Athens

A cosmopolitan modern city, Athens is also famous for being a powerful city-state and a very important center of learning in ancient times. It is named after its patron goddess, Athena. In Ancient Greek Athens was called Athinai (Αθήναι, plural for Athena), and in the 19th century this name was formally re-adopted as the city's name. Since the official abandonment of Katharevousa Greek in the 1970s, however, the popular form Athina has become the city's official name. Athens has been a tourist destination since ancient times. Visitors from all over the world have always been very eager to visit the famed monuments of the Acropolis.

Most importantly from the point of view of tourism, the area around the Acropolis has been remodelled, and a great pedestrian area from the Temple of Olympian Zeus to Plaka, Monastiraki and the Psirri has been constructed. This gives the visitor space for calm walks among the ancient monuments, ruins and trees, from the Acropolis, to the Agora (the meeting place of the ancient city) and then to the narrow streets of the old city of Athens (the Plaka), away from the noise of the modern city. Close to Syntagma Square is the Kallimarmaro Stadium, the place where the first modern Olympic Games took place in 1896. Built as a replica of the ancient Athens Stadium, it is interesting, not only for romantic reasons but also because it is probably the only major stadium (holding 60,000 spectators) made entirely of white marble. The classic museums like the National Archaeological Museum (which holds the world's greatest collection of Greek art), the Benaki Museum (including its new Islamic Art branch), the Byzantine Museum, the Museum of Cycladic Art (strongly recommended for its collection of elegant white metamodern figures, more than 3,000 years old) have all been renovated in view od the 2004 Olympics.

As for the night life, central Athens has a great number of multiplex as well as romantic open air garden cinemas, more theatres than any other European city (including ancient marble ones that are home to the Athens Festival from June to July) and many music venues including a state of the art Music hall known as "Megaron" that attracts world-famous artists all year round. The coastline - now connected to the city centre with a gleaming new tram way - boasts a series of exciting venues next to the beaches where, during the day, Athenians swim and sunbathe. The Psirri district - aka Athens' 'meat packing district'- has acquired many new bars and restaurants and is a center for young Athenians. The Plaka remains the traditional tourist destination, with many tavernas featuring 'traditional' music, but the food, though good, is expensive compared to other parts of the city. The chic Kolonaki area, near Syntagma Square, is full of boutiques catering to well-heeled customers by day and bars and restaurants by night.

Kos

I must mention Kos (Greek Κώς) as it is where my cousin lives and works. The beautiful island of Kos is in the Dodecanese group of islands, in the Aegean Sea. It is closer to mainland Turkey than it is to Greece. The island has both fertile plains and infertile highlands.

The island boasts long sandy beaches with large hotels and secluded villages, leading to its main industry being tourism. Farming is the principal occupation of many of the island's inhabitants, with their main crops being grapes, almonds, figs, olives, tomatoes and lettuce, along with wheat and corn.

The main port and population centre on the island, also called Kos, is also the tourist and cultural centre, with whitewashed buildings including many hotels, restaurants and a small number of nightclubs. The town has a 14th century fortress at the entrance to its harbour, erected in 1315 by The Knights of Saint John of Rhodes. The ancient physician Hippocrates is thought to have been born on Kos, and just outside the town is the Plane Tree of Hippocrates, where the physician is traditionally supposed to have taught. The town also has the International Hippocratic Institute and the Hippocratic Museum dedicated to him.

The island was originally colonised by the Kares who were invaded by the Dorinians in the 11th century BC, who developed into what became known as the Athenian Federation, expelling the Persians twice. In 366 BC the town of Kos was built, then soon after the island became a part of the Roman Empire, then the Byzantine empire. The island was conquered by the Venetians, who then sold it to The Knights of Saint John of Rhodes. Two hundred years later the Knights faced the threat of a Turkish invasion, and so abandoned the island. The Turks then ruled Kos (during the Ottoman period Kos was called 'İstanköy') for 400 years until it was handed over to the Italians in 1912. In World War II, the island was taken over by Germany, until 1945, when it became a protectorate of Britain, who ceded it to Greece in 1947.

Greek culture

The culture of Greece has evolved over thousands of years, with its beginnings in Ancient Greece, through the influence of the Roman Empire, the Byzantine Empire, the Ottoman Empire, and Greek independence. Greece is often called the cradle of Western civilisation.

Ancient Greek architects and artists have greatly influenced European art through the present day. Byzantine art and architecture also played an important role in early Christianity, and remains a significant influence in the Orthodox Christian nations of Eastern Europe. The Renaissance artist, El Greco (Domenikos Theotocopoulos), responded to Byzantine and 16th century Mannerist art, producing sculpture and paintings with a liberated form, light and colour that inspired 20th century artists such as Pablo Picasso and Jackson Pollock.

