Greek Culture

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Imagine hundreds of huge muscular men, with sweat dripping down their brown, leathery backs, as they test their strengths and skills. Thousands of years ago, the Greeks started a series of competitions that they are now famous for creating, called the Olympics. At these events Greek food , customs, courtesies, and history showed off some of the best that Greek culture and region has to offer.

To start, food is an extremely important part of Greek culture, as well as the region, because it affects everyday life. As in every culture, knowing the food eaten can help you understand the affects it has on the culture and sometimes even the region. For example, the main foods eaten in Greece are seafoods, lamb, cheeses, and olives. By studying these common foods travelers can start to envision the landscape of the region along with the wild animals and plants that call it their home. Lets start with seafood, knowing this lets people infer that Greece must be by an ocean. The prominence of lamb shows that the region is set in a mountainous area. The cheese shows that this area must be fertile enough for cows or goats to produce the cheese for consumption. As well as the olives show that this area must have a warm, mediterranean climate to produce the olives. With that background of the region, it makes sense that one of the more common meals eaten in Greece is kebabs. Which are vegetables strung on a wooden skewer or stick and then grilled over a fire. Another thing that is good to be aware of is the traditional holiday foods. In Greece when celebrating Christmas it is common to enjoy food similar americans during Thanksgiving, like turkey and stuffing. Easter however has more influences from their region, like seafood and vegetables c...

... middle of paper ...

...s. Greek history has changed all our lives by creating a pastime still enjoyed today.

When travelers take these lessons to heart it can bring out a whole new side of Greece. As visitors explore Greece it’s important to know and understand at least the basics to its culture and region. Greek food can help express daily life and hints about the area and climate, its greetings and gestures can help visitors communicate politely with locals, and its history can help. Overall, the food, greetings, gestures, and history

can teach travelers more about Greek culture as well as the area. When walking down those Greek streets, stop and think about how this culture began and evolved from the first Olympics to today.

Works Cited

"Greece."CultureGrams Online Edition. ProQuest, 2013. Web. Dec 2013.
(N. Pag.). Web. 17 Dec 2013.

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