Evzones

The Evzones, or Evzoni (Greek: , ),

is the name of several historical elite light infantry and
mountain units of the Greek Army. Today, it refers to
the members of the Presidential Guard (Greek: ; Proedrik Frour), an elite ceremonial
unit that guards the Greek Tomb of the Unknown Soldier
(Greek: ; Mnimeo
tou gnostou Stratiti), the Presidential Mansion and the
gate of Evzones camp in Athens. An Evzone is also
known, colloquially, as a Tsolis (Greek: , ; pl. Tsolides).
Though the Presidential Guard is a primarily ceremonial
unit, all Evzones are volunteers drawn from the Hellenic
Armys Infantry Corps. Prospective Evzones are initially
identied at the Infantry Recruit Training Centres during
Basic Training; there is a minimum height requirement
of 1.87 m (6' 1.3) to join. However, induction to the
Presidential Guard is delayed until the recruit serves for
a minimum of six months with one of the Armys Infantry
Combat, or Campaign, Battalions (Greek: T
E; Tgmata Ekstrateas).
The unit is known for its uniform, which has evolved from
the clothes worn by the klephts[1] who fought the Ottoman
occupation of Greece. The most visible item of this uni- Otto of Greece in Evzonas uniform
form is the fustanella, a kilt-like garment. Their distinctive dress turned them into a popular image for the Greek
soldier, especially among foreigners.

Etymology

The word evznos (Greek: [2] ) is rst attested

in Homers Iliad and derives from ""+"", meaning well-girt. The word was used by ancient writers for
centuries to describe a type of light infantry of unidentied equipment, probably used as a generic term to denote
light infantry.
Men of the Mountain Guard, 1830s

History
Evzone (Greek: ; Lkhos Evznon).
In addition, ten light Skirmisher battalions (Greek:
; Tgmata Akrovolistn) were
formed from Greeks, dressed in a uniform based on the
garb of the klephts of the War of Independence (1821
1829). In 1836 these battalions were reduced to four,
and eight Mountain Guard battalions (Greek:
; Tgmata Orofylaks) were formed in their

In 1833, after the arrival of King Otto, the Greek Army

was organized along new lines. The Bavarian soldiers
that had come with Otto formed the majority of the
European Line Infantry battalions (Greek:
; Tgmata Gramms). Each of these units included one rie company, designated as Skirmishers
(Greek: ; Lkhos Akrovolistn) or
1

HISTORY

Evzones landing at Smyrna, May 1919

Rumeliote light infantry, 1838

Evzones in the 1880s

of two Evzone infantry companies and a cavalry troop,

was formed. In 1880-1881, the Evzone units were expanded to nine battalions. They participated in the disastrous 1897 war with Turkey as elements of the regular
infantry divisions. In the aftermath of the war, through
various reorganizations, the number of Evzone battalions
varied from eight to six, operating either independently or
divided between the infantry divisions, and were among
the rst units to be equipped with machine guns. At the
time of the Balkan Wars, eight Evzone battalions were in
existence. They operated independently on the vanguard
or the anks of the army. They distinguished themselves
for their ghting spirit suering high casualties, especially
among ocers. Subsequently the Evzone units were increased to ve regiments, which fought with distinction as
elite shock troops in the First World War, the Asia Minor
Campaign and the Greco-Italian War.
During the German invasion in 1941, a memorable event
is said to have occurred: on April 27, as the German
Army was entering Athens, the Germans ascended to
the Acropolis of Athens and ordered the young Evzone
who was guarding the ag post, Konstantinos Koukidis
(q.v.), to haul the Greek ag down and replace it with
the swastika ag. The young soldier did so, but refused
to hand over the Greek ag to the Germans, and instead
wrapped himself in it and fell o the Acropolis to his
death.

Evzones in campaign uniform during the Balkan Wars

After the occupation of the country, in 1943, the collaborationist government raised a number of "Security Battalions" ( ), which were dressed in
the Evzone uniform and participated in operations against
the EAM-ELAS partisans.[3] They were derisively known
as Germanotsoliades (German Evzones) or Tagmatasfalites (Security Battalionists), and were disbanded after liberation in 1944.

stead; they were grouped into four regiments in 1843.

