Modern Greek culture has evolved from ancient times, and is intertwined with all aspects of life. Greece is a country of diverse interests and traditions. Its modern culture has been greatly influenced by its geographical position and years of occupation by other nations. The Greek people take pride in their national heritage and feel strong national and ethnic identity. In order to better understand their culture, it is necessary to learn about the country’s dominant traditions and religion, as well as learn about Greek language, music, and art heritage, and even try the traditional cuisine. Otherwise, this rich culture will not be understood to its fullest.
Since ancient times, art has played an important role in Greece. Nowadays, dramatic performances are staged in antique theaters, where ancient Greeks used to watch plays. Modern art can be found anywhere in Greece. The Greek artists juxtapose ancient with new ideas and combinations, creating provocative and creative exhibitions in ancient sacred places. Modern philosophical ideas can be traced back to ancient Greek philosophers, such as Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle (Tziovas, 2014). Modern dance and theater performances are held in the ancient Herodion Theater.
The Greek language is probably the oldest language in Europe, and the Greek alphabet has been in existence for almost 3,000 years. Today, the Greek language forms the basis of any Indo-European language thesaurus; in addition, scientific vocabulary quite frequently reflects Greek origin. The modern Greek language is represented by the southern dialect adopted as the standard version of the language, but it is very different from the old artificial language introduced by the right-wing parties many years ago (Tziovas, 2014). Even today, you can see the names of the streets and places in the old language, which can confuse visitors of the country.
Approximately 98% of Greeks are Orthodox, and the rest of the population are Catholics, Jews, and Muslims. Religion is a significant part of the life of the Greeks and consequently, many holidays in Greece are religious in nature, such as Easter, Christmas, Epiphany, Holy Saturday and so on. Religion is an integral part of education and politics (Tziovas, 2014). In almost all Greek schools, pupils have religious studies and practice collective praying. Apart from that, many important events (e.g., weddings) are held at churches.
Other important aspects of the modern culture are cinema and music. The country’s beautiful architecture and picturesque landscapes have made Greece one of the locations loved by contemporary movie directors. One famous contemporary Greek is Costa Gavras, a film director and producer. With regard to music, the folk song is very popular nowadays (Tziovas, 2014). One of the famous composers and songwriters from Greece is Mikis Theodorakis. Musical festivals held in Athens attract many people from around the world; all of them come to enjoy the commercialized folk music.
An important characteristic of the modern culture in Greece is the versatility of forms and expressions. The contemporary culture shows that national identity of Greek citizens is strong, and it is inherent in all the forms of cultural expression such as music, art, religion, and more. The new form of cultural interaction includes the understanding of ethnic and social identity. The modern Greek culture is a combination of original ideas and philosophy, where ancient and modern are closely intertwined and are in constant dialogue with each other.
References
Tziovas, D. (2014). Re-imagining the past: Antiquity and modern Greek culture. In D. Plantzos, E. Yalouri, K. Zacharia & E. Papazoglou (Eds.), Material culture and performances of the past (pp. 147-209). New York, NY: Oxford University Press.