From Plaka, the heart of historic Athens, the joyful notes of Sirtaki music fill the air. Their rhythms wrap around your thoughts, lift your spirits and transport you away from the rush of modern, increasingly European Athens. Across the islands and narrow streets, from the Aegean to the Ionian and all the way to Crete—majestic and set apart from the mainland—tradition truly comes alive.
It is above all the younger generation who, while embracing an international outlook, fiercely keep alive the ancient dance with its Eastern flair and distinctive movements. This dance, performed in unison and with arms tightly linked, is a celebration of friendship and tolerance. Young Greeks proudly wear the traditional pleated skirt, sashes, and finely embroidered vests to honor the legacy of Olympic athletes—making each performance all the more captivating. These same youths keep Athens alive after dark—often with the Sirtaki—during the city’s favorite hours for gathering and socializing.
Venturing into Greece’s interior, you’ll see houses perpetually under construction: thrift and hard work dictate waiting to add a new level only when another child arrives, creating sturdy square-shaped dwellings. You’ll almost always spot a decorative motif as well—a nod to the grandeur of ancient times.
On the rolling hills of Crete, vineyards reveal that agriculture is still at the core of the local economy. Beside the grapevines are olive and citrus groves. High up, you’ll find both famous and lesser-known acropoleis that no longer serve as ancient fortresses, but still gaze over the sea. For the attentive traveler, this close encounter with the land, where even its desolation comes alive with history, brings Greek myths to mind: the mountain where Zeus was born, the hill nearby shaped like a sleeping warrior, the evergreen oleander recalling the union of Zeus and Europa, or the fountain of Princess Glaukè, murdered by Medea.
History asserts itself dramatically at the Palace of Crosso, where Minoan civilization shows that over 1,500 years ago, people had mastered the construction of aqueducts, sewers and even social hierarchies, in a palace-city atop a hill. Among the Greek ruins, archaeologists continually dig—not just for clues, but for signs that could mark revolutionary discoveries. The Greeks, for example, had already learned how to guard against earthquakes: a layer of wood between stones in a palace represented an early anti-seismic technique, devised before iron was even known.
