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!
In Greece, people celebrate the “name day” of the saint that bears their name in a similar way to their own birthday.
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 Greece has around 6,000 islands, islets and rocky islets? 2,000 of them are islands and only 107 of them are inhabited!
Greece's national drink is ouzo. Ouzo is a dry anise-flavoured aperitif. Cheers, "stin igia mas" in Greek!
The very first sprint race of the first Olympic Games in 776 B.C. was won by Coroebus of Elis, a cook!
Greece has one of the richest varieties of wildlife in Europe, including 116 species of mammals, 18 of amphibians, 59 of reptiles, 240 of birds, and 107 of fishes.
Olympus (2,917m), the mountain of Gods and Muses is the highest mountain of Greece and the 2nd in the Balkans.
No part of Greece is more than 137km from the sea.
Greek is one of the oldest spoken languages in Europe since it has been spoken for more than 3.000 years.
Crete, Greece’s largest island and birthplace of the Minoan Civilisation, is the most southern one, except for the little island of Gavdos!
The first philosopher is considered to be Thales of Miletus (c. 624 – 425 B.C.). He is credited as giving the first explanation for the origin of the world that was not mythological.
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.
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).
Do you know what rakomelo is? It is a Cretan hot cocktail! A delicious mixture of honey, spices and the alcoholic beverage tsikoudia. Bottoms up!
Greece is a leading producer of sea sponges.
Greece has more archaeological museums than any other country in the world; in-fact they are around 196!
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.
Did you know that Greece has the biggest EU consumption of olive oil per capita, with around 12 kg per person per year?
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!