Olympus (2,917m), the mountain of Gods and Muses is the highest mountain of Greece and the 2nd in the Balkans.
An old Greek legend says that when God created the world, he sifted all the soil onto the earth through a strainer. After every country had good soil, he tossed the stones left in the strainer over his shoulder and created Greece.
Alexander the Great, one of history’s greatest warriors and leaders of all time, was Greek. Alexander the Great conquered land all the way from Greece to Asia. His achievements and conquests gave rise to the later Hellenistic period (323 BC - 31 BC).
Did you know that Greece is the 4th largest cheese producer worldwide. Greeks eat 28 kg per capita per year. And guess what, mostly feta cheese!
Athens is one of the few coastal cities worldwide that is surrounded by mountains. These are Mt. Hymettus, Mt. Penteli, Mt. Parnitha and Mt. Aigaleo.
Did you know that Greece is the third largest producer of olive oil in the world? Greeks have cultivated olive trees since antiquity. Some of the olive trees that are still producing olives, date back to the thirteenth century.
Crete, Greece’s largest island and birthplace of the Minoan Civilisation, is the most southern one, except for the little island of Gavdos!
Greece is a leading producer of sea sponges.
Did you know that in Greece you can enjoy skiing with a sea view?
Did you know that Epirus is the most mountainous territory of Greece and the poorest in the EU; however it has a unique natural wealth!
Greece has historically engaged in wine making. Take for example Dionysus, the son of Zeus, the god of the grape-harvest, winemaking and wine. His face is seen today on the sommelier’s pin which is a symbol of respect to wine’s contribution throughout history.
Greece' s official name is Hellenic Republic. However Greeks call their country Hellas or Hellada.
In Greece, people celebrate the “name day” of the saint that bears their name in a similar way to their own birthday.
The very first sprint race of the first Olympic Games in 776 B.C. was won by Coroebus of Elis, a cook!
Greek is one of the oldest spoken languages in Europe since it has been spoken for more than 3.000 years.
No part of Greece is more than 137km from the sea.
Greece's national drink is ouzo. Ouzo is a dry anise-flavoured aperitif. Cheers, "stin igia mas" in Greek!
Feta, which is made from sheep and goat’s milk, is Greece’s national cheese. It dates back to the Homeric ages, and the average per-capita consumption of feta cheese in Greece is the highest in the world!
Greece is the place where democracy was born. But democracy in ancient Athens was significantly different from modern democracies. It was both more participatory and exclusive, and there were no political parties in Athenian democracy.
Crete's history as well as the inhabitants' personality were affected by the island's mountainous landscape.