Tag: Greek

Athens has played the role of a prime mover of science, philosophy, democracy, and arts in Western evolution. This incredible and mesmerizing place is the capital city of Greece. It has been the birthplace of history’s great minds, like Socrates, Plato, and Pericles. You can still see the heri...

Tomorrow, Greeks go to the polls. Voters will choose between 36 parties. Opinion polls predict that the ruling conservative New Democracy (ND) is likely to win. The left-wing Syriza party, which has already led the country for one and only one term between 2015 and 2019, is breathing down its neck. ...

Historical Context of Women in Athenian Society Women in ancient Athens were largely confined to the domestic sphere and were not considered equal to men in terms of legal rights or social status. They were expected to marry and bear children, and their primary roles were perceived as being wives...

The first Greek writing was found on baked clay tablets in the ruins of the Minoan Knossos Palace on Crete. This writing system is called Linear A, but it’s still not understood. On the other hand, Linear B consisted of consonant-vowel combinations and emerged in the 12th century BC. The ...

The first impression my wife and I received in Athens was disappointing, perhaps due to the enormous expectations that most of us have created for the cradle of Western civilization. We are separated by more than 2,500 years since the Greek civilization reached its peak, and it is difficult for u...

When I arrived in Lesvos in mid January of this year it was my first time returning to Greece, to the Island, and to Moria Refugee Camp since January of 2016. Much had changed in the intervening years, and much has changed just in the 5 weeks since I left Greece. The focus and purpose of my recen...

Now that Omicron is on its way out, countries are loosening their travel restrictions as they gradually recover from the pandemic. For some countries, tourism represents over 30% of their gross domestic product. Commercial ads are working overtime to incite you to book something soon. How ...

Greek Fire has been one of the most enduring mysteries in history. It features on almost every one of the exhaustive lists of unexplainable things from the past. Greek Fire was a weapon used in the Byzantine Empire. It featured heavily on navy ships and was especially used by Greek sailors, hence th...

There is an enduring romance about ancient Greek and Roman culture that has held sway over Western thought for more than five-hundred years. In Renaissance times, artists used original Greek sculptures (or else Roman copies of original Greek sculptures) as their driving inspiration. Later, architect...

Even in antiquity Westerners looked to India for wisdom. We know the Neoplatonist philosopher, Plotinus, tried to go there but had to turn back. Some people even claim — on scant evidence — that Jesus went there. But there’s only one Westerner from antiquity whom we know not only w...

Well-known Greek gods like Zeus, Hades, Poseidon and Athena have made numerous appearances in books, movies, games, and other forms of media. Even demi-gods, like Perseus or Hercules, frequently star on the stage of popular culture. But some Greek gods have been unfairly lost to the wheels of tim...

The earliest known use of the classic Greek phalanx, a dense formation of infantry several ranks deep, occurred in the Battle of Hysiae in 668 BC. This revolutionary hoplite tactic at the time allowed the Argives to defeat the Spartans. In the 7th century BC, the Etruscans had already adopted the ph...

A spectacle of beauty, history, and culture, the Greek Islands have long captivated visitors from around the world with their breathtaking landscapes and monumental historical sites. Among these is Rhodes, known as the Island of the Knights, which boasts a history that spans several millennia. ...

In Orphic cosmogony, the creation of the universe begins with Phanes being hatched from a world egg. One version of the myth states that Chronos, the personification of time, created a silver egg which was warmed by a snake. From the silver egg hatched the primordial deity Phanes. As the egg splits,...

When it comes to food, Greeks take matters into their own hands. That means they don’t follow recipes…they create their own recipes! For one thing, they don’t really measure quantities. 3 tablespoons of butter can easily turn into 6, 1 cup of sugar can easily turn into 2 ...

Santorini is my all-time favorite island in Greece. I have been going there ever since I was a kid. For me, it’s the most romantic place in the world, hands down. I have attended many weddings in Santorini, and I thought it would be nice to share some related traditions. For starters, we...

If you answered yes to all the above questions (or at least one), and you live in Greece, chances are you are hexed with the evil eye also known as ‘’matiasmenos’’. It works like this: A person can see something, for example a baby, and starts thinking how beautiful the ba...

Greeks tend to dress elegantly, so if you want to blend in, try to avoid looking cheap as well as overdressed or fussy. Greeks will check out the quality of your clothes and shoes, so this may be the time to leave your 10-year-old sweatpants and oversized concert t-shirts at home. Ditch the tie if y...

Have you ever noticed the surprising similarities between the Greek and Spanish languages? From shared sounds and vocabulary to grammatical structures, there are intriguing linguistic connections that spark curiosity and raise questions. As a Greek and Spanish speaker, I go through many moments i...