Athens’s First Cemetery is a peaceful open-air sculpture gallery and the resting place of famous Greeks, home to masterpieces such as the Sleeping Girl. Discover it alongside the city’s headline sights with skip-the-line tickets and guided walks from My Greece Tours for a quieter, more reflective side of Athens.
This serene, art-filled site is a hidden gem in the Athens travel guide. The sections below cover what it is, its history, the Sleeping Girl, famous graves, the sculpture and art, practical details and how to get there.
What is the First Cemetery of Athens?
The official and oldest cemetery of the city, opened in 1837, the First Cemetery is a prestigious resting place for prominent Greeks and foreigners. Far more than a burial ground, it is considered the most significant open-air sculpture gallery in Greece, filled with marble masterpieces, neoclassical tombs and mourning angels in a peaceful, green setting near the centre.
One of the most peaceful and unexpectedly beautiful places in central Athens, the First Cemetery is a tranquil oasis that doubles as an extraordinary outdoor museum of art. Opened in 1837, soon after Athens became the capital of the newly independent Greek state, it is the official and oldest cemetery of the city, and from the beginning it became a prestigious place of burial for the great and the good of modern Greece, as well as for distinguished foreigners who made the city their home. Yet what makes it truly remarkable is its art: since the nineteenth century the cemetery has accumulated an astonishing collection of funerary monuments that are genuine sculptural masterpieces, leading many to regard it as the most significant open-air exhibition of sculpture in all of Greece. Wandering its quiet, tree-shaded avenues, you pass neoclassical mausoleums, classical temples in miniature, sorrowing marble angels, sarcophagi, busts and life-size statues, almost all carved from the prized white marble of Mount Pendeli. The combination of stillness, greenery, history and breathtaking art makes a visit deeply moving and atmospheric. It offers a thoughtful contrast to the busy ancient sites. It pairs well with the ancient cemetery in the Kerameikos guide. Its history reflects modern Greece.
What is the history of the First Cemetery?
The First Cemetery opened in 1837 as the official burial ground of the new Greek capital, on a site behind the Temple of Olympian Zeus, near the Panathenaic Stadium. It quickly became the prestigious resting place of leading politicians, writers, artists, benefactors and wealthy families, and over nearly two centuries it accumulated the magnificent sculpted tombs that make it a major cultural landmark today.
The First Cemetery’s story is closely tied to the birth and growth of modern Athens. When the small town was chosen as the capital of the newly independent Greek kingdom in the 1830s, the young state needed a proper municipal cemetery, and the First Cemetery was duly established in 1837 on a peaceful site to the south-east of the centre, behind the great Temple of Olympian Zeus and near the marble Panathenaic Stadium, at the upper end of Anapafseos Street. From its earliest years it served as the official and most prestigious cemetery of the capital, the chosen resting place for the nation’s leading figures: prime ministers and politicians, celebrated poets and writers, painters and sculptors, archaeologists, military heroes, national benefactors and the great merchant and shipowning families. As these prominent Greeks and the foreigners who had served the country were laid to rest here over nearly two centuries, their families commissioned ever more elaborate and beautiful funerary monuments from the finest sculptors of the day, gradually filling the cemetery with the marble masterpieces that distinguish it. In this way the burial ground became, over time, a remarkable record of modern Greek history and art. Walking among the tombs is to walk through that history. The neighbouring stadium appears in the Panathenaic Stadium guide. Its most famous sculpture draws every visitor.
What is the Sleeping Girl sculpture?
The Sleeping Girl (Koimomeni) is the most famous sculpture in the First Cemetery, created by Yannoulis Chalepas. Commissioned in 1878 by the grieving father of Sofia Afentaki, an 18-year-old who died of tuberculosis, it depicts the young woman appearing peacefully asleep on her tomb. A masterpiece of Greek sculpture, it is the cemetery’s most beloved and moving monument.
The single most celebrated and beloved work in the entire cemetery is the exquisite marble sculpture known as the Sleeping Girl, or Koimomeni, a piece so moving that it has become a symbol of the whole place. It was commissioned in 1878 by the heartbroken father of Sofia Afentaki, a young woman of just eighteen who had died of tuberculosis, and carved by the gifted sculptor Yannoulis Chalepas, who himself is buried in the cemetery and is regarded as one of the greatest of all modern Greek sculptors. The sculpture depicts the young woman lying serenely on top of her tomb as if merely asleep, her head resting gently on a pillow, a hand laid softly across her body, the marble rendered with such tenderness and delicacy that it seems to capture the fragile stillness of death as a peaceful slumber. Visitors are often deeply touched by its quiet beauty and the tragic story behind it, and it draws admirers from around the world. Beyond its emotional power, it is celebrated as a true masterpiece of nineteenth-century European sculpture. Seeking it out is the highlight of any visit to the cemetery. Its artistry rivals the great museums of the city. The cemetery holds many other famous graves.
Whose famous graves are in the First Cemetery?
The First Cemetery is the resting place of many famous Greeks and foreigners, including the archaeologist Heinrich Schliemann, whose grand tomb was designed by Ernst Ziller, the Nobel-winning poet Giorgos Seferis, the scholar Adamantios Korais, the national benefactor Georgios Averoff, the architect Ziller himself, and numerous politicians, artists and benefactors, their tombs adorned with stunning sculpture.
