Fun Facts About Greece

During my winter break I traveled to Greece, I visited numerous archaeological sides, I learned about the past and observed everyday life of the Greek people. Each day I took scrupulous notes to be able to share them with you.

Greece 2019

Basic Greek Words and Phrases:

Good morning: Καλημέρα (kah-lee-MER-ah.) You would say this greeting up until noon, and then for the rest of the day you can use “Γεια” (yah) as the standard greeting.
Good afternoon/ evening: Καλησπέρα (kah-lee-SPER-ah.) Beginning around late afternoon/dusk and into the evening.
Goodnight: Καληνύχτα (kah-lee-NEEKH-tah.) Say this when going to bed.
Hello: Γειά σου (YAH-soo)
The less formal way to say “Hi” would just be “Γεια” (Yah). If addressing a group, say “YAH-sas”.
Nice to meet you: Χάρηκα πολύ (HA-ree-ka po-LEE)
How are you?: Tι κανείς (tee-KAH-nis)?
Thank you: Ευχαριστώ (eff-kha-ri-STOE.) Remember that a good tourist is a polite tourist.
Please / You’re welcome: Παρακαλώ (para-kah-LOE.) In Greek, the word for “please” and “you’re welcome” is the same. It’s polite to say “para-kah-LOE” after asking for directions or the price of something. It can even be used to mean “I beg your pardon?” or “Huh?” when you’ve misunderstood or want someone to repeat something.
Goodbye: Γειά σου (YAH-soo)
The more informal way of saying bye would just be “Yah.” Recall that this is the same as saying hello (similar to “ciao” in Italian or “aloha” in Hawaiian.) If addressing a group, say “YAH-sas.”
See you later/ Talk to you later: Τα λέμε (tah-LEH-meh.) You may hear people ending their conversations with this phrase as well.
My name is... : Με λένε (may LEH-neh)...
What is your name? πως σε λένε? (pos-oh LEH-neh)
Yes: Ναί (neh) No: όχι (OH-hee)
Be careful not to confuse yes and no! An easy neumonic is to remember that they're actually the inverse of what you would initially think.
Excuse me / Sorry: Συγνώμη (See-GHNO-mee.) Say this to get someone's attention, ask to pass by someone, or apologize if you've bumped into someone.
Help! Βοήθεια (voh-EE-thee-yah)
I love Greece: Αγαπώ την Ελλάδα (Ah-gah-POH teen Eh-LAH-tha)
Oops!: Ωπα (OH-pa)
Cheers!: Στην υγειά μας! (STIN-eh YAH-mas.) This literally means "To our health!" If addressing a group of people not including yourself, say "STIN-eh YAH-sas."
Bottoms up! Ασπρο πάτο (AHS-pro PAH-toh) Meaning literally "white bottom," if you use this with a new Greek acquaintance, you'll be sure to impress.

Greece 2019

Greek Food to try…

Moussaka - One of Greece's most famous dishes, moussaka consists of layers of fried aubergine, minced meat and potatoes, topped with a creamy béchamel sauce and then baked until golden brown.
Fasolatha - Another of Greece’s national dishesis this classic white bean soup. It’s a simple, yet hearty affair consisting of beans, crushed tomatoes, and vegetables such as onions, carrots and celery. It’s often flavored with thyme, parsley and bay leaves.
Dolmades - vine or grape leaves stuffed with herby, lemony rice and folded over to create a small parcel, which is then steamed. You can also find them filled with meat or vegetables.
Spanakopita - The Greeks love their pies and you can find many varieties, from those made with enriched dough to those made from flaky phyllo (also filo) pastry and filled with anything from aubergines or meat to greens or cheese. The most classic is the spanakopita – phyllo pastry layered with feta cheese and spinach and flavoured with dill. Another favorite is tyropita – crunchy phyllo pastry wrapped around a savoury cheese filling.
Gyro - A bit like a kebab, a typical Greek sandwich. It consists of pieces of meat (usually chicken, pork, lamb or beef) cooked on a rotisserie and wrapped in a flatbread or pita along with salad, onions and a variety of sauces. The most popular is tzatziki souse. Vegetarian versions can include grilled halloumi (a salty Cypriot cheese made from a mix of sheep’s and goat’s milk) or feta cheese instead of the meat.
Suvlaki - small pieces of meat grilled on a skewer.
Pastitsio - Similar to Italian lasagne, but made with small macaroni instead of pasta sheets, this is Greek comfort food at its best. It’s made by layering ground beef or lamb with macaroni and béchamel sauce and is often flavored with cinnamon, nutmeg and Greek herbs. Sometimes it’s also topped with grated cheese before being baked in the oven.
Gemista - which is stuffed tomatoes and peppers, baked in the oven with potatoes.
Calamaris olives, the most eaten by Greeks.
Galaktoboureko - These sweet custard slices, made with layers of flaky phyllo pastry and sprinkled with cinnamon. They’re best eaten warm, straight from the oven.
Baklava - are small sweet pastries soaked in honey-like syrup and layered with crushed nuts such as walnuts or almonds. Found all over Greece, Turkey and the Middle East.
Loukoumades - small fried doughnut-like balls drenched in honey syrup and sprinkled with various toppings such as cinnamon or crushed walnuts. People usually order a large plate of them to share with friends or family.
Koulouri - large soft bread rings covered in sesame seeds, often sold from yellow street carts and eaten on the go with a cup of coffee.

Greece 2019

Fun Facts about Greece Day-by-Day (2/16/19)

