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Quotes About Greece – 101 Quotes To Inspire Your Greek Vacation

Ancient Greece has inspired hundreds of quotes! Here are 100+1 quotes about Greece, to get you in the mood before you visit!

What makes quotes about Greece so inspiring?

People all around the world like reading inspirational quotes. These short phrases can remind us of the possibilities that life has to offer. Or they can remind us of the power of words – a few carefully chosen words can have a profound impact on someone’s life.

Quotes can also be inspiring because they offer a different perspective on familiar topics. They often show how other people have dealt with difficult situations.

Ultimately, whether or not a quote is inspiring depends on the individual, and what resonates with them.

There are dozens of quotes for Greek culture, quotes for Greece and the Greek isles, and quotes relevant to Ancient Greece and Greek mythology. Here are some of the best Greece quotes!

Quotes about the beauty of Greece

Greece is an amazingly beautiful country! The diverse landscapes, golden sand beaches, rocky mountains and ancient sites are really picture-perfect. Here are a few quotes celebrating Greece’s beauty:

Greece – The feeling of being lost in time and geography with months and years hazily sparkling ahead in a prospect of inconjecturable magic.

– Patrick Leigh Fermor, English writer and scholar

Greece was a muse. It inspired creativity in magical ways that I can’t even begin to understand or explain.

– Joe Bonamassa, American guitarist

The problem with Greece is that she’s just too beautiful.

– Dimitra Tzanos, Greek artist

Greece is a good place to look at the moon, isn’t it.

– Kari Hesthamar, Norwegian author

The light of Greece opened my eyes, penetrated my pores, expanded my whole being.

– Henry Miller, American writer and artist

I want to have an ‘Eat, Pray, Love’ experience where I drop off the face of the planet and move to Greece.

– Jennifer Hyman, American entrepreneur

Today, to walk along the pebbled pathways of a traditional Greek mountain village or the marbled streets of an ancient acropolis is to step back in time. To meander at a leisurely pace through these island chains by boat is to be captivated by the same dramatic landscapes and enchanted islets that make the myths of ancient Greece so compelling. To witness the Mediterranean sun setting on the turquoise sea is to receive one of life’s greatest blessings.

– Laura Brooks, American writer

Greece is a good place for rebirths.

– Judith Martin, American author and columnist

It takes a lifetime for someone to discover Greece, but it only takes an instant to fall in love with her.

– Henry Miller

Also read: Greek Words To Learn

Quotes about Athens and the Parthenon

Athens, the Greek capital, is known for its long history, the Acropolis, the Parthenon. Here are a few quotes about Athens:

Athens, the eye of Greece, mother of arts and eloquence, native to famous wits.

– John Milton, English poet and intellectual

I want to see the Parthenon by moonlight.

– Daphne Du Maurier, English novelist and playwright

How great are the dangers I face to win a good name in Athens.

– Alexander the Great, King of the ancient Greek kingdom of Macedon

In the world over, the very name of our country is immediately associated with the Parthenon.

– Melina Mercouri , Greek actress and politician

Earth proudly wears the Parthenon as the best gem upon her zone.

– Ralph Waldo Emerson, American philosopher and lecturer

The Greeks had invented democracy, built the Acropolis and called it a day.

– David Sedaris, American comedian and author

There are no such things as the Elgin Marbles.

– Melina Mercouri

  I am not an Athenian or a Greek, but a citizen of the world.

– Socrates, Ancient Greek philosopher

Quotes about the Greek islands

The Greek islands, famous for their white-and-blue houses , have inspired many quotes about Greece. Here are a few:

My God, how much blue you spend so we cannot see you!

– Odysseus Elytis, Greek poet awarded with the Nobel prize

In every island of the Aegean Sea are found abundant traces of a vast prehistoric empire.

– James Theodore Bent

The isles of Greece, the isles of Greece! Where burning Sappho loved and sung, Where grew the arts of war and peace, Where Delos rose, and Phoebus sprung! Eternal summer gilds them yet, But all, except their sun, is set.

– Lord Byron, English poet

Gradually the magic of the island [ Corfu ] settled over us as gently and clingingly as pollen.

– Gerald Durrell, British naturalist and writer

Greece has got something like 1,400 islands. There is so much of Greece you can’t know even if you’re Greek. It’s sprinkled out all around the edge of the Aegean, all over the place. It’s already a secret place wherever you go, even if it’s somewhere huge like Athens or Corinth. The place enchanted me.

– Joanna Lumley, English actress

Quotes about Mykonos and Santorini

Mykonos and Santorini are two of the most famous Greek islands. Here are some quotes about them:

Unless you have seen the houses of Mykonos, you can’t pretend to be an architect. Whatever architecture has to say, it is said here.

– Le Corbusier, Swiss-French pioneer of modern architecture

The Greek Isles present a collage of diverse landscapes and customs. Mykonos is fun-loving, with lively tavernas and populated beaches. Delos is stoic, protecting the ruins of its ancient sanctuaries in solemn dignity. Milos is magical, with its volcanic rock formations and stunning village vistas.

– Laura Brooks

She perched on her windowsill, gazing at the lurid sun soaking into the Caldera, trying to appreciate it even though she couldn’t have it. Why did she always feel she had to do something in the face of beauty?

