, a balance is needed, a plan to protect the

SIX D.O.G.S

KERAMEIKOS

© ANGELOS GIOTOPOULOS

EXPERIENCE DOWNTOWN

PROTOGENOUS STREET

KERAMEIKOS

BLEND HOTEL

small shops, otherwise the scene we see in the city center will become one of cookie-cutter replication.”

Photographer Kamilo Nollas, a resident of the area since 2011, also points out the need for balance. His first years here were difficult, he remembers, but then the picture changed – as did his life. He sold his motorcycle and started to move around by bicycle, as anything he needs can be found close at hand.

But in a capital city that stays up late, he sleeps with earplugs in. “The city center lends itself to living there, but there are difficulties, especially during the present period with the real estate price and Airbnb boom. Still, every time we say we’re going to leave, we look for excuses in order to stay,” he tells us.

Others are aware of the area’s appeal as well. Despite his advanced years, Laskaris Laskaridis’ handshake is firm. He first entered the world of business in 1968, initially as an employee and later buying a little shop. “I started out without a large amount of capital, but I had a good relationship with suppliers.

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early years, the construction industry in the city was thriving and builders were buying what they needed from the shops in the Commercial Triangle. This allowed him to move to a larger space, and gradually buy the eight-story building that houses his business today.

The spread of Airbnb and hotels in the area also brought with it the renovation of old buildings within the district, benefiting his business and others operating in his field. Despite this, he says that his industry is not doing well. “We’re in a new era, and our sector is facing difficulties. Tourists do pass by, however, as they like this concentration of shops, which they don’t find elsewhere.”

This “biodiversity” is precisely what makes the Athens Commercial Triangle special – the juxtapositions, the contrasting images, the colorful variety. If this were to disappear, the center of Athens would never be the same. At the same time, it’s a fact of business that no one can stop change. Laskaridis, who’s well aware of this, is already at work on the building next to his shop, but he isn’t just replacing its fixtures. Instead, he’s converting it into accommodation space.

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WHEN YOU’RE DOWNTOWN

BY EL EF T HER I A A L AVA NOU, M A R I A COV EOU, N E NA DI M I T R IOU, A L E X K I NG, PAGONA L A PSAT I & PAU L I NA BJÖR K K A PSA L IS

The best places to eat, drink, shop and hang out with the locals

EXPERIENCE DOWNTOWN

© PERIKLES MERAKOS

Heteroclito, one of downtown’s first wine bars, played a pivotal role in promoting Greek varieties.

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COCKTAIL CHAMPIONS

THE WINE LOVERS’ CHOICE

From Santorini’s crisp white Assyrtiko to Naoussa’s spicy red Xinomavro, the wine bar Heteroclito (2 Fokionos & Petraki) offers a great introduction to Greek varieties. With over 200 local labels to discover, plates of local cheeses, coldcuts and other nibbles to pair with your wine and a brandnew space next door dedicated to organic and natural wines, it’s the kind of place that you’ll come back to again and again. You can also purchase bottles from the cellar to take home. - P.B.K.

© PERIKLES MERAKOS

The Clumsies (30 Praxitelous) is not your average cocktail bar. Currently occupying sixth place on the prestigious list “World’s 50 Best Bars,” it was the first to operate its own mixology lab on the premises and helped raise Greece’s international bar-scene profile by hosting events in collaboration with some of the most skilled mixologists from around the world. Try the bright blue Aegean Negroni, with its house-made spiced gin, vermouth, bitters, fennel and Cretan dittany. You can also buy bottled cocktails to take home or enjoy a mocktail paired with their brunch menu. - P.B.K.

Meat on skewers may be the most popular food item for tourists in Greece, but the ones at the Japanese gastro-pub and grill Birdman (35 Voulis) are definitely something else. This small, always crowded spot serves snack-sized skewers with organic chicken, grass-fed beef, and quality seafood. Try the kokoro (chicken heart) and harami (skirt steak). For lunch, the beef donburi bowl with soy-cured egg yolk, and the ramen with wagyu brisket are especially recommended. In the evenings, Birdman switches gears, serving Japanese whiskeys and a great range of gins.

- P.B.K. 58

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© GEORGE ADAMOS

TINY TOKYO

EXPERIENCE DOWNTOWN

THE SWEET SPOT

©ALEXANDROS ANTONIADIS

Ermou is Athens’ major shopping street. But it’s not all about clothing. At Choureal (18 Ermou & 2 Diomeias), they prepare delicious profiterole à la minute with crème pâtisserie or ice cream, as well as freshly-baked choux with the chocolate of your choice (bitter, milk, white, praline or caramel). Other selections on offer include different flavors of homemade ice cream, eclairs with pistachio, mocha or lemon (depending on the season), and Paris-Brest with crème patissiere or chocolate. Take a seat outside and enjoy a sweet break from your shopping spree. - P.L.

TIKI NIGHTS

© DIMITRIS VLAIKOS

On weekends, locals and visitors from around the world mingle at the city’s best rum bar Baba Au Rum (6 Klitiou), where tiki was big before the international trend hit.

Here you’ll sip sweet-and-sour cocktails that’ll make you think it’s summer. Try their very special Zombie, made with five fine, aged rums, or, for something more wintery, a Hot Rum Blazer, with matured rums, honey, spices and bitters. - P.B.K.

NOT JUST POPCORN

©THALIA GALANOPOULOU

Athenians love the cinema and they enjoy it unadulterated; the films here aren’t dubbed, they’re subtitled. Multiplexes may attract the crowds when it comes to 3D blockbusters, but when local film buffs want to see something more nuanced, they go to one of the arthouse cinemas located in the city center, such as the Asty (classified as a historic heritage monument, at 4 Korai, a pedestrianized street), or the Astor (28 Stadiou), both of which are near Panepistimio metro station. It’s worth getting to the cinema early; at the Asty, you’ll find a selection of movie posters for sale, while at the Astor you can enjoy the retro ambiance of the full-service bar offering snacks and ice cream as well as drinks - E.A. INFO: asty-cinema.gr, astorcinema.gr

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EXPERIENCE DOWNTOWN

CATCH OF THE DAY

WINTER WARMERS

On chilly evenings, duck into Barreldier (7 Voulis) for a drink that will warm your bones. Take a seat on one of the leather bar stools and order a cup of mulled Greek wine, a warm B&B made with Metaxa, apple and ginger, or a Rum Shake made with spiced rum, vanilla sorbet, almond milk, bergamot and whipped cream. Head bartender Mario Basso is also an expert at barrel-ageing cocktails, making classics like negronis and Manhattans taste as if they’ve been strained through velvet. - P.B.K.

© MILAN GORAN

© DIMITRIS VLAIKOS

You’d never expect to find an eatery located inside an old commercial arcade in the city center, kilometers away from the sea, that serves the freshest seafood possible. Only locals and those working in the area know about To Triantafyllo tis Nostimias (22 Lekka).

The menu features Greek meze dishes and appetizers, including fava (split-pea puree) and black-eyed peas, along with grilled calamari, fried anchovies, stuffed sardines and fresh fish. The prices don’t bite, either; the bill at the end will leave you with a smile on your face. - N.D.

HIPSTER HEAVEN

Lively Protogenous Street, in the middle of the popular neighborhood of Psyrri, is a magnet for hipsters of all stripes. It’s always packed, whether with a stylish crowd socializing during the day or a party crowd drinking and hanging out long into the evening. Check out Color Skates, a local skateboard brand with their own pro team, whose raucous parties shut down the whole street; Guadeloupe Vintage Shop, which has an impressive selection of retro apparel, footwear and accessories for men and women; and Crust, one of the finest pizza joints in the city, which also boasts a basement club and live music venue. Kokkion serves up an imaginative range of flavorful handmade ice cream, as well as specialty coffees and fresh natural juices. Syd Records is a great independent record store; its “brother” business next door, Barrett Bar, is the place to be seen. - A.K.

Galaxy Bar (10 Stadiou) has been welcoming guests since 1990. It’s a refuge for serious drinkers in the heart of the city, located inside a quiet commercial arcade. Most patrons here will order something classic: a whisky, a campari with soda, a dry martini, or a glass of wine. The music is never loud, so it’s pleasant for conversations. The walls are covered with photos of old customers, many of them famous.

Along with your drink, you can enjoy the simplest of mezes, toasted bread and kaseri cheese with mustard.

- N.D.

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Syd Records

©THALIA GALANOPOULOU

SOME LIKE IT STRAIGHT UP

© DIMITRIS VLAIKOS

Protogenous Street by night.

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CHOCOLATES AND MORE

©MILAN GORAN

© THALIA GALANOPOULOU

©T ALEXANDROS ANTONIADIS

Established in 1928, Aristokratikon (7 Voulis ) is an Athenian institution, famous for its quality chocolates and other confectionery: Jackie Kennedy loved the Turkish delights, Maria Callas the pistachio-covered marzipan, and Queen Sofia of Spain the chocolate mint leaves. If you’re visiting during the holidays, make sure to pick up one of their signature red boxes filled with chocolate-covered candied chestnuts or melomakarona (traditional honey-soaked Christmas cookies). - P.B.K.

ICE CREAM ALL YEAR ROUND AUTHENTICALLY NEAPOLITAN

Not too many words are needed to describe a good pizza: fluffy dough all around the edge, a thin crust, few ingredients and those black cracks that result when it’s been baked perfectly. Granello (18 Perikleous) is the creation of a 25-year-old chef who knows how to work dough like a virtuoso. His Neapolitan pizza is a smash hit with anyone living or working in the city center. Opt for a classic Margherita, a spicy Vulcana, a Vegetariana with vegetables or an inspired Bianca with parmesan, garlic, burrata and basil. - N.D. 64

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Ice cream in winter? Sure thing, if it’s at Le Greche (16 Mitropoleos), where you’ll find authentic Italian gelato made using top-quality ingredients. In addition to the 30 or so flavors of iced magic on offer throughout the year (ice cream connoisseurs swear by the pistachio), you can also find semifreddos, cakes, Sicilian cannoli and genuine Italian espresso. - M.C.

EXPERIENCE DOWNTOWN

© MILAN GORAN

BRIGHT YOUNG THINGS

TRAVEL COMPANIONS

©TATIANA MEGEVAND

If you count yourself among the old-school globetrotters who’d rather have a printed guidebook than an app, then step inside the bookshop Anavasi (32 Voulis). Its shelves are lined with foreign and Greek-language guides, maps and other travel-related publications, including coffee-table books with photos of amazing places, and cookbooks from exotic lands. Be sure to head there if planning a road trip through the Peloponnese, a hike on the Cycladic islands or even a trip to Antarctica. Along all these publications, you can also find globes, wall maps, puzzles, compasses and gifts for your adventurous friends. - P.L. INFO: anavasi.gr

Established by a teacher of the Stemnitsa Silver-Gold Smithery School and three of his most talented graduates, Faber (11 Praxitelous) has handmade jewelry fashioned out of silver, gold, and unworked stones. Their collection features bold designs and differents styles which appeal to different age groups; you can pick up a gift for both your mom and sister at this shop. You can often see the jewelers in action, crafting the pieces that will go on display.

- N.D.

CALIFORNIA CALLING

The ground floor of the Blend Hotel is home to Folk (2 Vyssis), a stylish allday café restaurant inspired by the US West Coast lifestyle and its gastronomic scene. From the morning on, Folk serves healthy meals in which seasonality and unusual ingredient combinations play a leading role. Start your day off with a nutritious and delicious breakfast bowl or check out other menu highlights such as the homemade tagliolini served with kale pesto, roasted tomato, pine nuts and lemon. - N.D. 66

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TIME CAPSULE

© VANGELIS ZAVOS

For a glimpse at how Athenians lived during the 19th century, it’s worth visiting Athens City Museum (5-7 Ioannou Paparrigopoulou). Housed in two of the oldest buildings in the capital, one of which – erected in 1834 – served as the first residence of royal couple King Otto and Queen Amalia, the museum boasts more than 40,000 exhibit items dating from antiquity to the present day. You can see the throne room, the royal dining hall, and the regency hall, which displays one of the museum’s most important exhibits, the Constitution of 1844.

The second building, which dates to 1859, is an example of a typical urban residence of the time. - M.C.

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EAST MEETS WEST

© DIMITRIS TSOUMPLEKAS

Euripides was one of the three great Ancient Greek tragedians. Works of his such as “The Trojan Women” and “Helen” still stand today as landmarks in the history of world drama. He was a humanist and an intellectual, open to diversity. It’s fitting, then, that the downtown street that bears his name is a multicultural hotbed of activity. Evripidou Street runs about 700 meters, extending from Aghion Theodoron Square to Koumoundourou Square, and can be divided into two zones. The first goes as far as Athinas Street and includes little shops that make or sell all kinds of things: from Byzantine icons to rubber stamps, and from nuts to snails.