Athens

Greece was made out of the city states which is why they had so many wars.
The Acropolis of Athens took only 9 years to be build and it was finished in 429 BC.
The Temple of Athena on Acropolis was dedicated to god Athena.
Once Zeus developed an unbearable headache, which made him scream out of pain so loudly it could be heard throughout the earth. Hermes realized what needed to be done and directed Hephaestus, the god of blacksmiths and fire, to take a wedge and split open Zeus's skull. Out of the skull sprang Athena.
Athena was born fully grown and in a full set of armor. Due to the way of her birth, she became the goddess of intelligence and wisdom. She was a fighter and later a protector of Athens.
Athena and Poseidon were fighting to see who would become a patron deity of the city Athens and Athena won thanks to her gift, the olive tree, which was a better gift to the people of Athens. Later Athena and Poseidon stopped fighting and stayed in peace.
The owl bird was one of Athena's attribute, because it was as smart as her.
Athens had red clay which is why Greeks made pottery.
Meander - the zigzag design, imitating river, a symbol of eternity, can also be called the Greek key.
The Geometric Age is a phase of Greek art, characterized largely by geometric motifs in vase painting, which flourished towards the end of the Greek Dark Ages, circa 900 BC – 700 BC.
Greek artists who sculptured Caryatids, the ladies supporting the Erechtheion temple on the Acropolis, hide their thick necks with hair braids. In general a caryatid is a sculpted female figure serving as an architectural support taking the place of a column or a pillar supporting an entablature on her head.
The ancient people of Greece offered their doctors gifts made out of clay in shapes of body parts which were healed for them by the doctors. Now they are on display in The Acropolis Museum. They are beautifully made.
Nike, Greek Goddess with wings, is a symbol of victory.
In ancient Greece all sculptures and walls inside and outside the temples were brightly painted with plant and animal-derived pigments, crushed stones or shells, but the columns were not. They also used natural dusts.
Lions symbolized the power of a place. A lion that was female symbolized city Athens.
People were bringing gifts to The Temple of Athena which were mainly statues of young women (kore).
In general rich people ordered the statues to be made as offering for gods.
When things are valuable they are often stolen, that is why so many things from past are missing.
Women pierced their ears back then.
When there was a war with the Persians the expression on the new faces of the statues changed. They weren’t smiling anymore.
The Persians who invaded Greece also chopped off noses of the Greek statues (the de-nosing) because they thought that the statues with no perfect future are out of power. The Persians professed a different religion. Similar things happened with Christians, Jews, and many other known religions which have also taken part in the shameful act of vandalism.
The classical Greek religion we recognize as Greek mythology came to an end in the 9th century in the Mani Peninsula area of Greece when the last pagans were converted to Greek Orthodox.
Many ancient statues were made out of marble because Greece is reach in marble stone.
The Romans collected Greek ancient bronze statues and melt them to make metal coins or weapon out of them that is why there are so little of them now.
The market of Athens, Agora, had water wells and a water clock, dating from the 5th Century BC. The amount of water in a well helped people determine the time of the day. This ancient water clock in the ancient agora (market) of Athens took seventeen hours (17 h) to drain when the plug was removed at dawn.
From the 6th and until the 1st century BC the Agora of Athens was the heart of the government and the judiciary, a public place of debate, a place of worship, and a marketplace for the Greek people.
Now artists make neoclassical things, which are inspired by the Ancient Greece.
The Hadrian Library is the first public library in Greece. It was created by Roman Emperor Hadrian in 132 AD. Hadrian’s Library was a public square and cultural center containing papyrus books, artworks, lecture halls and an ornate garden.
The actual site of the old library, known as the Bibliostasio, has the niches in the stone where papyrus book rolls once lay.
The building of the train line to Pireaus had exposed lots of ancient buildings and artifacts.
Syntagma in Greek means constitution and Syntagma Square is the most important square in Athens, located right across the Greek parliament.
Next to the parliament is a tomb of The Unknown Soldiers guarded by the soldiers 24/7.
Members of this special unit (Evzones) is also called Tsoliades.
The Evzones represent courage and bravery in Greece.
The Evzones were formed in 1868. This unit has taken on several names throughout the years and today it is called the Presidential Guard.
The soldiers of this special unit are very physically fit and are chosen for their strong character. They go through a rigorous training for one month, learning to keep their body and mind still. The guards also learn to keep their faces expressionless, and eyes and face motionless. They match steps imitate horse steps in very slow motion. The hat has a black tuft called Phareon, and symbolizes horse’s tail.
The changing of the guards is every hour on an hour, 24/7. The most spectacular change of guards is on Sunday.
When it is raining or cold outside the guards hide inside the wooden sheds.
Each guard wears a kilt, or Fustanella with 400 pleats as a symbol of 400 years under the Ottoman Empire.
Back in days, the pompoms on the guards’ shoes had hidden knives in them, so when they kicked someone they would injure the opponent.
In 5 March 1821 Greeks started a revolution so they could be independent.
Greece became an independent country on February 3^rd,1830.
The first University of Athens was founded on May 3^rd, 1837, by King Otto of Greece and was named in his honor Othonian University. It was the first university in the liberated Greek state and in the surrounding area of Southeast Europe as well.
The National Gardens in Athens was completed in 1840. At the time, it was considered one of the most palatial of all the National Gardens and all the urban garden areas in the world.
In July 1973 the Greek military junta called a 'referendum' abolished the Monarchy in Greece.
After 1974 the National Gardens, park of the royal family of Greece, became public.
Ancient Greeks were running naked and with no shoes during the ancient Olympics.
In the late fourth century the ancient Olympics were stopped and forbidden for many years.
Evangelos Zappas is recognized today as a founder of the modern Olympic Games, who sponsored the Olympic Games of 1859, 1870, 1875, and 1888 and preceded the Olympic Games that came under the sponsorship of the International Olympic Committee.
George Averoff, founded further restoration of the Panathenian Stadium for the 1896 Summer Olympics. He added more marble seats to it. He gave lots of money to the city and helped rebuild many buildings and sides.
The modern Olympic stadium in Athens can seat 65,000 people. It is also used for concerts now.
Paul apostle is responsible for giving Christianity to Greece. He was also the first Catholic person in Greece. Currently, most of the population is Orthodox Christians. Paul apostle was also the cardinal. Many churches were named after him because of his dedication.
The Temple of Olympian Zeus in Athens originally had 104 Corinthian columns of which only 15 remain standing.
There are around 14000 yellow taxis in Athens.

Greece 2019

Fun Facts about Greece Day-by-Day (2/17/19)

