Monument of the Unknown Soldier
Syntagma Square, Athens, 1928-1932
Architect
Emmanuel Lazaridis (1894-1961)
The Monument of the Unknown Soldier constitutes a
landmark in monumental architecture in downtown Athens. It is situated
between the neoclassical Parliament Building (the Old Palace of Otho,
1836-40, architect Friedrich von Gärtner) and Syntagma Square,
and is the work of the gifted École des Beaux Arts architect
Emmanuel Lazaridis, one of the protagonists of interwar architecture
in the Greek capital.
The project was assigned to Lazaridis after he won first price in the
nationwide open competition in 1928. The central theme of the Lazaridis
design was the artistic unity of the monument and the square in front
of it, its harmonisation with the austere style of the neoclassical
Palace, and its contribution to the improvement of Syntagma Square,
making Ermou St its main axis.
In order to achieve these goals, the architect made the bold decision
to place the monument at the foot of the Palace, levelling the sloping
terrain toward the square by means of a large-scale excavation.
The monument, which is substantially a retaining wall in the shape of
a ¶ built of large pieces of hewn poros stone, has a built-in bas-relief
plaque representing a dead hoplite, created in 1931-32 by sculptor Phocion
Roque. The decoration on the splendid wall was inspired by Hellenic
antiquity but designed in an abstract form. The monumental stairs are
decorative, as they were designed to be used as "stalls" for
various ceremonies. Also decorative is the band of Doric column drums
which are incorporated into the retaining wall at both corners.
Lazaridis’s monumental composition combines the principles of the
French urban planning tradition and classicism with the modern spirit
of Art Déco and with symbolic allusions to Greek antiquity.
The abstract robustness of the monument, its materials – poros
stone, marble, bronze – and their colours – ochre, off-white,
green – are the features that harmonise it with the stern classicism
of the Palace.
TRANSPORTATION