At Strouga tou Moria (21 Evripidou) you can find a wide variety of cheeses, while Zouridakis (25 Evripidou) stocks Cretan rusks, honey and tsikoudia (a pomace brandy). The most modern choice for a coffee (on a street fullof old-fashioned shops) is Harvest (Evripidou and 64 Aiolou). The second part of Evripidou, which starts west of Athinas Street, is known for its aromatic spice shops – which sell cinnamon, garlic, thyme, sage, dried rose petals and more – and its hardcore delicatessens, such as Miran, Arapian and Ta Karamanlidika tou Fani, which specialize in soutzouki (dry, spicy sausage), kavourmas (pork and/or beef confit) and pastourma (highly seasoned, air-dried cured meat), among other products. - E.A.

The little pedestrian street of Ipitou, near Syntagma packs a big punch. You’ll never fail to find a lively crowd at Blue Bird, whose music nights featuring famous Greek guest DJs are not to be missed.

Next door, the wine bar Kiki de Grèce offers a selection of the finest local varieties and bottles from around the world, along with great nibbles. It also hosts regular tasting events. Occupying the enviable spot where the road bends, Ipitou Bar’s strongest selling point is its impressive cocktail list. Minimalist record store Homcore breaks ranks slightly with the overall vibe of the street, but its regular music nights and listening sessions provide yet another opportunity to move your body to cutting-edge beats. - A.K. 68

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© GEORGE ADAMOS

EAT, DRINK AND BE MERRY

FNL

Best Restaurant Awards 2017-2018-2019

Chalandri

Syntagma

gakuizakaya

Book your table at

4 Lykourgou str., 15231, Chalandri

2 Apollonos str., 10557, Syntagma

gakusushi

www.gakusushi.com info@gakusushi.com

EXPERIENCE DOWNTOWN

WHERE DESIGN RULES

Paraphernalia (15 Ioannou Paparrigopoulou) is a concept store that has brought furniture, jewelry, homeware and a lot of stationery all together under the same roof.

There are mix’n’match collections with items by talented Americans representing the up-and-coming LA design scene, there’s eco-consciousness as seen through British eyes, and there are samples of Scandinavian minimalism as well. To celebrate its fifth birthday, Paraphernalia is presenting a number of special collections designed exclusively for the store. - P.L. INFO: paraphernalia.gr

Will it be a Gatsby, a baseball cap or a Panama hat? Maybe you’re more of a Fedora or a trilby person. At Giorgio Hatter (15 Voreou), the grandchildren of the first-ever hatter in the Polychronopoulos family will help you find the hat that suits you perfectly. The space may be small, but the shelves display dozens of designs, both old and new, as the young generation running the shop is always up to date on the latest trends.

To complete your look, why not combine your hat with a scarf, pashmina shawl and gloves? - P.L. INFO: giorgiohatter.gr

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©MILAN GORAN

MAD ABOUT HATS

EXPERIENCE DOWNTOWN

SOUVLAKI EXPERTS

© ANGELOS GIOTOPOULOS

If it’s lunchtime and you’re on Pentelis (a little side street at right angles to Mitropoleos and Apollonos) you’ll undoubtedly notice the pleasant smell of grilling meat, before spotting a line of people waiting for a souvlaki or two from Kostas (5 Pentelis), a traditional takeout joint now run by the founder’s grandson. Your choices are pork or bifteki (ground beef), wrapped in a pita, with tomato, onion, parsley and yogurt; they’re both excellent. Down at bustling Aghias Irinis Square, check out Hoocut (9 Aghias Irinis). This is a “new generation” souvlaki spot that gives a gourmet twist to the original product, using top-quality ingredients and homemade pitas. Besides the classic options of pork and chicken, it also serves the most “rural” souvlaki out there, prepared with mutton and a spicy sauce. - E.A.

FROM ESPRESSO TO ABSINTHE One of the most popular all-day café bars in Athens is Peek A Bloom (14 Lekka). They know all about good coffee beans, which they import from select farms and roast on site. The baristas behind the counter really mean business – they’ve won awards at international coffee competitions. During the day, the place serves an exceptional breakfast and brunch, featuring delicious dishes with eggs and open-faced sandwiches.

In the evening its able bartenders take over, preparing outstanding drinks. You’ll find a wide variety of premium spirits, including absinthe. - N.D. © MILAN GORAN

FRIED DELIGHT

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The local version of doughnuts, loukoumades are dollops of batter dropped into hot oil to make perfectly round, bite-sized treats.

Crisp on the outside and soft on the inside, they’re best enjoyed warm.

Traditionally, they’re drenched in honey and topped with walnuts, but you’ll also find them served under a generous blanket of chocolate sauce. You can sample some of the best at Lukumades (21 Aiolou).

- P.B.K.

OLD-FASHIONED CHARM

The decor at Cherchez La Femme (46 Mitropoleos), with its marble and wooden surfaces, radiant chandelier and mosaic floor, straddles the line between a modern kafeneio (traditional coffee shop) and a bistro. The menu features Greek meze, as well as other traditional options (be sure to try one of the savory pies). The space inside is small and it’s a popular place, so booking ahead is recommended. If you’re unable to reserve a table or find a seat indoors, don’t hesitate to sit outside – there are heaters, and it never really gets that cold. Cherchez La Femme opens at 09:30, so you can stop by for a traditional Greek coffee prepared on hot sand, accompanied by a loukoumi (Turkish delight). - P.L. INFO: cherchezlafemme.gr

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URBAN OASIS

© DIMITRIS VLAIKOS

Nature lovers and joggers in Athens depend on a few invaluable havens. The one closest to the center is the National Garden, where native plants share soil with exotic trees and flowers, originally gifted to Queen Amalia by royals from around the world. Look for the Washingtonia palm trees, said to have been planted by the queen herself. Further exploration will reveal a café, a playground, the remains of a Roman villa, and quite likely a few of the garden’s permanent residents, including turtles and birds. - P.B.K.

SUPERIOR INTERIORS

The laid-back café-bar Handlebar (8 Melanthiou) is a meeting point for the city’s hippest cyclists. Located on a quiet side street in Psyrri, it’s a great spot to pass the time of day or settle in for the evening. Live music and DJ sets on the weekends bring in the crowds. Recently, they introduced a snack menu which is well worth checking out. - A.K.

© VANGELIS TATSIS

MOFU Vintage and Contemporary Design (28 Sarri) has already been in business for some 18 years now, specializing in furniture and decorative objects hailing from the interwar period and later. Those who love shopping for second-hand items will be able to find iconic designs such as tables created for Knoll by Warren Platner and Eero Saarinen; Topsy tables by Konstantin Grcic; and bentwood chairs from Thonet, the company that ushered in a change in the design and mass production of wooden items.

The shop also sells mirrors, accessories, wallpaper and much more, and will ship any purchases. - P.L. INFO: mofu.gr

CYCLISTS’ PIT STOP

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EXPERIENCE DOWNTOWN

SAY CHEESE (PIE)

IN THE KITCHEN OF A MASTER CHEF

©DIMITRIS VLAIKOS

Greek-Japanese chef Sotiris Kontizas was known for his unique approach to cooking long before becoming a judge on the Greek edition of the MasterChef TV competition. Since then, however, it’s become even harder for anyone to find a table at Nolan (31-33 Voulis), the place where he serves his mackerel with smoked bacon and beans, his famous potato bread, his side dish with rice and poached egg, or any of the other amazing dishes on his incredible fusion menu. Nonetheless, it’s well worth trying to make a reservation here. - N.D.

It’s incredible, but Greeks have been enjoying the tyropita (cheese pie) since the days of Pericles. In ancient times, they called it tyronoto plakounta (cheese-filled bread), and it was made using fresh cheese.

Since the period of Ottoman Pnyka 1981 kourou (fromwith rule, the namesince the Turkish kuru, meaning respect “dry”) has been used for the and love to fellow type of tyropita made with man! fat-free dough. To this day, the kourou has been a perennial favorite and hot seller. You can enjoy one of the best around at Ariston (10 Voulis), the oldest pie shop in Athens, which has been in business since 1906. All their products, some 30 types of pies, are handmade and baked fresh daily. - M.C.

A CLASSIC TOUCH

The charming Café Avissinia (7 Kinetou) has been operating for more than 30 years on Monastiraki’s Avissynias Square, the site of the city’s most popular Sunday flea market. This sophisticated bistro serves classic Greek fare to a clientele made up largely of regulars. From the second floor, there is an impressive view of the Acropolis. On Friday and Saturday nights and on weekend afternoons, customers can enjoy live, mainly Greek, music. - M.C. INFO: cafeavissinia.net 76

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EST.

1981

nyka since 1981.With respect and love to our fellows!

• 2 PRATINOU- PAGRATI Τ 210 7251941 • 24 PETRAKI - SYNTAGMA Τ 2103245162 • 26 TOSITSA - EXARCHIA Τ 2103812817 • LANDSKRONGASSE 1-3 , 1010 WIEN TEL.+43(0)13470737 • Email: info@pnyka.com.gr • Web: www.pnyka.com.gr

EXPERIENCE FOOD

WORLD

CU I S I N E S

Ajem pilaf, pad thai, seker pare and injera: discover what’s what as you explore the city’s ethnic food scene.

BY N E NA DI M I T R IOU, L I NA K A PETA N IOU

© ALEXANDROS ANTONIADIS

A N D V I V I CONSTA N T I N I DOU

Namaste

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© ANGELOS GIOTOPOULOS

Rouan Thai

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EXPERIENCE FOOD

HAYAT

KURDISH FROM SCRATCH Seyit Aldogan came to Athens in 1986 as a political refugee from southeastern Turkey. Everyone in his family cooked, the men even more than the women, so it wasn’t surprising when he decided to open an authentic Kurdish restaurant with his wife Vaso in the downtown Exarchia district three years ago.

Everything on the menu is made from scratch. Fluffy buns are brought to the table toasted and lightly buttered, along with 80

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peinirli (boat-shaped pizzas) and pastourmas pie, all handmade.

The kitchen is open, allowing you to see your order being made, the pasta prepared by hand and the minced meat being put onto the spit for the kebab. The owners’ daughter Antigone helps her parents prepare kebabs, lahmajoun, icli kofte stuffed meatballs, manti dumplings and other delicacies that taste of Seyit’s homeland.

INFO: 78 Ippokratous, Exarchia, Tel. (+30) 215.555.8580

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NAMASTE

CURRY UNDER THE ACROPOLIS

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Krishna (Kris) Pokharel was born and raised in Nepal.

He came to Greece after meeting the Greek woman who would become his wife when she was on a visit to his country. “In Nepal, entertainment means going out for a meal, usually to the home of a friend or a relative, meaning something intimate,” he says. Given the importance of home-cooked food in Nepalese culture, it’s hardly surprising that Kris learned to cook from a very young age, and that he loves it, too. Eventually, his friends implored him to open a restaurant.

While the Indian food available in Athens tends to be disappointing, Namaste’s fresh, fragrant, spicy and completely authentic dishes are a world apart. His salads are rich, with refreshing notes of coconut and mango, and his marinades are incredibly complex. Cooked in a proper tandoor oven, the chicken korma, a definite menu highlight, is succulent and delicious, thanks to a marinade of cashews and coconut milk. A small bowl of cooling raita or a glass of mango lassi is just the thing to soothe the more sensitive palates.

INFO: 12 Lembesi, Tel. (+30) 210.923.3999

A stroll through the historical centre might as well take you to Athenians’ favourite street food joint, Falafellas. Their homemade, always fresh falafels are prepared daily in their tiny shop in 51 Aiolou str., have created hundreds of fans who patiently wait in line to enjoy falafel at its best. Giant, or pocket size, spicy or not, you’ll definitely love it.

51 Aiolou str Athens • Mon-Sat 11:00-0:00 • Sunday closed • Τ 00302103239809

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LALIBELA

THE SISTERS FROM ADDIS ABABA Elisabeth and Tsehay Taddasse have been serving the food of their native Ethiopia at their Kypseli restaurant for the past 19 years. There’s a tent inside the restaurant, under which Elisabeth prepares coffee in the traditional way. In an almost religious ritual, she roasts the beans before grinding them in a mortar and brewing the coffee, with the scent of burning incense in the air – just as back home.

All the food is served with injera, a flatbread that replaces cutlery and is used to scoop up mouthfuls of chicken, lamb, beef, rice and vegetables. The dishes are heavily seasoned and spiced. The doro wat, for example, is made of chicken cooked with chili, eggs and spicy butter; in Ethiopia, it’s a festive dish served at Easter. Lalibela is a no-frills restaurant but retains its ethnic charm, thanks to Elisabeth’s artwork and the indoor coffee tent. There’s a buffet of 15 traditional dishes every first Saturday of the month.

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INFO: 22 Naxou, Kypseli, Tel. (+30) 210.865.2495

ROUAN THAI

There’s a love story behind the Thai restaurant in Piraeus. The story starts back in the 1980s, when Babis, an engineer in the merchant navy, landed in Thailand and fell in love with Noi (who has since been baptized as Marina). They got married, moved to Greece and opened Rouan Thai in 2005. Noi’s daughter Nok (which means “little bird”) came over from Thailand later to take over in the kitchen.

If you’re not sure what to order, just tell the waiter you want numbers 81, 85 and 99. Those are the fried pork with garlic and pepper, the tom yum goong shrimp soup and the spicy sweet red curry with beef, coconut milk and peppers.

