Greek people
The Greek people are renowned for their hospitality and generosity
to foreigners, although nowadays it is perhaps harder to find than
it used to be. Nevertheless, Greece is still one of the few places
where you may be invited into a local's home and given a meal, or
where they may wish to take you out and treat you for a meal. Most
Greeks would consider it an insult if their guests paid for the meal.
Greece is a very religious country, with about 98% of the population
belonging to the Greek Orthodox Church. Other religious minorities
are a few Roman Catholics and Jews, mainly in the north. Religion
dominates many aspects of everyday life and churches are abundant
all over the land. Religion also plays a part in all the main festivals.
Weddings, baptisms and name's days are the most celebrated events,
with much feasting, drinking and merrymaking. Greek people do not
normally celebrate birthdays, although it is becoming more popular
now for the person whose birthday it is, to treat his guests.
The Greek people are also very superstitious. Tuesday is considered
unlucky, because it is the day on which Constantinople fell to the
Ottoman Turks. They also believe in the 'evil eye' which can be cast
by envy or avarice, so don't praise another person too highly, or
they may blame you for their bad luck!
Eating
As is common in many Mediterranean countries, breakfast consists mainly
of coffee. Sometimes this may be accompanied by bread, pastries or
cake. In most tourist areas, however, 'English' breakfasts of eggs,
bacon, sausages, etc, are clearly advertised. Lunch is the main meal
of the day. Shops and businesses close at around 1.30 pm and everyone
returns to their family seat to indulge in a large meal, consisting
mainly of meat, vegetables in season, liberally garnished with olive
oil, and salads. Bread is always eaten in large amounts and wine and
feta cheese usually accompany the meal. Naturally, a three hour siesta
is usually taken after this, with shops and businesses usually starting
up in the afternoon after 5pm. The evening meal is either small or,
when Greek's go out, a major social affair. In the summer months,
most restaurants and tavernas will fill up with long tables of Greek
people - usually after the tourists have eaten - at 9pm and later.
This may induce quite a lot of alcohol consumption, Greek dancing
and possibly plate smashing. It is not customary to follow main meals
with desserts (fresh fruit more likely) or coffee, although these
may be on the menu in touristy areas. Vegetarians may not have a very
easy time, unless they happen to arrive during the 40 days of lent,
when meat is off the menu. However, many traditional home cooked meals
are purely vegetable based. Otherwise, stick to omelettes, spaghetti
Napolitan, salads and the ubiquitous cheese-pie.
History
Rather than try to fill in the 3000 years of so or Greek history myself,
I'll just point you to a few interesting and comprehensive sites that
do a better job of it.
http://www.museum.upenn.edu/Greek_World/Index.html
- A comprehensive educational rescource for any phil-Hellene.
http://www.ancientgreece.com/
- Ancient Greece, mythology, the Olympics and much more.
http://www.historyforkids.org/learn/greeks/
- A well thought out and beautifully designed site, perfect for the
little people.
http://www.questia.com/Index.jsp?CRID=greek_history&OFFID=se1
- If you didn't manage to find it in the other sites, you'll certainly
find it here - The World's Largest Online Library!
