The most complete information guide about Athens, Greece
Athens'
First Cemetery
Athens'
First Cemetery or Municipal Cemetery, is a peaceful spot in
the city filled with many large olive and pine trees as well
as the smell of incense burning from the well-tended tombs.
Although not strictly a park as such, the green cemetery is
filled with numerous plants and trees and does resemble a garden.
There are many interesting tombs and some are real works of
art in their own right. Locals tending the graves often make
this a family outing and it is not unusual to find small groups
of people having a picnic in the cemetery.
The
cemetery is a very large and very well maintained
area deserving a walk or two. Cremation is not
allowed by the Greek Orthodox Church. You are
only allowed three years in your grave then
they dig you up and put your bones in an ossuary
to make room for the next guy. Unless you have
your own mausoleum that is.
Some
of Greece's finest sculptors come from the island of Tinos and
a lot of the work you will see is done by Tiniots.
Many
famous people are buried in the First Cemetery
of Athens. You will find a lot of mausoleums
from people who played a significant role in
the history of Greece. The grave of, still very
loved, Melina Mercouri is near the entrance
of the cemetery. Learn more about Melina
Mercouri.
This
cemetery is more than worthwhile visiting.
The
Sleeping Maiden
One
of the most famous monuments of the first Cemetery is
the Sleeping Maiden, the tombstone of Sofia Afentaki,
a classicist work by Giannoulis Chalepas (1878). The girl
seems to be sound asleep and nothing shows the rigidity
of the dead body. In this way, the work fully corresponds
to the model of the classicist tomb, according to which
death is an eternal dreamless sleep. The sculpture owes
its fame to a great degree to the artist’s tragedy,
as this was his last work before his schizophrenia was
manifested.
Giannoulis
Chalepas (1851-1938) was one of the most important representatives
of Modern Greek sculpture. He came from Pirgos of the
island of Tinos and studied in the School of Fine Arts
of the Technical University in Athens as well as in the
Academy of Fine Arts in Munich. Other known works of Chalepas
are “Satyros and Eros” (1873-75) and the “Praying
Woman” (1876-77). Unluckily his art, which was influenced
by classicism, was shadowed by his mental illness.