These units were primarily engaged in patrolling the frontier, combating insurgents and hunting down the many
brigands that infested the countryside. The Mountain
Guard was incorporated in the strengthened Skirmisher
battalions in 1854.
After the war, the reconstituted Hellenic Army did
In December 1867, the rst four elite Evzone light bat- not re-establish the Evzone regiments, their elite statalions were formed, of four companies each (soon ex- tus and role being assumed by the newly established
panded to ve), with the task of guarding the frontier. Mountain Raiding Companies. The traditions and disOn 12 December 1868, the Royal Guard detachment, tinctions of the Evzones are, however, maintained by a
initially named Agema (), later the Palace Guard special ceremonial unit, which has served under several
( ; Anaktorik Frour), composed names: Palace Guard (Greek: ),

3
Flag Guard (Greek: ), Tomb of the
Unknown Soldier Guard (Greek:
), Royal Guard (Greek: ) and after 1974, with the abolition of the
monarchy, the Presidential Guard (Greek:
). Several regular Army Infantry units have been
given the numbers and names of the post-1913 Evzone
Regiments, however, these names are only honoric.

The Evzone on guard next to it remained in place until an

ocer gave him the order to move. With a scorched and
partly smoking uniform on one side, the Evzone did so.[4]
In January 2010, a makeshift bomb was placed 20 meters from where the Evzones guard the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, at Syntagma Square. Although the police
informed the Evzones of the imminent threat, the Guards
refused to leave their posts and remained on guard while
the bomb exploded.[5][6]

Present
4 Former units

The historical units were numbered and known as

(Evzone Battalion) or
(Evzone Regiment). The rst Evzone Regiment was
formed in 1912, shortly before the outbreak of the Balkan
Wars. The traditional and well-known Evzone regiments, which fought in World War I, the Asia Minor
Campaign, and World War II, were formed after the
Balkan Wars by the Royal Decree of 23 December 1913.
Since the regiments were distinctive, elite units, they had
Evzones in summer service uniform changing the guard at the
dual numbersthe rst, numbering them in the Evzones
Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.
order of seniority, the second, in the overall infantry hierarchy. Thus the 5/42 Evzone Regiment was the 5th EvToday the Evzones form the Presidential Guard, a batzone regiment, but also the 42nd infantry regiment.
talion composed of 2 Evzone companies and 1 command
company. They operate out of the Georgios Tzavelas bar 1/38 Evzone Regiment, the former 1st Evzone Regracks (named to honor Georgios Tzavelas, a chieftain and
iment, based in Karditsa and recruited in Thessaly
hero of the Greek Revolution of 1821) on Herodou Attikou Street, just behind the Parliament building.
2/39 Evzone Regiment, based in Missolonghi and
The Guard takes precedence in all military parades. Their
recruited in Aetolia-Acarnania
march style consists of normal march time, and at intervals, for several paces, striking the ground forcefully
3/40 Evzone Regiment, based in Arta and recruited
with the right foot. Their standard marching music is the
in Epirus
"Evzonaki" (little Evzone) (Greek: ) march,
4/41 Evzone Regiment, based in Veroia and replayed at 48 beats/min. They guard the Tomb of the Uncruited in western Macedonia
known Soldier round the clock. Guards on duty perform
their movements in a very slow and highly stylized man 5/42 Evzone Regiment, based in Lamia and rener. They switch positions with each other every fteen
cruited in Central Greece
minutes and remain completely motionless and at attention in the meantime. Since the Guards are required to
be totally still at all times, there is one Evzone in normal
fatigues uniform and police surveillance to ensure that no 5 Uniform
one approaches or harasses the Guards while on duty.
The little changes take place every hour on the hour, In 1833, the uniform of the Evzones (as in all infantry
and involve the two incoming and two outgoing sentries, companies of the line battalions) was in the unpopuand a supervising Corporal of the Change. The Grand lar Bavarian style of blue trousers, tailcoats and shako.
Change takes place at 11 am on Sunday mornings, and As light infantry the Evzones were distinguished only by
involves the whole Guard with its ocers and a military green braid and plumes. In 1837, a new uniform was creband, all marching from the Guard Barracks to the Tomb ated based on the traditional fustanella style worn by the
for the Change, and back. The Grand Change is a popu- klephts, armatoli, and many of the famous ghters of the
lar Sunday morning spectacle for Athenians and tourists Greek War of Independence. At rst, it was only issued
alike.
to the native light infantry battalions, but its popularity
During a demonstration in front of the Parliament in led to its adoption as the ocial uniform of the Evzones
2001, a Molotov cocktail was thrown at one of the guard- in 1867. After a few minor changes over the years, it
houses. The wooden construction was engulfed in ames. became the familiar uniform seen today.