The menu includes several Chinese dishes; the restaurant caters to workers from the Cosco cargo terminal, as well as Asian sailors from cruise ship crews that visit the port. On the other hand, princes and ambassadors have eaten here, too. We also recommend the pad thai, the papaya and peanut salad, and the green curry soup with shrimps and bamboo shoots, if you like heat. There’s a selection of Thai beers to quench the fire. The service is warm and friendly.

INFO: 131 Notara, Piraeus, Tel. (+30) 210.429.4494 82

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THAILAND IN PIRAEUS

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MIKRA ASIA

MAJOR FLAVOR FROM ASIA MINOR

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Medical school graduate Sinan and his wife Cicek are Kurdish political refugees from Turkey. Thirty years ago, they fled to Greece, where the political situation was better and they had friends who told them that they would fit in.They opened a kebab restaurant on downtown Amerikis Square a decade after their arrival, and now their daughter, Olga, has opened her own branch in the Pangrati neighborhood. The food at both is delicious and completely authentic.

The doner is an enjoyable experience, made by hand and comprising layers of veal fillet and freshly ground beef. The most popular item on the menu is the beyti kebab, wrapped in a crepe-thin pita and accompanied by roasted tomato and buttery rice with chickpeas. The giaourtlou kebab is also very good, as are the ajem pilaf and the hunkiar, a veal and eggplant dish, prepared by prior arrangement as it takes several hours to make them. For dessert, the kanafeh is made in-house.

ASSOCIATION OF GREEKS FROM EGYPT

INFO: 20 Moschonision, Amerikis Square, Tel. (+30) 210.864.4698 2 Messolongiou Square, Pangrati, Tel. (+30) 210.330.0733

Hidden away in a huge, sun-filled space on the first floor of an ordinary Athenian apartment building on Tritis Septemvriou Street, the award-winning Association of Greeks from Egypt is an oasis of calm, cleanliness and wonderful aromas in a rather dingy and noisy part of the city. It was founded in 1933 by a group of Egyptian-Greek students who were studying in Greece (later, it fed students trapped far from their families during the WWII occupation of Athens) and became a lively social and cultural hub. It still hosts cultural events and provides food and support to some 100 Greek-Egyptian families in need.

Chef Magdi Shahin makes classics like fried kibbeh and an amazing rice dish with ground beef and cashews. The Greeks from Egypt who come here love the amazing molokhia soup, the fava beans done all sorts of ways, the kofta and the hummus.

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SERVING THE COMMUNITY

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INFO: 56 Tritis Septemvriou, Tel. (+30) 210.821.3038

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Welcome We sought after finding the spot on the horizon where the blue color of the sky meets with that of the sea. There, we chose to build 6 high aesthetic, stone built, traditional residences which are fully attuned to the Cycladic landscape. We will be waiting for you at one of the most beautiful areas of Kythnos so as to offer you a unique, luxurious and comfortable stay, at the place where the sky touches the sea and the night stars keep you company‌ The choice of the names of our residences is not random at all‌

Dryopida, positition Proka, Kythnos | T +30 210 5810786 | M +30 694 585 8649 | E info@vathisthea.gr

www.vathisthea.gr

© ALEXANDROS ANTONIADIS

© ALEXANDROS ANTONIADIS

EXPERIENCE FOOD

VALENTINA

Valentina Triantafyllidou hails from Kazakhstan, born into a family with Greek roots in Trabzon in Turkey on the Black Sea. She has run one of the best restaurants in Greece for the past 31 years. The 76-year-old is still going strong, working on all the dishes on the menu, and she’s also enlisted the help of her son Dimitris and of one of her eight grandchildren, Antonis. It’s a joy to watch her deftly wrapping the small stuffed pelmeni dumplings and giving them the perfect shape.

Valentina insists that her food transcends borders. “I make Pontic manti but I add yoghurt, as well as pelmeni and pierogi stuffed with cheese, which are Russian,” she says. There’s also kebab and the famous melt-in-your-mouth Uzbek skewered meat known as shashlik – get the lamb instead of the pork; it’s marinated in a secret sauce for hours and served with a sprinkling of white vinegar. There are also homemade sauces and vegetable dips you can smear on lepyoshka buns, and piroshki stuffed with ground beef, potato or cheese.

© ALEXANDROS ANTONIADIS

INFO: 235 Lykourgou, Kallithea, Tel. (+30) 210.943.1871

© ATERINA KAMPITI

ROLLING IN RUSSIAN DOUGH

FEYROUZ

FROM ANTIOCH WITH LOVE The entire Feyrouz family – Eleni, her sons Andreas and Savvas, and her husband Stavros – can often be seen working away in the kitchen and behind the counters. It’s easy to spot them; they’re usually the ones humming along to one of the traditional tunes playing on the stereo.

Surprises on the menu here include the tasty lahmajoun with meat or vegetables. Try pies with different fillings, such as the one with beans cooked in tomato sauce and feta. By the end of the lunch service, the huge pot of rice with chickpeas and spice-rich chicken has invariably sold out; the makhlouta soup is also an all-year favorite. The family also runs the Feyrouz sweet shop across the street, serving kanafeh, an unusual baklava made with very good pistachio nuts; a modern version of the syrupy sekerpare; and a delightful kazandibi milk pudding. The coffee is brewed on hot sand and made from top-quality beans.

INFO: 2 Agathonos, Monastiraki, Tel. (+30) 213.031.8060

A version of this article was published in the October issue of the food magazine “Gastronomos.”

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EVRIPIDES ART GALLERY was inaugurated in June 2015 and until now has hosted several significant exhibitions of renowned and contemporary Greek artists, attempting to converge between previous and younger generations of creators. Aiming to promote Greek art inside and outside our borders, Evripides Art Gallery continues to believe and support the potential and talents of Greek artists, highlighting their work and enhancing their creativity.

10 Irakleitou & Skoufa street, 106 73, Kolonaki, Athens, Greece | T. +30 210 36 15 249, +30 210 36 15 909 info@evripides-art.gr | www.evripides-art.gr

| Facebook: evripidesart | Instagram: evripidesart | Twitter: evripidesart Opening Hours

Tuesday- Thursday-Friday: 11:00 to 20:30 Wednesday: 11:00 to 17:00 Saturday: 11:00 to 16:00 Sunday-Monday: Closed (Accessibility for people with disability and mobility problems )

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STROLLING WITH THE GODS

The most famous neighborhood in Athens is also its most charming, layered with history and full of sights and spots that offer glimpses into the past as well as many other experiences for the modern traveler.

BY A LEX KING

© PERIKLES MERAKOS

THE ROMAN AGORA

P

laka embodies everything that is Athens. The neighborhood has been continuously inhabited since antiquity, so around nearly every corner you stumble across remnants of the ancient Greek, Roman or Ottoman empires. The meandering, car-free streets boast some of the most charming neoclassical buildings in the city and wind their way whimsically up

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the slopes toward the Acropolis. When the frenetic energy of the modern city gets me down, a slow stroll through the timeless streets of Plaka always serves as a reminder of why I fell in love with Athens, and why there’s no other city quite like it.

Let’s begin our wanderings at Monastiraki Square, where the Church of the Pantanassa and the Tzisdarakis Mosque

stand guard over what has for centuries been a central meeting point and melting pot. Looking towards the Acropolis to guide us, we’ll walk up Areos Street, past the formidable columns of Hadrian’s Library on our left. Turning the corner, the ancient Gate of Athena Archegetis welcomes us to the Roman Agora, where historical eras rub shoulders with one another. The Agora was constructed by the

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Romans between 19 and 11 BC. Walking clockwise around the former market complex, past the Roman columns, we’ll come to the Fethiye Mosque, built by the Ottomans in the 17th century, and the Tower of the Winds, built by the ancient Greeks from the same Pentelic marble as the Parthenon around 50 BC (although some sources suggest it dates to the second century BC). The octagonal tower is believed to be the oldest meteorological station in the world; it hosted a combination of sundials, a water clock and a wind vane.

Also known as the “neighborhood of the gods,” Plaka is built on what was once ancient Athens’ residential district, developing around the ruins of the Ancient Agora. The general area remained at the heart of the city throughout the Roman and Byzantine periods. Following the arrival of the Ottomans in 1458, Plaka came to be the seat of the Turkish governor and known as the “Turkish quarter” of Athens. During the 1821-1829 Greek War of Independence, many of Plaka’s residents fled the battles that occurred there, and the area fell into decline. After the newly installed Greek monarch, King Otto (1832-1862), chose to relocate the capital of the fledgling independent Greek state to Athens in 1834, however, Plaka experienced a resurgence.

A short walk up Panos Street from the Roman Agora takes you to the small neoclassical building housing the Museum of Modern Greek Culture. The “Man and Tools” exhibition here displays implements used in farming and small industry over the 200 years that preceded the onset of industrialization in Greece, in the 1950s. A set of sickles caught my eye, made by “Uncle Yiannis,” an ironsmith from Korthi in Andros, who engraved a little bird on each of the sickles he made so that they would “sing” whenever the harvester used them. Many of the items on display would have been familiar to the thousands of workers and craftspeople who flocked to this area from around Greece in the 19th century to help construct Otto’s new model capital city.

The top of Panos Street marks the upper limits of Plaka. From here, we could head east and explore the picturesque 90

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AL HAMMAM TRADITIONAL BATHS

FLÂNEUR

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ADRIANOU STREET

IOANNA KOURBELA

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BRETTOS

settlement of Anafiotika, built by stoneworkers who came here from the Cycladic island of Anafi. Instead, as soon as we pass the Old Temple of Athena, we’ll head back towards the center of Plaka, descending the narrow stone stairway onto Klepsydras Street and passing the cute little taverna and bookstall at the crossroads. It’s magical passageways such as Klepsydras that make meandering through Plaka such a delight. Even after years of living in the city, each walk produces new discoveries: idyllic hidden corners, often with lush greenery overflowing from crumbling buildings, their rustic textures painted with colorful murals, and more often than not, an enticing little taverna lurking close by.

My advice would be to ignore Google Maps, put down this magazine and just get lost, so you can truly experience the wonders of these labyrinthine streets.

MUSEUM OF MODERN GREEK CULTURE

But if you’re still reading, follow me past Mnisikleous Street, where you’ll see the crowded tables of the café Yiasemi spilling up and down the stairs. The garden of the Church of Aghioi Anargyroi (Metochi of the Holy Sepulchre) is a verdant oasis of peace. The church is the first place to which the Holy Flame is brought from Jerusalem each Easter; witnessing the start of the Epitaphios procession here on Good Friday, or the celebration of the Resurrection at midnight of the following day, is an unforgettable experience.

From here, we’ll descend towards Diogenous Street, past the charming arts and craft stores such as the workshop of puppeteer and jeweler Alexis Papachatzis, and onto Adrianou, Plaka’s east-west thoroughfare lined with souvenir shops.

Walking eastwards, you’ll come across the Benizelos Mansion. Built in the first

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half of the 18th century, it’s the oldest house in Athens and a beautifully preserved example of how the privileged once lived.

Keep walking east towards the Frissiras Museum. Housed in a grand neoclassical townhouse, the museum was opened in 2000 by Vlassis Frissiras’ family; the Frissiras Foundation holds his vast collection of modern Greek and European painting. The museum hosts a regularly changing series of exhibitions, each usually focused around a specific theme.

We’ll end up between Hadrian’s Arch and the Lysikrates Monument, at Aghia Ekaterini Church. You’ll be able to spot the location easily, as two enormous palm trees towering above time-worn columns mark the spot. The columns are the remains of an ancient temple dedicated to the goddess Artemis. The church’s grand exterior is the result of 19th century renovations, which partly disguise an 11th-century Byzantine core – Athens’ oldest example of a cross-plan church with a central dome. Sitting in the serene gardens outside, where many layers of history are literally laid on top of each other, you’ll find it the perfect place to reflect on our journey through Plaka, Athens’ very own time machine.

ILLUSTRATION: PHILIPPOS AVRAMIDES

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THE PICK OF PLAKA MARTINOS ANTIQUES

Martinos Antiques is a true Aladdin’s Cave full of treasures. The business has been trading since 1895 and has occupied its current premises since 1926. It’s as much a museum as a shop, and boasts an impressive range of furniture, decorative items, Islamic art, fine art and jewelry.

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50 Pandrossou, Tel (+30) 210.321.2414

AL HAMMAM TRADITIONAL BATHS A stone’s throw from the original Ottoman Bath House of the Winds, Al Hamman stylishly and authentically recreates the classic Turkish steam-bath experience. In addition, you can choose from a range of other traditional beauty and well-being treatments.

16 Tripodon & 10 Ragava, Tel (+30) 211.012.9099

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IOANNA KOURBELA Ioanna Kourbela is one of the most celebrated contemporary Greek designers. The Kourbela family workshop opened in Plaka in 1971, offering handmade knitwear. Today, this elegant brand operates three stores, including one for basics and one for menswear.

