Greece is my Ithaca

What is Greece to me?

Greece is my Ithaca. The poem of our Alexandria-born poet, C P Cavafy, simply titled Ithaca, has travelled with me (along with a small painting by Greek artist Alecos Fassianos) in every country I lived, from Japan to the UK and the USA. It became my compass back home, and it made me love my motherland even more.

As you set sail for Ithaca, wish that the journey is long, full of adventures, full of discovery - C.P.Cavafy ‘Ithaca’

Greece is its light & colours

If Greece were a colour it would be blue and white, just like our flag, the Aegean Sea and Cycladic dwellings. It would also be bright, washed in this magical light. But the beauty of Greece lies in the fact that it has four seasons: summer & blue is a state of mind, but when autumn comes, the Zagorohoria villages, in Epirus, and the Dadia and Lailias forests, in the Evros region of northeastern Greece, turn into a golden symphony.

In winter, snow falls and come spring, mainland Greece becomes a pink carpet while the peach trees are blooming. Then there are all the different islands, more than 4,000 in total: the barren whitewashed Cycladic islands, juxtaposed against the lush colourful Ionian islands; the stark windswept moonscapes of Milos and Kimolos, against the tranquil bays and marine park in the Mamma Mia islands (the Sporades).

And last but not least, it is the translucent, crystal-clear seas in fifty shades of blue: from Elafonisos to Koufonisia, from Halkidiki to Antipaxos, from the big blue of Amorgos to the turquoise of Myrtos in Kefalonia, there is something there for everyone.

Greece is its people

Two words best describe us: filotimo (a word existing only in Greece, meaning ‘the love of honour’) and philoxenia (love for a foreigner, the essence of Greek hospitality). Every summer, I reunite with my friends on the Greek islands: I learn from them, we have coffee or wine and talk about life.

Rich or poor it doesn’t matter, Greeks will always welcome you to their home and find a way to communicate with foreigners. The crisis we went through in the last years, brought us closer, reminded us of our values, and gave rise to amazing small artisanal businesses.

Greece is just Greece

Τhe cradle of civilisation, full of mythological marvels, legends, nymphs, gods and endless archaeological ruins. It is the Parthenon, the Temple of Poseidon, Mount Olympus, Plato and Sophocles, Sparta, it is embarking on a war for a beautiful woman – Helen of Troy. It is the Olympic Games, Alexander the Great and a handful of people who when we unite, we are capable of miracles – our history being the perfect testament to the latter. Maybe it’s even home to the lost Atlantis.

To me, it is just home and every time I am away, I miss seeing the Evzones (Presidential Guard) and the Acropolis as I go on my daily run in the centre of Athens.