Sea, land and myths.

( Script for video production )

Greece is a country with a rich historical heritage and mesmerizing natural beauty. As a land located at the crossroads between Asia, Africa and Europe, during its history Greece had cultural interactions with different civilizations. Classical Greek culture has influenced greatly the Western civilization as it was in Greece where the policy of Democracy, organized philosophical thought and theatrical genres such as comedy, tragedy and drama first appeared. Greek mythology was inspired by nature, the seas, the forests and the mountains and not unjustly, since the Greek landscape is truly awe inspiring. It is worth looking into the beauties of the Greek landscape through the prism of its history and myths.

Greece is the southernmost tip of the Balkan Peninsula where it dives deep into the Mediterranean splitting the Aegean and Ionian Sea apart. The astonishing number of 6000 islands, islets and rocks that surround the peninsula dramatically dot this part of the Mediterranean Sea, while connecting it via a busy network of ports, bays, cities and citadels, many of which remain in use since more that 5 thousand years back, as in the case of Athens that has been continuously inhabited for 5 millennia, being one of
the oldest cities on earth. The Greek landscape, with the narrow land and the surrounding islands resulted to a strong seafaring tradition in the area, that remains unchanged until our times.

The biggest island of Greece, Creta, was once the home of the great Minoan civilization; an islandic society of skillful sailors and traders that managed to occupy a dominant position in international trade around the 2000 BC. When archeologist Arthur Evans discovered the Minoan city of Knossos, he assumed the Minoans were a peaceful civilization due to the rather uncommon lack of fortification.
Later findings show that Creta, as the center of the Minoan civilization, was so active in sailing and trade, that the countless number of ships departing or reaching its ports, was what indeed kept the island safe from intrusions, testifying in this way, the Minoan’s naval prevalence. Up to this day, and despite its economic decline, Greece owns the 3rd largest merchant fleet in the world, counted in absolute number of vessels, just behind Japan and China when the 58% of all EU controlled fleet, is of Greek property. Well routed traditions, their expertise and the needs arising from the peculiar Greek landscape must have lead generations of residents of this land to specialize in navigation and invest in shipping.