First Cemetery of Athens

About

The First Cemetery of Athens (Greek: Πρώτο Νεκροταφείο Αθηνών, Próto Nekrotafeío Athinón) is the official cemetery of the City of Athens and the first to be built. It opened in 1837 and soon became a prestigious cemetery for Greeks and foreigners. The cemetery is located behind the Temple of Olympian Zeus and the Panathinaiko Stadium in central Athens. It can be found at the top end of Anapafseos Street (Eternal Rest Street). It is a large green space with pines and cypresses. In the cemetery there are three churches. The main one is the Church of Saint Theodores and there is also a smaller one dedicated to Saint Lazarus. The third church of Saint Charles is a Catholic church. The cemetery includes several impressive tombs such as those of Heinrich Schliemann, designed by Ernst Ziller; Ioannis Pesmazoglou; Georgios Averoff; and one tomb with a famous sculpture of a dead young girl called I Koimomeni ("The Sleeping Girl") and sculpted by Yannoulis Chalepas from the island of Tinos. There are also burial areas for Protestants and Jews, however, this segregation is not compulsory. The cemetery is under the Municipality of Athens and is declared a historical monument.

- Sylva Akrita, politician and anti-junta activist

- Odysseas Androutsos, hero of the Greek War of Independence

- George Averoff, philanthropist, businessman

- Nikolaos Bourandas, police and fire service general, politician

- Odysseas Elytis, poet, 1979 Nobel Laureate in literature

- Manolis Glezos, journalist, WWII hero, and politician

- Georgios Kafantaris, Prime Minister of Greece

- Konstantinos Kanaris, hero of the Greek War of Independence, admiral, statesman

- Theodoros Kolokotronis, pre-eminent leader of the Greek War of Independence, general

- Yannis Makriyannis, merchant, military officer, politician, author

- Manolis Mantakas, army officer, and politician

- Dimitri Mitropoulos, conductor, pianist, composer

- Nikitaras, hero of the Greek War of Independence

- Alexandros Panagoulis, politician, poet, democracy activist

- Antonios Papadakis, University of Athens ' greatest benefactor

- Georgios Papadopoulos, military dictator during the Regime of the Colonels

- Dimitris Papamichael, actor and director

- Andreas Papandreou, Prime Minister of Greece

- George Papandreou, Prime Minister of Greece