– Ann Brashares, American novelist – The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants

According to some theories, the legendary Atlantis said to have sunk beneath the sea in a great cataclysm, is in actuality the Greek Island of Santorini.

Her dress sparkled like the stars that blanketed the Mykonos night sky.

– Anthea Syrokou, Australian author

On a summer night, I have sat on the balcony drinking Ouzo , watching the ghosts of Greek Heroes sailing past, listening to the rustle of their sail cloths and the gentle lapping of their oars… and lain alongside Pythagoras watching him study the myriad of triangles in the constellations twinkling above us. Whether it was Crete, the heat, the Ouzo, or a combination, it is unequalled anywhere other than Santorini, in my humble opinion.

– Phil Simpkin, English author

Greece quotes about happiness

Happiness is what everyone is striving for! Here are a few inspirational quotes:

You don’t develop courage by being happy in your relationships everyday. You develop it by surviving difficult times and challenging adversity.

– Epicurus, ancient Greek philosopher

I felt once more how simple and frugal a thing is happiness: a glass of wine, a roast chestnut, a wretched little brazier, the sound of the sea. Nothing else.

– Nikos Kazantzakis, Greek author – Zorba the Greek

Knowledge creates happiness.

– Plato, ancient Greek philosopher

The less you want, the richer you are. The more you need in order to be happy, the more miserable you’ll be.

– Yanni, Greek American composer

Happiness is the meaning and the purpose of life, the whole aim and end of human existence.

– Aristotle, ancient Greek philosopher

Happy is the man, I thought, who, before dying, has the good fortune to sail the Aegean Sea.

– Nikos Kazantzakis, Zorba the Greek

Happiness depends upon ourselves.

– Aristotle

Of all things which wisdom provides to make life entirely happy, much the greatest is the possession of friendship.

The ancient Greek definition of happiness was the full use of your powers along lines of excellence.

– John F. Kennedy, American President

Quotes by famous Greek philosophers

Greece is well known for its long history, and the ancient Greek philosophers . Let’s have a look at some wonderful ancient Greek quotes by some of these wise men:

Everything flows.

– Heraclitus, ancient Greek philosopher

Nature does nothing without purpose or in vain.

Death does not concern us, because as long as we exist, death is not here. And when it does come, we no longer exist.

There is nothing permanent except change.

– Heraclitus

Man is the measure of all things.

– Protagoras, ancient Greek philosopher

We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.

Beware the barrenness of a busy life.

– Socrates, ancient Greek philosopher

For persuasion, reasoning is far stronger than gold.

– Democritus, ancient Greek philosopher

It’s not what happens to you, but how you react to it that matters.

– Epictetus, ancient Greek philosopher

The beginning is the most important part of the work.

The unexamined life is not worth living.

Do not spoil what you have by desiring what you have not; remember that what you now have was once among the things you only hoped for.

Ancient Greek quotes about wisdom, education and knowledge

The ancient Greek philosophers had lots to say about wisdom, knowledge and education:

The ancient Oracle said that I was the wisest of all the Greeks. It is because I alone, of all the Greeks, know that I know nothing.

For the wise is easy to go anywhere. Because the whole world is home for a good soul.

– Democritus

There is only one good, knowledge, and one evil, ignorance.

There was never a genius without a tincture of madness.

I can’t teach anybody anything. I can only make them think.

Knowing yourself is the beginning of all wisdom.

Wisdom begins in wonder.

Educating the mind without educating the heart is no education at all.

The educated differ from the uneducated as much as the living differ from the dead.

Ancient Greece Quotes

And now, let’s check a few contemporary quotes about Ancient Greece!

In many ways we are all sons and daughters of ancient Greece.

– Nia Vardalos, Canadian actress, director, producer and screenwriter

We are all Greeks. Our laws, our literature, our religion, our arts, have their root in Greece.

– Percy Bysshe Shelley, English Romantic poet

If you go back to the Greeks and Romans, they talk about all three – wine, food, and art – as a way of enhancing life.

– Robert Mondavi, American winemaker

Greece appears to be the fountain of knowledge; Rome of elegance.

– Samuel Johnson, English writer and biographer

The center of Western culture is Greece, and we have never lost our ties with the architectural concepts of that ancient civilization.

– Stephen Gardiner, English bishop and politician

Quotes on Greek studies and language

Greece is the birthplace of democracy, and not only. Ancient Greeks studied sciences such as philosophy, physics, astronomy, geometry, and many others. Let’s see a few more quotes about Ancient Greece and Greek studies:

Damned Greek, you found everything; philosophy, geometry, physics, astronomy… you left nothing for us.

– Johann Christoph Friedrich von Schiller, German playwright, poet, and philosopher

Without Greek studies there is no education.

– Leo Tolstoy, Russian writer

If in the library of your house you do not have the works of the ancient Greek writers, then you live in a house with no light.

– George Bernard Shaw, Irish playwright and critic

I have never come across someone who could inspire more respect than the Greek philosophers.

– Friedrich Nietzsche, German philosopher and cultural critic

What the mind and the heart is for a human being, Greece is for humanity.

– Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, German poet, playwright and novelist

The language of the gods is the Greek language.

– Cicero, Roman statesman and philosopher 

Give me a word, any word, and I’ll show you that the root of that word is Greek.

– Every Greek person, ever

It’s all Greek to me!

– Everyone who’s tried to learn Greek!

Quotes for Greek culture and Greek people

Ah, the Greeks! Enthusiastic, passionate, heroic, warm-blooded. Let’s have a look at some famous quotes for Greek culture:

The Greek might admit that honesty is the best policy, but he tries everything else first.

– Will Durant, American writer, historian, and philosopher

Enthusiasm is a wonderful thing. In South America, they throw flowers to you. In Greece, Greeks throw themselves.

The world is the expanding Greece and Greece is the shrinking world.

– Victor Hugo, French writer

Hence we will not say that Greeks fight like heroes, but that heroes fight like Greeks!

– Winston Churchill, British statesman

In Greece wise men speak and fools decide.

– George Santayana, Spanish philosopher, essayist, poet and novelist

  There are two kinds of people. Greeks, and everyone else who wish they was Greek.

– My big fat Greek wedding

You know, it is said that we Greeks are a fervent and warm-blooded breed. Well, let me tell you something – it is true.

Get ready for wine, raki, and getting hand-fed by strangers.

– Anthony Bourdain, American celebrity chef, author and travel documentarian

In Greece, people have a quality of life. People here live beautifully.

– Otto Rehhagel, German football coach and player

If Greece is destroyed completely, an olive tree, a vine, and a boat will remain. That is enough to rebuild her from the beginning.

– Odysseus Elytis

Quotes about the Greek Gods and ancient Greek culture

Ancient Greeks believed in the 12 Gods of Mount Olympus , like Zeus, Athena, Apollo and Poseidon. They built luxurious temples to worship them, and organized various athletic and artistic events. Here are a few quotes about the Greek Gods:

In a way, it’s nice to know that there are Greek gods out there, because you have somebody to blame when things go wrong.

– Rick Riordan, American author

Greece is the home of the gods; they may have died but their presence still makes itself felt. The gods were of human proportion: they were created out of the human spirit.

If I’d been born in ancient Greece, I’d worship Zeus and Aphrodite.

– Richard Dawkins, British evolutionary biologist and author

I descended from the top of Olympus, and, a God in a human shape, I surveyed the earth. ’Twere an endless task to enumerate how great an amount of guilt was everywhere discovered.

– Henry Thomas Riley, English translator and lexicographer

You can’t swing a cat in Ancient Greece without hitting one of Zeus’s ex-girlfriends.

– Rick Riordan

Experts in ancient Greek culture say that people back then didn’t see their thoughts as belonging to them. When ancient Greeks had a thought, it occurred to them as a god or goddess giving an order. Apollo was telling them to be brave. Athena was telling them to fall in love. Now people hear a commercial for sour cream potato chips and rush out to buy, but now they call this free will. At least the ancient Greeks were being honest.

– Chuck Palahniuk, American journalist and novelist

Greek quotes about travel

Travel, adventure, wanderlust… It’s not just Odysseus who liked to travel. Here are a few Greek sayings about travel:

I know that each one of us travels to love alone, alone to faith and to death.

– Yiannis Ritsos, Greek poet 

Travel can be one of the most rewarding forms of introspection.

– Lawrence Durrell

Experience, travel – these are an education in themselves.

– Euripides, Ancient Greek tragedian

As you set out for Ithaca, hope your road is a long one, full of adventure, full of discovery.

– Konstantinos Kavafis, Greek poet

We must free ourselves of the hope that the sea will ever rest. We must learn to sail in high winds.

– Aristotle Onassis, Greek tycoon

I have always been consumed with one desire; to touch and see as much as possible of the earth and the sea before I die.

Greek quotes about fear, passion and freedom

Is fear holding you back from doing the things you want? Have a look at these inspirational quotes, and you may see things under a different light!

I hope nothing – I fear nothing – I am free.

– Nikos Kazantzakis

Never start a job, a battle, or a relationship, if the fear of losing overshadows the prospect of success.

– Aristotle Onassis

A man needs a little madness, or else he never dares cut the rope and be free.

All you need is passion. If you have a passion for something, you’ll create the talent.

Reach what you cannot.

– Nikos Kazantzakis, Report to Greco

Various quotes about Greece

Finally, here are a few more quotes about Greece:

I sometimes think that only being torn to pieces can keep us whole.

– Yiannis Ritsos

Alors, c’ est la guerre! (Well, then it’s war). 

– Ioannis Metaxas, Greek Prime Minister – Here is more information about this historic phrase: OXI day in Greece

Since we cannot change reality, let us change the eyes which see reality.

The best things in life, the very best things happen unexpectedly.

– Mamma Mia ! Here We Go Again – A fun musical, one of the many movies about Greece

FAQs about famous Greek quotes

Here are some popular questions about quotes of Greece:

What is a famous Greek quote?

Heraclitus, the ancient Greek philosopher, famously said: Everything flows.

What is Greece known for?

