Some say it started 200 years ago, but almost everyone agrees it has reached epidemic proportions and is a disgrace to modern-day Greece, and an embarrassment to residents of Gouves, Alikarnassos, Hersonissos and Malia.

They’re talking about the graffiti which now seems to be covering everything from building walls to historic monuments throughout the country – and much of it is vulgar slogans and pornographic drawings.

From our local townships to the streets of Athens, graffiti has been spreading at an unprecedented rate.

Computer lab across from Gournes High
School, with offensive words blurred out

"It’s a disgrace, and it’s dangerous," said Frixos Koumartzis, a Gournes community leader, referring to the numerous slogans defacing the Gournes High School and its surrounding buildings and fences. "In one night more than 200 symbolic words and signals were added to the already existing ones . . . and that’s only around Gournes."And what about the insulting and offensive words?" he continued. "Some of them are so extreme, they insult motherhood, and one of them has been on display for two years right by the entrance of the gym of the four schools, and right next to the town hall."

Mr. Koumartzis also pointed out that some graffiti is so bad it completely obliterates street signs such as "narrow bridge" and "stop," presenting potentially dangerous situations.

"I’m not an expert but I think a dialogue with the kids by some sensitive people in authority might give a common solution and might also help with other problems and rights of our newly elected youth council in our demos," he said.

One red-faced mother, accompanying her little girl from primary school on the base, quickly pulled her along, shielding her with her body in an attempt to keep her impressionable daughter from observing a particularly obscene spray-painted word.

"It's a disgrace," she muttered to no one in particular, as she retreated to the protection of her car and drove off.

Directly outside the Iraklion School of Arts
in Gournes – the edited version

Evangelos Hatzakis, Gouves vice mayor who is responsible for school buildings, was unavailable, but Yiorgos Merambeliotakis, vice mayor whose responsibilities include clean-ups and maintenance, said that when they get a report regarding graffiti on the school buildings they generally schedule a worker to clean up or paint over.

"I was not aware that there was graffiti on the walls of the high school computer labs and music school as I have not been inside the school compound area for some time," he told The Khronicles. "I will order a speedy clean up and discuss it with Mr. Hatzaki to see what else can be done."

Mr. Merambeliotakis said “a dialogue with kids, parents and other concerned locals and a Demos representative is an excellent way to communicate the wrongs of defacing school buildings or any property.” 

On the national scene, authorities continually refer to the graffiti problem as a Greek tragedy, as churches and archaeological sites, which used to enjoy a certain immunity from graffiti and the stylized signatures known as tagging, are now increasingly part of the action as the phenomenon takes off in Athens. Travelers to Athens can't help but notice the amount of graffiti in the city. Any surface that can be sprayed upon is covered with a maddening number of signatures and designs. Beautifully restored neo-classic houses from the late 19th Century usually have a few days or weeks before they are covered in graffiti and owners find themselves in a war that they eventually lose and surrender to the kids. One striking example is Syntagma Square, one of Athens’ busiest gathering points, which recently became a popular hangout for teen skateboarders.
"We have to send crews to clean the walls and steps around once a month," said Alexandros Pouloudis, a supervisor at Athens’ city maintenance office, noting that a comprehensive cleanup can cost up to 2,000 euros.
"In the case of statues and monuments that must be carefully restored, the cost can exceed 20,000 euros, conservation expert Bessy Argyropoulou said.

"The longer graffiti remains on stone or marble the more it is absorbed," she said. "It’s not a quick and easy operation like washing a car."
"There is an inability to distinguish what is a monument, and what is not," commented Zetta Antonopoulou, an architect who has conducted extensive research on Athens statues, many of which are routinely marked with spray paint. "It's getting out of control and it's not easy to explain why."

 The "art form" has come a long way since 1810. It was then that a young tourist in Greece carved his name into the ancient Temple of Poseidon at Cape Sounion, south of Athens.

The traveler was 22-year-old George Gordon – better known as Lord Byron, the maverick English poet who died fighting alongside the Greeks in their war of liberation against the Ottoman Empire.

Now, two centuries later, Greek archaeologists are proud of young Byron’s handiwork – but contemporary graffiti artists are not as welcome.

"The mark left by Byron is an historical document . . . the youth of today writes slogans, it’s not the same thing," says Miranda Karatza, an archaeologist who heads the Greek Culture Ministry’s sites and monuments office.

Graffiti covers the remains of ancient pillars
beneath the Acropolis in Athens

While other forms of graffiti related to sports or politics have been around for a long time in Greece, many residents remain unaccustomed to the latest phenomenon of street art and wall tagging by young "crews" marking territory.

When it comes to sports, much of the graffiti reflects, in words, the violence and disrespect that are often displayed in actions by certain team followers.