It was a common practice to build the new cities on top of the ancient ones.
Megara is a historic town in West Attica, Greece.
The most famous citizen of Megara in antiquity was Byzas, the legendary founder of Byzantium in 657 BC.
Byzantium was an ancient Greek colony in early antiquity that later became Constantinople, and then Istanbul.
The founder of the Byzantine Empire and its first emperor, Constantine the Great, moved the capital of the Roman Empire to the city of Byzantium in 330 CE, and renamed it Constantinople. Constantine the Great also legalized Christianity, which had previously been persecuted in the Roman Empire.
Istanbul means “To the town” in Greek which is why the people of Istanbul named it that way.
In Greek mythology, Pelops was the king of Pisa in the Peloponnesus. Pelops' father Tantalus, wanting to make an offering to the Olympians, cut Pelops into pieces and made his flesh into a stew, then served it to the gods. Tantalus was banished for what he had done and Pelops was ritually reassembled and brought back to life. After the victory, Pelops organized chariot races as thanksgiving to the gods and as funeral games in honor of King Oinomaos, in order to be purified of his death. It was from this funeral race held at Olympia that the beginnings of the Games were inspired. Pelops became a great king, a local hero, and gave his name to the Peloponnese.
Agriculture, shipping, and truism industries are the biggest way of getting money for Greece.
Half of the agriculture Greece produces is exported. Agricultural production of principal crops in 1999 was estimated as follows (in thousands of tons): sugar beets, 2,350; tomatoes, 2,060; wheat, 1,900; corn, 1,900; oranges, 900; peaches and nectarines, 500; olive oil, 378; cotton, 384; barley, 414; apples, 360; and tobacco, 126.
There are many veggie dishes in Greece, so don't worry if you are vegetation.
In Greece there are thirty types of olives and the juicy ones are used a lot.
Greeks consume 20 liters of olive oil per person which is the most in the world.
Olive trees live for 200-300 years. 1,800 years old olive tree is the oldest olive tree and it is located in Create, Greece.
The best way to store olives is in glass container and dry place.
To determine the quality of the olive oil you have to check how bitter, spicy and sweet olives are.
Greece and Spain are the main producers of cotton in Europe.
The coastline of Greece is over 16000 km long.
Greece repairs vessels for other European countries for their good reputation and trust.
1981 is the year when Greece joined the European Union.
Corinth was occupied at least as early as 6500 BC.
Corinth is most known for being a city-state that, at one time, had control of two strategic ports. They were both important because they were key stops on two important ancient trade routes.
Acrocorinth, acropolis of ancient Corinth, is from the 16th century BC and is older than acropolis of Athens. It was destroyed and rebuild by Romans. On a clear day, it is possible to see the acropolis of Athens from the acropolis of Corinth.
Apostle Paul came to Corinth on his second missionary journey and stayed in acropolis of Corinth for 18 months. In Paul's day, Corinth was the largest and most influential city in southern Greece.
If Athens was the intellectual center of Greece, Corinth was its undisputed commercial center.
Trojan War, legendary conflict between the early Greeks and the people of Troy in western Anatolia, dated by later Greek authors to the 12th or 13th century BC.
In the traditional accounts, Paris, son of the Trojan king, ran off with Helen, the wife of Menelaus of Sparta, whose brother Agamemnon then led a Greek expedition against Troy. The ensuing war lasted 10 years, finally ending when the Greeks pretended to withdraw, leaving behind them a large wooden horse with a raiding party concealed inside. When the Trojans brought the horse into their city, the hidden Greeks opened the gates to their comrades, who then sacked Troy, massacred its men, and carried off its women. This version was recorded centuries later; the extent to which it reflects actual historical events is not known.
In The Eleusinian Mysteries were initiations held every year for the cult of Demeter and Persephone based at Eleusis in ancient Greece. They are the "most famous of the secret religious rites of ancient Greece". Their basis was an old agrarian cult, and there is some evidence that they were derived from the religious practices of the Mycenean period. It was a major festival during the Hellenic era, and later spread to Rome. Similar religious rites appear in the agricultural societies of Near East and in Minoan Crete.
The sanctuary of Zeus at Nemea developed in the beginning of the 6th century BC, with the institution of the Panhellenic Nemean Games in a region where human activity had been present since prehistoric times. The first temple of Zeus and the first two phases of the Heroon were constructed during the Archaic period while nine "Oikoi-Treasuries" were erected in the 5th century BC. At the end of the 4^th century BC, a new temple of Zeus, baths, a hostel, a Stadium and the 3^rd phase of the Heraion were built as part of a large construction project. After the transfer of the games to Argos, in 270 BC, the sanctuary fell into decline. During the 5^th and the 6^th centuries AD, a small community grew in the vicinity and a basilica was erected on the ruins of the hostel. This community was dissolved during the raids of the Slavs in 580-590 AD.

Mycenae

22/55 archeological sites are World Heritage UNESCO sites.
The archaeological site we are going to is called “Treasury of Atreus” at Mycenae.
The tholos tomb is a round, beehive shaped structure build by the late Bronze Age Mycenean peoples. These were royal examples of the commonly employed chamber tomb. A rounded cut was made into a hillside, within which huge ashlar masonry would be employed to create a conical structure, with a wide entryway leading to it, known as a dromos. The chamber itself was built by placing each successive course of stonework out over the previous one, tapering the diameter of the room gradually up to the top. The cut was then refilled on top of the structure, creating a large underground chamber. The dead were laid on the floor of the main room, or in rare cases, in smaller separate rooms built adjacent to it.
The tomb “Treasury of Atreus” was built in 1215 B.C. Only kings were buried there. The tomb was covered with dirt so each time someone died the slaves would have to dig it out again.
The central room is 14.6 m across and 13.5 m high at its apex. The doorway, itself a gigantic 5.4 by 2.7 m, was spanned by a single lintel stone, thought to weigh over 120 tons, with a relieving triangle above it. Though employing technically simple architectural techniques, these tombs were built to achieve monumental effect, often so successfully as to merit offerings from later peoples and associations with hero cults.
The tomb weighs 120 tons and was made out of stone. They used the ancient technology to build it.
Greeks believed that there is an afterlife that is why they brought useful objects that could be needed later on. The kind was buried with grave offerings.
The archeologists found a total of thirteen pounds of gold, but where the kings were placed the gold and other treasure were stolen.
“Acropolis” means high point in Greek, therefore almost every city in Greece has an acropolis.
When Greeks build the acropolis of Mycenae they didn't know how to cut and polish stones properly, so they put small rocks between the other big pieces of stows.
Column symbolizes the palace.
The lions next to the columns meant that the lions were protecting the palace.
The lions’ relief at the entrance gate at Mycenae is the oldest art piece in the Western world that was placed on a building. The lion is used the first time on the gate I've been talking about. In summary, the lions were the oldest art and first time used.
The gold death mask of Agamemnon was found at the tomb of the king's family.
The acropolis of Mycenae was very close to water supplies.
The royal family had extra food supply just in case they and the citizens of the place had to move.
The palace had three big rooms and was painted.
In 1823 Nafplio was declared as the capital of Greece. In 1834 the capital was moved to Athens. The city is medium size, but still has lots of visitors.
There were 999 steps to get to the top of the highest monument in Nafplio, but now there are only 859 steps.
Alfeios is the biggest river in southern Greece.
Cypress trees are tall, thin and with needles.
In classical antiquity, the cypress tree was a symbol of mourning and in the modern era it remains the principal cemetery tree. In the classical tradition, the cypress was associated with death and the underworld because it failed to regenerate when cut back too severely.
The metal boxes in a shape of houses close to the street remind of a car accident that took place in that spot. If there is a picture of a person it means that he/she died in a car accident. If there is a picture of Jesus or a saint that means that he/she might survived and recovered. Nowadays people try to make boxes more fancy, some even in a shape of churche. Anybody can stop, light the candle and pray.

Greece 2019

Fun Facts about Greece Day-by-Day (2/18/19)

