Dromeas – The Runner, a Modern Sculpture in Athens Greece
Athens is known for ancient sites dating back to BC era, that we all know, but hidden gems like this modern sculpture, Dromeas – The Runner, made with shards of glass are equally attractive.
During travels sometimes you stumble on sights you have never seen or heard before. How do you react? I ask because this happened to me in Athens. I had just stepped out of my hotel facing the square of Megali tou Genos School, and was walking towards metro station when I spotted this huge man’s sculpture with sharp edges. From that distance I was not sure what I was seeing. As I approached the sculpture I was astounded beyond words to see the sculpture made of neatly stacked glass panes!
Dromeas – the running man of Athens, I read later.
There was no guide around to explain what its origin and significance was. Neither had I read about this strange sculpture while preparing my itinerary of must see places in Athens. So you can imagine how mind was struggling with doubts about this approximately 30-foot-tall glass pane sculpture of The Runner.
The next best thing I could do while I was there was clicking its pictures from different angles unable to decide which would make the best profile picture of Dromeas – The Runner. I must mention here that this was a sculpture in a traffic roundabout, so I had to wait for the traffic signals to get across from one side of the statue to the other. Nevertheless it was worth the effort. One does not always stumble on sculptures rated among the best in world!
It is a free sight to see in Athens among several other interesting sights.
See another free sight: Change of Guard in Syntagma Square
The Runner made of glass from head to toe.
Running History of Athens
Athens has so much running history. You must be aware of the story of the greatest runner of Greece, an Athenian messenger named Pheidippides. The brief version on which the modern Olympic Marathon rests is the mythic run of Pheidippides from Marathon to Athens:
Greeks somehow managed to drive back the Persians who had invaded the coastal plain of Marathon in north of Greece. Pheidippides was dispatched from the battlefield to Athens to deliver the news of Greek victory. After running about 25 miles to the Acropolis, he burst into the chambers and gallantly hailed his countrymen with “Nike! Nike! Nenikekiam” (“Victory! Victory! Rejoice, we conquer!”) And then he collapsed from exhaustion and died.
Dromeas The Runner Man Sculpture in Athens
Creator of Dromeas, The Runner
Isn’t it amazing what the sculptors think and how they express themselves? This Running Man is creation of Costas Varotsos, a student of architecture and painting. He was born in Athens in 1955 and acquired his skills in Pescara and Rome. Through this creation he froze a marginal moment in the movement of the Runner. This statue was first placed in Omonia square. He presents a figure that captures the acquired speed of everyday life and defines its own passage through the – then – Omonia square.
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Due to possible damage because of vibrations from the metro beneath it city officials moved it to its present site in front of the Hilton Athens on Vassilissis Sofias Avenue.
His main medium of expression of art was through transparent materials such as glass, plexiglass, sometimes he used water too. Some of his works are made with stone and steel. However his masterful skill in working with fragility and transparency of glass is unsurpassed yet. His works almost always have a social and symbolic character while they want to pass an experience to the viewer.
Dromeas The Runner in Athens
Varotsos’s sculptures can be found many public places in Greece, Cyprus, Italy, Switzerland, USA, and his works have been shown internationally in solo and group exhibitions. Have you seen any of them?
Dromeas – Interesting Facts
- Work on the statue started in 1988 and completed in 1994
- Sculptor of this unique creation is Greek sculptor Costas Varotsos
- First Location – Omonia square in Athens
- New Location – Hilton square on Vassilissis Sofias Avenue in Athens, Greece
- Depicts blurred motion of a man running in high speed
- Symbolic of acquired speed of everyday life
- Make – 14m tall, 17 tons heavy sculpture
- Original name was “Xenos” (Stranger)
- Name Dromeas, meaning ‘the runner’ in Greek, stuck due to the dynamic form of the sculpture
Minor Controversy
The statue ran into a minor controversy when a local politician suggested to Costas Varotsos to trade the statue of The Runner with that of a statue of Alexander the Great on a steed. Their idea was to move it to Skopje in their neighboring country, North Macedonia. The artist Costas Varotsos opposed it vehemently. He said The Runner belongs to Athens and its people.
Read here: Plan to give Runner statue to Skopje angers Greeks
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Very Interesting. I wonder how much effort and efficiency went into making this glass sculpture. Commendable ????
The Dromeas is so interesting! I think it looks better from the side than from the front as it shows the movement of running. I wonder it corners of the statue are sharp.
What an interesting piece of art, i would be mesmerized by it and the story too! I love how the speed of running was captured by the artist. Very creative and effective way to capture motion.
I remember seeing this statue when visiting Athens about 10 years ago. It is very impressive and I loved the green hue cast by the plate glass.
Wow! What a wonderful work of art! Really imaginative and beautiful in the way it captures the speed of the runner. I wonder how they managed to move it from its original location? That must have been a logistical nightmare!
I dont get why anyone would ever want to give away such a cool gift that definitely represents Athens but people are strange. The Dromeas aka The Runner is so cool. I keep trying to think how much of a pain in the butt it must have been to move it from the Omonia square to in front of the Hilton but I guess that is better than the metro shaking shards down sharp weapons.