Constructed between 1836 and 1843 by the Bavarian architect Friedrich von Gärtner as the Royal Palace for King Otto, the neoclassical Hellenic Parliament building features a stark, symmetrical facade crowned by a fluttering Greek national flag. In the foreground, at the base of the massive retaining wall, sits the national monument dedicated to fallen soldiers, centered around a striking marble relief of a dying ancient hoplite warrior flanked by chiseled inscriptions of historic battle sites. On duty are two Evzones, the elite ceremonial guards of the Hellenic Presidential Guard wearing their traditional fustanella kilts, pom-pom shoes, and tasseled caps.