Le piazze di Atene. Reportage sociologico sulle icone della rinascita democratica = The squares of Athens. A sociological report about the icons of a democracy's renaissance

Abstract

The squares of Athens. A sociological report about the icons of a democracy's renaissance. The purpose of this paper is to examine the greek squares as the possible icons of a democracy's renaissance in Europe. Places as Syntagma square or Klafthmonos square played an important role since the rise of the anti-austerity movement in Greece and during the last election campaign. The images of the greek squares seem to suggest the idea of a postmodern incarnation of the ancient Athenian agora and are strictly linked to the success of Syriza and Alexis Tsipras. In this report the author (who has been in Athens during the days of the last elections) will try to focalize the attention on the representation of social conflict in Greece in the last five years and on the role played by the squares images in the semiotic battle between supporters and critics of austerity and in the Syriza rising to power. Trying to enlighten the relation between icons and politics this paper will focus the distinguishing feature of the new agorà symbolised by greek squares and the link between squares and political parties like Syriza.