Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, Athens, War memorial at Syntagma Square, Athens, Greece.
The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Athens is a memorial at Syntagma Square featuring a central sculpture of a fallen warrior. Limestone walls surrounding the monument are inscribed with names of battles from various conflicts.
The monument was completed in 1932 following a period of site preparation. It was built to commemorate losses from multiple wars that shaped modern Greek history.
The two carved quotations flanking the fallen warrior come from Thucydides' History of the Peloponnesian War: "There's one empty bier made up for the unidentified ones" and "The whole earth is the sepulchre of famous men". Smaller letters above the figure read "To an unknown soldier". Battle names are grouped by campaign, from the Balkan Wars to Korea and Cyprus.
The site is centrally located on a public square and easily accessible on foot. The Evzones, the honor guard, perform regular ceremonies there that visitors can observe.
The monument is a cenotaph, not a grave: no unidentified soldier is buried here, unlike the tombs in Westminster Abbey or under the Arc de Triomphe. The flame was lit on 25 March 1932 with a torch carried from the monastery of Agia Lavra.
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