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nadellii

Active member
Is Ancient Greece actually as great as it seemed? We always talk about the great accomplishments of Ancient Greeks but fail to talk about the fact that there was so much slavery and war during the time. It was a dangerous place where many people were forced into violent wars between the Ancient Greek City States. This is the less talked about truth!

 

Learning about Greek Independence Day

I want to start researching the Greek War for Independence - since Greek Independence Day is celebrated on March 25th of every year. I know that this is when we celebrate Greece's freedom from the Ottoman Empire. However, I recently learned that March 25th is actually when the war began for most of Greece, and in Mani I know it started maybe about a week earlier... This isn't what I originally thought, and it means that I don't really know much about it.

So, these are the topics I want to learn about - feel free to chime in with others I can research:
  • How did Greece come under Ottoman control in the first place?
  • How did the War for Independence really start?
  • Who are some of the main players for this war?
  • Are there some battles, etc that I should look up?

More than one Minoan Palace on Crete?

I didn't realize that Knossos wasn't the only Minoan Palace on Crete, but from what I understand it might be the largest?

I am planning a trip to Crete soon to see some of the ruins and here is where I plan to visit - did I miss anything?

1. Archaeological Museum of Athens
2. Knossos Palace
3. Malia
4. Phaistos
5. Zakros

Are there any other museums I should visit? I am learning about Minoan culture...

Remembering Metaxas as Oxi Day Approaches

From what I understand, Metaxas was a somewhat controversial figure in Greece. However, he is the one who stood his ground against the Axis Powers when they wanted Greece to allow occupation during World War II without a fight.

I guess at the time, a representative from Italy gave Metaxas an ultimatum from Mussolini. I heard somewhere that what he really said was: “Alors, c’est la guerre.” Which means, then it is war. The Greek people translated it as "Oxi".

In my mind, this is Philotimo. Standing against Italy and the Axis Powers was the right thing to do.

Does anyone know why Metaxas is generally considered controversial? Does it have to do with Oxi day or something else?

History of Phyllo Dough?

I have been trying to reconnect with Greek cooking for a while now, and the thing I am working on now are the phyllo dishes - like pita and baklava. Phyllo is delicious, but it can also be tricky. During the whole process I have been curious - where did phyllo come from? I found some sources, but it's hard to really understand the true origin:


Many seem to claim that it came from different places. I have heard theories about it coming from Ancient Greece, Byzantine Empire, Medieval Turkey (but wait wasn't this Byzantine?).... What do you guys think?
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