Greece Travel Guides and Destinations - True Wind Healing Travel

About Greece

The southeast European country, Greece, lies on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula. The Ionian Sea lies to the west, Aegean Sea to the east and the Mediterranean to the south. The capital city is Athens and currency is the Euro. The Parthenon in Athens is the most important icon of Classical Greece. Below, I included my Greece Travel Guides for tips on travelling in this amazing country.

Greece also includes 1200 – 6,000 islands, with 227 inhabited. The islands are grouped into clusters. The Cyclades lies in the Aegean Sea. The Argo-Saronic Islands lie in the Saronic Gulf near Athens. Other groups include the North Aegean Islands off the coast of Turkey and the Sporades. Each island has it’s own unique charm and historical significance. For example, one of the most well-known is Santorini, making up one of the top 5 largest calderas in the world. Mykonos holds the reputation as one of the biggest party islands with stunning beaches. Crete is the largest island and the origins of the Minoan civilization.

Greece is the cradle of Western Civilization as the birthplace of democracy, western philosophy, literature and medicine. After the collapse of the Mycenean civilization, the Greek Dark Ages lasted until 776 BC, the year of the first Olympics. The Iliad and Odyssey were composed by Homer in the 7^th or 8^th centuries BC.

Philip II of Macedonia and his son, Alexander the Great united most of Greece in the 4^th Century BC. Later, the Hellenistic Period marked the height of Greek culture in antiquity. Greece became annexed with Rome in 200 BC and later the Byzantine Empire and Ottoman Rule. The Greek Orthodox Church started in first century AD, shaping Greek identity. Following a war of independence in 1821, Greece became a modern nation state. After years as the Kingdom of Greece, democracy restored in 1974 – 75.