First Cemetery of Athens
Encyclopedia
The First Cemetery of Athens is the official cemetery of the City of Athens
and the first to be built. It opened in 1837 and soon became a luxurious cemetery for famous Greek people
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 large green space including pine
s and cypress
es.
In the cemetery there are three churches. The main is the Church of Saint Theodore
and there is also a smaller of Saint Lazarus
. The third church is a Catholic
church. There are also separate places for Protestants and Jews
. The cemetery includes the tomb of Heinrich Schliemann
, designed by Ernst Ziller
, the tomb of Ioannis Pesmazoglou
, that of Georgios Averoff, and one named I Kimomeni (the Sleeping Girl), by the sculptor Yannoulis Chalepas
, from the island Tinos
.
The cemetery is under the Municipality of Athens and it is declared as an historical monument.
Athens
Athens , is the capital and largest city of Greece. Athens dominates the Attica region and is one of the world's oldest cities, as its recorded history spans around 3,400 years. Classical Athens was a powerful city-state...
and the first to be built. It opened in 1837 and soon became a luxurious cemetery for famous Greek people
Greeks
The Greeks, also known as the Hellenes , are a nation and ethnic group native to Greece, Cyprus and neighboring regions. They also form a significant diaspora, with Greek communities established around the world....
and foreigners.
The cemetery is located behind the Temple of Olympian Zeus and the Panathinaiko Stadium
Panathinaiko Stadium
The Panathinaiko or Panathenaic Stadium , also known as the Kallimarmaro , is an athletic stadium in Athens that hosted the first modern Olympic Games in 1896...
in central Athens. It can be found at the top end of Anapafseos Street (Eternal Rest Street). It is large green space including pine
Pine
Pines are trees in the genus Pinus ,in the family Pinaceae. They make up the monotypic subfamily Pinoideae. There are about 115 species of pine, although different authorities accept between 105 and 125 species.-Etymology:...
s and cypress
Cypress
Cypress is the name applied to many plants in the cypress family Cupressaceae, which is a conifer of northern temperate regions. Most cypress species are trees, while a few are shrubs...
es.
In the cemetery there are three churches. The main is the Church of Saint Theodore
Saint Theodore
-People:*See Theodore, Philippa, and Companions for Theodore of Perge, 3rd century martyr and saint*Theodore of Amasea, or of Tyre, "the Tyro", "the Recruit", 4th century military saint and martyr...
and there is also a smaller of Saint Lazarus
Lazarus of Bethany
Lazarus of Bethany, also known as Saint Lazarus or Lazarus of the Four Days, is the subject of a prominent miracle attributed to Jesus in the Gospel of John, in which Jesus restores him to life four days after his death...
. The third church is a Catholic
Catholic
The word catholic comes from the Greek phrase , meaning "on the whole," "according to the whole" or "in general", and is a combination of the Greek words meaning "about" and meaning "whole"...
church. There are also separate places for Protestants and Jews
Jews
The Jews , also known as the Jewish people, are a nation and ethnoreligious group originating in the Israelites or Hebrews of the Ancient Near East. The Jewish ethnicity, nationality, and religion are strongly interrelated, as Judaism is the traditional faith of the Jewish nation...
. The cemetery includes the tomb of Heinrich Schliemann
Heinrich Schliemann
Heinrich Schliemann was a German businessman and amateur archaeologist, and an advocate of the historical reality of places mentioned in the works of Homer. Schliemann was an archaeological excavator of Troy, along with the Mycenaean sites Mycenae and Tiryns...
, designed by Ernst Ziller
Ernst Ziller
Ernst Moritz Theodor Ziller was a Saxon architect who later became a Greek national, and in the late 19th and early 20th centuries was a major designer of royal and municipal buildings in Athens, Patras and other Greek cities.- Buildings :* Presidential Mansion, Athens* National Theatre of...
, the tomb of Ioannis Pesmazoglou
Ioannis Pesmazoglou
Ioannis Pesmazoglou was a Greek banker, economist and politician. He is a descended from Constantinople and studied economic sciences in Paris and in the beginning, he was employed at Crédit Lyonnais in Alexandria in Egypt and later in 1882, he was member of the Anglo-Egyptian Bank...
, that of Georgios Averoff, and one named I Kimomeni (the Sleeping Girl), by the sculptor Yannoulis Chalepas
Yannoulis Chalepas
Yannoulis Chalepas was a Greek sculptor and significant figure of Modern Greek art.-Life:Chalepas was born in Pyrgos, on the island of Tinos in 1851, from a family of marble hewers. From 1869 to 1872, he studied at the School of Arts in Athens, under Neoclassical sculptor Leonidas Drossis...
