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.
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!
Greece' s official name is Hellenic Republic. However Greeks call their country Hellas or Hellada.
The species and subspecies of the native plants in Greece are about 6,000, almost as much as 50% of the native plants of Europe!
Did you know that in Greece, 47 mountains are over 2000m., 105 mountains between 2000 and 1500m., 155 mountains are between 1500m. and 1000m. The number of mountains under 1000m. have yet not been recorded.
Did you know that Greece has around 6,000 islands, islets and rocky islets? 2,000 of them are islands and only 107 of them are inhabited!
Τhe concept of democracy developed in Athens around the 6th century BC. The Greek word demokratia (δημοκρατία) meant “the power of the people”.
Did you know that in Greece you can enjoy skiing with a sea view?
Greece has more archaeological museums than any other country in the world; in-fact they are around 196!
Crete, Greece’s largest island and birthplace of the Minoan Civilisation, is the most southern one, except for the little island of Gavdos!
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.
Greek is one of the oldest spoken languages in Europe since it has been spoken for more than 3.000 years.
Olympus (2,917m), the mountain of Gods and Muses is the highest mountain of Greece and the 2nd in the Balkans.
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.
Greece's national drink is ouzo. Ouzo is a dry anise-flavoured aperitif. Cheers, "stin igia mas" in Greek!
On Anafi Island, lies the rock of Kalamos, the second highest monolithic limestone after Gibraltar; a must-see for climbers who will enjoy a great challenge here.
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).
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.
The very first sprint race of the first Olympic Games in 776 B.C. was won by Coroebus of Elis, a cook!
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.