5.1
5.1.1

5 UNIFORM

Present-day uniforms
Ceremonial uniforms

Ypodetes (), a white shirt with very wide

sleeves.
Fermeli (), the waistcoat. Various traditional designs are embroidered on it in white or
gilt thread. The yellow stripes (if any) indicate the
military rank of the wearer. Sergeants have two
stripes and corporals have one.
Krossia (), fringes in blue and white, the
colors of the Greek ag.
Epiknemides (), unocially called kaltsodetes (), the garters. They are made
of black silk.
Periskelides (), white woollen stockings, two on each leg.

Evzones at Changing of the Guard, Syntagma Square, Athens

Anaspastos (Greek: ), inside garter

which holds the periskelides in position.
Tsarouchia (, singular: ),
red leather clogs with black pompons (,
foundes; singular: , founda). Under the
sole, depending on the size, there are 60 to 120 nails.
On average each tsarouchi weighs approximately 1.5
kilos (3.5 pounds).
A black leather cartridge belt which has a bayonet
belt holder case.
When it is very cold the Evzones wear a dark blue
cape (). This was formerly part of the eld
uniform until replaced by a khaki version in 1910.

Evzones, winter everyday uniform

They are armed with a M1 Garand semi-automatic rie,

with bayonet.

Everyday uniform consists of the farion, doulamas, stockThe present-day ceremonial uniform consists of the fol- ings, garters, and tsarouchia. Formal dress, which is worn
on Sundays, on important national holidays, at the relowing items:
ception of foreign dignitaries and on other special occasions, consists of the farion, ypodetes, foustanela, fermeli,
Farion (), a scarlet fez with a long black silk
krossia, stockings, garters and tsarouchia.
tassel, with the national emblem on the front.
The rst king of modern Greece, Otto, often wore this
Doulamas (plural: doulamades) (, plu- uniform in public. Today, many Greek boys dress up as
ral: ), a long tunic which is the every- tsoliades on Greek Independence Day.[1]
day uniform. There are winter and summer versions.
The basic color of the winter doulamas is navy blue
and it closely resembles the service uniform worn 5.1.2 Island and Pontic variants
until 1910, while the summer version is light khaki,
and similar in design to the eld uniform adopted by Members of the Guard can also sometimes be seen in a
royal blue and red uniform based on the traditional male
the Evzone regiments after that date.
costume of the Aegean Islands or in a uniform based
Foustanella (), a cotton kilt made from on the black traditional habit once worn by the Pontic
30 meters (98 feet) of white cloth, with suppos- Greeks. These variants are worn on ceremonial occasions
edly 400 pleats (Greek: ) representing the where there is a requirement for Evzones to undertake
400 years of Ottoman occupation.[1] The foustanella unarmed duties (such as ag-raising ceremonies, comderives from the traditional uniform of Continental memorations), usually alongside armed Evzones dressed
Greece.
in the formal ceremonial uniform.

5
civilian personnel of the Presidential Guard in workshops
in the camp.

5.1.4 Service uniform

The Evzones wear the regular Hellenic Army uniform
when not in guard service. They are distinguished
from the other Army units by an azure beret and blue
embroidered patches on the shoulders which have white
letters that form the words:
(Proedriki Froura, Presidential Guard).

6 Notable Evzones
Emmanouil Zymvrakakis
Ioannis Velissariou
Dimitrios Psarros
Christodoulos Tsigantes
Ocer anked by Evzones in the Islander uniform

Thrasyvoulos Tsakalotos

While predominantly Cretan in origin - it is sometimes,

incorrectly, called the Cretan Uniform (Greek: ; Kritik Stol) - the Island Uniform (Greek:
; Nisiotik Stol) incorporates elements
from various costumes of the Aegean Islands. It consists
of a tassel-less fez (Greek: ; frion), Cretan-style
coat in blue with a red vest and white shirt, the distinctive
blue islander breeches (Greek: ; vrka), Cretanstyle belt with a Cretan knife and white leather thigh-high
boots (Greek: , stivnia). An Evzone wearing
the Island uniform is also called a Vrakofros (Greek:
B, literally a wearer of breeches).

