Archive for 'Culture'
5 Greek songs performed by foreigners Posted by Ourania on Nov 6, 2013
The modern Greek music reached its peak in the 50’s and the 60’s. Many famous performers, such as the Beatles, Edith Piaf and Milva, have interpreted some of the most popular Greek songs in their native language. Some other singers though, performed the songs in Greek. Harry Bellafonte performed the song «Μες σ’ αυτή…
Stop texting, start whistling: A whistling language in Greece Posted by Ourania on Aug 26, 2013
Texting is one of the most popular ways of communicating: we schedule a meet up, check in, share good news and bad news, even start an affair, by means of a mobile phone. Some populations, all around the world, communicate with a more “organic” way: whistling. The inhabitants of some villages in South Evia (Νότια…
Coffee, coffee, coffee: how to make a Greek frappe Posted by Ourania on Jul 30, 2013
Coffee is a very popular beverage in Greece. The most famous coffee is a type of cold coffee called φραπές (frappe). Some people love it, some others hate it and for some of us it’s a comfort drink, related to the summer. If you have been to Greece, you have definitely tasted it…
When a baby is born Posted by Ourania on Jul 22, 2013
Greek culture is rich in traditions, customs and superstitions about newborn babies. They have their roots in paganism and in Christian religion. Some of them are still followed, depending on people’s religious beliefs, social class, education, and origin. Before the birth The baby’s gender was predicted by the shape of the pregnant woman’s belly: if…
Olympic flame Posted by dareios on May 20, 2012
The Olympic flame (Ολυμπιακή φλόγα) is one of the most famous Olympic symbols (σύμβολο), commemorating the theft of fire from the Greek god Zeus (Δίας) by Prometheus (Προμηθέας). Its roots lie in Ancient Greece where a flame was kept throughout the Olympic Games. Heralds (κήρυκες) were sending messengers (αγγελιοφόρους), wearing olive crowns, to announce the…
Antikythera Mechanism Posted by dareios on May 8, 2012
Most of you know that the very first digital computer was developed between 1940 and 1945. Yes this is true, but what about the first computing machine we know today? This is about the Antikythera mechanism (Μηχανισμός των Αντικυθήρων) which has been dated to the early 1st century BCE. This mechanism was discovered in 1900…
Proverbs, Sayings Posted by dareios on Mar 28, 2012
Today I will show to you some of our proverbs. There are way too many and I had a hard time to choose some. Some of them you already have in your language, maybe little different. So, here we are… Άλλαξε ο Μανωλίος κι έβαλε τα ρούχα του αλλιώς. Manolios(a name) changed. He turned his…