First Cemetery of Athens, Cemetery in central Athens, Greece

The First Cemetery of Athens is a Christian burial ground in central Athens Municipality featuring neoclassical monuments, three chapels, and sculptures set among pines and cypresses. The site covers around 225,000 square meters and displays marble monuments crafted by artisans from the 19th and 20th centuries.

Athens established this burial ground in 1837 after interments within church walls were prohibited following liberation from Ottoman rule. The first graves appeared on open land beyond the city limits of that time.

The cemetery holds three churches: the main Church of Saint Theodores, a smaller one dedicated to Saint Lazarus, and Saint Charles, a Catholic church. The grave of Heinrich Schliemann was designed by architect Ernst Ziller, who is himself buried here. Yannoulis Chalepas, sculptor of the reclining girl known as I Koimomeni, also lies in the grounds.

The grounds sit behind the Temple of Olympian Zeus on Anapafseos Street and open daily from 8 in the morning until 7 in the evening. Visitors can walk the main pathways, though some sections lie on uneven ground.

The Protestant and Jewish burial areas exist, but the cemetery states that this segregation is not compulsory. The cemetery holds 10,233 family graves and 2,077 three-year graves across 170 stremmata on the hill beyond the Ilissos. The tomb of Heinrich Schliemann was designed by Ernst Ziller, who is also buried here.