Greece is known for its long history, its famous philosophers, the ancient temples and its beautiful islands. It’s also known as the cradle of civilization and the birthplace of democracy.

What is a quote about the Parthenon?

Melina Mercouri, the famous Greek actress and politician, said: In the world over, the very name of our country is immediately associated with the Parthenon.

Why is Greece so special?

Greece offers a unique combination of long history, beautiful landscapes, lovely beaches, warm people and great food.

What is a quote by Aristotle, the ancient Greek philosopher?

One of the best quotes by Aristotle is: Happiness depends upon ourselves.

More articles about Greece

And now that you are inspired to travel to Greece, have a look at these other articles:

• The Athens Original Marathon
• Interesting facts about the Greek flag
• The origins of the Olympic Games
• Coffee in Greece
• Best time to visit the Greek islands
• 20 popular Greek swear words
• Best beaches in Rhodes  
• The evil eye in Greece

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137 Inspiring Quotes About Greece, Greek Quotes & Greek IG Captions

Grey Globetrotters Travel Blog contains affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. See my  disclaimer  for more information.

Looking for the best quotes about Greece to go with photos from your dream holiday in Greece or beautiful Greece captions to fuel your wanderlust? I understand 🙂

I first visited Greece when I was 14 years old. Yes. I was one of 1,000 hormonal teenagers who jumped off our “school cruise” to descend on Athens, Santorini and Mykonos ! Those poor locals 🤣

Greece charmed me as much then as it still does today after many more visits, and I’m not done with Greece yet! In fact, I’ll be back there again this summer – I can almost smell the moussaka now 😘

Modern Greece is one of Europe’s most beautiful destinations, with beautiful towns, cities, islands, and villages. The whitewashed coastal villages, cobbled streets, delicious food, hidden coves, splendid white sand beaches, rich history, and architecture are stunning and unforgettable.

If you love Greece too, I’ve gathered all my favourite Greek quotes for you, including quotes from Greek philosophers, Greece Instagram captions and even a few funny Greece captions.

I hope you find these quotes about Greece helpful, but don’t be surprised if it makes you want to book a trip to Greece immediately!

Greek IG Captions

Let’s get started with some short and snappy captions you can steal for your beautiful Instagram posts 🙂

Lost in the charm of ancient ruins and modern blues 🏛️💙 #GreekAdventures #Wanderlust

Sunsets over Santorini , dreams come true in shades of blue 🌅💫 #SantoriniMagic #GreekSunset

I’m lost in the streets of Athens, where history meets street art 🏛️🎨 #AthensExploration #StreetArtLove

Greek vibes and olive oil dreams 🫒✨ #OliveOilLife #GreekDreams

Chasing sunsets and myths in the land of gods 🌄🏛️ #SunsetChaser #GreekMythology

Island-hopping adventures and sea breeze therapy 🚤🌊 #IslandLife #GreekEscape

In a love affair with Greek cuisine – Opa! 🇬🇷🍽️ #GreekFoodLove #OpaMoments

A day without laughter is a day wasted – Greek style! 😄🇬🇷 #GreekLaughter #LiveLaughLove

Wearing the colours of the Aegean, living the Greek dream 💙🏝️ #AegeanDream #BlueandWhite

Exploring the Acropolis, where history whispers and stones tell tales 🏛️🔍 #AcropolisAdventures #GreekHistory

Sipping on sunshine and ouzo, because life is better in Greece ☀️🍹 #GreekSunshine #OuzoMoments

Dancing through Mykonos streets like Zorba the Greek 💃🕺 #MykonosDance #GreekVibes

From Zeus to Zorba, Greece is where legends live on 🏛️🔱 #GreekLegends #MythicalJourney”

Cheers to the simple pleasures – Greek coffee and seaside views ☕🌊 #GreekCoffeeLove #SeasideSerenity

Hiking in the footsteps of gods, surrounded by nature’s wonders 🌿🏞️ #HikingInGreece #NatureEscape

Finding paradise in every corner of Crete – sun, sea, and olives! 🌊🏝️🫒 #CreteParadise #GreekGetaway

Sun-kissed and Santorini blissed – where every moment is a postcard 🌞📸 #SantoriniBliss #PostcardMoments

Greek islands are like a box of chocolates – each one is a sweet surprise! 🍫🏝️ #IslandHopping #SweetSurprises

Live your myth in the heart of Athens, where every step is a story 🏛️📖 #AthensMoments #UrbanExploration

Sunshine mixed with a little hurricane – Greek island life in a nutshell ☀️🌪️ #IslandLife #GreekAdventure

Sailing through the blue dreams of the Aegean, one island at a time ⛵💙 #AegeanSailing #IslandDreaming

Greek sunsets are proof that no matter what happens, every day can end beautifully 🌅💖 #GreekSunsets #BeautyEveryday

Living that Greek island dream – sun, sea, and soulful moments 🏝️☀️ #IslandDream #GreekSoul

In the embrace of ancient olive trees, finding peace that lasts for centuries 🫒🌳 #OliveTreeLove #GreekPeace

Kalimera from the land where blue meets history, and myths come to life 💙🏛️ #GoodMorningGreece #MythicalLand

Ouzo in hand, toes in the sand – living the Greek way of life! 🍹🏖️ #BeachLife #GreekWay

Every corner of Greece tells a story, and every story feels like magic 📖✨ #GreekMagic #StorybookGreece”

Sunset strolls in Oia – where the sky meets the sea in a canvas of colors 🌅🎨 #OiaSunset #GreekCanvas

In the shadow of ancient columns, feeling the heartbeat of history 🏛️❤️ #HeartbeatOfHistory #AncientGreece

Greek moments are like souvenirs for the soul – collect them all! 🇬🇷🧡 #GreekSouvenirs #SoulfulMoments

The Best Quotes About Greece

The first set of quotes about Greece includes the most famous quotes praising the country’s beauty. Let’s jump straight into them. 

