“Yes, it’s beautiful here, but have you visited my “hometown”? A not at all unusual question from Greeks we meet. No one, NO village, city or island is more beautiful than the one mom or dad comes from. Greece is today one of Europe’s most homogeneous countries with relatively few minorities. Most of them are Greeks and they also profess the Greek Orthodox Church and people who belong to some other “strange Christian faith” such as Protestants or Catholics hardly count as “real” Greeks. The reason for this is historically since over 100 years ago when the countries around the Balkans and Turkey moved populations by ethnicity between the countries (often with brutal methods) when the borders were redrawn after the two Balkan wars and after the peace of Sévres (1920) and Lausanne (1923). Below are pictures from the mountain villages of Mani, Messinia. Quiet and seemingly abandoned most months of the year and with few permanent residents.
The “home village” or “home island” syndrome
When you start to learn the customs of the country and get to know resident people, you also notice that the country is very provincial. It is true that more than half of Greece’s population lives in the Athens or Thessaloniki area, but many have moved in from different parts of the country since the 50s, 60s and 70s. And the roots remain in the area you come from or where your parents come from. This is not least noticeable during the big Greek weekends or the holiday month where many often go back to their “home village” or “home island”. Because no, NO village, city or island is more beautiful than the one mom or dad comes from. With or without a sea view, the “home village” is a paradise on earth, that’s all! Greece is a collectivist society with a strong loyalty to family and friends. These personal relationships are deeply important to people’s everyday lives and “my hometown” can be “your hometown” if you are my closest friend! And then a party is set for the returning children, grandchildren, relatives and newcomers and the whole village comes alive again!
The tomatoes from my mother’s neighboring village at the vegetable market
And if you listen to Greek conversation in Athens’ or any other bigger city “Laiki” (fruit and vegetable markets), you often hear that visitors are drawn to traders who come from the same area as themselves. Often with comments “we go and buy tomatoes from Eléni, because she grows the tomatoes in my mother’s neighboring village” or “we take the aubergines from Kostas, because he comes from our village”. In addition, they seem to have some form of learned conditioning quality since childhood, such as
- The best melons should be bought from the Argos area (Peloponnesos)
- The best olive oil comes from the Kalamata area
- Genuine ouzo must be purchased from Lesvos/Mytilini
- The best Raki comes from Crete
- The best feta cheese is from Thessaly in central Greece
When can we talk about homogeneous Greece?
Haha, when there is a football match between Greece and any other country.. then by all means the cohesion is total. Not to mention an international match in the “global world sport” (irony) WATER POLO! The Greek identity is also strong among the emigrants and then differences that are often pointed out in the home country are forgotten. Feta cheese is again Greek and not from Crete and it doesn’t help to change your name when you move abroad: you’re a Greek for the rest of your life. Which, for example, Hollywood star Jennifer Aniston has experienced, which for Greeks is still Jennifer Anastassakis. But remember that Greece is also a country known for the fact that everyone, regardless of nationality, feels welcome and accepted (read about “Filotimo” here).