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109 Adrianou, Tel (+30) 210.322.4591 © PERIKLES MERAKOS

BRETTOS

The illuminated bottles behind the bar at Brettos are sure to catch your eye as you pass. Established by Michail Brettos in 1909, it’s Athens’ oldest distillery, and a specialist in colorful cocktails. Don’t let the playful colors deceive you, though; overindulging will still lead to a very serious hangover.

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BARBOUNAKI

41 Kydathineon, Tel (+30) 210.323.2110

BAKALIARAKIA TOU DAMIGOU Bakaliarakia tou Damigou is a family-run fish taverna hidden away in the basement beneath Brettos. This cozy little spot has been in operation since 1864. Battered cod with garlic sauce is the classic dish that keeps everyone coming back for more.

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41 Kydathineon, Tel (+30) 210.322.5084

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100 Adrianou, Tel (+30) 210.325.3740

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1 Flessa, Tel (+30) 210.322.6900

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23 Mnisikleous, Tel (+30) 213.041.7937

FLÂNEUR Flâneur gives contemporary Greek artists a platform where they can sell their innovative handmade products, including t-shirts, prints and gifts. To appeal to a local audience as well, the store also stocks adventure supplies, such as outdoor gear, pocketknives and Herschel backpacks.

BARBOUNAKI Situated on Mitropoleos Square, next to the Metropolitan Cathedral of Athens, this is the place to experience seafood prepared in various ways: salted, marinated, grilled or fried. The extensive options on offer are a big draw, as is the taverna’s high quality and informal atmosphere.

4 Mitropoleos Square, Tel (+30) 210.324.7700

offers great memorabilia from contemporary Greek designers. As well as gifts and stationery, it also stocks books, lighting, home accessories and clothing.

YIASEMI This is without a doubt one of the most Instagrammable spots in the city. The tables at this picturesque café are set out outside on the public stairs, making it the perfect spot from which to watch the world go by – something you can do almost all-year-round, thanks to Athens’ favorable climate.

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TAKE ME TO CHURCH

The city’s oldest houses of Christian worship should be part of any sightseeing stroll. Byzantine-era treasures, they afford the chance to explore the history, architecture and art of this important period.

BY Y I A N N I S C H RY S A P H I S P HOTOS N I KOS K A R A N I KOL A S

CHURCH OF THE PANTANASSA MONASTIRAKI On one side of Monastiraki Square, a bustling crossroads and melting pot of locals, tourists and immigrants, is the Church of the Dormition of the Mother of God, commonly known as the Pantanassa (“Queen of All”). Although originally founded about the 10th century, the church’s present three-aisled, barrel-vaulted form probably dates to the early 17th century, when it was donated by its owner, the wealthy Athenian Nikolaos Bonefatzis, to the Monastery of Kaisariani and became a convent. Dominating the district both by its presence and the activities it hosted, it greatly contributed to the eventual development of the shopping area that surrounds it today. The nuns wove thick fabrics which they sold in stalls outside their convent courtyard, thus encouraging other ordinary vendors to set up shop in the vicinity – the forerunners of today’s many small shops. Over the years, the monastery fell into decline; its cells were destroyed and only the small church that came to be called Monastiraki (Little Monastery) remained, eventually lending its name to the public square, established at a higher level on the accumulated debris of previous structures. The icons of the church’s iconostasis were painted in the 1950s by Photis Kontoglou, an author and painter whose rich body of work can be seen in many other Athenian churches.

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CHURCH OF AGHIOS ELEFTHERIOS MITROPOLEOS SQUARE In Mitropoleos Square, the Metropolitan Cathedral of the Archdiocese of Athens, dedicated to the Annunciation of the Virgin, catches the eye first, thanks to its grander scale, modern style and recent extensive renovation. Very soon, however, the visitor’s interest is drawn to the diminutive jewel of a church standing just beside it. This is the Church of Agios Eleftherios, formerly of Panaghia Gorgoepikoos (Holy Mother who quickly responds to the faithfuls’ prayers).

The temple resembles a puzzle composed of reused marble architectural members ranging in date from classical antiquity to the era of Ottoman Turkish rule – a true hodgepodge! Its re-dedication to Aghios Eleftherios was meant to commemorate the Greeks’ 1821 struggle for independence. At various times it served as a storehouse for antiquities and even as a public library. Architecturally, the church is a “cross-in-square” with an Athenian dome. First built in the 12th century, it is believed to have been erected on top of an ancient temple sacred to the goddess Eileithyia, protector of pregnant women and childbirth.

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CHURCH OF AGHIA EKATERINI PLAKA In the heart of Plaka, the historic district east of the Acropolis, in a small square just beside Lisikratous Street, stands the Church of Aghia Ekaterini. Like many Athenian churches, it was built on an ancient temple, specifically in a sanctuary dedicated to Artemis beside which were Roman baths. Founded around 1050, it was originally dedicated to the saints Theodore of Amasea and Theodore of Heraclea. But when the church was granted by the Metropolitan of Athens as a local dependency of the Monastery of Saint Catherine of Sinai in 1767, it took the name of that age-old 100

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monastery. The monks of Sinai restored and expanded the church and its facilities, giving it exquisite wall paintings and attracting to it important leaders and churchmen, including Yannis Makrigiannis, a general of the Greek Revolution of 1821; and, later, the future Patriarch of Constantinople Athenagoras (1886-1972). The church’s architecture follows the complex tetrastyle “cross-in-square” architectural plan, with a relatively high dome. Now belonging to the Metropolis of Athens, the church has an interior adorned with stunning images and remains a beloved emblem of old Athens.

CHURCH OF AGHIOI THEODOROI KLAFTHMONOS SQUARE At the edge of Klafthmonos Square, which is bordered on one side by the head offices of major Greek banks, and on the other by the start of the lower-rent area of the capital’s “commercial triangle,” there stands the Church of Aghioi Theodoroi, which Byzantine experts consider the most important historic church of Athens. It is said to be one of the twelve churches founded by the Athens-born Byzantine Empress Eudokia, although more

certain is the fact that it was rebuilt by the Byzantine official Nikolaos Kalomalos around 1050, as attested by the inscription on the church’s façade. It was erected on the ruins of a small temple and a Roman residence, a mosaic from which has recently been discovered. Architecturally, it belongs to the “transitional cross-in-square” type and it boasts a delicate and photogenic external asymmetry.

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CHURCH OF AGHIOS DIMITRIOS LOUMBARDIARIS FILOPAPPOU HILL Opposite the Acropolis, at the beginning of the ascent to the Monument of Philopappos on the crest of the Hill of the Muses, nestled amid lush surroundings we find the Church of Aghios Dimitrios Loumbardiaris (“the Bombardier”), an excellent example of a structure that honors religion, art and history equally. This Byzantine church, dating from the 9th century, features inscribed marbles, timeless icons and the distinctive touch of modern architectural interventions. It was named Loumbardiaris because, according to tradition, on the eve of the celebration of Saint Dimitrios’ feast day in 1658, the “Agha” (military commander) of Athens at the time,

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Yusuf, decided to decimate the church – along with its congregation of worshipers inside – by firing the cannon (“loumbardas”) outside the Propylaia, his residence on the Acropolis. However, a sudden bolt of lightning struck and annihilated his powder store instead, also destroying his cannon and residence and causing his death.

The church comprises a single-aisled, domed structure containing many ancient marble elements. The latter are also present in the paving in and around its courtyard; this detail is thanks to the artistic inspiration of the architect and painter Dimitris Pikionis (1887-1968) who oversaw the church’s renovation.

CHURCH OF PANAGHIA KAPNIKAREA ERMOU STREET Strolling down Ermou at the heart of Athens’ shopping district, right in the middle of an area known for its attractive window displays and its street musicians, passersby cannot help but come across “Kapnikarea,” standing right in the middle of the street. The low perimeter wall doubles as a bench – a convenient meeting point or stop for a brief rest. This remarkable Byzantine church, which dates from the 11th century, holds a special celebration on November 21, on the occasion of the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin. This house of worship may have been named after the profession of the person who founded it:“Kapnikarios” would have been a collector of the Byzantine “kapnikos” tax, levied against households when

the presence of a hearth was determined by the visible smoke (kapnos) that could be seen rising from the chimney. Alternatively, the name may be a corruption of the words “kamoucharea” or “kamoukarea,” referring to workshops that once existed in the area and produced colorful silk fabrics adorned with branches and flowers. The present-day form of the “cross-in-square” church, with its dome supported on four columns, is the result of several modifications and reconstructions, the most major of which took place after the Greek Revolution of 1821, indicative of the turbulent history surrounding its location. In the 1940s, it had the good fortune to benefit from iconography by Photis Kontoglou.

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© MINISTRY OF CULTURE AND SPORTS/EPHORATE OF ANTIQUITIES OF THE CITY OF ATHENS, PHOTO: GETTY IMAGES/IDEAL IMAGE

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The stunning Acropolis, an aerial view from the east, with the Old Acropolis Museum (L), the Parthenon (C), and the Erechtheion and Propylaia (R).

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RED PAST

BY JOHN LEONA R D

From the heights of the Acropolis to the capital’s archaeological sites and museums, there’s so much of ancient Athens to explore in the modern metropolis.

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At the Acropolis Museum, visitors ascend the Gallery of the Acropolis Slopes as they would experience a climb on the Sacred Rock itself.

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hen you head to Athens, come prepared for adventure. Pack your curiosity, a healthy dose of stamina and comfortable footwear.

Many sights – large and small, major and minor, resoundingly awesome and quietly amusing – await you. Whether jostling among crowds at the Parthenon or exploring hidden corners of the ancient city, you’re following in the footsteps of countless travelers – ancient, medieval and modern – who also had the “history bug” and came to this venerable spot seeking the glory that was Classical Athens.

Long before Rome appeared, expanding its power beyond Italy’s shores to swallow up Greece and conquer a Mediterranean-wide empire, the Greeks had established a reputation as far-reaching sea traders, democracy-builders, philosophers, scientists and gifted artists. It is important today to look back on what they did and to savor the depth and breadth

of past human thought and achievement, as we can never fully appreciate the present, nor wisely plan for our future, without first understanding the past.

Whether it’s Periclean temples, sculpted maidens, colonnaded marketplaces, gilded icons, a marble-gated suburb, or the elegant façade of an Ottoman madrasa, Athens has much to offer. Near the Panathenaic Stadium, Socrates and a student once strolled beside the shady, winding Ilissos River, pausing to wet their feet and sit beneath a tree… Today, we might recapture some of that same refreshing serenity they experienced 2,400 years ago by ambling along the tree-canopied paths of the nearby National Garden. Athens is a city of ruins, mysterious traces and, above all, imagination, where we can enjoy discovering the essence of Hellenic culture, an ever-evolving phenomenon that has nonetheless remained constantly fascinating through the centuries.

PLEASE NOTE: Winter hours apply from November 1st to March 31st.

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THE ATHENIAN AGORA

ACROPOLIS AREA

The Sacred Rock… the place to start your Athenian experience. With its now splendidly restored Propylaea, and Temple of Athena Nike, and, of course, the Parthenon and Erechtheion, this spot is not to be missed. Around its slopes are the Theater of Dionysus, the Sanctuary of Asclepius, the Odeon (“Music Hall”) of Herodes Atticus and the cave shrines of Pan and other ancient gods. It is, without a doubt, the city’s crown jewel - and the views are amazing from here!

Tel. (+30) 210.321.4172 Open daily 08:00-17:00 • Admission: €20 (a €30 combo ticket covers all main archaeological sites in Athens) •

THE ACROPOLIS MUSEUM

The fresh face of the Acropolis: a dynamic, inspiring museum with fascinating exhibits, helpful family programs and services, excellent shops (with books and gifts) and a superb restaurant. Tour the building as you might scale the Acropolis, passing small shrines, mythical creatures, Archaic ladies, the original Caryatids and the majestic Parthenon sculptures in their crowning glass-walled gallery.

Explore the museum’s newly opened archaeological site as well.

THE ATHENIAN AGORA

As the city’s main square, marketplace and government headquarters, the Agora was ground zero in ancient Athenian life. Adult male citizens from all walks of life crossed paths here, as they strolled, conversed, shopped, served on juries, cast ostracism ballots, offered sacrifices, watched street performers and learned the news of the day. The Temple of Hephaestus stood in the traditional metalworkers’ district. Today, the Stoa of Attalos contains the Agora’s museum.

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THE MUSEUM OF THE ANCIENT AGORA

Located in the Stoa of Attalos, a 2nd-century BC “shopping mall” in the Athenian Agora. This museum offers a peek at the daily lives and funerary practices of ancient Athens’ diverse citizenry. Don’t miss the warrior’s tomb with its “killed” sword; the eyelets and hobnails from Simon the Shoemaker’s House; the juryselection machine; and the potsherd ballots nominating Themistocles and others for ostracism.

Admission to the Museum of the Ancient Agora, located within the archaeological site of the Athenian Agora, is included in the entry fee for the Agora; opening hours are the same for both.

