ATHENS - A sculpture by sculptor and painter Kostis Georgiou was placed on the beachfront avenue of the Athens Riviera on Dec 5.

The bright-red metal installation depicting a male figure with wings, was a donation from a Greek shipping family and was warmly welcomed by local authorities as another step in efforts to bring art closer to people who rarely visit museums and galleries.

By the year end Georgiou, the Mayor of Paleo Faliro Dionysis Hatzidakis, prominent academics and artists found themselves defending Phylax against a small minority of locals who rejected the work as "satanistic".

Social media users initially suspected a bad joke when a Greek Orthodox priest who demanded its removal led a few dozen parishioners to the site and sprinkled "holy water" on Phylax to "exorcise the soldier of Satan".

When unidentified vandals sprayed white paint on the sculpture and cut electricity wires to keep it in the dark at night, it reopened a serious discussion about the lack of art education and the battle against prejudice and minorities of religious fanatics.

"I was surprised. I could not believe that there was such a distorted reading of a sculpture. This is the first time ever I have faced such a reaction," said Georgiou. He has had more than 130 solo exhibitions in major galleries and museums throughout the world and taken part in more than 300 group exhibitions.

"The work was interpreted in a wrong manner. It was interpreted as an angel who due to the color was perceived as satanistic, something that is entirely opposite to my beliefs," he said.

Only through education and open mind can societies can beat prejudice, absurdity, dark-ages rationale and behavior, he added.

Xinhua