2. GREECE or HELLAS
Hellas from prefix - el- that means sun
and -las - which means rock or stone.
So Hellas is the land of the sun and the rock.
And in fact, these are the features of the country.
And these features contributed to shaping the
character and culture of the Greek.

7. Olympic flame ceremony in ancient Olympia.
The torch is lit using the sun’s rays and a mirror.

8. ….but
what is
culture?

9. Culture is …
…our language

10. Phaistos Disc
(17th century BC)
It is believed to be a document in an archaic form of Greek.

11. Ostracon - piece of pottery- bearing the name of Cimon. 486 BC

12. Άξιον Εςτί
Τη γλώςςα μου ζδωςαν ελληνική·
Μονάχη ζγνοια η γλώςςα μου ςτισ αμμουδιζσ του Όμηρου.
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
Μονάχη ζγνοια η γλώςςα μου, με τα πρώτα Δόξα Σοι!
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
Μονάχη ζγνοια η γλώςςα μου, με τα πρώτα λόγια του Ύμνου!
Worthy it is
I was given the Greek language;
My only care my language on Homer’s beaches.
………………………………………………………………………………………………………
My only care my language with the first Glory to Thee!
………………………………………………………………………………………………………
My only care my language with the first words of the Hymn!
(Odysseas Elytis Nobel Price 1979
Translated by Jeffrey Carson and Nikos Sarris)

13. Graffiti on a wall somewhere in Athens

14. Some facts about language
• The official language of Greece is Greek, spoken by 99% of the
population.
In addition, a number of minority languages and some Greek
dialects are spoken as well.
• The main minority languages in Greece are :
Albanian, Aromanian, Turkish and Slavic.
• Immigrant languages are mostly : Armenian , Assyrian
Neo-Aramaic , English , Kurdish, Russian, Serbian, Arabic.
• The most common foreign languages learned by Greeks are
English, French, German, Spanish and Italian.

15. Culture is …
…our history

16. The rape of Europa. Ancient Greek myth.

17. Battle of Marathon 490 BC

18. Alexander the Great. 356-323. King of the Macedon.

19. Medieval castles in
Greece

20. Byzantine coins

21. Grateful Hellas. (1858)
Greece among warriors
and heroes.

22. The heroines of 1940
marble panel Part of the marble panel
“Memories of Pindos”
Knitting for the soldiers at war.
(Coloured lithograph poster)
Coloured poster

23. Children’s drawings inspired by the Athens Polytechnic School
uprising against the military junta.

24. Tomb of the Unknown Soldier

25. 1981. Greece becomes member of the EU.

26. Culture is …
…our music

27. Harpist. The harp player. 2700 to 2300 BC.

28. The musical theory of Pythagoras.
Pythagoras (570 – 495 BC) discovered that musical notes
could be translated into mathematical equations.

29. Traditional Greek musical instruments

30. Domna Samiou.
Great Folk singer

31. Greek Folk musicians

32. Macedonian street bands playing brass instruments.

33. Great Greek musicians
Dimitris Mitropoulos Iannis Xenakis

34. Mikis Theodorakis Manos Hatzidakis

35. The Athens Concert Hall

36. Culture is...
…our literature

37. Homer
The author of the Iliad and
Odyssey. (about 850 BC)
Iliad, Book VIII, lines 245–53,
Greek manuscript, late 5th, early
6th centuries AD.

38. Erotokritos. A romance composed by Vincenzo Kornaros .
(early 17th century)

39. Dionysios Solomos (1798 -1857)
The national poet of Greece.
• The national poet of Greece
From Hymn to Liberty, a poem
written by Dionysios Solomos ,and
National Anthem of Greece

40. Greek Nobel laureates in
literature
George Seferis. Nobel Prize 1963 Odyseas Elytis. Nobel Price 1979

41. National Library of Greece

42. Culture is …
…our dances

43. Marble relief from the archaic period (800 BC- 480 BC)
showing dancing men.

50. Culture is…
… theatre

51. Ancient theatre masks (1st century BC).

52. Drama performance at the ancient theatre of Epidaurus.

54. Odeon of Herodes Atticus
Odeon Herodus Atticus.
Stone theatre located on the slope of the Acropolis of Athens.

55. National Theatre of Greece

57. ….and cinema

60. Theodoros Aggelopoulos

61. Culture is…
...art

62. Spring. Wall painting from Thira. 17th Century BC

63. Red figure and black figure vases. 600- 500 BC.

64. The famous statue of Heniochus (the charioteer) 478 BC.

65. El Greco
Dormition of the Virgin 1565

66. Olive harvesting. 1933
Painting by Theofilos (major folk painter).

67. Contemporary artists
Kostas Tsoklis Alekos Fasianos

68. Street art in
Thessaloniki

69. Umbrellas. Contemporary work of art.
(artist: G. Zoggolopoulos)

70. Culture is …
…the architectural
monuments

71. Mycenae. The Lion Gate
1700 BC

72. The palace of Knossos in
Crete. 1500 BC

73. The Acropolis of Athens

74. The Parthenon
The Erechtheum
Propylaia
(the gateway)

75. Stoa of Attalos
138 BC

76. Tower houses in Mani

77. Santorini.
The world’s best Island according to BBC in 2011.

78. The new Acropolis Museum.
Opened to public in 2009.

80. Culture is …
…our religion

81. The oracle of Delphi.
The Tholos and the treasuries at the Athena Pronaia sanctuary.

82. Panagia Ekatontapyliani (the Church of 100 Doors)
A historic Byzantine church on the island of Paros.
The church dates to 326AD.

83. Osios Loukas
Historic Monastery.
(early 10th century)

84. Mount Athos. “ The Holy Mountain”.
It is home to 20 Orthodox monasteries.

87. Some facts about religion
• The Greek population is composed of a 97% of Christian
Orthodox. The rest of the population is Muslim, Roman
Catholic and Jewish.
• For historical reasons the Muslim minority resides in Thrace.
• Greek Catholics number about 0.5% of the population.
A large number of Catholics live in the Cyclades, where Syros
and Tinos have entirely Catholic villages and parishes.
• The Jewish community currently amounts to roughly 5,000
people, concentrated mainly in Athens, Thessaloniki and
Ioannina.

88. Culture is …
…our traditions

89. Flower wreath to celebrate the first Kathara Deftera. Clean Monday.
day of May. The first day of the lent.
Carnival

90. Christmas
Carol singing
Christmas
tree
and Christmas …boat.

91. Traditional Christmas sweets

92. Easter
Midnight Service of the Resurrection
Breaking each other’s egg Tsoureki. Easter bread.

93. Culture is …
…our love and care for
the environment

94. Wind farm
Solar power plant

96. Culture is …
…what we eat

97. Olive oil
Olive oil is a versatile ingredient that
has been used in cooking for
thousands of years.
Goddess Athena
donated the Olive
tree, according to the
Greek Mythology.