Olympia and Temple of Zeus

The latest Olympics in Greece took place in August 2004.
In present time a prize for winning the Olympics is a medal and an olive tree wreath.
For each Olympics, the Greek people start the flame in Olympia and pass it on to Athens and then to the hosting city/country. It is a tradition.
The duration of the ancient Olympics was 5 days.
On the 1^st day was an opening and sacrifices for a good luck.
The 2^nd, 3^rd and 4^th day were the Olympics and the 5^th day people received prizes.
In the ancient Olympic Games there were no gold, silver, or bronze medals. There was only one winner per event, crowned with an olive wreath made of wild-olive leaves from a sacred tree near the temple of Zeus at Olympia.
The priests offered a farewell meal for the winners.
The Olympics was a religious event dedicated to Zeus.
The Olympics were organized at the end of July.
The people who competed were arriving one month before the Olympics to practice.
Olympic competitors were not allowed to put on clothes, so they wouldn't show off.
“Gymnos” means “naked” in Greek which is where the word gym came from.
Olympic competitors were taking an oath that they wouldn't cheat, if they did they had to donate a statue of Zeus. 16 Statues of Zeus were erected on the bases near the stadium, paid for by fines imposed on those who were found to be cheating at the Olympic Games. The names of the cheating athletes were inscribed on the base of each statue to serve as a warning to all.
Only male and free people, meaning no slaves, could compete.
Women did not participate in competition, they couldn't even watch the Olympics back then.
“Pale” in Greek means “wrestling.” Palaestra was an ancient Greek wrestling schools/house.
Athletes would coat themselves with olive oil before training in the gymnasium or palaestra, then use a strigil, a special metal tool, to scrape off the oil and dirt before entering the baths.
The athletes participated in more than one type of completion and there were 100s of athletes.
The people from the North felt isolated so they brought gifts to show that they were also a part of Greece.
776 B.C. took place the first Olympics.
390 A.D. was the year when Olympics stopped because believe in 12 gods was prohibited.
The site of Olympus was excavated between 1850 and 1860 AD by the Greek and German archaeologists.
There are only 3 type of columns in architecture of an ancient Greece:
Doric style columns – plain, no design,
Ionic style columns - spiral designs, imitating wave of Ionic Sea,
Corinthian style columns – with beautiful leafy design of Acanthus plant.
Corinthian style column was created in the 4th B.C. by the sculptor Callimachus, probably an Athenian, who drew acanthus leaves growing around a votive basket. Corinthian style columns were found in Corinth which brought the name.
Greeks used stone material to build.
Romans invented bricks as building material.
The Temple of Zeus at the sanctuary of Olympia, in Olympia was big and inside sited an enormous statue of Zeus, the seven wonders of the ancient world. Zeus's statue was sited toward the East.
The Statue of Zeus at Olympia was a giant figure, about 13 m/ 43 feet tall, made by the Greek sculptor Phidias around 435 BC, and erected in the Temple of Zeus there, Olympia.
Phidias had a workshop close to the temple of Zeus.
A sculpture of Zeus was made out of ivory plates and gold panels over a wooden framework, it represented the god Zeus sitting on an elaborate cedar wood throne ornamented with ebony, ivory, gold and precious stones that is why it was stolen.
On the fourth day of the Olympics games 100 oxen were burned, there legs were burned and the rest was eaten.
Generally Greeks consumed vegetables and the meat was for special occasions, it was a sacrifice and eaten for the gods.
The best parts were given to the priest, the second best to the owner of the animal, and the third to the other people.
They kept the extra meat next to the spring in a cool place.
45,000 spectators could feet in Olympia stadium, but only judges could sit.
The running place was 213 meters long, but they used “stadiums”, which meant that if you go one way it was 1 stadium, two ways 2 stadiums, and so on.
The physical landmarks of the Stadium are 212.54 meters long and 30-34 meters wide, and it served mainly for running races that determined the fastest person in the world. The track was made of hard-packed clay to serve as traction for the people competing in the running events. Like in current day athletics, a white block was placed on one end of the track where the athletes would line up to place their feet and got ready to start of the race. The white block was used to align all the athletes so they would all run the same distance.
The Marathon race commemorates the run of Pheidippides, an ancient "day-runner" who carried the news of the Persian landing at Marathon of 490 BC to Sparta (a distance of 149 miles, 239.792 km) in order to enlist help for the battle.
The Second Sunday of November is when the Greeks hold the Marathon.
Back then there was only one winner, the first one on the finish line.
The winner and his trainer won a container of good quality olive oil each.
Only the trainers and winners could export the olive oil.
The ancient people took boats to get to Olympia, which is why Geeks built temples close to water.
In Greek mythology, Pelops was king of Pisa in the Peloponnesus.
Pelops wanted to marry Hippodami, came to ask for her hand and prepared to a chariot race her father, the King Oenomaus.
Pelopas was given winged horses by Poseidon and thanks to them won the race and became the prince and later the king. The King Oenomaus died in race.
After his victory, Pelops organized chariot races as thanksgiving to the gods and as funeral games in honor of King Oinomaos, in order to be purified of King Oinomaos’ death. It was from this funeral race held at Olympia that the beginnings of the Games were inspired.
In Greek mythology Lapiths and Centaurs were tribes in ancient Thessaly – Lapiths human in appearance, Centaurs a race of half-human, half-horse creatures. There was a fight between Centaurs and Lapiths. The Centaurs got drunk at the wedding of the Lapiths and were taking the wives of the Lapiths.
The conflict between the Lapiths and the Centaurs was emblematic of the struggle between man and his baser instincts, between civilization and chaos.
Gods were waiting to always solve any conflict.
“Phos” in Greek means “sunlight.”
Apollo, the god of the sunlight was the only one who could see the future.
Peloponnesian War. Athens and Sparta, both powerful Greek city-states, had fought as allies in the Greco-Persian Wars between 499 and 449 B.C. Sparta emerged victorious, while the constant fighting left Athens bankrupt, exhausted and demoralized.
The Nike that told about the Peloponnesian war was an example of the other Nikes. This means that this was one of the first and the other ones were made similar to this ones.
It is hard and similar to the one back then, because it is uphill and the ground is bumpy from stones.
The race is made in thanks of Miltiadis. Miltiadis, a runner gave the god, Zeus his helmet to thank him that they had won the war.
The base of Zeus's statue was 6 feet tall.
Hermes and the Infant Dionysus, also known as the Hermes of Praxiteles or the Hermes of Olympia is an ancient Greek sculpture of Hermes and the infant Dionysus discovered in 1877 in the ruins of the Temple of Hera, Olympia, in Greece. It is displayed at the Archaeological Museum of Olympia.
The statue Hermes of Praxiteles is polished only at the front, because it is only seen at the front when it was changed. It was polished by Romans.
The Greeks didn't polish their sculptures after carving them. When the Romans conquered Greece they polished the statues they liked made by the Greeks.
An artist Praxiteles made the statue Hermes of Praxiteles between 350-330 BC. It is very detailed and looks like it is from the renaissance. Praxiteles was known for using colors so it is possible that the state had colors.
Most Greeks think that the Romans copies are not that old.
A bull is Zeus's main spirit animal which is why they were sculpted together a lot.
The Romans are better at making faces on statues, then Greeks. They are worse at bodies of statues than Greeks, which is why they made clothes to hide the body parts. Some say that the Romans were very prudent which is why they dressed up and put on clothes on their statues.
Romans were the first to use bricks, glass, and built arches. They introduced grave offerings made out of glass. They added toys to the graves of children and babies.
Hestia was the goddess of the hearth, home, architecture, domesticity, family, and the state.

