Changing of the Guards in Athens, Greece

If you happen to be in Athens, watching the changing of the Greek honor guards at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier is a must. Called evzones, the guards don the fustanella, a kilt with 400 pleats representing 400 years of Ottoman rule in the country.

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People & Blogs

Tags:

• athens
• greece
• evzone
• unknown
• soldier

[Hvygunner]

Back when uniforms were colorful, and tactics didn't require stealth, I would not be surprised to learn that every element of that "silly" uniform meant something heartfelt and dear to those soldiers and the nation they serve. Each nation's military desires to show its reverence to its memorials, as well as to soldierly duty, and it is not something for outsiders to mock.

[AegeanKing]

@afaresis These soldiers wearing skirts were kicking your ass in 1821 and 1913.

[Sp3ll633]

xDDDD the shoes thahaha stolen from the circus

[Bardh87]

The costume that they are wearing is adopted from Albanians

Fustanella, also called an Albanian kilt.

They are also probably guarding an Albanian/Arvanite grave, since in the 1800's the fight for Independence consisted of mostly Albanian individuals. All the individual's who played a major role in this war were Albanian, like Marko Boçari, The suliot tribe, etc...

Now their army marches through town shouting and cursing Albanians.

[Kdanc86]

Ministry of silly walks.

[Airshot06]

That was so awesome! Respects to Greece from the U.S.A.

[motizasfulgr]

@ranbnzz thank god you will never learn how gay is this mother fucker....you are so lucky!!!

[ranbnzz]

Its so gay

[blacknwhite543]

They should have just wore like the Spartan armor in the movie 300 lol

[YllusMC]

barbie version of Albanian fustanella

[powdermonkey01]

the difference is, most military traditions actually have a basis in utility, in being protective or easy to learn or easier to use to manage a group. Whereas this is...

well.

The fact that Greece didn't exist until long after Napoleon had been defeated shows that these moves weren't really passed on so much as invented by a rather queer-thinking monarch or someone who fancied himself a military man in the 1820s and 30s. So it doesn't require QUITE as much respect as most traditions, I'd bet.

[bjorn860]

whoa clown shoes?