Forlorn, Ancient District: : Gázi as Gayborhood?

Over the last decade, the city of Athens has vigorously promoted the revitalization of the former industrial area of Gázi into a cultural and leisure destination, particularly the reclaimed Gas Works, now re-branded as Technópolis. What the government of Athens does not promote, however, is that over the same time frame, Gázi has also become increasingly connected to same-sex sexuality. One Anglophone Wikipedia author has even been so bold as to dub Gázi ‘Athens’ nascent gay village.’ For their part, Greek commentators – whether through Wikipedia, the mainstream press, or the queer press – also feature the gay aspects of the neighborhood. However, the mantle of ‘gay village’ sits somewhat uneasily on Gázi’s shoulders. This essay offers an ethnographically and historically grounded analysis of the place Gázi holds in the imagination of present day Athenians, and from that analysis argues for a more comprehensive incorporation of sexuality as an analytic category in the ethnography of Greece.1