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 is the 4th largest cheese producer worldwide. Greeks eat 28 kg per capita per year. And guess what, mostly feta cheese!
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 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.
About 7% of all the marble produced worldwide comes from Greece.
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.
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.
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.
Greece is a leading producer of sea sponges.
Crete, Greece’s largest island and birthplace of the Minoan Civilisation, is the most southern one, except for the little island of Gavdos!
Greece has more archaeological museums than any other country in the world; in-fact they are around 196!
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 most days of the year are sunny in Greece? 250, to be exact.
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.
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.
Greek is one of the oldest spoken languages in Europe since it has been spoken for more than 3.000 years.
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.
Τhe concept of democracy developed in Athens around the 6th century BC. The Greek word demokratia (δημοκρατία) meant “the power of the people”.
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!