We’re about to emphasize Greece as the basis for culture tips below. Do you know what characteristic the strategic words in italics share? If not, don’t panic! Just keep reading with enthusiasm…

There are over 150,000 words of Greek origin in English, including the ones in bold above.

In the 1950’s, a Greek economist named Xenophon Zolotas famously delivered two speeches. He used only English and Greek words. Curious? You can check out the text here. Greek mythology has also given the English language many everyday expressions. For example, “to have an Achilles’ heel” (a weakness). Or, “to open a Pandora’s box” (to do something that will create many other problems).

Some Greek words are difficult to adequately translate. For example, Philotimo (φιλότιμο), one of the most important Greek values.

Philotimo comes from the Greek root words “filos” (friend), and “timi” (honor). It can be translated as “love of honor”. But, the true sense of the word goes much deeper. It is described in this excellent short video on “The Greek Secret” of Philotimo. The essence is a unique combination of the concepts of duty, hospitality, honor, courage, sacrifice, empathy, and pride in interactions with others. Consequently, the Greek philosopher Thales said, “Philotimo to a Greek is like breathing. A Greek is not a Greek without it.”  

Greece is one of 64 countries that have a religious symbol on its national flag.

First, nature is represented by the blue and white colors. Then, the Greek cross symbolizes the importance of faith to the country’s 10 million Greek Orthodox Christians. Orthodox Christianity is one of the world’s three major Christian traditions. (The other two are Roman Catholicism and Protestantism.) It is predominantly present in Europe. According to the Pew Research Center, there is a gap between religious identity and practice in much of the Orthodox world. As a result, “it would not at all be uncommon for someone in Greece…to identify as Orthodox and participate in major community celebrations tied to Christianity (Easter, Christmas, Theophany, etc.) but not actually believe in the teachings of the church or, possibly, even in God.”