Green Men are Everywhere

Looking for a way to amuse yourself while riding a city bus or strolling down the street? Try searching the buildings above your head for the Green Man. (Not to be confused with “Little Green Men.”) It doesn’t matter whether you’re in London, Paris, Buenos Aires, or New York—once you’ve spotted a Green Man, you’ll begin to see him everywhere. All over the world, he looks down from windows, watches over churches, and peeks out from garden walls. (The Green Man shown above once guarded a doorway in Argentina.)

Thought to be of Celtic origin, the mysterious Green Man is perhaps one of the most ancient deities in the Western world. Some Green Man carvings are more than a thousand years old. Usually depicted as a man’s face sprouting leaves or other vegetation (though there are a few Green Women, too), the Green Man represents the power and the presence the natural world. He comes in thousands of shapes and sizes, and his personality can range from jolly to severe.

Even on short walks through Manhattan, I’ve counted dozens of Green Men. Sometimes it’s a little creepy to spot him looking down at me. He’s hidden all over the city, but unless you have a sharp eye, you may never know he’s there.