Last year, Rick and I were fortunate enough to be able to book a last-minute European cruise that went from Italy to Croatia to Greece and we had a blast!
I knew I’d want to visit Greece at some point but hadn’t made any active plans for a trip there. So when we found this cruise that fit our time off, we were ready to check Greece off our travel bucket list.
We loved it! We loved the food, the wine, the architecture, and the friendly people. We cannot wait to go back and explore more of Athens and the islands! Truly, it was somewhat tragic how little time we had in Athens when there’s still so much to see and do there.
We know we’ll go back again but until then, we’ll just soak up as much information about Greece that we can. To that end, we want to share some of the fun facts we have recently learned about the country.
1. It’s the birthplace of… well many things
The Ancient Greeks invented the theater, democracy, the Greek language, Western medicine, and the Olympic Games! They were busy!
But, we do have them to thank for plays, drama, and our theater experiences, especially Greek tragedies and comedies. Back then, the actors would wear masks to show the emotions their character was feeling. Though, only men and boys were allowed to be actors. Athens is also said to have the most stages in the world, too. Athens is also home to the earliest known theater, the Theater of Dionysus.
Another fun fact along the line of politics is that our word “idiot” comes the Greek word idiotes, which means someone who was not in public office and considered as a common man. It could also mean that they were unskilled or uneducated.
But Hippocrates, the father of Western medicine, was definitely not an idiot and did some great work in understanding diseases and their appropriate medicines. To this day, doctors are still guided by the code of ethics named for him: The Hippocratic Oath.
Lastly, we have the Ancient Greeks to thank for our summer and winter sporting events, which date back to 776 BC. There were games and it was a time of peace and unity for the Greeks. They’d put in place a truce if there were wars or fighting going on so people could travel to, attend, or participate in the games.
2. Athens is named after the goddess Athena
Athens just as easily could have been named after the god Poseidon. The myth goes that both Athena and Poseidon offered a gift to the citizens living there and they liked Athena’s gift better, thus naming the city in her honor.
Athena is the goddess of wisdom and warfare and she offered the people an olive tree. Poseidon is the god overseeing the sea, storms, earthquakes, and horses. He offered water as his gift.
Athens also holds the title as the oldest capital in Europe!
3. It’s not really “Greece”
Greece comes from the Latin word “Graecia,” but the country’s official name is actually the Hellenic Republic. Greeks are also known as Hellenes.
4. Greek is one of the oldest written languages
The Greek language may be more than 5,000 years old and is one of the oldest written languages that is still used today. English was heavily influenced by Greek and we owe the Greeks for our word for alphabet (alpha, beta).
5. There are more people who visit Greece than those who call it home
Greece gets about 3x times the visitors compared to its population. Last year, Greece welcomed about 36 million people to the country and about 10 million live there.
Having been a visitor myself, I can see why so many travelers flock there. Maybe in 2025 we can add two more to their visitor logs.
What other fun facts have you learned about Greece? Share yours in the comments!
