As I rush up Vassilis Sofias avenue, heading towards the Athens War Museum for an interview with photographer, Dimitra Hatziadam, I cross paths with three striding evzones and their plain-uniformed escort on their ceremonial way to the changing of the guard at the adjacent Monument of the Unknown Soldier. Athenians are naturally totally used to such a sight, unfolding 24 times a day on the hour. They rarely cast a second glance. Or do they? To be frank, no matter how hurried or preoccupied one might be, it’s hard to ignore these statuesque, imposing lads guarding the landmark monument at the foot of the Parliament as well as the Presidential Mansion. And it’s even harder to bypass their striking poise and determination…
Practically speaking, the evzones are just tall (at least 1.87cm), well-built, and highly disciplined conscripts hand-picked – and honored – to do an outstanding nine-month military service at the capital’s cynosure. Yet on a transcendental level, an evzonas is the sheer embodiment of Greek levendia (valour); the guardian angel of our republic, so to speak, who pays perpetual homage to those who died fighting for the country’s freedom and sovereignty from antiquity to date. Actually, their very name, evzonas, meaning “the well-girdled one”, hails from Homer who thus describes the towering, robust and lightly-armed warriors of his time.
“The evzonas is Greece,” affirms Hatziadam, a freelance photographer who between 2013 and 2016 spent long hours taking behind-the-scenes pictures of the otherwise multi-photographed evzones. The outcome of these impromptu shootings is a travelling photo exhibition entitled Evzones – Guardians of the Unseen, scheduled to air in Melbourne in March 2021 on the grand occasion of festivities marking 200 years of Greek independence. The show comprises 45 photos, six of them being the life-size images of evzones overlooking our conversation at the war museum’s cafe. The rest depict moments of the evzones’ distinguished service to the country; from their painstaking dressing process, to their 60-minute stint standing motionless and august at their posts; and from the Sunday raising and lowering of the flag atop the Acropolis, to official ceremonies framing the President of the Republic around the globe.
Humans and symbols
Born and raised in the northern port city of Kavala, Hatziadam joined the small circle of photographers accredited to the Presidency of the Hellenic Republic in 2010. Three years later, during a church-related shooting and whilst wondering at how much time and effort it takes for a priest to get dressed, she came up with the idea of ‘denuding’ the presidential guard’s evzones. “The guard’s commander knew me well and granted me permission to go ahead with the project,” states diminutive Dimitra, who suddenly had to work surrounded by towering young men.
“As onlookers and outsiders,” she observes, “we tend to view evzones as mere symbols; of patriotism, of valiance, of excellence. From up close, you realise, however, that they are just normal people”.
READ MORE: An emotional farewell to our Evzones; Thank you for making us proud!
Well, how normal can it be to stand still and expressionless for a whole hour, sometimes even longer, in the scorching sun or numbing cold? Even worse, how can you not react when raging rioters swarming around you burn the flag you so wholeheartedly revere and serve? “It takes five weeks of hard training to reach such levels of utter self-discipline,” explains Hatziadam.
“Quite a few don’t even make it to the end. But those who do, take a lifelong lesson. As to the flag-burning incident, well, deserting their post is not an option. It would imply the state’s demise. Because the evzones are, after all, symbols”.
Aiming to further boost the symbolic force of her unique photos and to enhance her show, Hatziadam recorded scraps of dialogue in the barracks, military commands, snippets of the national anthem, as well as the characteristic sound made by the 60 nails embedded in the wooden sole of the tsarouchi (the round-tasseled shoes worn by evzones). Thus, visitors of the exhibition “can see, read, listen, even hold a tsarouchi. I wanted to bring the audience as close to the evzones as possible”, concludes Hatziadam.
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Even though the coronavirus crisis will no doubt postpone some of Dimitra’s already scheduled shows, the sprightly photographer is resolved to keep promoting this life-changing and ongoing project of hers. “Most evzones are discharged with an average of 250 hours of service to their credit. Still, other than their unique memories, they cannot keep any item of their attire or gear as memento; it all belongs to the Armed Forces. As to myself, after way more than 250 days of work, I can’t seem to let go of the evzones project,” she quips, fingering a distinctive button from the evzones’ winter costume attached to her key ring.
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