“It takes a lifetime for someone to discover Greece, but it only takes an instant to fall in love with her –  Henry Miller .

“Greece was a muse. It inspired creativity in magical ways that I can’t even begin to understand or explain”  Joe Bonamassa .

“Hence we will not say that Greeks fight like heroes but that heroes fight like Greeks” Winston Churchill

“Greece is the home of Gods. They may have died, but their presence still makes itself felt”  Henry Miller .

“Greece is the most magical place on Earth”  Kylie Bax.

“Get ready for wine, raki, and getting hand-fed by strangers”  Anthony Bourdain.

“This is how I imagined Goddess Hera to be: strong, pure, and vigilant. I have never encountered any other artist able to give me such a strong sense of the divine!”  François Mitterrand.

Acropolis and Parthenon Quotes

The Parthenon is perhaps the most iconic Greek building and one of the world’s most famous architectural landmarks. It’s no real surprise that there are so many quotes about the Acropolis and the Parthenon. 

“In the world over, the very name of our country is immediately associated with the Parthenon”  Melina Mercouri

“The Parthenon is really only a farmyard over which someone put a roof; colonnades and sculptures were added because there were people in Athens who happened to be working and wanted to express themselves”  Pablo Picasso

“The Greeks had invented democracy, built the Acropolis, and called it a day”  David Sedaris

“The Parthenon without the marbles is like a smile with a tooth missing”  Neil Kinnock

“We approached Athens from the north in the early twilight, climbing a hill. When we reached its peak, we were dazzled to look down and see the Acropolis struck by one beam of the setting sun as if posing for a picture”  Donald Hall

“I want to see the Parthenon by moonlight”  Daphne du Maurier

“Earth proudly wears the Parthenon as the best gem upon her zone”  Ralph Waldo Emerson

“There are men whose manners have the same essential splendor as the simple and awful scripture on the friezes of the Parthenon, and the remains of the earliest Greek art”  Ralph Waldo Emerson

“You must understand what the Parthenon Marbles mean to us. They are our pride. They are our sacrifices. They are our noblest symbol of excellence. They are a tribute to the democratic philosophy. They are our aspirations and our name. They are the essence of Greekness”  Melina Mercouri

Famous Quotes About Greece

“Greece – The feeling of being lost in time and geography with months and years hazily sparkling ahead in a prospect of un-conjecturable magic”  Patrick Leigh

“The mention of Greece fills the mind with the most exalted sentiments and arouses in our bosoms the best feelings of which our nature is capable”  James Monroe

Greece Captions for Instagram

Are these short quotes about Greece going to be your perfect Greece quotes for Instagram? If you’re seeking inspiration for your Greek holiday, you’re welcome to copy these Greece Instagram captions. 

“It’s all Greek to me. Greece is a good place to look at the moon, isn’t it?”  Kari Hesthamar

“I want Rome and the Coliseum, the Acropolis, Athens; I want beauty, and the flame of life”  Eleanora Duse

“The light of Greece opened my eyes, penetrated my pores, expanded my whole being”  Henry Miller

“The world is expanding Greece and Greece is the shrinking world”  Victor Hugo

“The island has magical landscapes and a special energy coming from the sea, the winds, and the land that can’t be found elsewhere”  Eugenie Niarchos

“I like reading, free diving, and hiking. But my favorite thing to do is travel anywhere in Greece. I love everything about that place”  Max Irons

75 Greece Puns and Jokes That Will Make You Laugh

“You have your brush; you have your colors, you paint the paradise, then in you go”  Nikos Kazantzakis

“If you deconstruct Greece, you will, in the end, see an olive tree, a grapevine, and a boat remain. That is, with as much you reconstruct her”  Odysseus

“Right now, I’d love to be sitting on a Greek island somewhere because of being Greek American, eating great octopus salad and some fantastic lamb. Or sipping a little ouzo. I think the Mediterranean diet is one of the healthiest—lots of nuts, vegetables, fruits, fresh fish, lean meats, yogurt”  Cat Cora

Short Quotes About Greece

If you want to keep your Greece sayings sweet and straightforward, you might like to use some of these short quotes from Greece: 

“Greece is too old to die”  Lito Seizani

“Greece is a good place for rebirths”  Judith Martin

“My favorite power food is Greek yogurt and honey”  Misty May Treanor

“At Athens, wise men propose, and fools dispose”  Alcuin

Quotes About Greece – Unknown Source

“You know you’re in Greece when you feel a unique, indescribable, out-of-this-world euphoria being there and deep sadness when you’re leaving.”

