Greece

Greece may be the home of Zeus and his fellow Olympians, but at first glance its bustling, traffic-ridden capital, Athens, is anything but divine. Yet here, as all over Greece, are reminders of the country’s glory – from Athens’ Parthenon and Delphi’s Temple of Apollo, to the ruins on Crete of the Minóan city of Knossós, a civilisation reaching even further back into history.

Scattered throughout the calm blue waters of the Aegean are the islands, each with its own special story. Visit Zakynthos in the spring to see why it is ‘the island of flowers’, or the volcanic Santorini, where the blackness of the sand accentuates the brilliant whiteness of the villages. The serenity of islands like Skópelos contrasts with the hedonistic party islands such as Myknos and Páros where the worship of Dionysus the god of revelry continues to the beat of garage and house music.

It is easy to forget that from this fertile land of mythology, olive groves and retsina, sprang political, philosophical and artistic ideas that shaped the whole course of western civilisation. Greece today offers the traveller the comforts of modern Europe in close proximity to the stark beauty of the ancient world.