Naupactus / Arachova

The ancient name Naupaktos (Ναύπακτος) means "boatyard." In Greek legend, Naupactus is the place where the Heraclidae built a fleet to invade the Peloponnese.
The port and castle provide the main attraction for the town, both with well-kept Venetian vestiges. The port also includes monuments commemorating the Battle of Lepanto (1571), and there is also a statue of the Cervantes by the Mallorcan artist Jaume Mir. The town of Naupaktos has a population of 25,000.
The Rio–Antirrio Bridge, officially the Charilaos Trikoupis Bridge, is one of the world's longest multi-span cable-stayed bridges and longest of the fully suspended type. It crosses the Gulf of Corinth near Patras, linking the town of Rio on the Peloponnese peninsula to Antirrio on mainland Greece by road. In June 2004 The Rio - Antirrio Bridge was finished.
It is the most expensive bridge in Greece. Toll: Cars: 13.30 €; Motorcycles: 1.90 €; Coaches: 29.70–64.00 €; Trucks: 19.90–41.00 €.
The Greeks receive 12 years of basic education and 9 extra years are devoted to get specialization, but most kids only do 12 years of education. There are public and private schools, but most kids go to public schools, because private schools are expensive, just like in America.
The fish population has decreased which is why now Greeks have started opening fish farms in the water.
Arachova is a mountain town with 3000 ft. elevation famous for ski center. Rich people have winter houses because it is close to Athens, the air is always fresh and cool. Local people make beautiful things from leather.

Greece 2019

Fun Facts about Greece Day-by-Day (2/19/19)

Delphi

Delphi is in a town located in upper central Greece, on Peloponnese Peninsula along the slope of Mount Parnassus, and includes well preserved Sanctuary of Apollo (the god of light, knowledge and harmony.)
Delphi, formerly also called Pytho, is famous as the ancient sanctuary that grew rich as the seat of Pythia, the oracle who was consulted about important decisions throughout the ancient Mediterranean classical world.
According to the earliest legends the Delphi site was originally a sacred place of the earth goddess Gaia (also called Ge) and was guarded by her daughter, the serpent Python.
Later legends state that the site was the center of the world as determined by the god Zeus. Two eagles (or ravens) had been released by Zeus from opposite ends of the earth and following great flights across the skies they finally met at Delphi.
The other legend says that Zeus threw a stone from the sky to see where it will fall. The stone fell at Delphi and was considered to be the center of the world, the omphalos – "navel of the earth". Indeed, the same stone thrown by Zeus took the same name and became the symbol of Apollo, the sacred Oracle and more generally of the region of Delphi.
In the myth of Apollo and Daphne, the god Apollo fell in love with Daphne, a priestess of Gaia (Mother Earth), and when he tried to seduce her she pled for help to Gaia, who transported her to Crete. In Daphne's place Gaia left a laurel tree, which Apollo fashioned wreaths out of to console himself. Bay laurel was used to fashion the laurel wreath of ancient Greece, a symbol of highest status. A wreath of bay laurels was given as the prize at the Pythian Games because the games were in honor of Apollo, and the laurel was one of his symbols.
The python protected the mother Earth so Apollo killed it to show that he was the new patron of Delphi.
The Pythian Games were organized because of the killing of the python.
The mother Earth was worshiped in Delphi.
There are three and a half million olive trees in Delphi.
The ruins of the Temple of Apollo visible today date from the 4th century BC, and are of a peripteral Doric building. It was erected by Spintharus, Xenodoros, and Agathon on the remains of an earlier temple, dated to the 6th century BC which itself was erected on the site of a 7th-century BC construction attributed to the architects Trophonios and Agamedes.
Apollo gave advice at his sanctuary, oracles.
The agora was a market place. People could buy gifts there for Apollo.
There was a Roman agora added to Apollo's sanctuary by the Romans.
People who came to the Temple of Apollo had to follow a protocol. First they had to go to the ancient spring of Delphi to wash themselves for purification. They thought that their mind would be easier to understand the vague answers.
The priests would go with them and sacrifice an animal.
They would ask questions, write on wood and give it to the priest. Not only kings came to ask questions, but also regular people.
A woman named Pythia, the oldest one, would sit on a tripod throne above a crack with the gasses coming out, she was chewing bay leaves and touching the stone that Zeus had threw from Mount Olympus.
She would give out cries and the priests would interpret them. The answers were tricky and not clear, so at the end it was up to them.
One of the questions was how to beat the Persians. Pythia gave out cries and a priest interpreted “Go and build a wooden wall.” They didn’t know what he meant because they already had stone walls. They interpreted it by making 100 boats. That is how they won the Sea Battle of Salamis.
Battle of Salamis, (480 BC), battle in the Greco-Persian Wars in which a Greek fleet defeated much larger Persian naval forces in the straits at Salamis. The Greeks sank about 300 Persian vessels while losing only about 40 of their own. The Battle of Salamis was the first great naval battle recorded in history.
Mother Earth is Gaya in Greek. Gaia is the ancestral mother of all life: the primal Mother Earth goddess. Gaia was the first god worshiped.
Athena was worshiped as the second most important goddess of Delphi and she also had a temple in Delphi.
Tholos, in ancient Greek architecture, was a circular building with a conical or vaulted roof. A famous Tholos can be seen in Delphi, the Tholos of Delphi. It has been dated to 370-360 BC. Its role remains unclear.
The most important stuff were inside the Treasury of Delphi. For example, The Delphic Hymns, two musical compositions from Ancient Greece, which survive in substantial fragments. They were long regarded as being dated circa 138 BC and 128 BC, respectively.
Both Delphic Hymns were addressed to Apollo, and were found inscribed on stone fragments from the south outer wall of the Athenian Treasury at Delphi. Reconstruction of the fragments was facilitated by the fact that the First Hymn uses vocal notation, and the second one employs instrumental notation. The song has a slow rhythm.
There were many oracles.
The rock from which the Sibyl gave oracles is called the Rock of Cybill.
It was close to the Loral tree so she could chew the lives.
The Pythian Games (also Delphic Games) were one of the four Panhellenic Games of Ancient Greece. They were held in honor of Apollo every four years at his sanctuary at Delphi. The Pythian Games were founded sometime in the 6th century BC and featured competitions for art and dance.
The Apollo stadium (with capacity for 7,000 spectators) is closed for visitors because rocks from the mountain above fell down.
The place of the chariot races in Delphi has been found but there is not enough money to excavate it.
Other notable constructions at the site were the theatre (with capacity for 5,000 spectators), temples to Athena (4th century BC), a tholos with 13 Doric columns (c. 580 BC), stoas, and around 20 treasuries, which were constructed to house the votive offerings and dedications from city-states all over Greece.
Lodge is stoa in Greek. A stoa, in ancient Greek architecture, is a covered walkway or portico, commonly for public use. Stoas usually surrounded the marketplaces or agora of large cities and were used as a framing device.
The Sphinx of the Naxians was erected next to the Temple of Apollo in Delphi. The sphinx kept evil away. They were for good luck and protection.
Siphnian Treasury, a building at the Ancient Greek cult center of Delphi, was erected to hold the offerings of the polis, or city-state, of Siphnos. The treasury of the Siphnos is the first temple that uses statues as columns.
Back then ancient Greeks had 3D sculptures.
The Greek alphabet has been used to write the Greek language since the late 9th or early 8th century BC. The ancient Greek and Modern Greek language have the same alphabet.
The Eucleidean alphabet, with twenty-four letters, ordered from alpha to omega, had become standard and it is this version that is still used to write Greek today. These twenty-four letters are: Α α, Β β, Γ γ, Δ δ, Ε ε, Ζ ζ, Η η, Θ θ, Ι ι, Κ κ, Λ λ, Μ μ, Ν ν, Ξ ξ, Ο ο, Π π, Ρ ρ, Σ σ/ς, Τ τ, Υ υ, Φ φ, Χ χ, Ψ ψ, and Ω ω.
The Greeks were fascinated with Egyptian art, traveled to Egypt and created similar pieces to theirs.
During the Trojan war half of the gods, six were on the side of the Trojans and the other half on the side of the Greeks.
The ivory of the statues are black because of the fire following the earthquakes. Ivory was imported from Africa.
The Northern part of Greece had gold.
A kouros is the modern term given to free-standing ancient Greek sculptures that first appear in the Archaic period in Greece and represent nude male youths. In Ancient Greek kouros means "youth, boy, especially of noble rank".
Kuros and Kory are the first life sized statues in ancient Greece.
Back then lions with open mouths were used at the top of a roof for decoration and as a drain.
The Romans made a copy of the navel stone that was more detailed.
The Romans ruled Greece for four and a half centuries.
Antinous was a Bithynian Greek youth and a favorite, or close friend, of the Roman emperor Hadrian. He was deified after his death, being worshiped in both the Greek East and Latin West, sometimes as a god and sometimes merely as a deified mortal.
Antinous drowned in the deep River Nile on 24 October (130 AD) on the same day the locals were commemorating the death, by drowning in the Nile, of the Egyptian god Osiris.
The Charioteer of Delphi, also known as Heniokhos, is one of the best-known statues surviving from Ancient Greece, and is considered one of the finest examples of ancient bronze sculptures. The life-size (1.8m) statue of a chariot driver was found in 1896.
The statue was set up at Delphi to commemorate the victory of the tyrant Polyzalus of Gela in Sicily and his chariot in the Pythian Games of 470 BC, which were held at Delphi in honor of Pythean Apollo.
Most bronze statues from ancient times were melted down for their raw materials or were naturally corroded, but the Charioteer survived because it was buried under a rock-fall at Delphi, which probably destroyed the site in 373 B.C.
The face and the body do not have the features of arrogance, but those of calm self-confidence.
The statue is very detailed, it even has eye lashes and eyes made out of semi-precious stones.

