The planned 24 hour strike hit public transport and flights, closing banks, schools and universities as trade union members and demonstrators gathered outside the parliament to protest government economic policies and demand the resignation of Prime Minister Costas Karamanlis.
Union leaders rejected calls from the premier for the strike to be postponed amid public anger over the death on Saturday of Alexandros Grigoropoulos, 15, who was hit in the chest when an officer fired warning shots at a group of teenagers. The officer and his partner have been arrested over the killing.
The shooting sparked the worst protests in decades as riots spread to more than 10 cities, where youths clashed with police and rampaged through city centers looting shops and setting cars and businesses on fire.
Some 6,000 people attended the teenager's funeral in a southern suburb on Tuesday.
The ceremony was relatively calm but later police used tear gas to disperse youths as violence erupted outside the cemetery when groups of teenagers started throwing stones.
