A few blocks east of Monastiraki is Syntagma Square. This is the more modern heart of Athens: Syntagma means “Constitution” in Greek.
Looming over the square from the east is the Greek Parliament, housed in a former palace. This proximity to parliament makes Syntagma Square ground zero for any protests, which break out regularly in Greece when times are good and when times are bad. There was a fairly heavy police presence around the square (not photographed) but we have no comparison to tell if it was unusual or not.
In front of the Greek Parliament is the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier war memorial, guarded by two Evzones (Presidential Guards). These soldiers in ceremonial uniforms stand perfectly still and silent in one-hour shifts. At the top of every hour new soldiers replace them and are then inspected in detail by a more senior officer in camouflage fatigues.
The officer inspected both guards for a long time, pulling on various parts of their uniform, adjusting things, and seemingly attempting to get them to break form. I believe both of them passed.
This officer also controls the groups of tourists who are photographing the spectacle, at one time admonishing a girl for doing a military solute while posing in front of a guard.
On the north side of the square is the Hotel Grande Bretagne.
This imposing building as been the most prestigious hotel in Athens since the 1870s. During WW2 the hotel was the headquarters of the Third Reich during the German occupation, and senior Nazis including Hitler, Goering, Himmler and Rommel all visited or stayed there.
After Greece was liberated in 1944 the hotel became the headquarters of the British Expeditionary Force. Postwar peace lasted barely six weeks: the British army along with Greek police shot and killed 28 unarmed protesters in Syntagma Square, instigating the Greek Civil War that lasted until 1949.
On the west side of Syntagma Square there is a much more mundane office building with a McDonald’s on the ground floor. This used to be the location of the American Express offices: in the days before ATMs and credit cards this was where travelers would get mail from home and cash their traveler’s cheques. The McDonald’s downstairs replaced Papaspyros Cafe, where people from around the world would meet and make plans on the way to or from other parts of Europe, the Middle East or India.