Greece - Culture Smart!: The Essential Guide to Customs & Culture

169 Pages·2018·47.3 MB·English

by  Constantine Buhayer

CULTURE SMART!
GREECE
Constantine Buhayer
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at the address below.
ISBN 978 1 85733 870 6
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
A CIP catalogue entry for this book is available from the
British Library
First published in Great Britain
by Kuperard, an imprint of Bravo Ltd
59 Hutton Grove, London N12 8DS
Tel: [phone] Fax: [phone]
www.culturesmart.co.uk
Inquiries:
About the Author
CONSTANTINE BUHAYER is an Anglo-Greek
broadcaster, country analyst, and specialist in Greek and
Balkan affairs. He was country and security analyst for
Jane’s Information Group, specializing in Greece, Cyprus,
and the Balkans from the start of the Yugoslav secession
wars until 2002. He has worked as producer on the BBC2
flagship current affairs program “Correspondent” and
with CBS’ “60 Minutes.” He has co-authored the book
Alfred Nobel: His Life and Work, and contributed to others.
As a weekly columnist for the Anglo-Greek and Cypriot
media he has covered all aspects of the Greek Diaspora.
He is a regular on the London-based Monocle radio and
has been a specialist commentator on BBC TV and radio.
His first edition of Culture Smart! Greece was used at
university level in the US and Britain for its accessibility
and the originality of its comparative perspectives.
The Culture Smart! series is continuing to expand. All Culture Smart!
guides are available as e-books, and many as audio books.
For latest titles visit
www.culturesmart.co.uk
The publishers would like to thank CultureSmart!Consulting for
its help in researching and developing the concept for this series.
CultureSmart!Consulting creates tailor-made seminars and
consultancy programs to meet a wide range of corporate,
public-sector, and individual needs. Whether delivering courses
on multicultural team building in the USA, preparing Chinese
engineers for a posting in Europe, training call-center staff in India,
or raising the awareness of police forces to the needs of diverse
ethnic communities, it provides essential, practical, and powerful
skills worldwide to an increasingly international workforce.
For details, visit www.culturesmartconsulting.com
CultureSmart!Consulting and CultureSmart! guides have both
contributed to and featured regularly in the weekly travel program
“Fast Track” on BBC World TV.
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contents
contents
Map of Greece 7
Introduction 8
Key Facts 10
Chapter 1: LAND AND PEOPLE 12
• Contradictions, Continuities, and Contributions 12
• Geographical Overview 14
• Helenic Republic or Grece? 17
• More Than Just a Language 19
• A Brief History 21
• Government and Politics 48
Chapter 2: VALUES AND ATTITUDES 58
• Romiosy´ni Intertwined with Hellenism 58
• Family First 59
• Hierarchy 62
• Personal Relationships 63
• Generosity 63
• Atitudes Toward Foreigners 65
• Conspiracy Theories 6
• Wealth, Money, and the Voleménos 69
• Patriotism 70
• Arpa-Cola: Last-Minute Culture 71
• The High Wire of Deadlines 71
• Women 72
• More Than Love 74
• Nostalgia: A Very Greek Condition 74
Chapter 3: CUSTOMS AND TRADITIONS 76
• Holidays and Festivals 76
• To Remember: Saints’ Days 7
• The Greek Year 79
• The Grek Orthodox Church 83
• Other Religions 87
Chapter 4: MAKING FRIENDS 88
• Openes 8
• Distinguish Your Orders from Your Requests 89
• Gestures and Physical Contact 90
• Whispering 90
• Timekeping 91
• Hospitality 91
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• Who Pays? 92
• Romance and the Foreigner 93
• Gift Giving 93
• Visiting 94
• Verbal Gretings: A Wish for Life 95
• Alcohol 96
• Philótimo 97
Chapter 5: DAILY LIFE 98
• Town and Country 98
• Water—A Vanishing Commodity 100
• The (Un)Civil Servant Mentality 100
• Growing Up in Greece 102
• Education 103
• The Daily Round 104
• Economic Priorities 107
• Banking and Payments 108
• Shipping 109
• Standards of Living 111
• For Richer, For Poorer 113
Chapter 6: TIME OUT 114
• Paréa: A Fraternity of Friendships 114
• Greek Cuisine 115
• Tavernas, Restaurants, and Coffeehouses 116
• Kouvendoúla: The Art of Idle Talk 120
• Smoking 120
• Shopping for Pleasure 121
• Theater and Cinema 122
• Museums 123
• Archaeological Sites 126
• The Parthenon 126
• Churches and Monasteries 127
• Open Markets 129