Greece 2019

Fun Facts about Greece (2/20/19)

Greek Islands

There are 6000 island in Greece, but only 200 are inhabited.

Hydra

Hydra is one of the Saronic Islands of Greece, located in the Aegean Sea. In ancient times, the island was known as Hydrea, a reference to the natural springs on the island.
In Hydra there are no cars and it looks like a maze with many narrow winding streets to make people feel safe from the pirates.
“Boy on a Dolphin” was filmed on Hydra with an Italian actress Sophia Loren. In a movie Sophia Loren – Phaedra is a poor Greek sponge diver. She accidentally finds an ancient Greek statue of a boy riding a dolphin on the bottom of the Aegean Sea. She wants to sell it…

Aegina

Aegina is a very big island and it has the biggest production of pistachios.

In Greece there is Greek Orthodox religion. The priests wear always black tunics, because they are mourning death of Jesus and waiting for His return. That is when they will wear a different color. They can have families. I saw an orthodox priest pushing a stroller.

The double-headed eagle is the most recognizable symbol of Orthodoxy today (other than the cross) and was the official state symbol of the late Byzantine Empire, symbolizing the unity between the Byzantine Orthodox Church and State.

In addition, the heads of the eagle also represent the dual sovereignty of the Byzantine Emperor, with the left head representing Rome (the West) and the right head representing Constantinople (the East). The claws of the eagle hold a cross and an orb (this combination is on the official flag of the Ecumenical Patriarchate today), or in some similar depictions with a sword and an orb.

The Virgin Mary church in Aegina was built in 1774.

The church has a Nartix which faces the West, the place where the mass is held and, the altar that faces the East.

On front of the church, there is a poster which shows who the Orthodox Church is dedicated to.

Usually people light up 2 candles one for the people who are alive and one for those who are dead.

The dome in the church symbolizes heaven.

Jesus’s left hand is raised for blessing people and the right is holding the gospels.

After the 1700 the art of carving wood in the church was lost, so after this date they use marble.

In the Orthodox Churches there are no organs, but only hymns sang acapella.

Some Greeks bring valuable objects (engagement ring, gold neckless, etc.) to a church as thank you for recovery, healing or resolving family problems.

Back then women stay at the upper level of the church and were separated from men.

When the prist reads the gospel, everyone stands up in the Orthodox Church.

The Sunday mass in Greece is 2 and a half hours long.

How Greek Orthodox Cross Themselves: People use the right hand, Gently touch three fingers (the index, middle, and thumb) to the center of the forehead, next Bring the hand down right between the ribcage and belly button, Raise your hand to the RIGHT shoulder (not left like Catholics) towards Constantinople direction, Repeat it twice and Say the blessing.

There are NO statues in the orthodox churches, because they remind of the twelve Gods from past.

The oldest Temple in Aegina was dedicated to Apollo and it was built in the 6th century B.C.

Aegina was the capital of Greece for one year, from 1826 to 1827.

After that the new capital was Napoli followed by Athens.

First silver coins that were ever cut were produced in Aegina.

It was also the first place to cultivate potatoes.

Aegina produced lots of wine but stopped it in 1896 in favor of pistachio production.

The island is great because of dry climate, lots of sun and volcanoes (good soil.)

Aegina produces 4,000 tons pistachio a year and export it everywhere.

Poros

Poros is a small Greek island-pair in the southern part of the Saronic Gulf with great, sandy beaches.
Poros is well-kept secret for a weekend break or relaxing vacation, easily accessible from Piraeus port in Athens (Ferries depart from Gate E 8 in Piraeus) and from Peloponnese (Galatas.)
About 75 buildings in Poros are preserved.

Greece 2019

Fun Facts about Greece Day-by-Day (2/21/19)

