The statue of Eleftherios Venizelos stands on Egnatia Street in central Thessaloniki, where the long axis of Aristotelous Square meets the city's main road. It shows the Cretan statesman, seven times prime minister of Greece, in the middle of a speech, looking down towards the sea. The location is no accident: Venizelos was prime minister when Thessaloniki became part of Greece in 1912, and in 1916 he set up a rival government in this city.
The Venizelos statue at a glance
- Where: on Egnatia Street at the top of Aristotelous Square, between the square and the Roman Forum; Venizelou Street, also named after him, runs parallel a short way to the west.
- By: the Greek sculptor Giannis Pappas, known for his portraits of public figures.
- What it is today: a statue about four metres tall and one of the best-known meeting points in the city centre.
- Time needed: 5 minutes for the statue, longer if you walk down Aristotelous Square to the waterfront.
From Crete to Thessaloniki
Venizelos was born in 1864 in Mournies, near Chania, in Crete, which was then under Ottoman rule. He made his name in the Cretan struggle for union with Greece, served as prime minister of the autonomous Cretan State and in 1910 moved to Athens, where he became prime minister of Greece. He reorganised the army and the state and brought Greece into the Balkan League. In the First Balkan War, in October 1912, the Greek army entered Thessaloniki, which had been an Ottoman city for almost five centuries, and the city became Greek during his government.
Four years later Thessaloniki was the stage for the deepest crisis of his career. During the First World War, Venizelos wanted Greece to join the Allies, while King Constantine insisted on neutrality. In the autumn of 1916 Venizelos came to Thessaloniki and led a Provisional Government of National Defence here, splitting the country in two, a period Greeks call the National Schism. In 1917 the king left the country and Greece entered the war on the Allied side. Venizelos later lost power, returned, and died in exile in Paris in 1936; he is buried near Chania.
What to look for
- The pose: Venizelos is shown standing and speaking, one of the classic images of him as an orator and parliamentarian.
- The details of his dress and face: the sculptor rendered his coat and his familiar beard with care.
- The view down Aristotelous: from the foot of the statue the square opens towards the Thermaic Gulf, with the sea at the end of the axis.
- The Roman Forum behind: just north of the statue lie the excavated remains of the ancient forum, below street level.
Two names, one street
Thessaloniki keeps Venizelos close to its centre twice over: the statue on Egnatia and Venizelou Street, one of the busy commercial streets running from Egnatia towards the waterfront. The National Schism still divides opinion in Greece, and his record is debated, but in Thessaloniki he is remembered above all as the prime minister under whom the city joined the Greek state.
Tips for your visit
- Egnatia is a busy road: cross only at the lights, and look at the statue from the pavement on the square's side.
- For the best photo, stand a little way down Aristotelous Square and frame the statue against the buildings of the upper town.
- Combine it with an evening walk down Aristotelous Square to the seafront, when the square fills with people.
Nearby
- Aristotelous Square: the city's main square, laid out after the great fire of 1917 to plans by the French architect Ernest Hébrard, with arcaded buildings running down to the sea.
- Roman Forum: the remains of the ancient agora with a small theatre (odeon), a few minutes' walk uphill.
- Panagia Chalkeon: a small Byzantine brick church from 1028, between Egnatia and the Roman Forum.
- Modiano Market: the covered market from the 1920s, full of food stalls and tavernas, a short walk west.
See Thessaloniki with World City Trail
Our Thessaloniki scavenger hunt turns the old town into a game you play on your phone. The route links 10 stops and takes around two hours, with about 53 minutes of walking. It includes the Rotunda and the Church of Agios Dimitrios. You can play in English, German, French, Italian or Greek.
If you prefer a different format, there is also a self-guided walking tour and an outdoor escape game in Thessaloniki.
Play the Thessaloniki scavenger hunt →
Take the self-guided walking tour of Thessaloniki →
Play the outdoor escape game in Thessaloniki →
Facts checked in October 2026.