Greece has always fascinated travelers by its rich history, mythology, great food, and ancient sites. Did we forget to add the stunning group of islands which are on every list of each traveler, then here it is. But this is the side of Greece we all know, the glamorous touristy side. What about things that we do not get to hear about Greece very often but are as enchanting like the country.
So here in this blog we have listed some of the most fun and bizarre facts about Greece. It will sure heat up your wanderlust and will give you enough details to talk about Greece when here or to your friends whom you will persuade to go on a trip with you.
1 – Athens is the oldest capital city of Europe. The history dates back to 3400 years. The name of Athens was named after the Goddess Athena from Greek Mythology.
2 – The first Olympic games ever held was in 776 BC, but it is also believed that Olympic games have existed for 500 years by then. The ancient Olympic games occurred during a religious festival honoring Zeus.
3 – Philosophy was pioneered in Greece, and even the word Philosophy is a Greek word, which means lover of wisdom.
4 – Sundays are public holidays in Greece, and they do not even work on Saturdays. If you make a Greek work on Sunday, they get regular wages plus 75% on it.
5 – Ancient Greeks didn’t ate beans as they believed it has soul of the dead.
6 – If you are a male aged 18 in Greece then you got to serve in the military, and the service will be least 9 months.
7 – Theaters were invented in Greece. Some of the historical theaters are believed to have capacity of 15000 people. Only male actors were allowed and they wore masks to show their expressions.
8 – Around 98% of the population living in Greece is comprised of Greeks, the original native Greeks. Other than that, majorly other people here are Turkish.
9 – Temple of Acropolis in Athens was built for social welfare to get everyone employment.
10 – There is new year tradition in Greece that a cake is baked with a stuffed silver or gold coin. The cake is served to the entire family and whoever gets the coin will have a good new year, but if nobody gets the coin then it is considered bad luck.
11 – Approximately 80% of the land mass in Greece is mountainous.
12 – Greece is one of the world’s sunniest places. On an average it receives 250 days of sunshine, and some of its islands even receive 300 days of sunshine. On average it is equal to 3000 sunny hours a year.
13 – You got to vote in Greece, if you are at or over 18. The law is not enforced that much but still the turn out is huge summing up to 870 to 80 percent of the population.
14 – Around 7% of the entire world’s marble comes from Greece.
15 – Greece is home to more than 6000 islands out of which only 200 are habituated.
16 – Apart from your birth day you also get to celebrate your name day. Every day in Greece is dedicated to some or the other saint. IF your name matches then that is your name day, and if it doesn’t then you get to celebrate your name day on all saints day.
17 – National animal of Greece is dolphin.
18 – Greek is the oldest written language in the world. It has been used for past 5000 years.
19 – The most important meal of the day for Greeks is lunch. Yes during lunch time, workplaces, schools, and shops are shut, so that people can head to their home for lunch. At times Greek lunches stretch over hours.
20 – Over 150,000 English words are derived from Greek words.
21 – Greece has one of the worst unemployment rates in Europe. Around 25 percent of the population in Greece is unemployed.
22 – Greece boast of having multi colored beaches. Yes the traditional white sand and golden sand beaches are of course there, but complimented with red, black and even pink ones.
23 – Greeks tend to carry Evil Eye, as a piece of superstition which is believed to keep them safe from curses of people.
24 – The most loved destination of travelers in Greece which is Santorini, is actually a volcano, an active volcano. Now it is dormant, while the last eruption was in 1950. In present times it is the world’s only volcano cauldron where people live. Another fun fact about Santorini is that it gets so little rainfall that the locals joke that there is more wine on this island than water.
25 – Greece is the birthplace of democracy. But it was different than other democracies that existed in other civilizations. It was more participatory and exclusive. There were no political parties in ancient Greece.
26 – At many ancient sites in Greece, wearing high heels has been banned. Yes ladies you got it right. IT was done because heels put lot of pressure on stones and destroy the archeological remains.
27 – Greece is home to more than 4000 types of dances which are registered.
28 – Yo Yo was invented in Greece and the history dates back to 500 BC.
29 – Athens is home to world’s maximum number of theaters in any city. The number is over 148 theatrical stages, which is by far greater than the ones in New York or even that of London.
30 – Greece is also home to maximum number of archeology museums in the world. The number is 110 archeological museums, isn’t that a lot of museums for a country.
31 – Greece is home to 18 UNESCO World heritage sites.
32 – We all have admired the white towns of Greece, with whitewashed houses and blue doors. It is not just aesthetics, that Greeks paint their door blue, but it is believed that blue keeps the evil away.
33 – Greece produces third largest volumes of Virgin Olive oil. Some of the trees that give olive oil can even be traced back to 13th century when they were planted.
34 – In the entire island of Hydra, cars and motorcycles are banned, and the official mode of transportation on it is through donkeys.
Greece is a go!