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15 Dionysiou Areopagitou • Tel. (+30) 210.900.0900 • theacropolismuseum.gr • Open: Mon-Thu 09:00-17:00, Fri 09:00-22:00, Sat & Sun 09:00-20:00 • Admission: €5 •

24 Adrianou • Tel. (+30) 210.321.0185 • Open daily 08:00-17:00 • Admission: €5 •

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© MINISTRY OF CULTURE AND SPORTS/EPHORATE OF ANTIQUITIES OF THE CITY OF ATHENS, PHOTO: PERIKLES MERAKOS

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© MINISTRY OF CULTURE AND SPORTS/EPHORATE OF ANTIQUITIES OF THE CITY OF ATHENS, PHOTO: VANGELIS ZAVOS

KERAMEIKOS KERAMEIKOS

THE ROMAN AGORA

As the Romans revitalized Athens, Julius Caesar and Octavian (Augustus) sponsored a new agora. Don’t be fooled by the “Classical” Doric gateway; this public complex dates to the 1st century BC. Once frequented by merchants, shoppers and semi-literate prostitutes who scratched advertisements on its columns, the market also features the Tower of the Winds; the ornate façade of a ruined Ottoman school; and the restored 17th-century Fethiye Mosque.

THE CITY OF HADRIAN (HADRIANOPOLIS)

Hadrian, the greatest of Roman Hellenophiles, funded the creation of this new Athenian “suburb,” accessed from the old city through an arched, monumental gateway. Dominating the neighborhood was the enormous Temple of Olympian Zeus. The banks of the Ilissos River, covered with shrines, temples and lush vegetation, made this area a uniquely appealing district.

Entrance from Vasilissis Olgas Avenue • Tel. (+30) 210.922.6330 • Open daily 08:00-17:00 • Admission: €4 •

Pelopida, Plaka • Tel. (+30) 210.324.5220 • Open daily 08:00-17:00 • Admission: €4 •

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KERAMEIKOS

Occupying ancient Athens’ northwestern quarter and watered by the Eridanos River, Kerameikos was a lush, clay-rich district that was a center for potters.

The adjacent Sacred Gate and Dipylon Gate stood here, from which roads led to the sanctuary of Artemis at Eleusis, Athens’ public and state burial grounds and Plato’s Academy. It’s likely, then, that the area’s regulars also included soldiers, prostitutes, philosophers, pilgrims, grieving families and professional mourners.

148 Ermou Tel. (+30) 210.346.3552 • Open daily: 8:00-17:00 • Admission: €4 • •

THE SOUTHWESTERN HILLS

On Pnyx Hill, a natural amphitheater that once hosted gatherings of the People’s Assembly (Ekklesia), Athenian statesmen delivered fiery speeches from a rockcut rostrum while enjoying a panoramic view of the Acropolis and Athenian Agora. In Roman times, an exiled Syrian prince received a lavish burial on the adjoining Hill of the Muses, where his now-ruinous tomb, the Philopappos Monument, remains a prominent landmark.

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© INTIME NEWS

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THE NATIONAL ARCHAEOLOGICAL MUSEUM

PLAKA

Hadrian also gave Roman Athens a new forum (agora), with a library and lecture halls. Two early Christian churches were later built in the central courtyard of Hadrian’s Library. East of the Acropolis, the Lysicrates Monument commemorates a producer’s victory in a musical contest at the Theater of Dionysus. Lord Byron once used the hollow base of this oversized “trophy stand” as his private study.

PANATHENAIC STADIUM

Built in the 4th century BC

by Lykourgos to serve Athens’ Panathenaic Games, the Panathenaic Stadium was veneered in gleaming white Pentelic marble by Herodes Atticus almost five centuries later. In 1896, after extensive restoration, it hosted the first modern Olympics. Today, it stands as an impressive monument to Greece’s contributions to world sport.

Vasileos Konstantinou (opposite the statue of the Discus Thrower by Konstantinos Dimitriadis) • Tel. (+30) 210.752.2984-6 • Open daily 08:00-17:00 • Admission: €5 (with a guide) •

The Library of Hadrian • 3 Areos, Monastiraki • Tel. (+30) 210.324.9350 • Open daily 08:00-17:00 • Admission: €3 •

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THE NUMISMATIC MUSEUM OF ATHENS

THE NATIONAL ARCHAEOLOGICAL MUSEUM

12 Panepistimiou Tel. (+30) 210.363.2057 • Open daily 09:00-16:00 except Tue • Admission: €3

44 Patission Tel. (+30) 213.214.4800 • Open: Wed-Mon 09:00-16:00, Tue 12:30-20:00 • Admission: €6

This luxurious mansion was once the personal residence of the wealthy German businessman Heinrich Schliemann, father of Greek archaeology. Now Athens’ Numismatic Museum, its lavishly painted walls and ornate marble floors add further splendor to displays of gold, silver and bronze coins. Its unique exhibition highlights the artistry and significance of coinage through history.

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An essential experience for anyone who appreciates ancient Greek art. Exquisitely sculpted masterpieces of bronze, marble and gold, including the golden “Mask of Agamemnon,” inlaid Mycenaean daggers, colorful Santorini wall paintings and a vast collection of painted vases displaying gods, heroes, favorite myths and fascinating glimpses into ancient life. This museum is truly a feast, never tiring and always inspiring.

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THE BYZANTINE & CHRISTIAN MUSEUM

With one of Athens’ most visually striking collections, featuring Byzantine icons, richly woven clerical vestments, ecclesiastical artifacts and more recent works of Christian art, this museum tells the story of continued faith and cultural persistence and of Byzantium’s centuries-long imperial influence and far-reaching spiritual legacy.

22 Vasilissis Sofias Tel. (+30) 213.213.9517 • Open: Wed-Mon 09:00-16:00, Tue closed • Admission: €4 •

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BENAKI MUSEUM

The main Benaki Museum in Kolonaki provides a fascinating overview of Greek history and civilization through a broad collection of ancient, medieval, Greek Revolution-era and early modern artifacts and art.

Contemporary art and photography are showcased at 138 Pireos Street, while the Benaki’s Museum of Islamic Art in Kerameikos explores the richness of Middle Eastern art, jewelry, textiles, rare navigational devices and much more.

THE MUSEUM OF CYCLADIC ART

One of the most pleasant and edifying museum experiences in Athens can be had here. The primary focus is prehistoric Cycladic culture, enriched with thematic exhibits illustrating the full range of ancient Greek art (2000 BC-AD 395) as it deals with gods and heroes, daily life, warfare and death. Ancient Cyprus is also represented, and kids will love the engaging interactive displays.

4 Neophytou Douka, Kolonaki Tel. (+30) 210.722.8321-3 • Open Mon, Wed, Fri, Sat 10:0017:00, Thu 10:00-20:00, Sun 11:0017:00 • Admission: €7, €3.50 on Mon •

1 Koumpari & Vasilissis Sofias, Kolonaki • Tel. (+30) 210.367.1000 • Open: Mon, Wed, Fri, Sat: 10:0018, Thu 10:00-24:00, Sun: 10:0016:00 • Admission: €9 •

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138 PIREOS STREET 138 Pireos & Andronikou • Tel. (+30) 210.345.3111 • Open: Thu, Sun 10:00-18:00, Fri, Sat 10:00-22:00 • Admission: €6-8 •

© KATERINA KAMPITI

MUSEUM OF ISLAMIC ART • 22 Aghion Asomaton & 12 Dipylou • Tel. (+30) 210.345.1311 • Open: Thu-Sun 10:00-18:00 • Admission: €9

THE MUSEUM OF CYCLADIC ART

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In the Archaic Gallery, a young boy points at the color pigments used by painters in antiquity to color the sculptures.

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IT’S A KID’S WORLD, TOO Engaging family programs, suitable for children of all age groups, offer new perspectives on the treasures of antiquity.

BY A L E X A N DR A M A N DR A KOU

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here was a time when the owl, an animal that’s intrinsically linked to the myth of the goddess Athena, was my younger daughter’s favorite animal. She had never seen one of these nocturnal birds of prey, but the marble sculpture of one that adorns the entrance to the Acropolis Museum made a lasting impression. Similarly, her sister would beg me to style her hair like a Caryatid, as she had studied one of them in the Erechtheion gallery and loved the intricacy of her coiffure. Museum-goers since infancy, both my daughters have singled out the Acropolis Museum as the place they’d gladly return to again and again. And I

THE CONTENTS OF THE BACKPACKS EXCITE THE IMAGINATION AND ADD SOME FUN TO THE SERIOUS BUSINESS OF TOURING THE EXHIBITION SPACES.

A school group comes face to face with the famous Kritios Boy, a characteristic sculpture of the so-called “Severe Style.”

think I know why: every time we go back, we discover (or come up with) something new and different to see and do.

LITTLE BACKPACKERS What child doesn’t love rooting into bags or boxes filled with small surprises?

The contents of the Family Backpacks loaned out by the Information Desk, right beside the ticket area, excite the children’s imaginations and add some fun to the serious business of touring the exhibition spaces. These well-designed packs are tailored to different age groups, with various difficulty levels and recommended activities. “In Search of the Goddess of Athens” is dedicated to Athena; the “Parthenon Sculptures” focuses on the Parthenon Gallery; and “Archaic Colors” – my girls’ favorite – is about the collection of Archaic statues that still have some of 116

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A pith-helmeted “adventurer” supervises the removal of the Parthenon’s sculptures, in the Museum’s LEGO™ Acropolis model – a highlight for kids!

© GIORGOS VITSAROPOULOS

© HENNING BODE/LAIF

© KATERINA KAMPITI

On the second floor, a young girl looks at the impressive LEGO™ Acropolis model, donated to the Museum by the University of Sydney’s Nicholson Museum.

A view ancient visitors never had: behind the statues of the Parthenon’s east pediment, in the Parthenon Gallery. The two horses’ heads in the foreground are original, while the two beside them are copies of the authentic works now in the British Museum.

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Color the Kore! Some of the new “looks” young visitors have chosen for this stoic miniature lady of ancient Athens.

they can continue their tour with online digital games available on the museum’s website. Of these, we’ve accessed the coloring game to make our own versions of the Peplos Kore (theacropolismuseum. gr/peploforos), and we’ve also asked the

© ANGELOS GIOTOPOULOS

their original colors. A series of well-designed games involving magnetic stickers, dominoes, memory cards, puzzles and other elements encourages children to search the exhibits for the “tools” needed to complete certain tasks. Back home,

The museum’s “family backpacks” get everyone involved and help the younger ones enjoy learning all about the Parthenon’s sculptures. Pediments? Metopes? Frieze? Pass the puzzle!

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flying robot Glafka to show us around the restoration work that’s being carried out on the Acropolis monuments (acropolisvirtualtour.gr/theglafkaproject).

TIME-SAVING MANUALS Sometimes parents need to keep the museum visit short; whether you have other commitments or you’re simply worried about your little ones growing restless, the pamphlets distributed free of charge by the Information Desk will help you plan a well-targeted tour that will keep the little ones engaged. Using the pamphlet maps and guided by Iris – the personification of the rainbow and a messenger of the gods – you can help youngsters aged three to five spot well-known depictions of animals, and they can do it while wearing an owl or lion mask made from the pamphlet’s last page. For kids aged five to seven, you can take a family tour of the exhibition halls. Children aged eight to 10 are encouraged to seek depictions of Hermes, Athena, Demeter, Poseidon and

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KIDS’ FAVORITE EXHIBITS The Calf-Bearer: This sculpture is regarded as one of the most important dedications found at the Acropolis sanctuary. Made of grey Ymittos marble, it depicts a bearded man carrying a calf to be sacrificed to the goddess Athena.

Why do children like it?

Because of the calf and because the inscription is backwards.

The Hunting Dog: This marble sculpture of a hunting dog, poised for the kill and rendered in its natural size, was found south of the Parthenon.

Why do children like it?

Because it ‘s so lifelike.

The Caryatids: The six maidens, sculpted of Parian marble, who held up the roof of the Erechtheion. One of the statues was removed by Lord Elgin in 1801 and is currently at the British Museum.

Why do children like them?

Because they’re beautiful, and very different from typical load-bearing columns.

The Hecatompedon: The most important early structure on the Acropolis, probably built on the site later occupied by the Classical Parthenon.

Why do children like it?

Because of the amazing sculpted images from its pediment, depicting Heracles wrestling with Triton; and the Three-Bodied Monster, sometimes called “Bluebeard,” with a strange snake tail, holding in its hands three elements of nature: water, fire and air.

The Parthenon Frieze: A fundamental structural element of the temple, the frieze was placed above the architrave. Created by Pheidias, it depicts the Panathenaia, a celebration held in honor of Athena.

It comprised 115 marble blocks, stretching across 160 meters, 50 of which are on display at the Acropolis Museum, 80 at the British Museum, one at the Louvre in Paris and various other sections at museums in Palermo, the Vatican, Wurzburg, Vienna, Munich and Copenhagen.

Why do children like it?

For the horses and the riders.

The hunting dog in the Archaic Acropolis Gallery. Together with a second dog, not entirely preserved, the pair may have flanked the entrance of the sanctuary of Artemis Brauronia on the Acropolis.

the other gods of Olympus on vessels and the Parthenon pediments; or to closely examine ten selected exhibits, chosen to symbolize the museum’s 10th anniversary, and design their own greeting cards.

