Greeks sue over Aphrodite cover

Greek citizens are suing journalists over a magazine cover showing the goddess Aphrodite flipping the finger to the rest of the euro zone.

They claim the cover of weekly German newsmagazine Focus defames the character of their financially troubled but proud nation.

It featured the armless statue of Venus de Milo, which depicts the Greek goddess Aphrodite, doctored so the deity was showing her middle finger to the viewer.

The cover was supposed to be a provocative piece of journalism to sum up German concerns about a European Union bailout for debt-ridden Greece.

But it caused outrage in Greece and led to the German ambassador being summed to Parliament to answer questions about German media coverage of the crisis.

Now six Greek citizens are taking legal action against the journalists involved, including Helmut Markwort, the magazine's founder and editor in chief.

Markwort and nine other Focus employees have been summoned to appear in an Athens court next June.

Public prosecutor Ourania Stathea is reportedly looking into accusations of defamation, libel and the denigration of Greek national symbols.

Markwort, who could face up to two years in prison, told the Tagesspiegel newspaper that he had a "clean conscience".

"I'm not on the run, and I'm also not afraid that I will have to go to prison," he said.