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Culture and Customs of Greece PDF

293 Pages·2009·33.69 MB·English
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P1:TVJ GNWD124-FM GR4296/Leontis TopMargin:0.62733in GutterMargin:0.7528in February26,2009 14:47 Culture and Customs of Greece i P1:TVJ GNWD124-FM GR4296/Leontis TopMargin:0.62733in GutterMargin:0.7528in February26,2009 14:47 Greece.CartographybyBookcomp,Inc. ii P1:TVJ GNWD124-FM GR4296/Leontis TopMargin:0.62733in GutterMargin:0.7528in February26,2009 14:47 Culture and Customs of Greece ARTEMIS LEONTIS CultureandCustomsofEurope GREENWOODPRESS (cid:1) Westport,Connecticut London iii P1:TVJ GNWD124-FM GR4296/Leontis TopMargin:0.62733in GutterMargin:0.7528in February26,2009 14:47 LibraryofCongressCataloging-in-PublicationData Leontis,Artemis. CultureandcustomsofGreece/ArtemisLeontis. p. cm.—(CultureandcustomsofEurope) Includesbibliographicalreferencesandindex. ISBN978–0–313–34296–7(alk.paper) 1.Greece—Sociallifeandcustoms—21stcentury. 2.Greece—Civilization. 3.Popularculture—Greece. I.Title. DF741.L46 2009 949.5—dc22 2008051962 BritishLibraryCataloguinginPublicationDataisavailable. Copyright(cid:1)C 2009byArtemisLeontis Allrightsreserved.Noportionofthisbookmaybe reproduced,byanyprocessortechnique,withoutthe expresswrittenconsentofthepublisher. LibraryofCongressCatalogCardNumber:2008051962 ISBN:978–0–313–34296–7 Firstpublishedin2009 GreenwoodPress,88PostRoadWest,Westport,CT06881 AnimprintofGreenwoodPublishingGroup,Inc. www.greenwood.com PrintedintheUnitedStatesofAmerica Thepaperusedinthisbookcomplieswiththe PermanentPaperStandardissuedbytheNational InformationStandardsOrganization(Z39.48–1984). 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 iv P1:TVJ GNWD124-FM GR4296/Leontis TopMargin:0.62733in GutterMargin:0.7528in February26,2009 14:47 Contents SeriesForeword vii Preface ix Acknowledgments xi Chronology xiii 1 TheLand,People,andHistory 1 2 Religion 31 3 Society 51 4 Leisure,Holidays,andtheGreekTable 75 5 LanguageandLiterature 101 6 MusicandDance 135 7 Media,Theater,andCinema 163 8 ArchitectureandArt 197 v P1:TVJ GNWD124-FM GR4296/Leontis TopMargin:0.62733in GutterMargin:0.7528in February26,2009 14:47 vi CONTENTS Glossary 227 SelectedBibliography 233 Index 253 P1:TVJ GNWD124-FM GR4296/Leontis TopMargin:0.62733in GutterMargin:0.7528in February26,2009 14:47 Series Foreword The Old World and the New World have maintained a fluid exchange of people,ideas,innovations,andstyles.EventhoughtheUnitedStatesbecame thedefactoworldleaderandeconomicsuperpowerinthewakeofadevastated EuropeinWorldWarII,Europehasremainedformanythestandardbearer ofWesternculture. Millions of Americans can trace their ancestors to Europe. The United States as we know it was built on waves of European immigration, starting withtheEnglishwhobravedtheseastofoundtheJamestownColonyin1607. BosnianandAlbanianimmigrantsaresomeofthelatestnewAmericans. IntheGildedAgeofoneofourgreatexpatriates,thenovelistHenryJames, theGrandTourofEuropewasderigueurforyoungAmericanmenofmeans, topreparethemforalifeofrefinementandtaste.Inamorerecentdemocratic age,scoresofAmericancollegestudentshaveEurailedtheirwayacrossGreat Britain and the Continent, sampling the fabled capitals and bergs in a mad, greatadventure,orhavebenefitedfromasemesterabroad.ForotherAmerican vacationersandculturevultures,Europeistheprimedestination. What is the New Europe post–Cold War, post Berlin Wall in a new mil- lennium?Evenwiththedifferentlanguages,rhythms,andrituals,Europeans