Monument to Charles Lenormant

Charles Lenormant (1802-1859) was a French archaeologist, numismatist and Egyptologist who participated in two major archaeological expeditions to Greece and left a legacy of abundant studies on Greek antiquities. On November 24th, 1859, he died during an excursion to Athens. Since he wished to be buried in the Kolonos area, his heart is located on the Kolonos Hill, placed in a marble loutrophoros-hydria whose typology resembles an ancient funerary monument. On the front of the hydria appears the embossed cross-sectional profile of the head of Lenormant, with a cross directly above it. The hydria was created by a French artist, placed on a pedestal and unveiled by the mayor of Athens Georgios Skoufos in 1860. However, since Kolonos Hill was isolated at the time, the monument was used by the locals as a shooting target and was destroyed. The work of art that visitors see today at the same spot is a copy made in 1936 by the sculptor and professor of the School of Fine Arts Michael Tombros.