Artists: Nikolaos Kotziamanis (the statue), Kyriakos Tamanas (the mosaics)

Location: Archbishop Makarios III Avenue, Akaki village. Nicosia district

Dimensions: 3.65 meters

Category: Cypriot Church, EOKA 1955-59, Public Figures

Photography: Evangelia Matthopoulou

Makarios’ III statue, standing on a pedestal, is symmetrically flagged by two mosaic walls behind him. The inscription “Peoples who want to live, and who fight to live, do not perish” («Δεν χάνονται οι λαοί που θέλουν να ζήσουν και αγωνίζονται να ζήσουν») specifies in an eloquent way the visual descriptions of the mosaic panels. Both of them narrate in a fragmented synthesis the suffering of the Cypriot people, the wailing and mourning of the mothers and wives, and the despair of the soldiers. The wires and the prison bars create further emotionally charged connotations, adding symbolic value to the pictures. 

The memorial was commissioned by the expatriates from Akaki leaving in London, the Kykkos monastery, the Cypriot government, the Cypriot Archdiocese, and Akaki community. The unveiling took place on October 19^th 1986. 

Selected sources:
~ Σημερινή (Simerini), October 19, 1986, p. 20.
~ Φιλελεύθερος, (Fileleftheros), October 19, 1986, p. 1.

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