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.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7. Olympic flame ceremony in ancient Olympia.
The torch is lit using the sun’s rays and a mirror.
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)
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.
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
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
84. Mount Athos. “ The Holy Mountain”.
It is home to 20 Orthodox monasteries.
85.
86.
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.
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.