“The problem with Greece is that she’s just too beautiful.”

“And then God said, let there be Greece.”

“Greece is more than a country. It is an experience.”

Quotes About Greece from Poets

“Athens, the eye of Greece, mother of arts And eloquence”  John Milton

“Be afraid of the Greeks bearing gifts”  Virgil

“We are all Greeks. Our laws, our literature, our religion, our arts have their root in Greece”  Percy Bysshe Shelley

“The isles of Greece, the isles of Greece! Where burning Sappho loved and sung, Where grew the arts of war and peace, Where Delos rose, and Phoebus sprung! Eternal summer gilds them yet, But all, except their sun is set “ Lord Byron

“Let there be light said Liberty, and from sunrise, like the sea, Athens arose.”  Percy Bysshe Shelley

“Such is the aspect of this shore; “Tis Greece, but living Greece no more! So coldly sweet, so deadly fair, We start, for the soul is wanting there”  Lord Byron

“The sea was sapphire-colored, and the sky burned like a heated opal through the air. We hoisted sail; the wind was blowing fair For the blue lands to the eastward lie. From the seep prox, I marked with quickening eye Zakynthos, every olive grove and creek. The only sounds: – when ‘gan the West to burn, and the red sun upon the seas to ride, I stood upon the soil of Greece at last”  Oscar Wilde  (Impression du Voyage).

Quotes About Greek Culture and History

One of the world’s earliest civilizations, Greece’s culture, history and traditions are fascinating to explore and discover. You could spend years in Greece and still not learn everything about this stunning country, its legends and folklore.

These inspiring quotes about Greece’s culture, history and traditions allow us to peep into Ancient and Modern Greece. I hope these quotes about Greek culture help inspire you to appreciate this beautiful country.

“My childhood in Corfu shaped my life. If I had the craft of Merlin, I would give every child the gift of my childhood”  Gerald Durrell

“Europe holds a great history of philosophy from Greece until today. I read all those books and see these buildings, and I think of where I stand when I design my architecture”  Tadao Ando

“In every island of the Aegean Sea are found abundant traces of the vast prehistoric empire”  James Theodore Bent

“How great are the dangers I face to win a good name in Athens?”  Alexander the Great

More Sayings About Greek Culture

“Greeks use food for everyday gatherings. Cooking is a big part of our lives. We want to show people our hospitality”  Ioanna Hawkins

“In many ways, we are all sons and daughters of ancient Greece”   Nia Vardalos

“In Greece, people have a quality of life. People here live beautifully”  Otto Rehhagel

“We’ve come full circle, but the best remains the heart of the city, the greatest center of the greatest city, our Acropolis, where our Christmas tree is lighted”  Daniel Patrick Moynihan

“Experts in ancient Greek culture say that people back then didn’t see their thoughts as belonging to them. When ancient Greeks had a thought, it occurred to them as a god or goddess giving an order. Apollo was telling them to be brave. Athena was telling them to fall in love. Now people hear a commercial for sour cream potato chips and rush out to buy, but now they call this free will. At least the ancient Greeks were being honest.”  Chuck Palahniuk

“The spirit of Greece, passing through and ascending above the world, hath so animated universal nature, that the very rocks and woods, the very torrents and wilds burst forth with it”  Walter Savage Landor

“Among all peoples, the Greeks have dreamt life’s dream most beautifully”   Wolfgang Goethe

“The people of Crete, unfortunately, make more history than they consume locally”   Hector Munro

“Greece appears to be the fountain of knowledge; Rome of elegance”   Samuel Johnson

“It is a shame to be called educated those who do not study ancient Greek writers”   Francois Rabelais

Quotes About Travel and Greece

When planning a European trip, Greece is an obvious choice to add to your schedule. And once you’ve been there, Greece will worm its way into your heart, and you will want to go to Greece time and time again. 

These quotes about Greece travel will show how much people love Greece!

“Gods, not wanting to deprive the Greeks of the truth, they gave them poetry”  Joseph Joubert .

“In Greece, we’re too poor to go to psychiatrists – we have friends instead”  Melina Mercouri

Inspiring Quotes About Greek Islands

“Greece has got something like 1,400 islands. There is so much of Greece you can’t know even if you’re Greek. It’s sprinkled out all around the edge of the Aegean, all over the place. It’s already a secret place wherever you go, even if it’s somewhere huge like Athens or Corinth. The place enchanted me”  Joanna Lumley

“My favorite place to write is at my desk in my house in the mountains of Crete. I produce more there because one big distraction is missing: the Internet”  Neal Asher

“I wonder if Socrates and Plato took a house on Crete during the summer”  Woody Allen

“Gradually, the magic of the island Corfu settled over us as gently and clingingly as pollen”  Gerald Durrell

“If you go back to the Greeks and Romans, they talk about all three – wine, food, and art – as a way of enhancing life”  Robert Mondavi

“The Aegean sea washes Greece on two sides: first, the side that faces towards the east and stretches from Sunium, towards the north as far as the Thermaean Gulf and Thessaloniceia, a Macedonian city; and secondly, the side that faces towards the south, I mean the Macedonian country, extending from Thessaloniceia as far as the Strymon”  Strabo

Quotes About Crete

Crete is the largest and most populous of the 1,400 Greek islands, the fifth-largest island in the Mediterranean Sea and a popular holiday destination. 

