Long time before the Evzones have become a tourist attraction, this elite unit of the Greek army had offered a lot of glorious moments for more than a century in modern Greek history. Being a direct evolution (mainly regarding the clothes) of the War of Independence fighters, the Evzones (or commonly known as tsoliades) occupied an important place in the collective subconscious.
The word euzones derives from an ancient word meaning the "well-girt"; it is mentioned for the first time in Homer’s Iliad for the Myrmidons of Achilles who were swift and brave in battle. As a part of the post-revolution Greek army, it took form after the liberation by King Otto (he himself used to wear the uniform of the Greek fighters in public appearances). It was established as a part of the army in 1867 with the mission of guarding the borders of Greece.<p/>
Throughout the 19th century, the Evzones Regiment took part in all the war conflicts of the Greek State, such as the Greek-Turkish War (1897) and the Cretan Revolution (1895-1898). The contribution of the Evzones to all the battlefields of the 20th century (Macedonian Wars, Balkan Wars, Asia Minor Campaign, First and Second World War) was decisive and therefore rendered the Evzones heroic figures of the Hellenism.
Since 1914 the Evzones have been a special unit of the Palace Guard, which from 1974 onwards has been renamed into Presidential Guard and today has a symbolic character with the mission of guarding the Monument to the Unknown Soldier, the Presidential Palace and participating in various official and ceremonial events.
The uniform of the Evzones reflects a 200-year tradition that passed through the battles of the Greek Revolution, the wars of the 19th and 20th centuries and eventually took the form we know today: the fustanella (pleated skirt) the fario (hat), the fermeli (vest), the shirt, the socks and the tsarouchia (shoes). The uniform can be found in different variations depending on the season of the year and the formality of each event.
The intertemporal figure of the Evzones continues to have a symbolic meaning in our epoch, both as a part of Greek history and as part of the modern cultural tradition. In this Thematic Exhibition we will get to know the Evzones through photographs, uniforms, documents, postcards and paintings.
The exhibition contains items from the following institutions:
