Greece
Anyone thinking of going to Greece will surely have
(at some point) conjured up images of noble Grecian
statues, walking along the streets and being able to
breathe in an almost-palpable philosophical air; one
must have had, at the very least, a small inkling of
the richness and depth of historical scholarship and
knowledge there. Known as the birthplace of
democracy and the Olympic Games, and the setting of
a great many Shakespearean plays, Greece has today
become a scientific and technological center for
such big names as Coca Cola and Motorola, and boasts
a thriving economy thanks largely to a robust and
excellent service industry, followed by
manufacturing and agriculture.
As a peninsula on the southern tip of the Balkans in
the Mediterranean, Greece has its Aegean islands to
the east and to the south (with Crete being the
largest island both of the Aegean classification and
of Greece; renowned in its own right as a tourist
hotspot with its wealth of historical sites and
beautiful beaches) and the Ionian islands to the
west. Greece’s location has earned it many-a-times
the remark that it lies at the crossroads—indeed,
is the crossroads—of Europe, Asia and Africa;
the fortuitous intersection of that most diverse and
different of cultures and worldly influences,
befitting of its age-old reputation both as a
literal as well as a figurative center of learning.
Athens, as the capital, perhaps epitomizes most of
this plethora of romantic and practical impressions.
The city of Athens goes back a long way—some 3000
years—and was home not only to the famous Platonic
Academy, but also the gymnasium Lyceum, graced by
the patronage of Aristotle and the founding of his
philosophical school, the Peripatetics, within it.
Many landmarks from the time of that classical era
are still visible in Athens, the most well-known of
which is the Parthenon, a tall-pillared temple built
in the 5th century B.C. for the worship
of the goddess Athena, patron goddess of Athens.