Paul of Greece

The Pontic Uniform (Greek: ; Pontiak

Stol) is only worn on May 19, in commemoration of the
Greek Genocide.
5.1.3

Ocers uniform

The uniform of the ocers is closer to the original dress

worn by the klephts. Its main dierences are the longer
foustanella, the more elaborate fermeli in tyrian purple
with gold embroidery, whose sleeves are worn closed
on the arms instead of being fastened to the coat, redand-gold gaiters (; touzlokia) that cover the
whole lower leg worn over red trousers, and red boots
(Greek: ; stavlia). Their rank is indicated below the national emblem on the farion, and they are armed
with a pla, a kilij-style sword.
The uniforms (of the ocers and the soldiers) are completely handmade. They are sewn and maintained by

Prince Peter of Greece and Denmark

Konstantinos Koukidis
Vangelis Meimarakis
Stelios Manolas
Nikos Zisis
Kostas Sloukas
Nikos Pappas

7 References
[1]
[2] , Georg Autenrieth, A Homeric Dictionary, on
Perseus
[3] Thomas, Nigel. Partisan Warfare 1941-45. p. 38. ISBN
0-85045-513-8.
[4] Evzones - Athens Info Guide
[5] Kathimerini, Tuesday, January 12, 2010
[6] Kathimerini, Monday, January 11, 2010

Further reading

8.1

In English

Mylonas, Yannis (1997). Paxinou, Barbara, ed.

The Evzones. Strategic Publishing. p. 332. ISBN
9607178416.

8.2

In Greek

, (1998). [The
Evzones]. Athens: . p. 331.
ISBN 960-7178-39-4.
, (2009). 2/39
.
. [2/39 Evzone Regiment. Pages from its war history.] (2nd ed.).
(..).
, (2012).
. [The Diary of the Evzone Christos D. Alexopoulos]. Kavala:
. p. 267. ISBN 978-960-89430-6-3.

External links
Greek Presidency
Historical Photographs at
Athens Info Guide
Athens In Pictures
BootsnAll
great travel pictures
Article of newspaper Ethnos about the Evzones uniform (Greek)
Article of newspaper Ethnos about the Evzones
(Greek)
Meet the 'uninching' Greek Presidential Guard"BBC News feature

EXTERNAL LINKS

10

Text and image sources, contributors, and licenses

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Evzones Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Evzones?oldid=721215127 Contributors: Michael Hardy, Itai, Robbot, Kizor, Jpbrenna,
Mboverload, Macrakis, Klemen Kocjancic, Discospinster, Nabla, Alai, Rjwilmsi, Chronographos, Old Moonraker, YurikBot, Lockesdonkey, Brastite, ArgosDad, FocalPoint, Eskimbot, Dragases, Hmains, Dark Horse, Mairibot, Cplakidas, OrphanBot, Deiz, Shehzadashiq,
AmiDaniel, Dr.K., CmdrObot, Causantin, ThreeBlindMice, Cydebot, Aldis90, Faeriesoph, Buistr, Thijs!bot, Jonathan Headland, Shabicht,
Evzone, EyeSerene, CommonsDelinker, Steliosnexus~enwiki, Deor, VolkovBot, Yiorgos Stamoulis, Macedonian, Tzetzes, FkT, Wharelt,
Peeperman, Steven Crossin, ImageRemovalBot, ClueBot, Suradnik13, DragonBot, Spamhunt, DumZiBoT, XLinkBot, Addbot, LaaknorBot, GK1973, Ehrenkater, Yobot, Piano non troppo, Alexikoua, Ben.hastings, Lapost, LilHelpa, Erud, Omnipaedista, FrescoBot, Strongbadmanofme, Degen Earthfast, RedBot, Hodsha, Full-date unlinking bot, Greco22, Tgoodwil, John of Reading, Dewritech, Racerx11,
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License: Public domain Contributors: Law 48, 108, 7 June 1975, [1] and [2]

Article 2
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