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Rhodes - Lindos: The Lindians were the first to draw up a code of maritime law, later known as the Rhodian law. This later became the basis for Roman maritime law, and even today forms the backbone of the law of the sea!
Acropolis of Lindos is the second most visited Acropolis in Greece, after Athens Acropolis!
The Statue of Liberty, which is the same size as Colossus (2000 years ago), weighs 225 tons!
To diminish the weight of the dome of Hagia Sophia (Holy Wisdom) in Constantinople, very light materials were used, tiles of a white spongy earth manufactured at Rhodes!
The symbol of the athletic footwear “NIKE” has been adopted from Greek Goddess, Nike (Winged Victory) and hence, the name. The Swoosh is believed to be the wing of this Goddess. The statue was commissioned (around 190 BC) to celebrate a naval victory by Rhodes!
Greece has over 2000 islands, but only 227 of which are inhabited!
Greece has the 10th longest coastline in the world at 9,300 miles! America’s coastline is estimated at 11,800 miles. The land area of Greece is slightly smaller than the US state of Alabama!
Greece has the largest maritime in the world! (16%)
After Switzerland, Greece is the most mountainous country in Europe!
Greece has half the seismic activity of Europe.
During World War II, Greece fought Germany, Italy and Albania simultaneously and that it was the only country that held the most days of resistance (219 days) before succumbing to the Nazi forces!
That public holidays in Greece include “Το Όχι”, the “Day of the “No”, October 28th, which honors Greece’s refusal to surrender to the Axis Powers in 1940!
In a famous 1941 speech Winston Churchill stated: “Greeks do not fight like heroes. Heroes fight like Greeks!”
Greek Virgin Olive Oil is renowned and accepted as being the world’s very best.
After Spain and Italy, Greece is the third largest producer of olive oil in the world! 60% of cultivated land in Greece is devoted to the growing of olives and half its total olive oil production is exported to other countries, most of which is re-labeled as their own.
In ancient Greece, children of wealthy families were dipped in olive oil at birth to keep their bodies hairless!
The first cookbook was written by the Greek food gourmet, Archestratos, in 330 B.C., which suggests that cooking has always been of importance and significance in Greek society.
13% of the English Dictionary is derived from Greek words!
There are at least 63 different folk dances in Greece!
The popular “Yo-Yo” toy is the second oldest known toy in the world and it originated in the days of ancient Greece around 3,000 years ago!
Greece’s currency, the “Drachma”, was the oldest currency in the world! Greece adopted the “Euro” in January 2001 parallel with most all European Union countries.
Cleopatra was Greek. She came from the famous Ptolemy family, and she was the only Greek ruler that spoke Egyptian.
The New Testament was written in Greek!
The Greek flag is called “Galanolefki” which means “blue and white”. Originally it was blue with a white diagonal cross. The cross is now situated in the upper left corner and symbolizes the Christian faith.\ Blue is the color of the sea, and Greece being a seafarers country, it could hardly have any other color. White is the color of freedom, and that is something the Greeks hold very dear after years of enslavement under the Turks. The nine stripes each symbolize a syllable in the Greek motto of freedom: E-LEF-THE-RI-A - E - THA-NA-TOS, which translates Freedom or Death.