UILDING THE ACROPOLIS B PIECE BY PIECE Don’t be surprised if you end up spending as much time on the impressive model of the Acropolis composed of 120,000 LEGO™ bricks – located on the second floor by the restaurant –as you did on all the other activities and exhibits. Donated by the Nicholson Museum of Australia’s University of Sydney, this is, without a doubt, the Acropolis Museum’s greatest highlight for most youngsters.

They can spend hours looking at all the cool and sometimes outlandish details: Gandalf from “The Lord of the Rings” climbing up the Acropolis; Alexander the Great in conversation with the philosopher Diogenes; gigantic statues of Athena Promachos, where the goddess is depicted as a warrior; Lord Elgin supervising the removal of the Parthenon sculptures as the sculptor Phidias looks on angrily; and Agatha Christie having her picture taken on the Sacred Rock.

BOOKS AND GIFTS Complete your visit with a souvenir from the gift shop. The children’s department in the second-floor bookshop has a great selection of coloring books, as well as books on history and mythology. It also has comics and adaptations of Aristophanes’ comedies. Titles are arranged by language (Greek, English, German, Italian, French, Spanish, Turkish and Chinese); the books in the English-language section are arranged according to age group as well.

Should your children not want to part with their red backpacks, the ground-floor gift shop sells some of the items they contain, such as the Parthenon puzzle or the memory game with depictions of Athena.

INFO

15 Dionysiou Areopagitou, Tel. (+30) 210.900.0900, open Mon-Thu 09:00-17:00, Fri 09:00-22:00, Sat & Sun 09:00-20:00, theacropolismuseum.gr

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“Chef George Bakas is bound to turn this newcomer into a destination restaurant. The views alone are enough to draw a crowd.”

THE BEST ROOFTOP VIEW IN ATHENS | MODERN GREEK CUISINE | OPEN TUES - SUN TILL 1AM

The Alex Hotel 109 Alex Papanastasiou Avenue, 18757, Pireaus Reservations: +302104175108 www.thealex.com

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THE BRILLIANCE OF MARBLE From prehistoric Cycladic figurines to the Parthenon Marbles and beyond, marble has been used time and again in Greek art and architecture to honor the gods, celebrate beauty and impress the public.

Inside the Erechtheion’s iconic south porch: procession of the elegant Caryatids.

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MINISTRY OF CULTURE AND SPORTS/EPHORATE OF ANTIQUITIES OF THE CITY OF ATHENS

© NELLYS/GETTY IMAGES/IDEAL IMAGE

BY JOHN LEONA R D

“‘Marble‘ evoked brilliance and artistic perfection, and became a stock epithet for the most exquisite items of ancient culture. To call something marmoreus was not to describe a raw lump of rock, but a shaped, crafted, polished work of art.”

Mark Bradley (2013)

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Men cutting new marble from old quarries on Mt. Penteli (1956), during restorations of the Athenian Agora & Stoa of Attalus

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ISLAND GODDESSES No doubt about it. Greece is marble.

From time immemorial, marble has been a ubiquitous material in the Greek lands, a vibrant, glowing stone first exploited in prehistoric sculpture in the Late Neolithic era (5300-4500 BC), but most visibly in the third millennium BC during the Aegean Early Bronze Age. The single most iconic product of prehistoric Cycladic culture, especially at its peak in the Early Cycladic II period (2800-2300 BC), were white marble figurines of women, possibly fertility goddesses, standing with their arms folded and heads tilted slightly back. The simple, natural beauty and almost transparent quality of the marble used for Cycladic figurines have long intrigued viewers but, as we now know, for both this and later periods, the white stone was essentially a blank canvas that sculptors, in the final stage of their work, often enhanced with brightly colored paints. Modern laboratory analyses have shown traces of prehistoric color preserved not only on the marble figurines, but on marble and clay vessels as well, and even on bone tools, too.

RIVAL PRODUCERS Marble quarries in the Bronze Age were found on many Aegean islands, but modern studies have also shown the main sources were Naxos, Keros, Paros and Ios. With the advent of the Archaic era (ca. 800 BC), marble-working again became a major artistic industry.

On Delos, the struggle between Naxos and Paros for hegemony over the sacred island resulted in the Naxians erecting monumental dedications to Apollo, crafted from their local stone, including their imposing Lions (late 7th c. BC), Colossos (late 7th/early 6th c. BC) and Oikos (575 BC), a building described by archaeologist Konstantinos Tsakos as “the first in the history of architecture in which the upper structure and roof were of marble.�

Paros ultimately prevailed, however, at least in the race for marble supremacy, as its white homogeneous marble was of superior quality and easy to carve. Parian marble became the premier material sought after by sculptors across the Aegean and mainland Greece. Quarried underground in 124

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Left: Merenda Kouros, Parian marble (540-530 BC, NAM).

Right: The marble Cup-Bearer (c. 2500 BC, MCA).

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long shafts, where slaves worked by lamplight, the stone became known as “Lychnitis,” from the word “lychnos” or lamp. The island’s enormous Quarry of the Nymphs, according to architect Manolis Korres, must have produced nearly 100,000 cubic meters of usable marble. At Delphi, in the 6th and early 5th centuries BC, Parian marble was used for the Treasury of the Siphnians and the façades of the second Temple of Apollo and the Treasury of the Athenians. Not to be overlooked, the Naxians erected a white marble sphinx (550 BC) on a tall column just below the Temple of Apollo, where ascending visitors saw it first, gleaming in the foreground.

ATTIC MARBLES Attica also produced great quantities of marble in antiquity, with the Classical sanctuary of Athena on the Athenian Acropolis, famously renovated by Pericles in the 5th century BC, providing a magnificent showcase for the extraordinary stone of Mt Penteli.

The first use of Pentelic marble on the Acropolis was in the Older Parthenon, begun just after the Greek victory over the Persians at Marathon (490 BC). This temple of Athena was still unfinished when the Persians invaded Athens in 480 BC and desecrated the Acropolis.

With the launch of Pericles’ building program in the 440s BC, Pentelic marble became the primary material of the Acropolis’ new buildings, as well as of buildings in the surrounding area and of many sculpted votive offerings and other statues.

Pentelic marble first appeared in sculpture about 570 BC, while marble of lesser quality from Mt Ymittos was employed in the Archaic era for inscribed steles on the Acropolis. Quarries at Agrileza in southern Attica produced a soft, crumbly marble, which was nevertheless exploited for the Temple of Poseidon at Sounio (444-440 BC). Numerous marble male “Kouros” statues have been found in Attica, but not all were carved from local stone. The marble of the Sounion Kouros (ca. 600 BC) reveals it was an artwork imported from Naxos.

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PERICLEAN PERFECTION The sheer amount of Pentelic marble required to construct the Periclean Parthenon is breathtaking. Although the foundations are limestone, the entire original superstructure was marble, including the stepped crepidoma (base); 108 exterior and interior columns; 444 coffered ceiling panels; 92 sculpted metopes; the 160 m-long Ionic frieze; the cella’s walls; the pediments, cornices, architraves and beams; the pedimental sculptures and roof-top akroteria; and 9,000 marble roof tiles. Today’s restoration works on the Parthenon also rely on marble from Mt Penteli, nearly identical to the original material, which is extricated from an area behind the prominent peak, whose ancient quarrying scars can still be clearly seen.

Around the Acropolis, the Temple of Hephaestus (begun 445 BC) in the Athenian Agora was also built of Pentelic marble, although its cornice, ceiling, sculpted frieze and other carved architectural elements were rendered in Parian marble. Opposite, the Stoa of Attalos (2nd c. BC), in its currently restored state, contains both Pentelic marble and limestone. The Lysicrates Monument (335/334 BC) in Plaka is pure Pentelic marble.

TIMELESS LABOR OF LOVE The perfection of ancient marble buildings, most notably the Parthenon, is something we can only wonder at nowadays as, even with modern power tools and space-age methods, we’re just beginning to replicate the extraordinary precision and speed of the ancient masons. Using hand tools, including a variety of iron chisels, sharp-tipped points, saws, hammers, wooden and iron wedges, squares, compasses and graduated measuring bars, they achieved final products with margin of errors amounting to only a few millimeters. These craftsmen took enormous pride in their work and considered their efforts a gift to Athena or the other gods.

Master marble masons were highly experienced in selecting the best marble to carve, as the material can have cracks, weaknesses and other hidden

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The Parthenon (east view), a Pentelic-marble masterpiece; it originally had 108 columns.

MINISTRY OF CULTURE AND SPORTS/EPHORATE OF ANTIQUITIES OF THE CITY OF ATHENS, PHOTO: GETTY IMAGES/IDEAL IMAGE

Greek warships were adorned with carved wooden mastheads depicting ancient heroes.

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Visual, material connections: Hadrian’s Pentelic-marble Olympieion with Pericles’ Pentelic-marble Acropolis behind it

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MINISTRY OF CULTURE AND SPORTS/EPHORATE OF ANTIQUITIES OF THE CITY OF ATHENS

The curtain of columns at the Hellenistic Stoa of Attalos.

flaws. Then, aided by other workers, they had to extract the stone from mountain quarries and transport it to the worksite, using ropes and wooden winches, cranes, sledges, carts and rollers.

Rough shaping might take place at the quarry, but final finishing was done on site, including the carving of a column’s delicate flutes after its final placement.

Today’s restoration masons follow ageold techniques but are trained somewhat differently. For example, while a contemporary craftsman might “plow” marble in straight lines with his chisel, the marks visible on ancient stones reveal his classical forerunners often sat on a block and chiseled around themselves in circular, zigzag patterns.

ROMAN LUXURY Roman rule in Greece witnessed a resurgence in the use of Pentelic marble, as Julius Caesar and Octavian (Augustus) employed it in Athens for the “archaizing” gateway of their new Roman Agora (1st c. BC). In the 2nd century AD, the enormous Temple of Olympian

Zeus was completed and an elegant city gate erected by the philhellene emperor Hadrian, while the Panathenaic Stadium (Kallimarmaro) was entirely veneered by Herodes Atticus – a project reported by Pausanias to have nearly exhausted Penteli’s supply of marble. The Romans were not merely satisfied with white marble, however. At the start of the empire, discovering the spectrum of polychrome marbles that could be acquired around the eastern Mediterranean, they began to import green and red marble from the Peloponnese, grey marble from Evia and black marble from Chios. Green marble also came from Skyros and Tinos, while Thasos provided a fine white marble that could rival Pentelic. The marble industry also thrived on Mt Ymittos, where quarries produced a grey or bluish-grey stone much beloved by the Romans. A cave on Ymittos above Vari contains a carved relief of a quarryman (“Archedemos”) holding a hammer and square (ca. 400 BC); the mysterious marble “dragon houses” above Kaisariani may have been accommodations for ancient quarry workers.

MARBLE TRADITIONS Today, traditional marble working is carried on primarily by craftsmen trained on the island of Tinos. Tinian masons were employed in the reconstruction of the Stoa of Attalos (1950s), and their sons ascended the Acropolis in the mid-1970s to begin work on the Erechtheion. Now, notes Acropolis Restoration Service (YSMA) architect Lena Lambrinou, a third generation of these craftsmen are engaged in the works on the Parthenon. A long-held Tinian legend claims the island’s inhabitants were originally taught the art of sculpture

by Phidias himself, whose ship, en route to Delos, was forced by strong winds to shelter at Tinos. Whether this story is true or not, the Tinians did play a role in the development of modern Athens, where today one finds many grand marble edifices, including the Academy of Athens, the Athens Concert Hall and the National Library. Many Athenian apartments built in the 1960s and 70s have traditional marble kitchen sinks, and even many curbs lining the streets are marble. As we said at the start, Greece is marble!

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ROCK OF AGES

Inspired by the neoclassical movement and answering the needs of city authorities to decorate public spaces and to honor prominent figures, talented modern sculptors rendered marble with particular finesse, gifting contemporary Athens with many elegant works.

B Y VA S S I L I S M I N A K A K I S P HO T O S C L A I RY MOUSTA F E L L OU

“Sleeping Woman� (1878), by Yannoulis Chalepas, from the tomb of 18-year-old Sofia Afentaki in the First Cemetery of Athens.

The beautiful young Athenian, after declining several wedding proposals, fell in love with an Italian tenor. When her father did not approve of the relationship, however, she ended her own life and her beloved shot himself.

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01 Dimitrios Filippotis, who, like Chalepas, hailed from the island of Tinos, created the statue of the “Young Fisherman” in 1874. The work, which stands in a pool in the Zappeion Gardens, depicts a young boy sitting on a rock, trying to remove a hook from a freshly-caught fish.

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02 Inspired by the winged god of love who caused people to fall in love by shooting them with his arrows, Georgios Vroutos created a sculpture depicting Eros breaking his bow. The 1896 work, is also to be found at the Zappeion.

03 Yet another sculpture at the Zappeion, opposite the Kallimarmaro Stadium, is the exquisite “Xylothravstis” (“Wood Breaker”) by Demetrios Filippotis, carved in 1908, which combines brawn with grace.