“There is a kind of flame in Crete – let us call it “soul” – something more powerful than either life or death. There is pride, obstinacy, valor, and together with these, something else inexpressible and imponderable, something which makes you rejoice that you are a human being, and at the same time tremble”  Nikos Kazantzakis

“I knew that no matter what door you knock on in a Cretan village, it will be opened for you. A meal will be served in your honor, and you will sleep between the best sheets in the house. In Crete, the stranger is still the unknown God. Before him, all doors and all hearts are opened”  Nikos Kazantzakis

“On a summer night, I have sat on the balcony drinking Ouzo, watching the ghosts of Greek heroes sailing past, listening to the rustle of their sail cloths and the gentle lapping of their oars and lain alongside Pythagoras watching him study the myriad of triangles in the constellations twinkling above us. Whether it was Crete, the heat, the Ouzo, or a combination, it is unequaled anywhere other than Santorini, in my humble opinion”  Phil Simpkin

“I like the thought that what we are to do on this earth is embellished it for its greater beauty so that oncoming generations can look back to the shapes we leave here and get the same thrill that I get in looking back at theirs – at the Parthenon, at Chartres Cathedral”  Philip Johnson

“As you set out for Ithaca, hope your road is a long one, full of adventure, full of discovery”  Konstantinos Kavafis

“What I liked about Greece was the impressive force of the language itself, unconfined by dictionaries, spoken in the streets, in cafés, and in the country”  Peter Levi

“I’m looking at the sea on the wall, and even though it’s a copy of a copy of the Aegean, I wish you would grab me and take me to Greece”  Analicia Sotelo

“Of the many smells of Athens, two seem to be the most characteristic – that of garlic, bold and deadly like acetylene gas. And that of dust, soft and warm and caressing like tweed”  Evelyn Waugh

Mykonos Quotes

One of Greece’s most famous and most visited places is the stunning island of Mykonos in the northern Cyclades. 

“Unless you have seen the houses in Mykonos, you can’t pretend to be an architect. Whatever architecture has to say, it is said here”  Le Corbusier

“The Greek Isles present a collage of diverse landscapes and customs. Mykonos is fun-loving, with lively tavernas and populated beaches. Delos is stoic, protecting the ruins of its ancient sanctuaries in solemn dignity. Milos is magical, with its volcanic rock formations and stunning village vistas”  Laura Brooks

“This was Mykonos, a seaside sanctuary so timeless that I half expected to glimpse Hercule Poirot and Captain Hastings walking along the dock as we disembarked from the ferry”  Bobby Underwood

“Located in the Cyclades and surrounded by the blue-green water of the Aegean sits whitewashed, windmill-strewn Mykonos, the island of the winds”  Lizy Manola

“The beauty in front of her interrupted her thoughts. She took a deep breath, staring at the shores of Mykonos with the scenic coves and the golden sand beaches”  Angel Sefer

“Her dress sparkled like the stars that blanketed the Mykonos night sky”  Anthea Syrokou

“I felt like a pilgrim upon a rare and spiritual planet landing on the soil of Mykonos; I ensured it could give me a high inspiration for a next new epic, which was machining inside my inner brains.”  Nithin Purple, The Bell Ringing Woman: A Blue Bell of Inspiration

Read Next: More Inspirational Quotes About Mykonos

Funny Quotes About Greece

If you prefer something humorous, here are some funny Greece captions that are sure to make you smile, especially if you know Greece! Share these funny quotes about Greeks with your friends too.

“I want to have an “Eat, Pray, Love” experience where I drop off the face of the planet and move to Greece”  Jennifer Hyman

“On my wedding night, my mother said, “Greek women, we may be lambs in the kitchen, but we are tigers in the bedroom.”  Maria Portokalos ( My Big Fat Greek Wedding )

“There are two kinds of people. Greeks, and everyone else who wishes they were Greek”  Gus Portokalos (My Big Fat Greek Wedding )

“I’m  going to Greece for the sex! Sex for breakfast! Sex for dinner! Sex for tea!” ( Shirley Valentine )

“In a way, it’s nice to know that there are Greek gods out there because you have somebody to blame when things go wrong. For instance, when you’re walking away from a bus that’s just been attacked by monster hags and blown up by lightning, and it’s raining on top of everything else, most people might think that’s just really bad luck; when you’re a half-blood, you understand that some divine force is really trying to mess up your day”  Rick Riordan

“If I’d been born in ancient Greece, I’d worship Zeus and Aphrodite”  Richard Dawkins

“An Aristotle was but the rubbish of an Adam, and Athens but the rudiments of Paradise”  Robert South

“Most British newspapers now have more columns than the Acropolis”  Ian Jack

“You know, it is said that we Greeks are a fervent and warm-blooded breed. Well, let me tell you something – it is true”  Melina Mercouri

“You can’t swing a cat in Ancient Greece without hitting one of Zeus’s ex-girlfriends”  Rick Riordan

“Alcohol makes other people less tedious, and food less bland, and can help provide what the Greeks called entheos, or the slight buzz of inspiration when reading or writing”  Christopher Hitchens

“If you look at a map of Europe, you will observe that Greece is a skeleton-like hand stretching its crooked fingers out into the Mediterranean Sea”  Will Durant

Ancient Greek Philosophers Quotes About Greece

These quotes about Greece include words of wisdom passed down over many centuries. Discover the words of ancient Greek philosophers through Greek sayings, Greek love quotes and beautiful Greek quotes about life.

