THE GREEK WAY OF LIFE
THE GREEK CHARACTER
It’s uncommon for Greek children to move out of home before they are
married, unless they are going to university or to fi nd work in another
city. While this is changing among professionals and people marrying
later, low wages are also keeping young people at home.
The male–female dynamic throws up some interesting paradoxes. De-
spite the machismo, it is very much a matriarchal society. Men love to
give the impression that they rule the roost but, in reality, it’s the women
who often run the show both at home and in family businesses.
Greek women (at least the older generation) are famously house-proud
and take pride in their culinary skills. It’s still relatively rare for men to be
involved in housework or cooking, and boys are waited on hand and foot.
Girls are more involved in domestic chores, though young Athenian women
are more likely to be found in the gym or beauty salon than in the kitchen.
In the face of fast-tracked social changes, Greeks are still delicately
balancing cultural and religious mores.
Social problems are on the rise, with an increase in unemployment,
homelessness and once-rare violent crime in Athens, one of the safest
European capitals.The Greek Character
Greeks are known for their independent spirit. They have a work-to-live
attitude and an enviable capacity to enjoy life. They are generous hosts
and pride themselves on their filotimo (dignity and sense of honour), and
their filoxeniaa (hospitality, welcome, shelter), which you will fi nd in even
the poorest household.
Forthright and argumentative, most Greeks will freely state their opin-
ions and talk about personal matters rather than engage in polite small-
talk. Few subjects are off limits, from your private life and why you don’t
have children, to how much you earn or what you paid for your house or
shoes. Unlike many Western cultures where people avoid eye contact with
strangers, Greeks are unashamed about staring and blatantly observing
(and commenting on) the comings and goings of people around them.
They thrive on news, gossip and political debate and, while they will
mercilessly malign their governments and society, they are defensive
about external criticism and can be fervently patriotic, nationalistic and
ethnocentric. While their ancestry can give them a smug sense of cul-
tural superiority, they remain insecure about their underdog status in
the new Europe and wary of outside forces.
Greeks have taken to consumerism with gusto, fl aunting their new-
found wealth with designer clothes, the latest mobile phones and new
cars. They are prone to displays of excess, especially in spending on
food and entertainment, and have a live-for-today outlook. (However,
the hedonistic lifestyle of the Athenian elite taking weekend jaunts to
Mykonos bears no resemblance to struggling pensioners or workers in
rural Greece.)Stark economic
and social
disparities are a
reality in Greece,
with a profound
void between
the haves and
have-nots.GOOD WISHESWell-wishing expressions are one of the endearing features of daily life. Whether it stems
from superstition or an excess of good will, Greeks seem to have a wish for every occa-
sion. They won’t just wish you kali orexi (bon apetit), but also kali honepsi (good digestion)
and kali xekourasi (good rest) or kali diaskedasi (good entertainment). On the fi rst day
of the week they’ll wish you kali evdomada (good week), each month kalo mina (good
month), while the start of summer brings kalo kalokeri (good summer) and the end of the
holidays kalo himona (good winter). When you purchase something it’s kaloriziko (good
fate) and a new business is greeted with kales doulies (good work) and challenges with
kali dynami (good strength). A favourite for farewells is me to kalo (go with the good).Summer holidays
are the year’s
highlight and
Athens virtu-
ally shuts down
mid-August when
many family-
run businesses
shut up shop,
and people head
to the islands,
beaches or their
ancestral villages.