Ο UR COUNTRY OUR CULTURE

1. ΟUR COUNTRYOUR CULTURE

2. THE LOCATION OF GREECE Our country is located in South-East Europe in the southest edge of the Balkan peninsula in East Mediterranean. It is a crossroad between Europe, Asia, and Africa. The capital city of Greece is Athens.

4. Greece: Cradle of Civilization

5. During the period when Pericles reigned, Athens was the centre of education, philosophy and democracy.

6. KNOSOS –THE PARTHENON-THE EPIDAUROS THEATRE-OLYMPIA-DELFI-VERGINA

7. THE ACROPOLIS OF ATHENS The Acropolis was built during the 6th century B.C. . The Acropolis of Athens is located on a high rocky outcrop above the city of Athens and contains the remains of several ancient buildings of great architectural and historic significance.The most famous and the most splendid architectural achievement is the Parthenon.

8. ANCIENT OLYMPIA Here is the ancient temple Zeus which is located in ancient Olympia in Peloponnese. This is where the Olympic Games started in 776 B.C. The Ancient Olympic Games were religious and athletic festivals held every four years at the sanctuary of Zeus in Olympia.

9. THE EPIDAUROS THEATRE The theatre was built during the 4th century B.C. The theatre is marveled for its exceptional acoustics, which permit almost perfect intelligibility of unamplified spoken word from the  proscenium or scène to all 15,000 spectators.

10. METEORA - MOUNT ATHOS - ROTUNDA

11. METEORA Metéora  is one of the largest and most important complexes of Eastern Orthodox monasteries in Greece. The six monasteries are built on natural sandstone rock pillars, at the northwestern edge of the Plain of Thessaly.

12. THE ACROPOLIS MUSEUM –THE MUSIC HALL –THE RIO ANTIRIO BRIDGE –EGNATIA ODOS – THE ATHENS METRO

13. THE ACROPOLIS MUSEUM The Acropolis Museum is an archaeological museum focused on the findings of the archaeological site of the Acropolis of Athens. The new museum is waiting to house all the Parthenon Marbles that have been carried away by Lord Elgin and now are located in British museum, in London.

14. THE RIO-ANTIRRIO BRIDGE The Rio–Antirrio bridge, officially the Charilaos Trikoupis bridge after the statesman who first visualized it, is the world's longest multi-span cable-stayed bridge. Its construction was completed in 2004.

15. THE GREEK ISLANDS • TThe islands are the main characteristic of Greece’s morphology and an integral part of the country’s culture and tradition. Greek sovereign land includes 6,000 islands and islets in the Aegean and Ionian Seas, of which only 227 islands are inhabited. This is a truly unique phenomenon for the European continent.

16. THE MOUNTAINS OF GREECE Olympos, the highest mountain of Greece (2917m) Pindos, the longest range of Greece

17. TRADITIONAL COSTUMES Tsoliades Traditional Costume of Karditsa

18. GREEK HERBS The history of herbs in Greece dates many years back. There are 7,500 different species growing in Greece and about 850 can be found only in Greece. Greeks have a long history of herbs and not just for their use as cooking ingredients. In ancient times, many of herbs were used for medicinal purposes and had even religious meanings. Some typical herbs are: • Oregano • Marjoram • Parsley • Rosemary • Mint • Chamomile • Cretan Dittany • Bay Leaves • Basil • Sage

19. ΜEDITERRANEAN DIET