Interview With Former Evzones
- by XpatAthens
- Friday, 06 March 2015
Any tourist visiting Athens will not fail to experience the soldiers that stand guard outside Parliament, with dead straight faces, not flinching, not moving a muscle, and occasionally doing a funny walk.
I was interested to dig deeper—so when Anthe Mitrakos of Portes Magazine put me in touch with two brothers, one who served in the Evzone Company and the other who served in the Command Company of the Presidential Guard, I was chuffed to be afforded an interview with them!
Background - What’s an Evzone?
They’re the soldiers that stand outside the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier (where most of the tourists head to have their photos taken—oh, and me too!), the Presidential Palace and the gate of the military camp, where the Evzones stay during their time.
It’s important to say, here, that Evzones are not paid for their service. It is part of the nine month military service that all Greek males must undertake. Not everyone is selected to be an Evzone—and for this reason, it is an honour. More on that later.
They are two parts of the Presidential Guard section of military service guards:
1) Command Company
– Not the ‘men in kilts’ (Foustanella) i.e: not the evzones themselves
– Consists of one platoon whereby they undertake administration duties such as:
• chefs
• office work
• laundry
• looking after the uniforms
• drivers
• guards of the military camp
• soldiers who manage the restaurant: serve food, etc
To read more, please visit: Life Beyond Borders
LIVING LOCAL