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01 Pericles (495-429 BC), classical Athens’ emblematic leader, will forever be identified with the architectural masterpieces he erected on the Acropolis at the peak of Athenian democracy. His statue (1971), standing outside the Athens City Hall, is a work by Heinrich Faltermeier. 02 Sculpted by Fokion Rok and unveiled in 1937, the likeness of Georgios Karaiskakis (1780-1827) can be found on the Avenue of Heroes in Pedion tou Areos Park. One of the leading figures of the Greek Revolution, the man known as the “Nun’s Son” met his end in the Battle of Faliro, possibly from a stray bullet.

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03 Konstantinos Kanaris (1795-1877), an admiral and a symbol of the Greek Revolution’s naval struggle, later served as Prime Minister of Greece. His bust by Michalis Tombros (1937) is another one of the sculptures that adorn the Avenue of Heroes.

04 This bust of Odysseas Androutsos (1788-1825), a leader of the Greek Revolution, is a work by Thanasis Apartis (1937) that also stands on the Avenue of Heroes. In 1822, near an inn at Gravia, Androutsos and a small group of fellow freedom fighters defeated a large Ottoman force under Omer Vrioni.

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FOCUS MASTERPIECES Greek statesman Harilaos Trikoupis (1832-1896), is known for both important modernization efforts and the bankruptcy of the state under his leadership. His statue (1920), designed by Thomas Thomopoulos to portray a person of vision, stands outside the Old Parliament, which now houses the National Historical Museum. The marble angel on the pedestal seems to be reading Trikoupis’ famous words: “Greece wants to live and will live.”

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REIMAGINING

MARBLE

©ROOZ AHMADIAN

A number of Greek designers are combining the classical elegance of marble with the sharp new look of cutting-edge contemporary design, creating unique decorative and jewelry items.

BY X E N I A GEORGI A DOU

© GEORGE MAKRIS

Long earrings, made of Tinos marble and gilded silver.

© ALEXANDER PAPADIAS

Contemporary marble sculpture at Four Seasons Astir Palace.

Hotel Athens.

Marble pendant light.

© MARGARITA NIKITAKI

© JOSH GADDY

Table lamp made of Skyros marble.

FOCUS DESIGN

ALEXANDER PAPADIAS AND ANNA-CHRISTINA FRACTOPOULOU

CLOSE ENCOUNTERS creative to design, and it counterbalances all of the rules that you need to follow working as an architect.”

INFO makeworkshop.eu

© VANGELIS ZAVOS

include it in items with which the user will have more frequent bodily contact, such as doorbells, knobs, lamps… As a finished product, it may seem like a cold material, but if while you’re working it, for instance, you burn it, or hit it, you’ll get a more earthy result, something different from the stereotypical image that we Greeks have about what the applications of marble should be.”

They both state that their design work has had a positive impact on the way that they now approach architecture: “You’ve had contact with the material, so at a construction site you’re better placed to propose solutions, you achieve the desired result more painlessly. You have greater freedom and flexibility, you understand the difficulties the construction teams face. It is, additionally, very

Table lamp made of Calacatta Stauario marble and bronze, for the Nikos Koulis jewelry boutique.

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© ALEXANDER PAPADIAS

“In a way, I married into marble,” says the architect and designer Alexander Papadias. His wife and business partner – also an architect – comes from a family of marble masons from Ioannina.

“That was something that made accessing and experimenting with the material easier,” says Papadias. He explains that, given the right circumstances, an architect always wants to have a say in the design of objects such as lighting fixtures or pieces of furniture.

In the depths of the economic crisis, the couple took on a number of jobs related to interior design and so, bit by bit, ended up designing items as a side job.

“What enchants us with marble, apart from its robustness, is the feeling you have when you touch it and feel its temperature. That’s why we try to

© JOSH GADDY

© ROOZ AHMADIAN

FOCUS DESIGN

“Phaethon” credenza, made of marble and wood. “Ilios” table lamps, with marble and bronze bases. “Phylax” coffee tables made of Skyros marble.

Handmade table lamp “Keryx” made of Skyros marble and bronze.

DIANNA KARVOUNIS AND VIVIAN PHILIPPA

NO LIMITS image. “Over the past few years, marble has become very fashionable very quickly,” Dianna says, noting, too, how trends evolve over time.

The pair themselves combine marble with rare woods or brass in a number of items: trays, candelabras and lights – both table and wall lamps, coffee tables, console tables and seats. All of their creations exhibit their refined design aesthetic, which sees archetypal symbols and forms used in a contemporary way.

What excites them the most is the comprehensive study of a space, from its architectural design down to the smallest details that affect its aesthetics. Currently, they are conducting research into stone screens, decorative elements which are usually used in walls, offering natural light,

ventilation and privacy. “You can use marble anywhere you can think of,” Vivian says. “It has a limitless range of applications.”

INFO anaktae.com

© VANGELIS ZAVOS

They reminisce about wonderful marble decorations that once adorned the façades of old Athenian apartment buildings. Their eyes light up as they recall marble fountains they have spotted at junkyards and vintage marblework discovered in abandoned villas.

Co-founders of Anaktae, Vivian Philippa and Dianna Karvounis are passionate champions of the skill of Greece’s marble masons. Both already with lengthy careers in their respective fields – Vivian in architecture and Dianna in industrial design – they began working together in 2009, each complementing the creative world of the other. They agree that, in Greece, there are presumptions regarding marble and its cost, but they don’t think it will take much to change that

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NIKI AND ZOE MOSKOFOGLOU

THE MEANING OF TRANSFORMATION emotions it triggers in the user. We are not interested in something that works in isolation.”

INFO onentropy.co.uk

© VANGELIS ZAVOS

inherent in the material itself, which is why we thought it was a fitting name,” they say. They recall how, when they showed their work a decade ago, viewers could hardly recognize what their lighting designs were made of.

For the past five years, using marble has become an international decorating trend, and there are now many types available to the designers, which allows them to work with flexibility, using different textures.

From the first years of their partnership to their participation in 2016 at the London Design Biennale and their most recent collections, their guiding principle has remained the same.

“We design on the basis of a space, and we think about how a piece of furniture can work in a specific context, what

© MINORSTEP

“Marble is defined best through its contradictions,” argue designers Niki and Zoe Moskofoglou. “Translucent and dense, strong and fragile, classic and modern.” Niki is an architect, Zoe is a civil engineer with a postgraduate degree in cultural heritage. From 2010, they have focused on a material that they came to know through their metallurgist-engineer father.

It all began when Niki designed a lamp for her personal use. Orders from friends followed, and that prompted her to create the company On • entropy, a name inspired by a word with different interpretations in different fields – from thermodynamics to psychology. The two sisters focus on the transformation of the material.

“The sense of transformation is

Pendant lamp “Ray” made of Carrara marble and bronze.

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“Vanity” sconce, made of Carrara marble.

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FOCUS DESIGN

The designer’s hands at work, giving shape to yet another idea.

XENIA NEFELLY VLACHOU

MASSIVE CULTURAL WEIGHT

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challenge of doing something I’ve never tried before,” Vlachou says. “Last year, a girl brought me a piece of marble from Tinos and asked for a piece of jewelry that would remind her of her first holiday with her boyfriend. At the level of production, there isn’t the time to sculpt, and nor do I have that knowledge. Whatever I have achieved, I have achieved working with my tools on pieces that I cannot use elsewhere.

But to work the material alone brings you closer to artistic creation.”

INFO marmarometry.co

© VANGELIS ZAVOS

“Mini Orchestra” pendant and “Μycenae” earrings, both made of Tinos marble and gilded silver.

In 2009, Xenia Nefelly Vlachou, who had studied fashion design and fashion marketing, began taking jewelry-making lessons. “I‘d been designing jewelry since I was a student, but I never thought that I could do it professionally,” she says.

Initially, she experimented with neoprene and wood, before later turning to marble. “The first reaction of suppliers and masons was disheartening – many didn’t even take a couple of minutes to hear me out,” she recalls.

She finally found someone who would cut marble for use in small objects.

She presented her first collection in January of 2015 and, in the same year, picked up awards at a competition held by the Fund of Archaeological Proceeds (TAP) for new designers, to which she submitted three pieces.

“I wanted to work with a material that is ‘Greek,’ with a massive cultural weight, and to bring it into the present in a way that few might imagine,” she says.

Her creations, minimal and elegant, with architectural elements and geometric forms, are aimed at a broad audience and are intended for both everyday and formal looks.

“I’m captivated with rising to the

F O CUS FA S H I O N

THE BIRTH OF GREEK CHIC

From the sophisticated draped dresses seen on ancient Greek statues to the intricate embroidery decorating the traditional apparel of the provinces, elements of Greek culture continue to inspire local and foreign fashion designers alike.

BY NATA SH A BL AT SIOU

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© NIKOS KOKKALIAS

The style of the mid-’60s. Here, “Karagouna” silk twill dress by Yiannis Tseklenis (1967).

Left: Jean Dessès’ fashion shoot at the Parthenon, 1950s.

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T

he first thing that catches my eye at the exhibition “Greek Fashion: 100 Inspirational and Creative Years” at the Hellenic Cosmos Cultural Center is a poster featuring a piece by the well-known painter Nikos Engonopoulos, one of the country’s key figures of the surrealist movement. In it, a beautiful woman poses in a dress designed by Yiannis Evangelides, with evident influence from traditional Attic bridal gowns; the windmills in the background tell us she’s on Mykonos.

The year is 1938, and the occasion is the country’s first state fashion competition, featuring dresses inspired by folk culture.

Engonopoulos had been hired by the magazine La Mode Grecque to produce illustrations of this event, which signaled the debut of Greek fashion inspired by the country’s ancient culture and of its modest entrance onto the global runway.

The ongoing Hellenic Cosmos exhibition, the first of its kind in Greece, is wide-ranging, a fact that is evident from the moment that you step into the main display area and catch sight of the 137 garments comprising the show and covering a century of creative output. This is, however, just a small selection from the comprehensive fashion collection of the “Vasileios Papantoniou Peloponnesian Folklore Foundation” (PFF). Made up of 23,000 pieces, it is the lifework of PFF director Ioanna Papantoniou, a treasure that’s hidden away in various buildings in the historic seaside town of Nafplio, still waiting for the right conditions so it can be brought to light in its entirety.

The exhibition is designed to show the evolution of fashion in Greece over the past century. Pieces by famous Greek designers who enjoyed international acclaim, such as Evangelides and Jean Dessès, are showcased beside the work of humble, anonymous dressmakers. Tourist-targeted garments from the ‘60s and ‘70s are juxtaposed with the sophisticated creations of well-known designers. What unites them, however, is the fact that they were all inspired by different periods and aspects of Greek culture.

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Images from a photo board on display at the exhibition: 01. Jean Dessès at his Paris atelier in 1959. 02. Yannis Evangelides’ fashion shoot for “La Mode Grecque” magazine, Spring-Summer 1940. 03. Evening gown sketch

by Jean Dessès, Paris. 04. “La Mode Grecque” magazine cover. Dress by Yannis Evangelides, painted by Nikos Engonopoulos. 05. The revival of the atmosphere of Ancient Greece through the Delphi celebrations became a source of inspiration for the designers of the ‘30s. Pictured here, Anna Palmer-Sikelianou posing in Delphi. 06. Coco Chanel and Romy Schneider, in the early 60’s, sporting the trademark Chanel skirt suit. 07. The echo of ancient drapes reaches America and inspires international fashion (Cecil Beaton fashion shoot for Charles James, Vogue, 1948).

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© G. BOTTI / GETTY IMAGES / IDEAL IMAGE

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© CECIL BEATON / GETTY IMAGES / IDEAL IMAGE

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KOKOSALAKI WAS A MODERN DESIGNER WHO SHOWCASED HER “GREEKNESS” IN MUCH OF HER WORK.

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show’s curator, Nikos Saridakis. Pieces representing each decade are on display, starting with a clay-red dress of mercerized cotton embellished with embroidery.

The long pearl necklace, the period shoes and the characteristic hairstyle on the mannequin transport me to the 1920s, and I can almost hear the happy din of a dance hall where elegant young women move to the rhythm of the Charleston and wave long, thin cigarette holders in one hand. The brief decade-by-decade

introduction ends with a modern piece by the late Sophia Kokosalaki, the talented Greek designer who passed away at the age of 46 earlier this year. Her unique point of view, elegant style and technical sophistication are encapsulated in a timeless white dress, a piece that could just as well have been made thousands of years ago. Kokosalaki was a modern designer who showcased her “Greekness” in much of her work. It was her example that Jean Paul Gaultier, Karl Lagerfeld

© PERIKLES MERAKOS

The exhibits are arranged chronologically in order to highlight the evolution of Greek and international influences.

and even Dolce & Gabbana followed, creating entire collections inspired by ancient Greece and local costumes from the 18th and 19th centuries.

On the other side of the room, photographic panels show where designers found their inspiration. Influences range from the Minoan, Mycenean, Archaic, Classical and Hellenistic periods, through the Byzantine and Ottoman eras; the War of Independence is there, too, as is the 20th century, when Greek fashion began

to look to the West, and the present century as well.

