Backdropped by the ancient Parthenon, protesters can be seen after they placed giant banners off the... 
(Lefteris Pitarakis/AP Photo)
Protesters hung giant banners off the Acropolis Wednesday calling for mass demonstrations across Europe, heaping embarrassment on a government reeling from Greece's worst riots in decades sparked by the police shooting of a teenager.
The two pink banners were unfurled over the walls of the ancient citadel that towers above central Athens and could be seen for miles around. One bore the word "Resistance" in large black letters in Greek, English, Spanish and German.
The other called for demonstrations throughout the continent Thursday, when students plan major marches in Athens and Greece's second largest city of Thessaloniki to protest the death of 15-year-old Alexandros Grigoropoulos, killed in a police shooting on Dec. 6.
The government was furious at the use of Greece's most famous monument.
"There can be no justification for this action," government spokesman Evangelos Antonaros said. "This hurts the image of our country abroad ... it is unacceptable."
Although sparked by Grigoropoulos' death, the riots were fed by dissatisfaction with the increasingly unpopular conservative government and widespread anger over social inequality and economic hardship.
The violence spread quickly across the country with masked and hooded youths fighting with riot police night after night. The violence left hundreds of shops and bank branches smashed, burned and looted and dozens of cars torched. Retailers say the damage will cost them euro1.5 billion ($2 billion) in lost income.
Prime Minister Costas Karamanlis has rejected opposition calls for early elections, saying the country needs a steady hand to deal with the international financial crisis.
There has been concern that the unrest could spill over Greece's borders, with shows of support in several European countries, including Spain, France and Germany. German police say a solidarity protest is planned for Thursday in Berlin and is expected to be attended by about 500 people.
