Chilling Photographs of Summer Tourists on the Acropolis in Athens in the Early 1980s – Design You Trust

Chilling Photographs of Summer Tourists on the Acropolis in Athens in the Early 1980s

1
Tod Papageorge

In 1983–84, American photographer Tod Papageorge spent a month each summer on the Acropolis in Athens, capturing the people who followed the same path, finding their way up to the ancient building to see what all the fuss was about and take photographs to prove they’d been there. His resulting body of work seems lost in time, fusing the ancient with the modern.

h/t: vintag.es, guardian

2
Tod Papageorge

“I wanted to capture the high, white light of the Acropolis and the bright stone of its schist and monuments,” said Papageorge. “I stayed at a nice hotel, the Zafolia, five minutes from the Acropolis, where every surface in my room was marble, and where I did laps in the pool everyevening, driving the hotel staff crazy.”

3
Tod Papageorge

“I took the photographs in the summers of 1983 and 1984, during intense sunshine and heat. Since we are at the far end of the tonal scale, postures and gestures become very clearly differentiated. They looked to me like a pair of figures on a Greek vase, arranged in a symmetrical fashion.”

4
Tod Papageorge

“Athena’s mythical home set me buzzing every time I visited, thrilled to be approaching the glorious place. Who could have known, in 1984, how the haircuts and clothes of the day would, 35 years later, appear both timeless and current? That’s a gift of photography. A dance-like moment on the exterior wall of the Acropolis, above a row of lights used to illuminate the Parthenon at night. Many of my pictures echo the dramas of Greek myth –always physical and often verging on violence – even as they capture the routines and rhythms of visitors.”

5
Tod Papageorge

6
Tod Papageorge

7
Tod Papageorge

8
Tod Papageorge

9
Tod Papageorge

10
Tod Papageorge

11
Tod Papageorge

12
Tod Papageorge

13
Tod Papageorge

14
Tod Papageorge

15
Tod Papageorge

16
Tod Papageorge

17
Tod Papageorge

18
Tod Papageorge

19
Tod Papageorge

20
Tod Papageorge

21
Tod Papageorge

22
Tod Papageorge

23
Tod Papageorge

24
Tod Papageorge

25
Tod Papageorge

26
Tod Papageorge

27
Tod Papageorge

If you want more awesome content, subscribe to 'Oh, Design You Trust,' our brand new Facebook page! Trust me, you won't be disappointed.

More Inspiring Stories

GCDS 2021 Calendar Viva L'Italia by Nadia Lee Cohen
In the Swim
Vintage Found Photos of ’50s Young Girls in Swimsuits
When LIFE Magazine Received Pics Of Still-Unknown Marilyn Monroe, They Replied “WTH Is Marilyn Monroe”
Photographer Nei Valente Creates An Urban Photo Series Of The NYC Newsstands
Japanese Actress Akiko Wakabayashi Posing With the Toyota 2000GT as Featured in "You Only Live Twice", 1967
The First Class On Air France In 1957, By Eugene Louis Kammerman
34 Found Photos Capture People Posing With Their Volkswagens In The 1950s And '60s
1950s Teenage Girls' Fashion Captured in Vintage Photos
Diathermy in Beauty Culture From From the 1930s
Milou van Groesen for W Magazine Korea, May 2012
Beautiful Colorized Photos Of Immigrants in Their Traditional Dresses At The Ellis Island Immigration Station In The Early 20th Century
Photographers Turn Their Homes Into Cameras To Portray Life During Coronavirus Times
"Berlin Love": Minimalist Architecture in Surreal Photography By Simone Hutsch
Spectacular Winning Images of The 2022 Association of Photographers Awards
Close-Up Cuisine
The Dark Carnival Comes To Town
Guardian Readers' Travel Photography Competition 2018: October Winners
2014 National Geographic Photo Contest, Week 8
Lamborghini Athon, an Amazing But Forgotten Concept Car From 1980
Spectacular Winning Photos from The Northern Lights Photographer of The Year 2021
Japanese Photographer Perfectly Captures His Grandmother’s Playful Nature In Touching Portraits
Photographer Johnny Rudeboy
Streamliners: Locomotives And Bullet Trains In The Age Of Speed And Style