• The Exohikó—the Ancestral/Country Home 130
• Sports 130
• The Olympic Games 131
Chapter 7: TRAVEL, HEALTH, AND SECURITY 134
• Buses 134
• Taxis 135
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contents
contents
• Trains—A Secret World 135
• The Metro and Trams 137
• Boats 137
• Cars: A Health Warning 138
• Walking, Not Walking 140
• Health 140
• Security 141
Chapter 8: BUSINESS BRIEFING 142
• The Greek Economy 142
• Busines Culture 144
• Teamwork 144
• Presentation and Listening Styles 146
• Meetings and Negotiations 147
• Leadership and Decision Making 149
• Etiquete 150
• Punctuality 150
• Eye Contact 151
• Contracts and Fulfilment 151
• Managing Disagreement 152
• Women In Busines 153
Chapter 9: COMMUNICATING 154
• Language 154
• Body Language 156
• The Media 156
• The Internet 159
• Telephone 159
• Mail 160
• Conclusion 160
Appendix 1: Key Comparative Values 162
Appendix 2: The Greek Alphabet 164
Further Reading 165
Index 166
Acknowledgments 168
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7
Map of Greece
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map of greece
MACEDONIA BULGARIA
Serrai • Xanthi • • T HRACE
• Kavalla Komotini
ALBANIA
MACEDONIA • Thessaloniki THASSOS
SAMOTHRAKI
5MOUNT ATHOS
5MOUNT OLYMPUS LIMNOS
Ioannina • THESSALY • Larisa
CORFU •
(KERKYRA)
Trikkala • Volos
PAXOS
SKOPELOS LESBOS TURKEY
LEVKAS STEREÁ ELLÁS • Lamia SKYROS AEGEAN
• Agrinion
EUBOEA SEA
CHIOS
•
CEPHALONIA Patras
Corinth • •• Athens (Athina) SAMOS
Piraeus ATTICA MYKONOS
ZAKYNTHOS • Olympia
PELOPONNESE DELOS
IONIAN SEA CYCLADES
Kalamata • • Sparta NAXOS KALYMNOS
KOS
SANTORINI RHODES
M E D I T E R R A N E A N S E A
Chania •
• Iraklion
CRETE (KRITI )
Gulf of Corinth
Saronic Gulf
SPORADES
DODECANESE
EPIRUS
8
introduction
introduction
…Why so quiet? Look into your heart,
weren’t you happy as we left Greece behind?
But what’s the point of fooling ourselves?—
indeed, that wouldn’t be properly Hellenic.
So let us admit the truth at last:
we, too, are Greek by culture—what else are we?—but
with tastes and feelings specific to our own country.
Tastes and feelings that sometimes seem strange
to the Hellenic values that shaped our world.
C. Cavafy, “Returning from Greece,” 1901
(Adapted from the Greek by Constantine Buhayer)
Greece is an electrifying experience, even more so
when we set aside its ancient past. When we enter
Greek space we are returning the cradle of Western
civilization, where people designed our society, with
its political, ethical, and scientific values. Across the
ages, traders, scholars, theologians, and all types
of teachers have traveled out of its lands to format,
formulate, and reformat the world. Thus it was an
Athenian scholar, Theodorus of Tarsus, who in
669 ce arrived in southern Britain as Archbishop
of Canterbury and established a Greek and Latin
school to unite its warring tribes into a single
nation. He achieved this by implementing a Greek
infrastructure, the parish system, which parceled
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culture smart! Greece
9
introduction
the land into fixed and manageable civic units,
centered upon a church.
In a way, part of us forever belongs to the
Hellenic world, and expectations are therefore
high, so you could be in for a shock if you find
yourself plunged into the living Greek reality.
Greece arouses passions, prejudices, praises, and
today’s visitor can develop responses to the country
that range from unbridled fascination to vociferous
objection. After all, it is a matter of observation
to say that entire nations are still mobilized for
and against the Greeks. Many chose to become
“them.” When the recent global economic turmoil
started, Greece was the central point of reference
for governments fearful of its electoral choices,
for political movements inspired by its initiatives,
and for the world markets, apprehensive of its
economic choices.
Culture Smart! Greece sets out to equip travelers
with essential information about the background,
values, and attitudes of the people they will meet,
and practical guidelines on how to understand
and deal with unfamiliar situations. Even the vital
historical section concentrates on relevant but
unusual examples that say something about today’s
Greeks. For those who connect with the inner life
of this gifted people, there are riches aplenty.
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introduction