The story of historical Greek designs in fashion starts when archaeological excavations brought ancient Greece to the spotlight and Greek influences spread across Europe and all the way to the United States. In 1903, dancer and choreographer Isadora Duncan took to wearing short white chitons and moved to Athens.

Pleats and drapery featured prominently in the clothing of French couturiers Paul

Poiret, Madeleine Vionnet and Madame Grès, as well as Spain’s Mariano Fortuny.

The trend then returned to Greece in the form of a counter-loan. Greece already boasted a couture scene, but this was almost exclusively limited to the palace and a few wealthy individuals, as the masses continued to wear traditional dress.

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White silk draped dress

by Sophia Kokosalaki, London 2005.

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PLAYING WITH TIME As I walk through the main part of the exhibition, which is also arranged chronologically, I note all the historical references, the different ways they are expressed and how they are applied today, at times overtly and at others more discreetly, in the geometry of a garment or in its embellishments. (Different textiles, threads, dyes, embroideries and knits are also celebrated in the exhibition, as are textures and color palettes.) More modern influences occasionally overshadow initial concepts, though often outfits accurately reflect aspects of the era that inspired them and a few are, in fact, faithful copies of much earlier work. It’s a fun game musing on the different eras and places represented by

these garments and wondering who wore them and for what occasion.

Who, for instance, was the woman in the rural town of Sparti in 1926 who wore that impressive muslin gown covered in beadwork? Was the loom-woven coat worn in 1930 by Greece’s very first tour guide, Marika Veloudiou, comfortable?

And that cutting-edge off-white satin dress with embroidered floral details on the back, what kind of impression did that make in 1940?

If I were a tourist, I would certainly never buy that 1950 linen dress with the ancient monuments on the shoulders and the hem! How was Fotini Livanou received

by New York’s high society in 1956 when she appeared in the strapless Evangelides gown with the hand-stitched flowers? That 1960 black woolen Tsopanellis ensemble embroidered with cord is simply a masterpiece, as is that jacket onto which Katerina Giannakea embroidered landscapes, rather than just painting them.

The guest star of the show is a piece that is being shown for the first time. It’s a dress by Dessès, known as “the king of muslin,” inspired by the Caryatids. The pale and egg yolk-yellow silk gown was worn by a former Greek queen, Anne-Marie, at a pre-wedding reception for Princess Beatrix in Amsterdam in March 1966.

It was recently discovered in a cupboard in the former royal palace in Tatoi, north of Athens, and was restored by the competent department of the Culture Ministry.

As I look around, I ask myself which of the exhibits I might wear today and am surprised to find there are quite a few I’d be happy to add to my wardrobe.

At a time when it feels that styles have become humdrum and homogenous, the wealth on display in this show is a feast of diversity.

The exhibition ends with the blue linen “Acropolis” skirt and the “Altis” dark blue chiffon blouse from Zeus & Dione’s 2020 Winter collection. This forward-thinking fashion brand creates pieces that are inspired by Greece and made in Greece with Greek materials, though with a modern take and designs. Its success is indicative of the heights Greek fashion has scaled in the past 100 years.

Above: The exhibition’s curator, Nikos Saridakis, attending to details (above).

Below: Detail from “Kymata” (“Waves”) wedding gown by the fashion house Tsouchlos (Athens, 1950).

© NIKOS KOKKALIAS

of the emergent middle class of the 1930s. World War II interrupted this trend, instead spurring the repurposing, recycling and redesigning of clothing.

The embroidered pieces of traditional costumes were cut out and put to one side for future use, while the remaining fabric was sewn into something new for daily wear. The end of the war brought the New Look that was introduced to Europe by Dior. In Greece, new designers joined the ranks of the old and together they marched into the 1950s to the tune of Europeanization and the dictates of tourism. “Island” fashion became all the rage, while drapes, pleats and folds reminiscent of the Caryatids and the statues of Athena Nike found favor, too.

Old embroidery pieces were taken out of drawers and added as decorative details in new creations. This trend carried Greek fashion into the 1960s, when Yannis Tseklenis rocked the domestic scene by giving Greek pret-a-porter international resonance, just as another revolution was taking place abroad. This was the advent of the miniskirt, an event that signaled a complete break with the forms of the past. Greek-inspired fashion’s international heyday lasted through the ‘70s butbegan to wane in the ‘80s, when punk and disco inspired a wave of new designers and the elements of “Greekness” all but vanished. Greek culture as a source of inspiration didn’t return until the start of the new century.

© NIKOS KOKKALIAS

F O CUS FA S H I O N

INFO

Hellenic Cosmos Cultural Center, 254 Pireos, Tavros, Tel. 212.254.0000, Tue-Thu 09:00-13:30, Fri 09:00-20:00, Sat 11:00-16:00, Sun 10:0018:00. To January 31, 2020 * This piece has drawn on material from the bilingual catalogue “Greek Fashion: 100 Inspirational and Creative Years,” as well as from a private tour conducted by the exhibition’s curator, the costume and set designer Nikos Saridakis.

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MODERN-DAY

ARTISANS

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Scarves splashed with imagery taken from digital collages, one-of-a-kind jewelry items, surprising silkscreen creations, light fixtures fashioned out of clay, and creations produced on an electric loom: Six artists blessed with great skill and plenty of imagination deliver the unexpected.

BY GIORG OS R I ZOP OU L OS , P ORT R A I T S N I KOS P I L OS

ZOE XEMANTILOTOU / NESO STUDIO Sculptor, jewelry designer You can count on the fingers of one hand the number of artists in Greece who immerse themselves in the difficult and time-consuming art of micro-sculpture. Zoe does; she’s also the youngest of the lot. Her jewelry creations are made of gilded silver using unique wax patterns and feature precious or semi-precious stones that look unrefined. Every piece has an organic quality, with fluid shapes, and no two are exactly alike. Neso, the brand name that Zoe has chosen, was one of the Nereids of myth, protectresses of the deep; her name has also been given to an irregularly shaped moon of the planet Neptune. The inspiration for Zoe’s work includes the sea and the creatures of the deep (after all, her family comes from the Aegean island of Aghios Efstratios); her studies in theater costume at the University of Athens’ School of Philosophy; her career experience, both as a costume designer and a creative director in the world of fashion; and her passion for stones and their energy. Her jewelry creations have been featured in British Vogue, in Vanity Fair and in Four Seasons Magazine, stirring up interest among New York galleries. Watching her at work is truly a singular experience.

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MANOLIS ANGELAKIS / TIND Silkscreen printer extraordinaire Just when you thought you’d finally managed to draw a line between the artistic and the mass-produced, you stumble upon Manolis Angelakis’ work and are thrown into confusion again. Silkscreen printing is a timeless technique that can be traced back to the indigenous peoples of Indonesia, the ancient Greeks and ancient Egyptians. It’s also the focus of activity at the Tind workshop, a place whose fame has traveled beyond Athens.

The possible applications of silkscreen printing are endless: we all know that it can be used on shirts and posters, but the ever thought of using it to print on the human body using hypoallergenic colors, or on pancakes using chocolate syrup? “There is no material that we cannot print on,” says Manolis, who learned the art from his father, a seasoned silkscreen printer. He and his team like to discover new challenges and always seem to find a way to make things work. Manolis has even been able to print on skin – probably the first person to do so. He has also helped bring this art form back to the fore through posters for various cultural events and music concerts, as well as packaging for well-known brands. Though he champions the craft when talking about what he and his team have created and achieved, at the same time he keeps things grounded, puncturing any inflated sense of self-importance with jumor, as is evidenced by the name Tind, an acronym for “This Is Not Designed.”

INFO tind.bigcartel.com, behance.net/tind_, info@tind.gr

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LOULA LEVEDI / A TOTEM FUR ELITA Visual artist, scarf designer Visual artist Loula Levedi weaves unexpected tales. In her case, however, scarves made from exceptional Soufli silk are the canvasses. Mixing elements from ancient myths and civilizations, pop culture and history, and adding in a lot of color and loads of humor, she created a brand with a unique identity. The result is that she makes the Parisian scarves we commonly see seem dull and boring. Her creative process starts off with some research, then shifts to improvisation and, in the end, produces startling results. As for the color palette, it is, she explains, unconsciously shaped according to visual perception, memory and instinct. In her latest collection, she talks about Greek history in a surrealistic manner through digital desigs renderded in needlepoint.

Her scarves include images of pearls which, according to the artist, symbolize timeless elegance and bestow brilliance; of naphthalene, which battles the ravages of time; and of aspirin, which assuages the human pain that every story hides. Be prepared to answer questions that you’ll be asked about your scarf!

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GIANNIS MAMOUTZIS Ceramicist Two-and-a-half millennia may have passed since pottery first flourished in ancient Greece, but the deal remains the same: dirt and water are the only ingredients. When you’re a kid, you can use any kind of mud to let your imagination run wild; if you’re an artisan, then it’s clay you need. And if you grew up in Maroussi – the Athenian suburb with a rich pottery-making tradition – it wouldnt’ be too surprising if you ended up becoming a ceramicist, as in the case of Giannis Mamoutzis, a contemporary artist with a childlike enthusiasm and contagious passion for his art. Both his workshop and his website are filled with his decorative and functional creations. In terms of design, his light fixtures and vessels can be simple or more elaborate, glossy or matte, white or colorful, and their shapes easy to understand or incomprehensible.

His workshop is a world unto itseld that must be visited; there, you can acquire his creations, see him at work, make your very own creation under his guidance, or even attend a series of lessons.

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F O C U S C R E AT I V I T Y

ALEXANDRA BISSA Artisan weaver On the second floor of the building in central Athens that once housed the offices of the now-defunct Greek magazine Romantso, somewhere among the throws and other handwoven textiles, wool and bobbins, you’ll find Alexandra. She creates a world on her loom that links her grandmother, a weaver from Metsovo in Epirus, to the Chelsea College of Arts in London, where she studied textile design with a special focus on weaving. Alexandra has already completed and presented a personal collection of scarves, bags, pillowcases and pochettes and, little by little, is helping rive the loom its rightful place in the world of contemporary artistic creation.

Important fashion houses have already expressed interest in her fabrics for their collections. Alexandra’s creations can be found in the shop of the Benaki Museum, but an even better place to find them is at her workshop, where you’ll get to meet her, see her production process first-hand and post an insta-story showing you working away at the loom!

INFO alexandrabissa.com

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F O C U S C R E AT I V I T Y

MARIA-OLGA VLACHOU / POSTFOLK Visual artist, brand expert, designer Maria, also known as Postfolk, has made a name for herself by digging out magical motifs from moldy closets and successfully reviving artistic designs that had fallen by the wayside for decades; patterns which had fallen out of favor in a Greece that had turned its back on traditional aesthetics. The Postfolk motifs are masterly presented in a series of everyday products such as beach towels, bathrobes, bags, pillowcases, art prints and upholstery fabrics, as well as other items ranging from yoga mats to kitchen aprons. A chance pivotal encounter with some old chests in a folk museum led the artist to the bowels of the Benaki Museum, from where she “lifted” simple designs (but with complex meanings, such as the peacock, or the tree of life). In doing so, she proved that the power of these designs will defeat any attempts to leave them behind for the sake of “modernization.” Beautiful colors and tasteful patterns complement timeless motifs, transforming her creations into trendy, sophisticated accessories. We’ll be ordering online whatever doesn’t fit in our suitcases!

INFO postfolk.com

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SPONSORED

A SEASONED SPICE SHOP IN CENTRAL ATHENS

To recreate Greek food and sweets back home in your own kitchen, stock up on the right flavors at Fotsi Spices, located in the city center. Producing natural, additive-free spice blends for 90 years, Fotsi is preferred by chefs and charcuterie producers for their salts, spices and other seasonings, and is especially famous for its cinnamon, which will make your Greek stews and desserts smell and taste like the real thing. While you’re here, shop for dried fruit and vegetables, superfoods, cereals, essential oils and premium teas as well.

Fotsi Spices, 39 Evripidou, Tel. (+30) 210.321.7131, fotsi.gr

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FLYING THE FLAG FOR CREATIVITY

From concept to completion, Protoleum offers the full spectrum of cultural branding and marketing services, aiming to innovatively promote the cultural heritage and artistic creation of Greece. Working with museum stores, art shops and bookstores both within the country and abroad, the company’s essential purpose is to function as a creative environment where pioneering ideas and groundbreaking innovation from different industries, cultures and trends can meet. Protoleum’s online boutique store (joingreekart.com) offers a wide range of unique items made in Greece.

Protoleum, 26 Andrea Metaxa & Emmanouil Benaki, Kifissia, Tel. (+30) 213.033.8163, protoleum.com

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HEARTS OF STONE

In brothers Panagiotis and Christos’ modern workshop on Santorini, pieces of marble are carefully carved into beautiful shapes that echo the natural soft look of the stones. As each stone is different, each pendant, earring and ring becomes unique, with its own natural color and pattern. Delicate hearts and abstract geometric pendants, paired with gold, gold-plated and silver chains, make sophisticated and elegant accessories that are more than pieces of jewelry; they are, in fact, pieces of Greece itself.

Galeos Marble Art, Santorini, Tel. (+30) 22860.338.94, marbleartgaleos.com

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