have much in common: they are largely well educated, prosperous, and worldly. They also have similar goals and face common threats and form alliances. With the advent of the European Union, the open borders, and the Euro and considering globalization and the prospect of a homogenized Europe,anupdatedsurveyoftheregioniswarranted. vii P1:TVJ GNWD124-FM GR4296/Leontis TopMargin:0.62733in GutterMargin:0.7528in February26,2009 14:47 viii SERIESFOREWORD CultureandCustomsofEuropefeaturesindividualvolumesonthecoun- tries most studied and for which fresh information is in demand from stu- dentsandotherreaders.TheSeriescastsawidenet,inclusiveofnotonlythe expected countries, such as Spain, France, England, and Germany, but also countriessuchasPolandandGreecethatlieoutsideWesternEuropeproper. Eachvolumeiswrittenbyacountryspecialist,withintimateknowledgeofthe contemporarydynamicsofapeopleandculture.Sustainednarrativechapters covertheland,people,andbriefhistory;religion;socialcustoms;genderroles, family,andmarriage;literatureandmedia;performingartsandcinema;and artandarchitecture.Thenationalcharacterandongoingpopulartraditionsof eachcountryareframedinanhistoricalcontextandcelebratedalongwiththe latesttrendsandmajorculturalfigures.Acountrymap,chronology,glossary, andevocativephotosenhancethetext. ThehistoriedandenlightenedEuropeanswillcontinuetofascinateAmeri- cans.Ourfuturesarestronglylinkedpolitically,economically,andculturally. P1:TVJ GNWD124-FM GR4296/Leontis TopMargin:0.62733in GutterMargin:0.7528in February26,2009 14:47 Preface Everydaythesunrisesonthespeakersofalanguageasfabledforitslongevity as its difficulty. These people stand poised to do many things, but perhaps nothing with greater enthusiasm than speak Greek. A language with more than3,200yearsofdocumentedhistory,Greekintheirmouthstakestheshape ofbroadvowels,staccatoconsonants,longwords,andendlessexpressivepos- sibilities.AlthoughGreekusersvaluetheirlanguage’scommunicativepower, they are also deeply aware, with each proud syllable they dispatch, that they arekeepinganoldlanguagealive.SomeevenclaimthatGreeceexistsforthis purpose, to preserve Greek: “Greek the language they gave me /...My only caremylanguageonHomer’sshores.”1 Greeks care deeply about their language. In the past they even sacrificed livesoverlanguagedisagreements.Today’slanguagedebatesdon’treachquite thatpitch,yetquestionsfly:Doesn’ttextmessagingimpoverishyoungpeople’s communication skills? Must people translate older texts into today’s Greek? Shouldn’t children learn ancient Greek at a younger age? How threatening areforeignlexicalimportssuchase-mailordebatetotheintegrityofGreek? WillGreece’srecentimmigrantslearnGreekorremainforeverGreece’slatest varvaroi(barbarians,speakersofbar-bar,orgibberish)?Witheachpassingday, people feel the survival of their culture is on the line, and the least they can doistoargueaboutitinbeautifullyarticulatedGreek. Greekculturepresentsmanythemes.Urbanizationisone,withAthenstak- ingcenterstageinthecountry’sdevelopmentandconsequentlyinthisbook. AthensishometoalmosthalfofGreece’spopulationandistheadministrative ix

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The Parthenon. Plato, Socrates, and Aristotle. Homer's epic poems. Gods and goddesses lounging around, indulging in pleasures on Mount Olympus. All of these images bring to mind the traditional icons of Greece, the cradle of Western Civilization. But what do we know of modern Greece? The answer to t
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