h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Entry: Greece (Update) - A5625786
Author: Gnomon the Shadowcaster - U151503

This is an update of the Greece entry A133066.

Hi Gnomon, great update

Should 'bronze-age' and 'iron-age' be Bronze Age and Iron Age?

'Why the Mycenaeans civilisation itself collapsed in 1200 BC is not known, but they left not only plenty of fortified cities, but also a whole host of legends and stories about gods and heroes which became the core of later Greek mythology.' - took me a couple of reads to understand this sentence, partly because of the but... but... Replace the first ', but' with a semicolon?

'Greek toilets are odd. They look just like any other toilets...' section - this is not unique to Greece, many places with low rainfall ask you to put your used paper in a bin. I think it's because lower water pressure means the paper is more likely to clog the system. It's only in very wet countries (like, for example, Ireland) that flushing it away is the norm.

'Antagonism between the two countries over the last 100 years reached a height in the 1920s' - do you mean that there has only been any antagonism since 1906, or that there was worse antagonism than this over a century ago, or that after 100 years of anatagonism the Turks took action in the 1920s?

I've never been, but read that Greek shops are open all day every day because they are family businesses and are considered extensions of the home - whether this is true or worth mentioning is up to you


Hope this helps!

It doesn't rain much in California where we flush, yet just across the national border in Baja California they bin. Many recent immigrants still bin, even though it's considered here to be more sanitary and better for the environment if they don't, so there's a cultural element, too.

I've been told It has to do with the ability of the sewage treatment plant to deal with the cellulose and rag fibers. Don't know if it's the whole truth.

Thanks for the comments. I've dealt with them all except for the ones about the Turks and the shops. I'll have to think how best to phrase the thing about the Turks.

I'm not convinced about your shop theory, Skanky, so I won't put it in.

I read it in 'Work Your Way Around The World', from someone who had worked in a shop somewhere on the Greek Islands and apparently almost became one of the family. It could just as easily have been an attitude of a small village on a distant island, which is why I was a bit vague about it anyway!

Looks great now, no further comments from here

Thanks, S. I'll come up with a wording for the Turks bit soon.

I've changed the section on the Turks slightly.

Yes, that's much clearer now

You know G, I dare-say you know more about (and perhaps appreciate more about) Greece than Zeus himself! Fantastic Update! I'm seriously reconsidering holiday destinations after your enthusiasm for the country

The Peloponnese is on the Front Page today!

This looks good to me - would we like to make this an official update now?

Thanks, Jimster. I'd be delighted.

Editorial Note: This conversation has been moved from 'Greece (Update)' to 'Greece'.

Thanks, again!

Thank you - great update!