Anavryta Classical Lyceum

The Classical Lyceum Anavryton (official name "Ethnikon Ekpaideftirio Anavryton", but commonly known as Anavryta) was an elite Greek lyceum (originally a boarding school only for boys) that was established shortly before the beginning of the World War II in 1940, in order to provide education to the members of the Greek royal family and notable Athenian families and reestablished after the war in 1949. Since that year the school was named a "Lyceum Aristouhon" which only admitted students who distinguished themselves in other schools. After several educational reforms in Greece the school lost its elitistic character in 1976, but continued to have higher admissions standards until the end of the 80's. Nowadays, admission is dependent on passing an written test.

Anavryta was originally based on the educational principles of Kurt Hahn, and modelled on Hahn’s own creations the Schule Schloss Salem and Gordonstoun. The effort to create an elite high school in Athens inspired by Hahn’s principles had originated from King George II of Greece following the tradition of the Greek royal family, members of which had attended Hahn schools. The effort was supported by the Greek academic society mainly because of the strong relationship of Hahn’s theories with ancient Greek philosophy. The main goal of the Lyceum was to focus on the pursuit of the Hahnian ideals and the study of Greek classics.

The school complex is located in the area of Maroussi, near Athens, in the middle of the pine forest of Anavryta, formerly the estate of banking magnate Andreas Syngros.

The fate of the Lyceum was closely tied with the Greek royal family but the only king of Greece who actually graduated from the Lyceum was Constantine II of Greece, in the class of 1955. After the support of Constantine to the military junta in the early months of 1967 and with the public strongly opposing monarchy, a referendum vote established the system of presidential democracy and denounced the king in 1974. (In an extraordinary turn of events, the graduate society of Anavryta chose not to support the king, an event that had an effect on the vote.)

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