Acropolis stabbing attack leaves two US tourists injured
By ELIANA SILVER, SENIOR FOREIGN NEWS REPORTER
Published: 02:26 EDT, 21 July 2026 \| Updated: 02:33 EDT, 21 July 2026
A man stabbed and injured two tourists Tuesday morning near the ancient Acropolis in Athens, Greece’s top tourist attraction, police said.
The assailant attacked a man and a woman, both Greek Americans, with a knife near the entrance of the Acropolis Museum, which lies at the foot of the Acropolis hill.
The woman suffered light injuries to the leg, while the man was more seriously hurt with wounds to the arm, police said.
The attacker was detained, while the two victims were transported to hospital by ambulance, authorities said.
According to local media, a man who has lost a lot of blood is hospitalized in serious condition at the Red Cross.
Police said the 60-year-old perpetrator appeared to have been suffering from psychological problems.
Information indicates that man is possibly homeless and has a criminal record.
He was previously arrested for insulting people in Kypseli in June and in 2019 in Syntagma for possession of a knife.
Such attacks are rare in Greece. The Acropolis hill in Athens hosts the nearly 2,500-year-old Parthenon temple as well as other monuments, and attracts millions of tourists. Last year, about 4.6 million people visited the site.
The Acropolis of Athens (file pic)