Part of the fascination of the First Cemetery lies in the roll-call of distinguished figures buried within it, whose tombs read like a who’s who of modern Greek history and culture. Perhaps the most striking is the grand mausoleum of Heinrich Schliemann, the German archaeologist who excavated Troy and Mycenae; his temple-like tomb, designed by the celebrated architect Ernst Ziller and decorated with friezes depicting the Trojan War, is one of the cemetery’s landmarks. Nearby rest many of the giants of Greek letters and learning, including the Nobel Prize-winning poet Giorgos Seferis and the great Enlightenment scholar Adamantios Korais. The national benefactor Georgios Averoff, who funded the restoration of the Panathenaic Stadium for the first modern Olympics, lies here too, as does the architect Ernst Ziller himself, who shaped so much of neoclassical Athens. Around them are the tombs of prime ministers, generals, painters, sculptors, actors, shipowners and benefactors, each monument a piece of history and often a work of art in its own right. Walking among these graves, with their inscriptions and statues, offers an intimate connection to the people who built modern Greece. The independence-era figures appear in the Benaki Museum guide. The sculpture throughout is extraordinary.
What is the sculpture and art like?
The First Cemetery is celebrated as an open-air sculpture gallery, with funerary art including neoclassical tombs, mourning angels, miniature temples, sarcophagi, urns, busts and life-size statues, almost all in white Pentelic marble. Notable works include the Sleeping Girl and the Mourning Spirit, the angel of death, by Ioannis Vitalis, making the cemetery one of the finest sculpture collections in Greece.
Above all, the First Cemetery rewards visitors as one of the most important and beautiful collections of sculpture in Greece, a genuine open-air gallery of nineteenth- and twentieth-century funerary art. As you wander its avenues, you encounter an astonishing variety of monuments: elegant neoclassical mausoleums and miniature Greek temples, sorrowful marble angels and allegorical figures of mourning, sarcophagi and urns, ornate crosses, dignified portrait busts, and full-length statues of the deceased, almost all carved from the same luminous white Pentelic marble used for the ancient masterpieces of the Acropolis. Alongside the famous Sleeping Girl, one of the most admired and astonishing works is the so-called Mourning Spirit, or angel of death, a hauntingly beautiful winged figure attributed to the sculptor Ioannis Vitalis, which adorns one of the family tombs. Many of these monuments were created by the leading Greek sculptors of their day, turning the cemetery into a survey of modern Greek sculptural art set among cypresses and flowers. The result is a place of rare artistic and emotional power, where grief is transformed into enduring beauty. For lovers of sculpture, it is unmissable. The marble echoes the ancient art across the city. Planning a respectful visit is simple.
How do you visit the First Cemetery?
The First Cemetery is free to enter and open daily, generally from early morning until sunset, at the top of Anapafseos Street behind the Temple of Olympian Zeus and Panathenaic Stadium, in the Mets area. It is reached on foot from Akropoli or Syntagma metro or by bus. As a working cemetery, visitors should dress modestly, stay quiet and behave respectfully.
Visiting the First Cemetery is easy, free and rewarding, provided it is done with appropriate respect, for this remains an active burial ground as well as a cultural treasure. The cemetery lies in the quiet, elegant Mets neighbourhood, at the upper end of Anapafseos Street, behind the Temple of Olympian Zeus and close to the Panathenaic Stadium, a short walk south-east of the centre. It is generally open every day from the early morning until around sunset, and entry is free of charge, with no ticket required. The most convenient way to reach it is on foot from the Akropoli or Syntagma metro stations, around fifteen to twenty minutes’ walk, or by bus, with the Panathenaic Stadium a useful landmark nearby. Because it is a place of mourning and remembrance, visitors should behave with the courtesy they would show in any cemetery: dress modestly, keep voices low, do not disturb funerals or grieving families, and avoid intrusive photography of mourners. Allow around an hour to wander the main avenues, find the Sleeping Girl and the famous tombs, and absorb the peaceful, artistic atmosphere. Treated respectfully, it offers one of the most serene and rewarding experiences in Athens. The nearby monuments are covered in the Temple of Olympian Zeus guide. The questions below cover the points visitors ask most.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the First Cemetery of Athens known for?
Athens’s First Cemetery is known as the city’s oldest and most prestigious burial ground and a remarkable open-air sculpture gallery. It is famous for the Sleeping Girl sculpture by Yannoulis Chalepas, the grand tombs of figures like Heinrich Schliemann and Giorgos Seferis, and its many marble masterpieces in a peaceful, green setting.
Is the First Cemetery of Athens free to visit?
Yes, this historic Athens cemetery is free to enter, with no ticket required, and is open daily from early morning until around sunset. It lies at the top of Anapafseos Street in the Mets area, behind the Temple of Olympian Zeus and near the Panathenaic Stadium, a short walk from the centre.
Where is the Sleeping Girl sculpture?
The Sleeping Girl (Koimomeni), the most famous sculpture in the First Cemetery of Athens, stands on the tomb of Sofia Afentaki within the cemetery. Carved by Yannoulis Chalepas in the late 1870s, it depicts the young woman as if peacefully asleep and is the cemetery’s most beloved and moving monument.