, from the island Tinos
Tinos
Tinos is a Greek island situated in the Aegean Sea. It is located in the Cyclades archipelago. In antiquity, Tinos was also known as Ophiussa and Hydroessa . The closest islands are Andros, Delos, and Mykonos...
.
The cemetery is under the Municipality of Athens and it is declared as an historical monument.
Notable interments
- Emmanuil XanthosEmmanuil XanthosEmmanuel Xanthos was a founder of the Filiki Eteria , a Greek conspiratorial organization against the Ottoman Empire....
, a founder of the Filiki EteriaFiliki Eteriathumb|right|200px|The flag of the Filiki Eteria.Filiki Eteria or Society of Friends was a secret 19th century organization, whose purpose was to overthrow Ottoman rule over Greece and to establish an independent Greek state. Society members were mainly young Phanariot Greeks from Russia and local... - Theodoros KolokotronisTheodoros KolokotronisTheodoros Kolokotronis was a Greek Field Marshal and one of the leaders of the Greek War of Independence against the Ottoman Empire....
, general, politician - Richard ChurchRichard Church (general)Sir Richard Church KCH, CB ,For the date of death see relevant Section of the article explaining the discrepancy of sources was a military officer in the British Army and general in the Greek army during the last stages of the Greek Revolution after 1827 and elected politician in Greece, member of...
, general - Kostis PalamasKostis PalamasKostis Palamas was a Greek poet who wrote the words to the Olympic Hymn. He was a central figure of the Greek literary generation of the 1880s and one of the cofounders of the so-called New Athenian School along with Georgios Drosinis, Nikos Kampas, Ioanis Polemis.-Biography:Born in Patras, he...
, poet - Angelos SikelianosAngelos SikelianosAngelos Sikelianos was a Greek lyric poet and playwright. He wrote on national history, religious symbolism, and universal harmony in poems such as The Light-Shadowed, Prologue to Life, Mother of God, and Delphic Utterance...
, poet - Odysseas ElytisOdysseas ElytisOdysseas Elytis was regarded as a major exponent of romantic modernism in Greece and the world. In 1979 he was bestowed with the Nobel Prize in Literature.-Biography:...
, poet - Giorgos SeferisGiorgos SeferisGiorgos or George Seferis was the pen name of Geōrgios Seferiádēs . He was one of the most important Greek poets of the 20th century, and a Nobel laureate...
, poet - Charilaos TrikoupisCharilaos TrikoupisCharilaos Trikoupis was a Greek politician who served as a Prime Minister of Greece seven times from 1875 until 1895....
, Prime Minister of GreecePrime Minister of GreeceThe Prime Minister of Greece , officially the Prime Minister of the Hellenic Republic , is the head of government of the Hellenic Republic and the leader of the Greek cabinet. The current interim Prime Minister is Lucas Papademos, a former Vice President of the European Central Bank, following... - George PapandreouGeorge Papandreou (senior)Georgios Papandreou was a Greek politician, the founder of the Papandreou political dynasty. He served three terms as Prime Minister of Greece...
, Prime Minister of GreecePrime Minister of GreeceThe Prime Minister of Greece , officially the Prime Minister of the Hellenic Republic , is the head of government of the Hellenic Republic and the leader of the Greek cabinet. The current interim Prime Minister is Lucas Papademos, a former Vice President of the European Central Bank, following... - Andreas PapandreouAndreas PapandreouAndreas G. Papandreou ; 5 February 1919 – 23 June 1996) was a Greek economist, a socialist politician and a dominant figure in Greek politics. The son of Georgios Papandreou, Andreas was a Harvard-trained academic...
, Prime Minister of GreecePrime Minister of GreeceThe Prime Minister of Greece , officially the Prime Minister of the Hellenic Republic , is the head of government of the Hellenic Republic and the leader of the Greek cabinet. The current interim Prime Minister is Lucas Papademos, a former Vice President of the European Central Bank, following... - Dimitri Mitropoulos, conductor, pianist, composer
- Ernst ZillerErnst ZillerErnst Moritz Theodor Ziller was a Saxon architect who later became a Greek national, and in the late 19th and early 20th centuries was a major designer of royal and municipal buildings in Athens, Patras and other Greek cities.- Buildings :* Presidential Mansion, Athens* National Theatre of...
, architect - Heinrich SchliemannHeinrich SchliemannHeinrich Schliemann was a German businessman and amateur archaeologist, and an advocate of the historical reality of places mentioned in the works of Homer. Schliemann was an archaeological excavator of Troy, along with the Mycenaean sites Mycenae and Tiryns...