The earliest works in European literary tradition are the epic poems of Homer and Hesiod. Aesop wrote his Fables in the 6th century BC. Philosophy entered literature in the dialogues of Plato, while his pupil Aristotle, in his work the Poetics, formulated the first set criteria for literary criticism. The tradition of philosophy in Ancient Greece also added to the literary works. Greek learning has had a profound influence on Western and Middle Eastern civilisation. In medicine, doctors still refer to the Hippocratic oath, instituted by Hippocrates, who is also credited with laying the foundations of medicine as a science.

It is certain that Greek philosophy, particularly Platonism, contributed to the early development of Christianity, which spread to Greece in the first century A.D. After the legalisation of Christianity by the Roman Emperor Constantine I in 313, the Christian faith became the dominant religion of the Roman Empire, of which Greece was a part. In the Great Schism of 1054, the Eastern and Western churches split, and Eastern Orthodox Christianity remains the predominant religion in Greece until this day. Since 1833, the Orthodox Church of Greece has remained an autocephalous church within the Eastern Orthodox Communion. The majority of modern Greeks (95 to 99 percent) remain at least nominally members of the Orthodox church. The head of the Orthodox Church remains the Ecumenical Patriarch, who resides in Istanbul and helps manage the holy sites on Mount Athos, near Thessaloniki.

There have been excellent composers and performers in all kinds of music but traditional Greek music is noted as a mixture of influences from indigenous Greek culture and Western and Middle Eastern cultures. Turkish and Ottoman elements can be most clearly heard in the traditional songs, dhimotiká, as well as the modern bluesy rembétika music. The best-known Greek musical instrument is the bouzouki, which is actually a Turkish import (possibly a refined version of saz). Greece has also just won the Eurovision song contest. Famous Greek musicians include Maria Callas, Vangelis, Demis Roussos and Nana Mouskouri.

Greeks are reputed for their healthy Mediterranean diet. The cuisine of Greece has influences from Italian, Balkan and Middle Eastern cuisine. Greek cuisine incorporates fresh ingredients into a variety of local dishes such as moussaka, stifado and spanakopita. Throughout Greece people often enjoy eating from small dishes (meze with various dips such as tzatziki, grilled octopus and small fish, feta cheese, dolmades (rice, currants and pine kernels wrapped in vine leaves), various pulses, olives and cheese. Olive oil is added to almost every dish. Sweet desserts such as galaktoboureko, and drinks such as ouzo, metaxa and a variety of wines including the retsina. Too much elaboration is generally considered to be against the hearty spirit of the Greek cuisine.

Greek culture was and is more than cerebral. The Panhellenic Games and especially the Olympic Games originated in Greece in ancient times, centred around individual sports such as running, boxing, wrestling, chariot racing, long jump, javelin, and discus. The first Modern Olympic Games were held in Athens in 1896, and the Olympics returned to Athens for the 2004 Summer Olympics, making Athens the fourth city after Paris, London and Los Angeles to the stage the modern Summer Olympics twice. Greece has been represented in every Summer Olympics, along with just four other countries, Australia, France, Great Britain, and Switzerland.

Football is a popular sport in modern Greece. The Greece national football team unexpectedly won the 2004 European Football Championship, beating the hosts, Portugal, in the final. Domestic football teams include AEK Athens, Olympiacos, and Panathinaikos.

A brief history of Greece

The shores of Greece's Aegean Sea saw the emergence of the first civilizations in Europe, namely the Minoan and Mycenaean civilisations. After these, a Dark Age followed until around 800 BC, when a new era of Greek civilization emerged. This Greece of city-states established colonies along the Mediterranean and partially resisted Persian invasions. Greek culture would later become the basis of the Hellenistic civilisation that followed the empire of Alexander the Great.

Militarily Greece itself declined to the point that the Romans conquered the land (168 BC onwards), though Greek culture would in turn conquer Roman life. Greece became a province of the Roman Empire, but Greek culture would continue to dominate the eastern Mediterranean and when the Empire finally split in two the Eastern or Byzantine Empire, centred on Constantinople, would remain Greek in nature, as well as encompassing Greece itself. Byzantines identified themselves as Ρωμαίοι (Rhomaioi - Romans) which had already become a synonym for a Έλλην (Hellenes - Greeks), and more than ever before were developing a national consciousness, as residents of Ρωμανία (Romania, as the Byzantine state and its world were called).

In 1054 relations between Greek-speaking Eastern and Latin-speaking Western traditions within the Christian Church reached a terminal crisis. There was never a formal declaration of institutional separation, and the so-called Great Schism actually was the culmination of centuries of gradual separation. From this split, the modern (Roman) Catholic and Eastern Orthodox churches arose. The Normans finally completed the Byzantine expulsion from Italy in 1071, and the Seljuk Turks, who were mainly interested in defeating Egypt under the Fatimids, still made moves into Asia Minor, the main recruiting ground for the Byzantine armies. With the defeat at Manzikert of emperor Romanus IV in 1071 by Alp Arslan, sultan of the Seljuk Turks, most of that province was lost. The final split between the Roman and Orthodox churches occurred at this time as well, with their mutual excommunication in 1054.