Back in Athens

The Parthenon, a former temple on the Athenian Acropolis, had 46 outer columns and 23 inner columns in total, while the Temple of Zeus in Athens had 104 columns of 17 m high each and 2 m in diameter each.
The columns in Greece were carved out in the middle.
The Temple of Zeus in Athens took 600 years to be built. It was completed in 132 AD by the Roman emperor Hadrian.
In the 8th century BC, Greece began to emerge from the Dark Ages which followed the fall of the Mycenaean civilization.
In the year 507 BC, the Athenian leader Cleisthenes introduced a system of political reforms that he called demokratia, or “rule by the people.” Although this Athenian democracy would survive for only 2 centuries, Cleisthenes' invention was one of ancient Greece's most enduring contributions to the modern world.
Lycus means wolf in Greek.
Mount Lycabettus is the highest peak in Athens, at 908 feet above sea level, and it can be seen from almost every part of the city.
Mythologically, Lycabettus is credited to Athena, who created it when she dropped a limestone mountain she had been carrying from the Pallene peninsula for the construction of the Acropolis.
Lord Byron is regarded as one of the greatest British poets and is best known for his amorous lifestyle and his brilliant use of the English language.
A Byronic hero is an anti-hero of the highest order. He (or she) is typically rebellious, arrogant, anti-social or in exile, and darkly, enticingly romantic.
In July 1823, Byron left Italy to join the Greek insurgents who were fighting a war of independence against the Ottoman Empire. On 19 April 1824 he died from fever, in age of 23, at Missolonghi, in modern day Greece.
Lord Byron is considered the father of graffiti. Lord Byron's survives on one of the columns of the Temple of Poseidon at Cape Sounion in Attica, Greece.
Greece is one of the most mountainous countries in Europe. 80% of the country consists of mountains or hills.
The rocks are composed of a mixture of sandstone and conglomerate.
A major production area of marble from Greece is a mountainous region, namely Drama-Kavala-Thassos, widely known as “Carrara of Greece”. It's known for producing almost 50% of the total semi white & white marble production.
The word's origin is the ancient Greek work “marmaros”, which means “shiny stone”.
The Parthenon - The material used in the construction was Pentelic marble, except the raised floor, where limestone was used. The main reason for which Penteli was known since ancient times was its marble.
The population of Greece is only 11 million. About two-thirds of Greek people live in urban regions of Athens (3.75 million) and Thessaloniki.
History of Olympics https://www.penn.museum/sites/olympics/olympicorigins.shtml
1896 modern Olympics History https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1896_Summer_Olympic
Businessman George Averoff agreed to pay for the restoration of the Panathenaic Stadium. Averoff donated 920,000 drachmas to the project.
Pierre de Frédy, Baron de Coubertin was a French educator and historian, and founder of the International Olympic Committee, and its second President. He is considered the father of the modern Olympic Games that is why the Olympics are translated to French.
Evangelos Zappas Gapas and Cosedino Zappas did the new Olympics.
Cosedino Zappas died before the modern Olympics.
His cousin wanted to be buried in his house, but he said that there wasn't enough room, because they weren't getting along, so he cut his head off and put his head in the wall that building.
The modern Olympics was only for Greeks in Greece.
The modern Panathenaic Stadium is built on an ancient stadium.
It is the only stadium that is made out of marble. It was rebuilt in marble by Herodes Atticus, an Athenian Roman senator, by 144 AD and had a capacity of 50,000 seats.
After the rise of Christianity in the 4th century it was largely abandoned.
The stadium was excavated in 1869 and hosted the Zappas Olympics, a series of athletic events held in Athens, Greece, in 1859, 1870, and 1875 sponsored by Greek businessman Evangelos Zappas.
After being refurbished, it hosted the opening and closing ceremonies of the first modern Olympics in 1896 and was the venue for 4 of the 9 contested sports.
It was used for various purposes in the 20th century and was once again used as an Olympic venue in 2004. It is the finishing point for the annual Athens Classic Marathon.
The first Persian invasion of Greece, during the Persian Wars, began in 492 BC, and ended with the decisive Athenian victory at the Battle of Marathon in 490 BC. Even though Greek were outnumbered they decided to fight and they won.
The traditional story tells that Pheidippides (530–490 BC), an Athenian herald or hemerodrome (translated "professional-running courier" or "day-long runner,") was sent to Sparta to request help when the Persians landed at Marathon, Greece. Spartans said “There is a moon festival in their community and we can’t help” so Greeks decided to fight the war all alone. Pheidippides ran about 240 km (150 mi) in two days and back. He then ran 40 km (25 mi) to the battlefield near Marathon and back to Athens to announce the Greek victory over Persia in the Battle of Marathon (490 BC) with the word Nikomen "We are the winners" and then collapsed and died.
Now Greeks organize the marathon to thank him for his hard work. And devotion.
1453 -1821 time of the Ottoman Empire in Greece. From 1453 with the fall of Constantinople until the revolution in 1821 Greece was under the rule of the Ottoman Turks who control the entire Middle East, and the Balkans as far as the gates of Vienna.
The Greeks were slaves under the Ottoman Empire.
The Greeks were not allowed to have any facial hair during that time to make them less masculine.
Otto, a 16 years old Bavarian prince, became the first modern King of Greece in 1832 under the Convention of London. He reigned until he was deposed in 1862.
Otto moved the capital of Greece from Nafplion to Athens.
Young Otto asked his father for cavalry (horse army) but when the father refused Otto requested from his soldiers to imitate horse walk while they marched.
Evzone is an elite Greek soldier. You have to be more than six feet, good-looking, young and strong-minded to be chosen for training. The boys are very proud to be chosen to serve as Evzone soldiers.
The Foustanella (skirt) is made from over 30 metres of fabric and features 400 pleats to represent the liberation of Greece from the years of Ottoman occupation.
The Farion cap is made from a soft red baize and features a long silk tassel representing horse tail.
The shoes are 1.5 kilograms each and have 60 nails on the bottom and a horse shoe.
Evzones walk a little to make sure that they have proper blood circulation.
The weapon of the guards is not loaded. The gun wights 5 kg.
By hitting the butt of the gun on the ground, the helping soldier is made aware that the Evzone requires assistance. The soldier will ask the Evzone questions and the answers are communicated by blinking, one blink is ‘yes’, two blinks is ‘no’, three blinks is ‘i don’t know’.
If Evzone soldier has a mustache it means that he completed 100 hours of service.
On Sunday at 11am there is a splendid changing of the guards with big parade.
There are five Evzone soldiers on guard at all times.
The military service in Greece is mandatory for all man and last nine months.
The president has no real power.
The president is elected every 5 years.
The general has all the power.
The general is elected energy 4 years.
The main cathedral of Athens was destroyed by the earthquakes and rebuild 3 times. Athenians think that it is because of bad luck.
They think that the new building materials might have brought the bad luck. That is why the Athenians decided to take marble from an old church and installed in a new constructed cathedral. Now they hope they will have more luck.
There are a few things you can learn from a Greek statue:
If the horse tail is Up on the sculpture means that the person Lost the battle.
If the horse tail is Down on the sculpture means that the person Won the battle.
If both feet of the horse are down then the person is alive.
If both feet of the horse are up then the person is dead.
If one foot is up and the other one is down then the person survived the battle or war, but died soon after.
The Roman emperor Hadrian made a lot of contributions to the Greek community.
In 132 – 134 AD he build a library called Hadrian’s Library on the north side of the Acropolis of Athens.
The building was used to store important literary works and legal and administrative documents as well as offer a place to hear lectures and host various philosophical schools.
Libraries in antiquity were not generally used as lending libraries but rather as places of study and storage. Documents were usually in the form of papyrus scrolls which were kept in partitioned wooden cupboards (armaria) set in niches in the walls of the room.
The librery was laid out as a typical Roman forum, with a pool in the center of a courtyard bordered by 100 columns. Beyond the ruins are only traces of the library, as well as two churches, built in the 7th and 12th centuries.
You can get a good sense of the library's grand scale from outside the fence, uphill on Dexippou.
In the early 1800’s foreigners were loading ships with the ancient marble statues to London or other cities because the Persian Emperor who occupied Greece for 400 years didn’t care about the Greek past.
Psirri, is one of Athens’ neighborhood packed with creative stores, quaint restaurants, picturesque cafés and ouzeries, and bars and is not very touristy.
Nancy Sweet Home has good desserts.
The Roman Agora (market) was built in the 1st century BC during the reigns of Julius Caesar and Caesar Augustus with donations from the two emperors.
Julius Caesar build a market with the marble floor because he didn't want to wash his feet.
The first 58 toilets with running water were there.
The most famous and most popular building in the Roman Agora is the Tower of the Winds which is an eight-sided marble tower that is a combination water clock, sundial, and a weathervane that was built sometime between the Second and First Century BC by Andronicus of Cyrrhus, a Macedonian astronomer.
There is also an entrance to the site on this end of the Roman Agora that will leave you right on Aeolou Street which takes you to Monastiraki on your left or The Plaka on your right.
Ephesus, Ancient Greek city of Asia Minor, near the mouth of the Menderes River, in what is today West Turkey, South of Smyrna (now Izmir). One of the greatest of the Ionian cities, it became the leading seaport of the region. Its wealth was proverbial.
The Temple of Artemis at Ephesus was built in the 6th century BC, and such was its tremendous size, double the dimensions of other Greek temples including the Parthenon, that it was soon regarded as one of the Seven Wonders of the ancient world.
During the 2nd century BC, Ephesus was the fourth largest city in the eastern Roman Empire, famous for its Artemesium, the Library of Celsus and its medical school.
In the Olympian pantheon Zeus had 23 consorts; the leading wife being Hera (who was also his sister). Zeus had 58 children (33 girls.) Some of his children were Olympic gods such as Ares, Apollo, Artemis, Athena, Aphrodite, Hermes and Dionysus. He also had some children who were half human and were heroes such as Hercules and Perseus.
Metis. Metis was one of the Titans, a daughter of Oceanus and Tethys; therefore, she was considered an Oceanid. She was the first wife of Zeus, and became the goddess of wisdom, prudence and deep thought.
Someone told Zeus not to marry Metis. Metis, Athena's mother was a shapeshifter. Once Zeus told Metis to turn into a bug and he ate her. After he got headaches. He asked his son to cut his head open and a grown up, all geared, with armor girl came out, Athena.
Poseidon offered salty water to the Athenians which is useless and Athena gave an olive tree, for what she became the most important person in Athens.
Greek believe that a pomegranate is a fruit of luck.
The blue eye, sold commonly in Greece, is to keep negative thoughts away.

