May 19: Evzone-Pontians on Syntagma

The soldiers of the honor guard standing watch at Syntagma Square in front of the Greek government building today were dressed in traditional costumes of the Greeks of Pontus.

Today, May 19, is the 107th anniversary of the memory of the victims of the genocide of the Greeks of Pontus, which was officially recognized in 1994 by the Greek Parliament.

The genocide of the Pontic Greeks (Greek: Γενοκτονία των Ελλήνων του Πόντου,) – the deliberate physical destruction of the indigenous population of historical Pontus, carried out by the government of the Young Turks and continued by the Kemalists during the period 1914-1923 in the Ottoman Empire.

Today at the Monument to the Unknown Soldier on Syntagma Square there were many people who witnessed the spectacular changing of the guard to the sounds of the Pontic lyre. Passers-by applauded the assumption of the post by the “Pontic Evzones”*.

Evzones (Greek: εύζωνες ή εύζωνοι “well-girt”, from ευ- + ζώνη “belt”) is an elite unit of the Greek army that originally emerged as light infantry during the Greek War of Independence in the early 19th century. Evzonov formed mainly from highlanders. Since 1833 they became part of the regular army, and since 1940 they served in light infantry units and in the royal guard.

Source link