The Apocalypse Has Come Early to Athens, Greece

FYI.

This story is over 5 years old.

Travel

The Apocalypse Has Come Early to Athens, Greece

Photographer Dimitrs Kleanthris wanted to show just how bad its gotten in Greece, so he climbed to the top of the lofty hotels and high-rise apartments of Athens and snapped photos of people milling about in quiet desperation on the streets below.

In case you didn't know, things aren't going so well in Greece. They're in the midst of a catastrophic debt crisis, the government officials are having a really hard time figuring out how to fix it, and the ensuing protests and riots have left the country in ruins. I would say that they are on the brink of the apocalypse, but it feels like that has already happened. Athens is the capital and largest city of Greece. It synthesizes everything about the country into one metropolitan area. Photographer Dimitrs Kleanthris wanted to show just how bad its gotten there, so he climbed to the top of the lofty hotels and high-rise apartments of Athens and snapped photos of people milling about in quiet desperation on the streets below. Can you blame the Greeks for walking around like they are shell shocked when they live in a country with 25 percent unemployment rate?

Advertisement

Here is what Dimitris had to say about his seemingly damned city:

"Filthy, dangerous, hysterical, racist, divided—this city is genuinely brutal and dull. There is an end of days atmosphere today in Greece.You can see it in people's faces and in the space that surrounds them. A very deep existential sadness, much deeper than the obvious economic indignation. It is very difficult for a Greek to be optimistic," Dimitris told us. "I hope things take a turn for the better in my country because now it sucks."

Check out more of Dimitris work here.