The Pillars of Hercules — Invader Artwork
The Pillars of Hercules is a historic pub established by 1709 at 7 Greek Street in London that features an 8-bit ceramic mosaic by street artist Invader on its wall. The pub served as a literary salon for authors like Martin Amis and Clive James in the 1970s and sits beside Manette Street, named after a Charles Dickens character. Invader cemented his pixelated Space Invaders alien mosaic onto the exterior wall.
London · from the walk “Canvas & Cobblestones” · audio ~4 min · Generated
7 Greek Street, London W1D 4DF
- A tavern known as the Hercules Pillars was recorded at 7 Greek Street in London as early as 1709.
- The passageway beside The Pillars of Hercules pub leads to Manette Street, named after Charles Dickens's character Doctor Manette.
- In the 1970s, writers like Martin Amis and Clive James used The Pillars of Hercules as a London literary hangout.
- French street artist Invader has installed over 100 ceramic tile mosaics across London since his first visit in 1999.
Which street artist created the pixelated alien mosaic on The Pillars of Hercules pub in London?
Look up at the building in front of you... number seven, Greek Street. This is The Pillars of Hercules — and if you look carefully at the exterior, you'll spot something that doesn't belong to the eighteenth century at all. A small, colorful mosaic of a pixelated alien, cemented right into the wall. That's the work of Invader, and it's one piece of a worldwide art game hiding in plain sight.......... But let's start with the pub itself. A tavern has stood at this address since at least seventeen thirty-three, though the Survey of London suggests even earlier — the "Hercules Pillars" was recorded on or near this site as far back as seventeen oh nine. The name refers to the Rock of Gibraltar and Mount Hacho — the ancient landmarks flanking the entrance to the Mediterranean, which Greek mythology says Hercules created when he pushed the two pillars apart, separating Europe from Africa.......... Now, notice the archway to the side of the building. The passageway leads into Manette Street, named after Doctor Manette, one of the characters from Charles Dickens' A Tale of Two Cities, who is described in the book as living near Soho Square. Dickens quite literally wove this pub into fiction.......... And the literary connections don't end there. The poet and opium addict Francis Thompson was for many years a London vagrant. There is a story that one night in eighteen eighty-eight, Thompson, destitute and drunk, had collapsed in the doorway of the Pillars of Hercules, where he was rescued by Wilfred Meynell, the man who later published the poet's work. The story is likely inaccurate... but it captures the spirit of Thompson's desperate life perfectly.......... By the nineteen seventies, the pub was favored by many figures from the London literary scene, including Martin Amis, Ian Hamilton, Julian Barnes, and Ian Mcewan. Clive James named his second book of literary criticism "At the Pillars of Hercules" after this very pub, apparently because most of the pieces within it were commissioned, delivered, or written here. This was Soho's unofficial literary salon — conducted entirely over pints.......... Now — back to that mosaic. Invader is a French street artist who has been "invading" cities around the world since the nineteen nineties. He's known for ceramic tile mosaics modeled on the pixelated art of nineteen seventies and eighties eight-bit video games, especially the titular aliens from Space Invaders. He has visited London on many occasions since his first visit in nineteen ninety-nine and has left over a hundred pieces across the city. There's a particularly high concentration right here around Soho.......... Here's where it gets interesting. The sites for his mosaics are often chosen for their visibility, local interest, and symbolism. No two pieces are alike. Each one is catalogued with a unique identifier — London pieces are labeled L-D-N followed by a number. And there's even an app called Flash Invaders where fans can track down and "flash" mosaics, earn points, and compete with fellow enthusiasts. You can score between ten and a hundred points for every piece you capture. So if you have a smartphone... pull up the app, point it at the mosaic on this wall, and see if you can claim your points right now.......... Think about the layers here. A pub from seventeen oh nine... a Dickens novel from eighteen fifty-nine... a Victorian poet found slumped in its doorway... and now, a twenty-first-century pixelated alien cemented to its wall by an anonymous Frenchman. That's Soho in a single building — centuries of art, literature, and rebellion, stacked one on top of the other.