Mourners lined the street outside Athens' central cathedral Thursday ahead of the state funeral for former Prime Minister Costas Simitis, the architect of Greece’s joining the European Union’s common currency, who died last weekend at the age of 88.
Simitis will be buried with the honors of a sitting prime minister as a sign of respect to his service. A funeral service in the capital’s Metropolitan Cathedral will be held at noon before his burial in Athens’ First Cemetery, the resting place of numerous notable Greeks, including politicians, musicians and artists.