Byzantium's influence on Western art and architecture is so well-known as to scarcely need mentioning. Its most lasting effect, though, lies in its spreading of Orthodoxy to surrounding peoples (the so-called "Byzantine commonwealth," a term coined by 20th century historians). Early Byzantine missionary work spread Orthodox Christianity to various Slavic peoples, and it is still predominant among the Russians and many other Slavic peoples as well as among the Greeks. Less well known is the influence of the Byzantine style of religion on the millions of Christians in Ethiopia, the Egyptian Coptic Christians, and the Christians of Georgia and Armenia. The start and end dates of the Empire's independence, 395 to 1453, are one of the traditional dates for the period of the Middle Ages. It was 1177 years from the original split of the Roman Empire under Diocletian in 284 until the fall of Trebizond in 1461; whatever the measurement, the Empire certainly lasted for over a millennium. From the 4th century to the 15th century the Eastern Roman Empire survived eleven centuries of attacks from the west and east until Constantinople fell on May 29, 1453 to the Ottoman Empire. Greece proper had gradually been conquered by the Ottomans during the 15th century.

When the Ottomans arrived, two Greek migrations occurred. The first migration entailed the Greek intelligentsia migrating to Western Europe and influencing the advent of the Renaissance. The second migration entailed Greeks leaving the plains of the Greek peninsula and resettling in the mountains. Being that Greece was (and still is) mostly mountainous, the Ottomans could not conquer the entire Greek peninsula since they did not create either a military or administrative presence in the mountains. There existed many Greek mountain clans all across the peninsula and islands. The Ottomans ruled Greece until the early 19th century. In 1820, the Greeks rebelled and declared their independence, but did not succeed in winning it until 1829. The elites of powerful European nations saw the war of Greek independence, with its accounts of Turkish atrocities, in a romantic light. Scores of non-Greeks volunteered to fight for the cause--including, for example Lord Byron--and indeed at times the Ottomans seemed on the point of almost entirely suppressing the Greek revolution but for the threatened direct military intervention of France, England or Russia. The Russian minister for foreign affairs, Ioannis Kapodistrias, himself a Greek, returned home as President of the new Republic following Greek independence.

In World War I, Greece sided with the entente powers against Turkey and the other Central Powers. In the war's aftermath, the Great Powers awarded parts of Asia Minor to Greece, including the city of Smyrna (known as Izmir today) which had a large Greek population. At that time, however, the Turkish nationalists led by Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, overthrew the Ottoman government, organised a military assault on the Greek troops, and defeated them. What followed was the bloody surpression of the Greeks and other Orthodox Christians (Armenians etc) living in Smyrna and the surrounding area. So bad was the violence it forced the allied nations into formulating the "great population exchange" of the Treaty of Lausanne. Immediately after the treaty was signed, hundreds of thousands of Turks then living in mainland Greek territory left for Turkey, with hundreds of thousands of Greeks living in Turkey settling in Greece.

Despite the country's numerically small and ill-equipped armed forces, Greece made a decisive contribution to the Allied efforts in World War II. At the start of the war Greece sided with the Allies and refused to give in to Italian demands. Italy invaded Greece on 28 October 1940, but Greek troops repelled the invaders after a bitter struggle. This marked the first Allied victory in the war. When the Germans attempted to seize Crete in a massive attack by paratroops — with the aim of reducing the threat of a counter-offensive by Allied forces in Egypt — Allied forces, along with Cretan civilians, offered fierce resistance. Although Crete eventually fell, this delayed German plans significantly, with the result that the German invasion of the Soviet Union started fatally close to winter. During years of Nazi occupation, thousands of Greeks died in direct combat, in concentration camps or of starvation. The occupiers murdered the greater part of the Jewish community despite efforts by the Greek Orthodox Church and many Christian Greeks to shelter Jews. The economy languished. After liberation, Greece experienced an equally bitter civil war—between communists and royalists—that lasted until 1949.

In 1974, dictator George Papadopoulos denied help to the USA and as a result the (US/Kissinger) "appointed" a new dictator named Dimitrios Ioannides. Many hold Ioannides responsible for the coup against President Makarios of Cyprus -- the coup seen as the pretext for the first wave of the Turkish invasion of Cyprus in 1974. Since the restoration of democracy, the stability and economic prosperity of Greece have grown. Greece joined the European Union in 1981 and adopted the Euro as its currency in 2001. New infrastructure, funds from the EU and growing revenues from tourism, shipping, services, light industry and the telecommunications industry have brought Greeks an unprecedented standard of living. Tensions continue to exist between Greece and Turkey over Cyprus and the delimitation of borders in the Aegean Sea but relations have considerably thawed following successive earthquakes - first in Turkey and then in Greece - and an outpouring of sympathy and generous assistance by ordinary Greeks and Turks.