Signs of the times: Why Athens is not all about the ancients

My guide, Katerina Pavlopoulou, wants to show me something special, something she believes sums up the contradictions of Athens as a modern city.

We stroll to a street that overlooks the Ancient Agora, the ruins of the market and gathering place that dates to the sixth century BC. Along the street are open-air tavernas busy with late summer tourists.

Art central … Psyri restaurant terrace.Credit: Alamy

Peering into the ruins of the Agora, which is scattered with broken columns and monumental stones, I’m not sure what we’re looking for. And then a train rattles by, on a track at the far side of the ruin. It’s covered in graffiti.

The contrast of the very ancient and punkishly modern is the essence of Athens, a city which is having its moment in the sun again after some dark years following the financial crisis of 2010.

Classical beauty is everywhere. Iconic monuments and historically important landmarks are scattered almost carelessly through the city, but it doesn’t feel stuck in time. I haven’t visited a city that feels so youthful, energetic and vibrant for a long time.

It’s my first time in Athens, and I have no idea why it took me so long.

Signs of the times ... graffiti art in Psyri.Credit: Alamy

I’m staying for four nights in Psyri, a once-dangerous neighbourhood, now gentrified, but with a bohemian feel thanks to its curious little shops and swaths of street art. Haberdasheries, fabric stores, shoemakers and shops selling only thermos flasks or baskets nudge each other along the narrow streets. Car hoods are covered with bric-a-brac for sale. Across the road, the Varvakios Central Market is in full swing.

Tavernas and cafes spill out onto pavements, under streets strung with lanterns or draped with vines. A priest in a long black tunic walks down a lane on his mobile, passing skeletons and ghouls – part of a restaurant’s extravagant Halloween display.

At night the roller doors are raised, and shuttered shopfronts turn into bars and clubs. Outside one dingy door, a line of people stretches around the block, waiting for entry to the cheap and popular taverna, which is very touristy, according to my hotel concierge. The local dress style seems to be “sunny goth”.

A street art mural looms over Iroon Square in the Psyrri district.Credit: Alamy

I’m staying at Monument, a hotel which exemplifies this contradiction. Built in 1881 as a private home by prominent architect Ernst Ziller, its recent restoration to a nine-room boutique hotel was overseen by the Ministry of Culture. All the neoclassical elements were preserved, including a grand, curvaceous staircase that winds between floors.

As elegant as the mansion is, it occupies a corner of a street that bears the plaque, “a sunny street for shady people”, hinting at the area’s history as a hotbed of criminal activity in the 19th century when the house was built.

My terrace, which has uninterrupted views of the Acropolis, looks down on the old church of Agios Dimitrios. Like almost everything else in Athens, the church’s walls are covered in spray-painted tags.

I wonder why they aren’t removed, as they might be in other cities. But Katerina tells me it’s futile – the walls will just be tagged again.

My tour with Katerina has been organised by Devaki Das, founder of Weave a Thousand Journeys, which specialises in bespoke tours in Europe and North Africa. When I express interest in youth culture in Athens, Devaki connects me to Katerina, a translator and a specialist in Ottoman archives and Mediterranean and Middle Eastern studies, who is deeply knowledgeable about antiquity as well as a passionate consumer of the contemporary art scene.

Acropolis now … the Monument hotel terrace.

Katerina explains that there’s a high tolerance and respect for graffiti and street art in Athens. Even Lord Byron indulged in this kind of “vandalism” and carved his name on the Temple of Poseidon in 1811, which makes him a predecessor of the hundreds of young Athenians who paint their tags on buildings today. The ancients did it too – much to Plutarch’s distaste. “Nothing useful or pleasant has been written there,” he wrote.

Political graffiti, as opposed to tagging, is considered an art of resistance and self-expression. The Anarchist’s mark, an “A” in a circle, is spotted on walls in many areas we visit, as is the word basanizomai, meaning “I am being tortured”, a reference to austerity measures during the economic crisis.

During this time, political graffiti became a widespread form of protest. Because of this, many street artists from around the world now come to Athens to use it as their canvas, knowing their work will be appreciated. And they are unlikely to be arrested.

In turn, Athenian artists have been gathering fame on the international art market. One such artist is The Krah (meaning “the crash”) who paints murals of mythical creatures and who exhibits at London’s prestigious Saatchi Gallery.

Katerina, a great fan of the prominent artist Ino, whose interpretation of The Last Supper, depicting corrupt politicians, was commissioned for the 500th anniversary of Leonardo da Vinci’s death. It extends 90 metres along the walls of the old tram depot in Gazi, the former industrial area and decommissioned gasworks that has been transformed to a nightclub district and cultural centre.

Unlike areas where tourists throng, by day Gazi is a bit of a wasteland, until you start exploring the streets behind the old industrial buildings, which add up to an eye-popping, open-air art gallery.

We find more works by Ino, who paints in monochrome with splashes of blue. One of The Krah’s paintings, a bizarre mermaid on a sea of blue, floats across a pair of metal doors. STMTS, who always incorporates children in his cut-out illustrations, is represented by a mural of a boy smashing a TV set with a baseball bat.

One particularly arresting mural is by Simple G, who paints large-scale, realist images of people on the sides of tall buildings. This one depicts a girl perched on a desk, writing in a book. It refers to the history of the area, formerly a red-light district, and how women can find themselves a way out of sex work through study and reading.

There are about 2000 street artists in the city, not counting all the taggers. Much of the work is beautifully drawn and painted, and often commissioned by businesses. But some radical artists don’t take commissions because it means their work can be controlled. Graffiti is a weapon for them, Katerina says.

Others take neglected buildings and aim to beautify them. We come across walls where the plaster has crumbled, and a painter has incorporated this into their work. In other places, artist have worked over the top of another artist’s drawing, like a palimpsest.

The old anarchist neighbourhood of Exarchia, near the university, is similarly famous for its street art, which ranges from a banner proclaiming “Tourism destroys our neighbourhood – burn Airbnb’s [sic]” to a building-high photorealist mural of a bookbinder by Australian artist Guido van Helten, gifted by Australia.

We stop at Seychelles (instagram.com/seychellesrestaurant), a bright, homey, modern restaurant with an open kitchen that does Greek “soul food” with a twist. Athens is complicated, Katerina says. “It’s a giant moussaka with different layers.”

East and West, classical and modern, conservative and radical.

What’s noticeable is how democratic the graffiti and street art is. It’s found even in the “posh” neighbourhoods. Athens Street Art Festival (athensaf.eu) is an ongoing interactive platform which began in 2009 with the aim to promote graffiti and murals and revitalise low-income neighbourhoods. It has certainly done that.

But with the influx of young people from the US and Europe, seeking a freer culture at a low cost (Athens still is a relative bargain), the gentrification of areas such as Exarchia has exacerbated a problem felt worldwide – unaffordable housing.

One particularly poignant mural by street artist Hambas shows a young girl looking up at Athens’ most famous monument. “After the Acropolis, what?” it asks.

THE DETAILS

STAY

Monument Athens is a nine-room boutique hotel in the Psyri district of Athens. Rooms from £260 ($438) a night including breakfast. See monumenthotelathens.com

A guest room at the nine-bedroom Monument boutique hotel.

TOUR
Weave a Thousand Journeys will tailor tours and journeys to your specific interests. weavethousandjourneys.com

FLY
Emirates flies twice daily between Athens and Dubai, connecting with 10 flights each day Dubai from Australia from Sydney, Adelaide, Brisbane, Melbourne and Perth. See emirates.com

The writer was the guest of Monument Hotel, Weave a Thousand Journeys and Explora Journeys.