A 60-year-old man wielding a knife stalked the entrance outlets opposite the Acropolis Museum Tuesday morning, threatening passersby before turning on an Greek-American tourist couple who were simply waiting to get in. He struck without warning, according to Greek broadcaster SKAI — and it wasn’t his first time. An arrest warrant issued against him in 2022 had gone unenforced for years; police had never been able to locate him.
The husband stepped between his wife and the attacker, taking the worst of it — a deep wound to the arm that left him losing significant blood. She was cut on the leg. Neither had done anything to provoke the assault; witnesses say they didn’t even see the man coming.
A passerby spotted the man brandishing the knife near Dionysiou Areopagitou Street just after 8 a.m. and alerted emergency services. By the time Hellenic Police arrived, he’d already struck. Officers from the Athens Police Department wrestled him down and took him into custody; EKAB paramedics treated the couple at the scene before rushing them to hospital. Investigators say initial evidence points to psychological illness.
The Acropolis, home to the roughly 2,500-year-old Parthenon, draws millions of visitors a year — about 4.6 million last year alone.
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