Evzonas
A Greek symbol
Evzones are selected soldiers of the Greek army, more commonly known as Tsoliades.
Specifically, they are members of the Presidential Guard, the guard of honor that guards the President of the Greek Republic.
After a long history, the presidential guard and the Evzones are now a non-combat battalion, i.e. they perform symbolic missions of a ceremonial nature.
Τhe best known of these are the guarding of the Presidential Palace, the guarding of the monument of the Unknown Soldier, the raising and lowering of the flag on the Sacred Rock of the Acropolis, etc.
THE COSTUME
The word Evzonos is first attested in Homer's Iliad and derives from εὖ and ζώνη, meaning "well-girt" .
Their costume was officially established by King Otto of Greece, which he also wore to official appearances.
The Evzoni costume with its long history is part of Greece's national identity and is inextricably linked to the recent history of Greece.
Since the establishment of the Greek state, the prosperous uniform of the warlords and fighters who led the nation's liberation struggles against the Ottomans, during the Greek Revolution, was established as the official national costume.
The Evzoni uniforms are completely handmade and their very costly and time-consuming construction requires a lot of experience.
Since the establishment of the Greek state, the prosperous uniform of the warlords and fighters who led the nation's liberation struggles against the Ottomans, during the Greek Revolution, was established as the official national costume.
The Evzoni uniforms are completely handmade and their very costly and time-consuming construction requires a lot of experience.
The main feature of the uniform is the Belt, which indicates the "well belted" fighter.
Lustrine belt: It is made of black patent leather and closes with a gold plated buckle. Two small cartridge cases are suspended on the patent leather belt, which are closed with a gold-plated spherical clasp and a bayonet holder on which the bayonet M5A1 is mounted.
The fustanella, the traditional costume of the Greeks of past centuries and the undisputed symbol of the revolutionary rebels for freedom in mainland Greece, is made of 30-meter-long cloth and, according to popular tradition, has 400 pleats - one for each year of slavery.
It consists of two parts, the leaves, which come and close around the perimeter, forming a semicircle. They are fastened with two strings on each sheet and a leather belt, the so-called white belt. With this belt the Evzon can also adjust the length of the fustanella. The length of the fustanella must be such that in the attitude of attention, it is at the same height as the fingertips of the Evzon.
In front of the skirt, the flag falls, a series of 174 blue and white fringes symbolizing the blue sky of the free Homeland and the foam of the sea waves. The flag comes and is tied in the middle with a cord of sufficient length.
The official evzon uniform is called the "whites", because of the traditional white fustanella and the evzon white under shirt. The color is not accidental as it was chosen to symbolize the purity of desire transmuted into a struggle for freedom. The shirt is made of white hash fabric and has double sleeves, one that comes on the arm like a normal shirt and a second one, the outer one, which is wide with a large opening.
Fario. The characteristic headgear of the Euzon. It is made of red felt. The metal national emblem is nailed to the front. Adapted to the fario is the black silk tassel which falls on the right shoulder of Evzonas in the form of a tear.
The red Farion symbolizes the sacrifices and the blood shed by the fighters in the liberation struggles of the nation, while the black silk tassel symbolizes the tears and mourning.
One of the most important part of this uniform, both in terms of folklore and service appearance, is the fermeli.
The fermeli, i.e. the vest of the euzon, is made in the same traditional way and retains all the decorative black and white designs that the fermalis had in 1867.
It is made of white woolen fabric and has rich decorative embroidery of high folklore value made of white and black sirens.
On the chest the fermeli has two elliptical rows of 16 buttons like those of the winter doulamas.
The sleeves of the fermeli are also rich in decorative designs. Perhaps the most characteristic and distinctive design is the cypress of Mistra on the sleeves of the fermeli. Now, the sleeves are not worn but fall on the back of the fermeli and are called in Evzon slang, wings.
The garters or bindings of the evzons are made of elastic black cloth and are worn below the knee, as their name suggests, at the height where the shin begins. They have two tassels of black silk and they symbolize the tears and mourning of the enslaved Greeks.
Short trousers of the same fabric as the summer doulamas and of the same colour as the corresponding doulamas or white, depending on the uniform with which they are worn. It is worn under the uniform to cover the internal belt and the buckles of the Evzon sock.
Internal Zone: Leather belt with 4 leather straps (spats) which serves to keep the euzonic socks stretched. Worn over underwear and socks.
Socks. Woolen, of white fabric. They are divided into internal and external. They are held together with the internal belt stretched. At the bottom, they end in a rubber footrest.
One of the strongest symbols of the Evzoni costume is the Tsarouchi (shoe) which is entirely handmade, made of hard red leather of Crete A pair of tsarouchia weighs about 3 kg, as they have 120 nails and petals on the bottom. The nose of the tsarouchi ends in a pointed projection. A similar design is found in all the Balkans but only the Greek aesthetics wanted to place a tassel to hide it. The combination of simplicity and elegance became deadly over time as, according to tradition, in the big black tassel of the tsarouchi were hidden blades, useful for hand-to-hand combat.
In the case of unarmed service inside the Presidential Palace, tsarouchia without nails are used.