"Aye, we're down for the Games," the younger one acknowledged. "But as for me, I'm hoping to see some war graves while I'm here." The older man shook his head.
"Been like that since he was a boy. Can't keep 'im out of the graveyards."
His son peered at my press badge hopefully. "So you write a lot about Greece, do you? Know any good cemeteries around Athens?"
I had to confess I didn't, other than the ancient and thus, to this traveler, uninteresting one of Kerameikos. Until that moment, travel to the more recent memorials of the dead hadn't struck me as a popular pastime. Turns out I'm wrong - graveyards, particularly those that are related to wars and battles, are high on the list of many visitors. My apologies for neglecting this topic until now.
But first - a word of caution. Greeks don't take kindly to tourists invading their own "picturesque" graveyards and snapping photos. Please remember that no matter how visually appealing they may be to the photographer, Greek cemeteries are sacred grounds, and act accordingly.
Visiting the Dead in Athens
The Proto Nekatario or "First Cemetery" of Athens also holds a number of foreign and famous graves. Melina Merkouri is interred here.
Not starstruck? Archaeologists and archaeology buffs may prefer to spend a moment at the dramatic gravesite monument commemorating Heinrich Schliemann. The author of "The Once and Future King", T.H. White, is also buried in the First Cemetery.
The Herodes Atticus Theater at the Acropolis, still used for performances today, was built by Herodes Atticus in memory of his wife Annia Regilla. This pious act takes on other shades of meaning when we learn this prominent Athenian was initially charged with her murder - her family accused him of having one of his slaves beat her to death while she was eight months pregnant with their seventh child. He was acquitted. Herod Atticus, still served by the same slave, built several substantial projects to her memory. Was this genuine pain at the loss of a beloved wife? Good public relations investments to repair his reputation? You decide, but in any case give a thought to Annia when you look at "her" theater.
The Phaleron War Cemetery is located on the road to Vouliagmeni just outside of Athens. It also contains the Athens Memorial.
Cretan Cemeteries and Memorials
On the island of Crete, author Nikos Kazantzakis is interred in the wall surrounding the old part of Heraklion. He is best known abroad for "Zorba the Greek" and "The Last Temptation of Christ" but he also wrote many other important works. The International Airport at Heraklion is also named after him.
The British and Commonwealth War Cemetery at Souda Bay holds many graves from WWII. Nearby is the German War Cemetery which holds the remains of many paratroopers who lost their lives in the unexpectedly fierce resistance mounted by the Cretans during "The Battle of Crete". Both can be easily visited from Chania.
Elsewhere in Greece
On the island of Skiros, the grave of British poet Rupert Brooke can be visited.
At the Ayios Georgios Cemetery at Mycenae, the grave of famed poet Lord Byron lies. Byron endeared himself to the Greeks by fighting on their side against their Ottoman oppressors, dying of fever in 1824.
On the island of Rhodes, the Rhodes War Cemetery commemorates many who lost their lives during conflicts on the island.
The British Cemetery at Kyrenia on the island of Cyprus has internments dating back to the mid-1800s.
Thessaloniki, also referred to as Salonica or Salonika, has a number of military cemeteries plus the Doiran Memorial to the Missing.
Holocaust Memorials
Greece did not escape the holocaust, though many Greeks vigorously opposed the deportation of the Jews in Greece. There is a memorial to the Holocaust in Kastoria and another one in the city of Volos. At the "Third Cemetery" at Nikaios outside of Athens, there is a Jewish cemetery and holocaust memorial.
So if you too are among those who would rather remember the dead than visit with the living in Greece, this list should get you started.
