Patrick Comerford
I have been recalling in recent weeks how I have come across a collection of photographs of a dozen modern sculptures in the streets and parks of Thessaloniki and how I realised I had written little about these sculptures over the years.
Rather than leave these photographs and memories in forgotten files on my laptop or in the cloud, I started an occasional series of blog postings on some of those modern sculptures I have rediscovered in Thessaloniki. Over these few weeks, I have been inviting readers to join me in a minor odyssey of recovery and discovery as my mind wandered through the streets of Thessaloniki, looking at these sculptures again.
The sculptures I have looked at in recent weeks include the monumental statues of Aristotle, Alexander the Great and Eleftherios Venizelos, the Jewish Memorial by Konstantinos Lentaris at the Aristotele University of Thessaloniki, the bust of Admiral Nikolaos Votsis in front of the White Tower, the Monument for the Jewish Holocaust on the edge of Eleftherias Square, ‘The Woman of Pindos’ by Kostas Domboulas in Fanarioton Square, ‘The Stumbling Stones’ or ‘Stolpersteine’ by Gunter Demnig, and the ‘Marathon Runner of Peace’ or ‘Monument of Peace’ commemorating the peace activist Grigoris Lambrakis (1912-1963), and a marble monument by an unknown sculptor at the Royal Theatre of Thessaloniki honouring Sokratis Karantinos (1906-1979).
The sculpture ‘Citizens’ (Πολίτες, Polítes) by Manolis Tzompanakis is on Aghias Sophias Square, close to Aghia Sophia Church in Thessaloniki. It shows three human figures talking and reading a newspaper that is held by the person in the middle.
This sculpture is 2.75 metres high and is made of a metal skeleton and mortar. The metal bars next to the statues have a symbolic value. They refer to prisons or factory spaces, and the sculpture depicts the agony of ordinary everyday people wanting to be informed and waiting to be freed from the shackles of everyday life and political circumstances.
The sculptor Manolis Tzompanakis (Μανόλης Τζομπανάκης) was born in Kefalas, between Rethymnon and Chania in Crete, in 1943, and he trained in Italy, studying at the Florence Academy of Fine Arts under Venanzo Crocetti and at the Rome Academy of Fine Arts.
He opened his workshop in Archanes, near Knossos and Iraklion, in 1998, close to the Labyrinth musical workshop and studios of the Irish-Greek composer Ross Daly.
Other works by Tzompanakis include the ‘Unknown Warrior of Crete’ at the Athens War Museum, and his monument at Toplou Monastery in Crete commemorating monks killed at the beginning of the Greek War of Independence in 1821 and in the Resistance in 1940-1944.
Tzompanakis is inspired by human life and is known for combining classical themes with modern Cubist and Futurist influences. His works often capture social, political, and historical themes, and also show his love and affection for his native Crete.
His ‘Citizens’ was installed in Thessaloniki in 1989 and depicts a scene that was once typical in kafeneía or old coffee houses and on the streets in island and villages, towns and cities across Greece.
The ‘Citizens’ sculpture faces Aghia Sohpia church and its courtyard, which lie below the street level of the platia. The courtyard, as well as the square itself, are popular meeting places for young people to drink, talk, and make friends.
Public sculptures by Tzompanakis in Crete include ‘The Dancer’ (Η χορεύτρια) at Theotokopoulos Park in Iraklion, which he completed in 1994.
‘Woman on a Bus’ by Manolis Tzompanakis was installed in Aristotelous Square in Thessaloniki in March 2025
A new sculpture by Manolis Tzompanakis, ‘Woman on a Bus’, has been in Aristotelous Square in Thessaloniki since last year (13 March 2025). It is 2.75 meters high, was crafted with reinforced concrete, and is a donation from the Gleudis family.
The sculpture shows a woman climbing the steps of a bus, carrying a burden, symbolising the daily difficulties and obligations of women. The idea for the work was born in 1976, when the artist was observing passengers at a bus stop. Although the sculpture caused reactions on social media, the sculptor explains that his goal is to capture the everyday life of women.
In this series:
1, Introduction (21 September 2026)
2, Aristotle by Giorgos Georgiadis, Aristotelous Square (22 September 2026)
3, Alexander the Great by Evangelos Moustakas, Alexander’s Garden (23 September 2026)
4, Eleftherios Venizelos by Giannis Pappas, Plateia Dikastirion (24 September 2026)
5, The Jewish Monument by Konstantinos Lentaris, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki (25 September 2026)
6, Admiral Nikolaos Votsis by Georgios Dimitriadis, in front of the White Tower (1 October 2026)
7, The Monument of the Jewish Holocaust by Nandor Glid, Eleftherias Square (2 October 2026)
8, ‘The Woman of Pindos’ by Kostas Domboulas, Fanarioton Square (8 October 2026)
9, ‘The Stumbling Stones’ (‘Stolpersteine’) by Gunter Demnig (9 October 2026)
10, ‘Marathon Runner of Peace’, the monument to Grigoris Lambrakis by Vasilis Doropoulos, Ermou Street (14 October 2026)
11, The Monument of Sokratis Karantinos, 30 October Avenue (22 October 2026)
12, Citizens’ by Manolis Tzompanakis, Aghias Sophias Square (4 Novemberber 2026)
Series Concluded
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