The “Little Girl” by sculptor Antonis Sohos (1888-1975) has a sad backstory, located in a relatively secluded corner of the small park Evangelismos, on an intermediate plateau between the metro station of the same name and a large hospital. Countless times its peaceful silence has been brutally violated, vandalized, repeatedly abused with aerosols.

But what likely happened last Sunday is probably unprecedented. Strangers mutilated the head of the sculpture, which is now a silent witness to an incomprehensible act of barbarism. The details of the vandalism were not disclosed, and, of course, the perpetrators were never identified. Visitors to the park talk about teenagers who attacked a girl with a jug, and neighbors note that it is mainly the eastern part of the park, where the Boschetto restaurant once worked (today a passer-by is surprised to see a pile of rubble, rubble and makeshift buildings – mind you, ” building” is considered to be demolished since 2011 …), drug addicts live in it.

If there is one piece of good news from the hideous sight of the headless sculpture, it is that all the individual fragments have been collected and can be restored with the help of the competent service of the Municipality of Athens.

The municipality’s small repair team has already begun work, and until yesterday was cleaning the nearby marble bust of Queen Olga, which had also been attacked in the past few days, probably by the same group; luckily it “survived” with some stains and tags. The installation of the bust, designed by George Dimitriadis, took place in October 1938 (12 years after the death of Queen Olga) in the presence of King George II, government officials and many officials, since the nearby Evangelismos Hospital was founded on her own initiative. .

Nothing, of course, guarantees us that vandalism will not happen again. The park is largely left to its own devices, bordering on dereliction and minimal maintenance that allows passers-by to traverse it with relative safety, at least in daylight.

It’s a shame because this place exudes spirituality and silence, especially when you go to the east, where the wonderful sculpture of Sohos stands, the intensity of the vegetation creates a small but valuable urban sanctuary. Unfortunately, the unfinished status of the objects of the old restaurant, combined with the indifference of the competent authorities (only in April 2020, the municipality of Athens cleared the stone fence of the grove 150 meters long, full of graffiti and tags), reinforces the feeling of degradation and abandonment.

Let’s hope that these two cases of vandalism will provide an opportunity to come up with initiatives that will return valuable green and contemplative space to the city. We are out of stock.