Greece 2019

The days we spend without a tour guide

Fun Facts about Greece Day-by-Day (2/22/19)

In winter the tickets to museums and archeological sites are half price therefore don’t buy the packet for 30 euros.
You can visit the Acropolis and Greek Agora the same day.
It’s good to go to Acropolis museum first. On Fridays at 6 pm there are free tours in the museum. Santorini, remembered as with blue rooves and white walls, is a volcanic island. The volcano exploded and split the island in half
The biggest amount of Greeks live in Athens, the second most in Melbourne, Australia and the third most in Tesaloniki.
In Greece there is a certain way to name your child. It is after your parents. First the family has to get the name from the husband's side, depending on the gender and later from the the wife’s side, also depending on the gender. Then it goes back to the husband and after to the wife.
Since the names aren't that original it is possible that both of the grandparents are named the same name and both of your sons or girls have the same name.
Nowadays some parents don't care if the name is passed on. The most common Greek names:

Girls: Maria, Eleni/Helen, Aikaterine/Katerina, Baslikike/Vasiliki, Sofia, Aggeliki/Angelica, Georgia, Anastasia, Evangelia, Demetra, Eirene, Anna, Panagiota, Ioanna, Konstantia
Boys: Georgios/George, Loannis/John, Konstantinos, Dimitris, Nicholaos, Panagiotis, Vasilis, Chrisos, Athenasios, Michael, Evangelos, Spiros

King Otto was the king of Greece for 30 years and didn't have kids. He wasn't liked by Greeks because he was not a good ruler. He was very young when he became King.
Later a king from Bavaria came. He was good and had children.

Greece 2019

Fun Facts about Greece Day-by-Day (2/23/19)

Day at The Stavros Niarchos Foundation Cultural Center

The Stavros Niarchos Foundation Cultural Center is a complex in the bay of Faliro in Athens which includes new facilities for the National Library of Greece (NLG) and the Greek National Opera (GNO), as well as the 210,000 m² Stavros Niarchos Park.
The Center was designed by architect Renzo Piano and its construction was funded by the Stavros Niarchos Foundation. The €566 million project was completed in 2016, and was donated to the Greek state in 2017.
The opera wing is composed of two auditoria, one (1,400 seats) dedicated to traditional operas and ballets, the other (450 seats) for more experimental performances.
The National Library of Greece has over 1,000,000 books (volumes). The entirely glass-walled library reading room sits on top of the building just underneath the canopy roof. A square horizontal transparent box, it enjoys 360-degree views of Athens and the sea.
The park itself is a labyrnth of paths and pedestrian roadways through Mediterranean plants and trees and a welcome addition to the neighborhood of Kalithea. There are bikes for rent, snack bars, an outdoor theater, fields for sporting and musical events, and lots of kids on skateboards.
To get to the Stavros Niarchos Center take a minibus with the SNFCC logo departs from Syntagma Square (intersection with Ermou Street), with a stop at the Syggrou-Fix Metro station, it arrives at the south side of the SNFCC Canal. It goes every 30 minutes on weekends. On weekdays the bus goes at 7:30, 10, 11, 4, 5 and 5:30. On Fridays between 2:30 and 11pm the bus goes every 30 minutes. (On Sundays, from 10.00 to 13.00, the shuttle bus runs only from Syggrou-Fix to the SNFCC because of the changing of the guard ceremony at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Syntagma).

Greece 2019

Fun Facts about Greece Day-by-Day (2/24/19)

Greeks used a lot of marble and clay as building materials. They also made pottery out of clay.
The Romans were the first ones to use glass and introduce glass blowing.
The earliest known man made glass are date back to around 3500 BC, with finds in Egypt and Eastern Mesopotamia. Discovery of glassblowing around 1st century BC was a major breakthrough in glass making.
Depending on who was writing and what they were writing, an ancient Greek might write on parchment (dried animal skin), papyrus (the closest thing they had to what we think of paper, made from an Egyptian plant), wax tablets (these typically came in a pair of two, which could be folded together to protect the surface), mosaics (small tiles of stone or glass arranged in writing), and stones (inscriptions would have been used primarily for permanent, public writings).
There are also accounts of writing with one’s finger or a stick upon the ground. This is presumably how one would practice one’s letters as a schoolboy; it is also, incidentally, the one surface upon which the New Testament presents Jesus writing (in John 8).
It’s also worth knowing that ancient Greek “writers” were often not writing at all, but rather giving dictation to a slave or attendant.

Greece 2019

Motivated Parent - Successful Child

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Tuesday, March 26, 2019