Greek graffiti
On my recent visit to Greece, I was struck by the amount of graffiti. Even on the imposing 3500 year-old Acropolis that watches over the city of Athens, people have carved things into the walls.
It was also kinda nerdy to my eyes because the graffiti looked somewhat mathematical.
Here’s the first one. It is easy to spot theta (θ), and 2 instances of upper-case sigma (Σ). In the bottom right of the picture, there are 2 upper-case lambdas (Λ) and a rho (Ρ).
Here’s a pi (π) and an upper-case delta (Δ):
The above carvings were on the 8 m high walls built as fortification of the Acropolis by the Mycenaeans in the 14th century BCE.
Here is the view of the Parthenon from that wall:
If you are rusty on your Greek letters, check out Math? It’s all Greek to me.
Other Graffiti in Greece
Here’s an attractive building messed up by random bits of graffiti.
The following mural is on the side of a public transport maintenance building. At least this one has artistic merit.
Having lived in Singapore for 11 years, I have become used to zero graffiti (well, OK there are little bits here and there). Singapore has strict laws (and punishments) for those caught defacing property.
Graffiti certainly messes up the urban environment.
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Madeline Ava said,
June 19, 2008 at 5:02 am
Graffiti *is* the urban environment.
zac said,
June 19, 2008 at 8:13 am
Madeline, are you suggesting that graffiti is inevitable and there is nothing we can do about it?
Singapore’s experience proves otherwise…
Madeline Ava said,
June 19, 2008 at 11:12 am
Not at all - graffiti isn’t inevitable. I just think of the “urban environment” as something very unnatural and man-made… it reflects the people that live in it. Regardless of whether or not you appreciate graffiti, it is part of urban culture. It is worthy of just as much cultural appreciation as the buildings and parks and sites in any area.
The lack of graffiti in Singapore is a part of the area’s culture, I’m sure. It reflects the people and policies. All the same, the graffiti in Greece reflects the thoughts of the people and the policies of their leaders. This is what makes an urban environment, I think!
Anon 1 said,
July 24, 2008 at 6:29 pm
There is graffiti in Singapore by the way. Just tht it is so underground, people tend to be ignorant sometimes.