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To attempt an understanding of the Greek
people, it's useful to realize just how
recent and traumatic were the events
that created the modern state and
national character - the latter a
complex blend of extroversion and
pessimism, which cannot be accounted for
merely by Greece's position as a natural
bridge between Europe and the Middle
East. Until the early decades of the
twentieth century many parts of Greece
were in Ottoman (or in the case of the
Dodecanese, Italian) hands. Meanwhile,
numerous Greek Orthodox lived in Asia
Minor, Egypt, western Europe and in the
northern Balkans. The Balkan Wars of
1912-13, Greece's 1917-18 World War I
involvement, the Greco-Turkish war of
1919-22 and the organized population
exchanges - essentially regulated
ethnic cleansing - which followed each
of these conflicts had sudden, profound
effects. Worse was to come during World
War II, and its aftermath of civil war
between the Communists and the UK- and
US-backed Nationalist government forces.
The viciousness of this period found a
later echo in nearly seven years of
military dictatorship under the colonels'
junta between 1967 and 1974.
Such memories of misrule, diaspora
and catastrophe (including frequent
devastating earthquakes) remain
uncomfortably close for many Greeks,
despite nearly three decades of
democratic stability and the country's
integration into the EU. The poverty of,
and enduring paucity of opportunity in,
their homeland long frustrated talented
and resourceful Greeks, many of whom
emigrated . Those who stayed were
lulled, until the late 1980s, by a
civil-service-driven full-employment
policy which resulted in the lowest
jobless rate in western Europe. The
downside of this was an occasionally
staggering lack of worker initiative,
but official attempts to impose a more
austere economic line are still often
met by waves of strikes. Since the early
1990s, Greece has become fully
integrated into the Western economy,
privatization and competition have
demolished state monopolies, and
inevitably growing disparities in wealth
have appeared.
Outside the public sector, the
meticulousness of Greek craftworkers is
legendary, even if their values and
skills took a back seat to the demands
of crisis and profiteering when the
evacuation of Asia Minor and the rapid
1950s depopulation of rural villages
prompted the graceless urbanization
of Athens and other cities. Amidst the
often superficial sophistication that
resulted, it's easy to forget the
nearness of the village past and
stubbornly lingering Third World
attributes. You may find, for example,
that buses operate with Germanic
efficiency, but ferries sail with an
unpredictability little changed since
the time of Odysseus.
Social attitudes , too, are in
transition as Greece adapts to mass
tourism and the modern world. The
encounter has been painful and at times
destructive, as the values of a rural,
conservative society have been
irrevocably lost. Though younger Greeks
are adaptable and cash registers ring
happily, at least in tourist areas,
visitors still need to be sensitive in
their behaviour towards the older
generation. The mind boggles imagining
the reaction of black-clad elders to
nudism, or even scanty clothing, in a
country where the Orthodox church
remains an all-but-established faith and
the self-appointed guardian of national
identity. Although senior clerics have
recently depleted a huge reservoir of
respect with regressive stances on a
number of issues, even the most worldly
young Greeks, who never otherwise set
foot in a church, are still likely to be
married, buried and have their children
baptized with Orthodox rites. |
