Greece is a mountainous country located in southeastern Europe, with over 80% of its land consisting of mountains and hills. It has a population of around 10.6 million people, most of whom are Greek Orthodox Christians. The Greek language and traditions play an important role in Greek culture and customs, which include many religious festivals and superstitions. Greek mythology also remains an influential part of history, featuring 12 major gods living on Mount Olympus and endless stories about them.

1. By Matthew Sparks

2. Physical Characteristics
 Greece is about 131,957 sq km
 Western Greece has a number of lakes, rivers and
wetlands. Off the coast of Greece, there are numerous
islands, with some of the more famous including Crete
and Rhodes.
 Greece is one of the most mountainous countries in
Europe - in fact, 80% of the land is either mountains
or hills.

4. Facts
 Population: 10.6 million (2004)
 Religious beliefs: 97.6% are Greek orthodox, 1.3
Muslim, 0.4 Catholic, and 0.7 other
 The Greek language is the most important
possession of the Greeks
 Ethnic make-up: 98% Greek and 2% other
 Capital: Athens
 Government: parliamentary republic; monarchy
rejected by referendum December 8, 1974

5. Customs & Traditions
 Traditions in Greece and Greek Islands are either religious or
coming from paganism. Most of the traditions and festivals still
followed and celebrated today are religious. That is why so many
panygiria(Greek word for festival) are organized in the country,
which are actually religious celebrations of saints followed by
traditional music and dance in the square of the village.
 Many Greeks are very superstitious people and believe a lot in
religion as well as in supernatural or paranormal occurences.
This impresses many visitors who travel in Greece. For example,
some people believe it is bad luck to see a black car, it is 7 years
bad luck to break a glass or mirror, while others knock their
fingers against wood if they have a bad thought.

6. Greek Mythology
 Greek mythology is the mythology of Ancient
Greece. The 12 main Greek gods lived on Mount
Olympus. They were led by Zeus and his wife,
Hera, who was always getting back at him for one
affair or another. Some of the other gods were
Demeter, Persephone, Hades, Hephaestus,
Athena, Dionysus, Aphrodite, Apollo and Artemis.
Greek Mythology is a collection of stories
invented by the Ancient Greeks, usually involving
Greek gods. There is an endless collection of these
stories... many are written in books, but even we
don't know all of them.

7. THE END