Greek Culture

Like a ton of bricks you hit the ground and awaken to find yourself surrounded by prestigious buildings, sculptures of unusual gods, and the smell of mouth-watering foods. As you get up and wander the streets, you'll notice the beautiful architecture of all the houses and buildings around you.

As you journey on, you may find yourself in a splendid building with an alter in the middle, where people are giving what seems to be sacrifices of food to the gods. Then, the tantalizing smell of food will fill your nostrils and lure you to the site of a simple Greek house where a meal of stew is being served. Clearly you should return to ancient Greece because of its powerful gods, beautiful architecture, and delicious foods.

Firstly, the ancient Greeks believed strongly in their gods. The leader of the gods was said to be Zeus, who with the help of his brothers and sisters revolted against their parents and became the head gods. They were said to have lived in a mighty fortress near the top of mount Olympus, which is why they were soon after called the Olympian gods.

Probably the three most popular gods were Hades, Poseidon and Zeus. Zeus, was the god of thunderstorms and had powerful lightening bolts he threw upon his enemies. The bolts were have said to be made by the Cyclopes. Hades was the ruler of the underworld and the dead. Persephone, the goddess of warmth and springtime was lured into Hades' lair and while down there, she ate 6 pomegranate seeds and found she couldn't leave.

Zeus negotiated with Hades and agreed that she would have to stay in the underworld for 6 months of the year because she ate 6 seeds, thus fall and winter were created. The third brother, Poseidon was the god of the seas and for him, the Cyclops forged a trident. Poseidon had a seahorse form from the waist down, so he was also the ruler of horses. As important as the gods were, the temples were equally important.

Secondly, The first Greek temples were built around 800BC. They were made completely out of wood which made them a lot easier to build then using stone. They were built in the shape of large rectangles and had a kind of porch that wrapped around the outside. This porch was supported by many columns made out of tree trunks. Probably the most well known temple would have to be the Parthenon, dedicated to Athena, the goddess of wisdom. All the temples had columns, but they definitely differed.

In each area, there was a different style of building, and along with those different styles of buildings, 3 types of columns were born. The Doric column, the Ionic post, and the Corinthian capital. The Doric column was the most basic of the three with just a swirling design at the top. The ionic pillar is next because it has a more textured body, and a slow incline making it narrower at the top than at the bottom. The last of the three was the Corinthian capital, which was a very simple column on the bottom, but at the top, it was an extravagant design with very precise details. Many of the temples that still stand today once had wooden supports of some kind inside, but around 600AD, these structures began to petrify, or turn to stone allowing them to stand the test of time.

Thirdly, every country has its own “staple” foods, you know, the foods everyone eats. For the Greeks, these foods were frugal, olives, olive oil, and watered-down wine. Other foods the Greeks commonly ate with their meals included flat bread, goat cheese, vegetables, eggs, fish, shellfish, and occasionally meats. The Greeks had three ways to cook their foods, over an open fire, in a cauldron, or on spears to make meals that today we call shish kabob.

For an open fire, the Greeks simply speared their food on a stick and cooked it, with the cauldron, the Greeks cut up the foods into small cubes and filled the cauldron about half way and let all the ingredients sit in the pot over a fire. For the third method, they cut the meat, usually pork, into cubes, along with onions, and tomatoes and speared them on narrow metal rods and placed them over white hot coals. The most common drink for all ages and all meals was watered down wine. Most milk came from goats and it was considered barbaric to drink it. It was also considered barbaric to drink wine that wasn't watered down, and also beer.

Lastly, if you want a great vacation you should return to ancient Greece for its interesting gods, unique architecture, and mouth-watering foods. Ancient mysteries about the Greek gods are still being unraveled in the 21 st century. The awe inspiring temples still stand and endure the test of time, but for how long? And the ancient Greek foods are just calling for you to come back to Greece, so why choose somewhere else when Greece is calling for you?