Country Facts
Travel Insurance
Click here for travel insurance
Facts for the Traveler
Visas: Nationals of Australia, Canada, EU countries,Iceland, Israel, Japan, New Zealand, Norway, Switzerland, the USA and many South American countries are allowed to stay in Greece for up to three months without a visa; most others can enter Greece for up to two months without a visa; Greece will refuse entry to anyone whose passport indicates that, since November 1983, they have visited North Cyprus.
Health risks: Sunburn; codeine, which is commonly found in headache preparations, is banned in Greece and you may face prosecution if you bring it into the country.
Time: two hours ahead of GMT/UTC; three hours ahead during daylight saving time.
Electricity: 220V, 50 Hz
Weights & measures: metric
-
Greece's terrain is on of its most compelling attributes. Despite it's aridity, there is no
place in the entire country that is more than 65 miles from the sea. There are 1400 islands (2,000
at low tide) 169 which are inhabited.
-
Just over 10 million.
-
Athens is the capital, the second largest city is Thessaloniki.
-
If a temperate climate is ideal, then late spring and early autumn are the best times to visit. The
summer sun is quite hot, but it's a dry, tolerable heat cooled by the seasonal breezes called "meltemia",
and the water is never far.
-
Seven hours ahead of Eastern Standard Time.
-
Most of the tourists come in June, July and August. Hotels can be tough to book on popular islands.
-
The vast majority are Greek Orthodox Christians with some Catholics & Jews.
-
The currency of Greece is the Drachma. Click here for currency conversion.
-
Like the rest of Europe, service is usually included in the bill, however good service should always be rewarded!
The gods of the Greeks possessed many of the human weaknesses and many of the better human qualities. In short, the Greeks modeled their gods and goddesses on themselves. Yet this was not always the case. The great poet Hesiod, author of the Theogony, which describes the birth of the gods, informs us that in the beginning there was Chaos, then followed Gaea or Ge (the personification of Earth) and Eros (not to be confused with the small winged archer and mischievous offspring of Aphrodite). Chaos was vast space containing the seeds of all that was to make up the universe. As the origin of all existing things, and as the primary creative force, from Chaos spontaneously sprang Erebus (the nether world) and primeval Night. From the union of Erebus and Night came Aether (the sky) and Imera (day). Immediately after Chaos, still in accordance with Hesiod, came Gaea (the earth), the universal mother. She in turn gave birth first to Ouranos (Uranus), the personification of the Heavans, whom she wed and from the union of which the first dynasty of the gods was created. The Eros of Hesiod on the other hands was a primeval force of great significance for it was the power of attraction that bought about the union and the mixture of the elements. Ouranos and Gaea begot numerous offspring. The earliest were the Titans, six male and six female. The male Titans included Oceanos (the ocean), Koios, Kreios, Hyperion, Iapetos, and the youngest of all, Kronos (Cronus). The Titanesses were Tethus (Tethys), Theis, Themis, Mnemosyne, Phoebe, and Rhea. Brothers of the Titans were the Cyclopes, three in number, Brontes, Steropes, and Arges who represented respectively thunder, lightning, and the thunderbolt. A third set of brothers were the Hecatoncheires or Gigantes (Giants) with a hundred hands and fifty heads named respectively Aegaeon or Briareos, Cottys and Gyges. Ouranos produced offspring without stop, and because he knew that one of his sons would someday dethrone him, eliminated his offspring soon after their birth by casting them into the depths of the earth (Tartarus). But Gaea got her revenge by having her youngest son Kronos castrate him, thus putting a stop to his procreative powers. Kronos, who succeeded his father, was also warned that one of his children would overthrow him. He therefore swallowed them each time his consort and sister Rhea gave birth. Just as in the case Gaea, so Rhea, would not accept this state of affairs, and the wily woman substituted a stone for her last born, Zeus, which was duly swallowed by Kronos. Zeus was carried off to Crete where he grew up and eventually overthrew Kronos, although he was compelled to make war on the Titans and the Giants, and finally became the absolute master of Olympus and of gods and men, only after waging a fearful and successful on the monsters. The triumph of Zeus ushers into Greek worship the third dynasty of deities comprised of the twelve gods of Olympus. This twelve some of gods reigned supreme in the Greek and Roman world until the establishment of Christianity.
The Taverna
The taverna is the heart and soul of Greek food culture: a simple restaurant with that invariably rickety look, with more tables out on the sidewalk or garden than inside, clustered together in the main square, along the harbor walk or at a beauty spot on the edge of town. Its next of kin include the psistaria, a taverna specializing in grills and the ouzeri, an establishment primarily for drinking ouzo but serving a range of appetizers as well. It is usually best to inspect the wares in the cook's display. A preview is especially important when ordering fish, which varies enormously in size, quality and price. Standard taverna fares include "Greek Salad," which Greeks call "Horiatiki," or "peasant salad"; tzatsiki, a yogurt and cucuber mix laced with garlic; melitsanosalata, a creamy eggplant dip; fried squid, or "Kalmaria"; grilled octopus or "Ahtapodi", sometimes prepared as a salad; mousaka, a casserole of eggplant and minced meat; dolmades, vine leaves wrapped around minced meat and rice; stifado, beef chunks with onion usually served with rice orzo; and pastichio, the Greeks version of lasagna, except prepared as a casserole. In addition, there is the usual variety of grilled meats and fried fish. Souvlaki is lamb or pork bits grilled on a skewer. Gyro is a big mound of meat, usually pork, wrapped around a spit, roasted and peeled off in thin slices. Bifteki is breaded minced meat, and is prepared as a large meatball, and always best dowsed with lemon. Don't expect to find American style "drip" coffee in a Greek Taverna, but instead a thick heavy "Greek Coffee" is served. Desserts are always best gotten from a local "Zaharoplastio" or coffee house. Good food, wine and most importantly good company in a local taverna, can give you a true taste of life in Greece. This is where most business and life's affairs are usually discussed. For a Greek there is no greater pleasure, well almost.......we mustn't forget about romance!
