Dromeas (The Runner)

You wouldn’t want to accidentally bump into this enormous sculpture. It does more than just look sharp. 

Dromeas, also called The Runner, is made of individual pieces of glass stacked atop each other to take the blurred shape of a runner in motion. Thousands of sharp, jagged pieces of glass form the sculpture.

The running figure is the work of Costas Varotsos, who began working on it in 1988 and didn’t finish until 1994. It was originally erected at Omonia Square, but it was later moved because people grew concerned construction and the vibrations from the underground metro would cause it to shatter or topple.

It’s a fitting sculpture within a city with so much running history—Athens was, after all, the final destination of Pheidippides’s famous run from the Battle of Marathon. But unfortunately, the artwork wasn’t met with unanimous appeal. Though some heralded the innovative sculpture, others were less-than-pleased with its unusual appearance.