Athens First Cemetery

Those voices are the sweeter which have fallen
forever silent, mournfully
resounding only in the heart that sorrows.
In dreams the melancholic voices come,
timorous and humble,
and bring before our feeble memory
the precious dead, whom the cold cold earth
conceals; for whom the mirthful
daybreak never shines, nor springtimes blossom.
Melodious voices sigh; and in the soul
our life’s first poetry
sounds — like music, in the night, that’s far away.  
C.P. Cavafy

 


It may sound odd, but I think Athens First Cemetery is one of my favourite places in the whole city. I think of it as Athens ‘secret garden’,  peaceful, green,  and full of surprising beauty.

Many Major Greek figures are buried in the First Cemetery including the country's most famous politicians, poets, artists, and heroes of the Greek Revoluton. (There are also some very well known foreigners... Lord Byron and Heinrich Schleiman both have monuments within its walls.) My father-in-law is buried there, too- another hero- not just to me, but to the country he fought so valiantly for in WWII.  Although he's never far from our thoughts, we don't go to his grave very often, but when the time rolls round for the annual "mnimosino" (memorial service) it's comforting to visit this tranquil and elegant graveyard.

One of the most famous monuments in the First Cemetery is the Sleeping Maiden. This beautiful work by Yiannoulis Halepas captures the imagination of almost everyone who sees it- chiselled for the tomb of Sofia Afenadakis, it was to be his last work before succumbing to schizophrenia shortly after completing it.  Rumour has it that he could never come to terms with the realisation that his masterpiece was imperfect- if Sofia had stretched out her legs they would have extended far beyond the couch he gave her. Personally, I think he captured an image of death as an eternal, dreamless sleep beautifully.

Anyone who has visited some of Athens oldest neighbourhoods will know that when Greeks are given enough money and a free reign, they will create amazingly quirky houses that are idiosyncratic flights of folly and a pure delight.  (If you don't know what I'm talking about, walk around Tatoi Street in Kifissia and have a look at the summer houses built around the turn of the nineteenth century)

The First cemetery is no exception, the monuments range from the bizarre to the beautiful. Many are very personal and relate directly to the deceased's family.  There are stone tributes to boy scout leaders, shipping magnates, Masons, dancers, pilots and politicians. There is even a Greek Romeo and Juliet, Michail Mimikos and German born Mary Weber who lived in Athens around 1890. The story goes that Mary threw herself of the Acropolis when she thought that her lover, Mimikos, had deserted her. He hadn't intended to, of course, and when he heard of her death he shot himself in the head. They are now buried together, under a plaque that reads "May our hearts be joined never to part again. In February departed, celestial lovers, Mimikos and Mary".

My much loved ballet teacher, Leonidas De Pian, is also buried in the first cemetery. One day, when I'm brave enough to say goodbye to him, I want to leave the last pair of pointe shoes I wore on his grave. I know this is OTT and theatrical, but it's something I feel I have to do. I was relieved to read later that people still leave half smoked cigarettes on Director Karolos Koun's grave in tribute to the Greek theatre's most notorious chain smoker, so I know I'm not alone!

Strolling along the First Cemetery's well tended pathways I feel connected to the lives commemorated here, and not seperated by the grave.  Maybe that sums up what makes the first cemetery so special... there's no feeling of lonely abandonment in this place that makes death so much a part of life.