, amateur archaeologist who excavated the site of TroyTroyTroy was a city, both factual and legendary, located in northwest Anatolia in what is now Turkey, southeast of the Dardanelles and beside Mount Ida... - Yannoulis ChalepasYannoulis ChalepasYannoulis Chalepas was a Greek sculptor and significant figure of Modern Greek art.-Life:Chalepas was born in Pyrgos, on the island of Tinos in 1851, from a family of marble hewers. From 1869 to 1872, he studied at the School of Arts in Athens, under Neoclassical sculptor Leonidas Drossis...
, sculptor - Melina MercouriMelina MercouriMelina Mercouri , born as Maria Amalia Mercouri was a Greek actress, singer and politician.As an actress she made her film debut in Stella and met international success with her performances in Never on Sunday, Phaedra, Topkapi and Promise at Dawn...
, actress, politician - Jules DassinJules DassinJulius "Jules" Dassin , was an American film director, with Jewish-Russian origins. He was a subject of the Hollywood blacklist in the McCarthy era, and subsequently moved to France where he revived his career.-Early life:...
, director, actor - Katina PaxinouKatina PaxinouKatina Paxinou was a Greek film and theatre actress.-Early life:Born Aikaterini Konstantopoulou in Piraeus, Greece, she trained as an opera singer, and appeared in the operatic version of Maeterlinck's "Sister Beatrice," with a score by Dimitri Mitropoulos, but changed career and joined the Greek...
, actress - Marika KotopouliMarika Kotopouli-Biography:Kotopouli was born on 3 May 1887 in Athens, to Dimitris and Eleni. Her parents were also actors, and Marika's first stage appearance came during one of their tours, in the play "The Coachman of the Alps"...
, actress - Manos KatrakisManos KatrakisManos Katrakis was a Greek actor of theater and film.-Biography:Born in Kastelli, Crete, Greece, he was the youngest of five children of Haralambos Katrakis and Irini Katraki. When Manos was 10 years old, his family moved from Crete to Athens, where his father searched for work...
, actor - Alekos SakellariosAlekos SakellariosAlekos Sakellarios was a Greek writer and a director.He was born in Athens and began to learn journalism and acting at a young age. He wrote his first theatrical play in 1935 called The King of Halva...
, director, screenwriter, lyricist - Aliki VougiouklakiAliki VougiouklakiAliki Vougiouklaki was a Greek actress. She is considered as one of the most popular and successful actresses of Greek cinema.-Biography:...
, actress - Sofia VemboSofia VemboSofia Vembo was a leading Greek singer and actress active from the interwar period to the early postwar years and the 50s. She became best known for her performance of patriotic songs during the Greco-Italian War, when she was dubbed the "Songstress of Victory".Her real name was Efi Bebo...
, singer - Demetrios FarmakopoulosDemetrios FarmakopoulosDemetrios Farmakopoulos, ,, also known as Mimis Farmakopoulos. An influential Greek painter whose main recurring theme is space and the future.-Introduction:...
, painter - T.H. White, author
- Humphrey JenningsHumphrey JenningsFrank Humphrey Sinkler Jennings was an English documentary filmmaker and one of the founders of the Mass Observation organization...
, filmmaker - Adolf FurtwänglerAdolf FurtwänglerAdolf Furtwängler was a famous German archaeologist, teacher, art historian and museum director. He was the father of the conductor Wilhelm Furtwängler and grandfather of the German archaeologist Andreas Furtwängler....
, archaeologist - George AveroffGeorge AveroffGeorge M. Averoff , alternately Georgios Averof , was a Greek businessman and philanthropist of Aromanian origin....
, philanthropistPhilanthropistA philanthropist is someone who engages in philanthropy; that is, someone who donates his or her time, money, and/or reputation to charitable causes...
, businessman - Alexandros PanagoulisAlexandros PanagoulisAlexandros Panagoulis was a Greek politician and poet. He took an active role in the fight against the Regime of the Colonels in Greece. He became famous for his attempt to assassinate dictator Georgios Papadopoulos on 13 August 1968, but also for the torture that he was subjected to during his...
, politician, poet, democracy activist - Andreas MichalakopoulosAndreas MichalakopoulosAndreas Michalakopoulos was an important liberal politician in the inter-war period who served as Prime Minister of Greece from 7 October 1924 to 26 June 1925....
, statesman - Vassilis TsitsanisVassilis TsitsanisVassilis Tsitsanis was a Greek songwriter and bouzouki player. He became one of the leading Greek composers of his time and is widely regarded as one of the founders of modern Rebetika. Tsitsanis wrote more than 500 songs and is still remembered as an extraordinary bouzouki...
, rebetikoRebetikoRebetiko, plural rebetika, , occasionally transliterated as Rembetiko, is a term used today to designate originally disparate kinds of urban Greek folk music which have come to be grouped together since the so-called rebetika revival, which started in the 1960s and developed further from the early...
composer