“The ancient Oracle said that I was the wisest of all the Greeks. It is because I alone, of all the Greeks, know that I know nothing”   Socrates

“I am not an Athenian or a Greek, but a citizen of the world”  Socrates

“Athens – a city which is very famous for its wisdom and its power. Are you not ashamed of caring so much for making the money and making of fame and prestige when you neither think nor care about wisdom and truth and the improvement of your soul?”  Aristotle

“Empire may be gained by gold, not gold by an empire. It used, indeed, to be a proverb that “It is not Philip, but Philip’s gold that takes the cities of Greece”  Aemilius

“Happy is the man, I thought, who, before dying, has the good fortune to sail the Aegean Sea”  Nikos Kazantzakis

Ancient Greece Quotes

Ancient Greece was an advanced civilization. Some ideas and inventions from Greek scientists, architects, and philosophers are still used today. Here are some inspiring quotes about ancient Greece. Step back in time with these beautiful quotes about ancient Greece to discover Greek love quotes and mythology quotes. 

“Greek is a musical and prolific language that gives a soul to the objects of sense and a body to the abstractions of philosophy”  Edward Gibbon

“Even people who know nothing about Greece know something about Greece. The very name sparks visions of ancient civilizations that dominated the Mediterranean”  Polly Letofsky

“I would like to be a philosopher in ancient Greece and a poet in ancient China”  Shan Sa

“Athens, the eye of Greece, mother of arts and eloquence, native to famous wits”  John Milton

“The ancient Greek definition of happiness was the full use of your power along the lines of excellence”  John F Kennedy

“How can any educated person stay away from the Greeks? I have always been far more interested in them than in Science”  Albert Einstein

“The Greek language has the best mathematical structure, and it will be used for a new generation of most sophisticated computers because only in the Greek language there are no limits”  Bill Gates

Beautiful Greece Sayings

The final quotes about Greece are beautiful Greek proverbs – words of wisdom passed down through generations of Greek families.

“Reserve your right to think, for even to think wrongly is better than not to think at all”  Hypatia

“He who becomes a sheep is eaten by the wolf”  Greek Proverb

“An orator without judgment is a horse without a bridle”  Theophrastus

“He who cannot bear misfortune is truly unfortunate. Whatever is good to know is difficult to learn.”  Greece Proverb

Final Thoughts – Quotes About Greece

These quotes about Greece encapsulate this fascinating country’s timeless allure and rich cultural heritage. From its ancient ruins to its breathtaking landscapes, Greece has captivated the hearts and minds of travellers and philosophers alike throughout history.

These Greece captions for Instagram and Greek quotes can remind you of the legacy that Greece has left on the world – or of the amazing time you had in this beautiful country 🙂

Whether you’re looking for inspiration or just want to immerse yourself in the beauty of this Mediterranean paradise, these quotes about Greece offer a glimpse into spirit of Greece that continues to inspire generations.

There is truly no other place quite like Greece 🙂

I hope this epic collection of quotes about Greece has inspired you to consider visiting Greece and its beautiful islands.

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Coralie Thornton, the owner and author of Grey Globetrotters, has been a traveller for more than four decades. Her passion for adventure has led her through over 40 countries, seeking cultural experiences, delicious foods, and hidden gems. Today, she helps others experience the UK, Europe, Egypt and China, with meticulously crafted travel itineraries and affordable luxury travel guides.

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75 Incredibly Wanderlust-Fueling Quotes About Greece

Are you ready for an awesome list of quotes about Greece? Well, brace yourself because these Greece quotes are going to make you wish you were soaking up the sun on a remote Greek island beach or strolling through a quiet Greek village while stuffing your face with delicious Greek food and sipping frappe.

* This post may contain affiliate links from which I earn a commission (for more info, read my disclosure ). As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.

* I try to keep the information on this blog as updated as possible, but I still recommend consulting the latest prices, opening hours, and other details on the official website of each site, hotel, and tour, as well as checking the updated public transport routes and timetables.

Table of Contents

Greece Quotes

1. “Greece was a muse. It inspired creativity in magical ways that I can’t even begin to understand or explain.” –  Joe Bonamassa

2. “The light of Greece opened my eyes, penetrated my pores, expanded my whole being.” –  Henry Miller

3. “I want to go to Italy and France; those are my two places. And I really want to go to Greece. I’ve seen so many pictures on Airbnb that make me think I should be living there. I could eat great salads and be on a boat.” –  Mary Lambert

4. “If I could go anywhere, I’d love to visit Greece someday because it looks so beautiful.” –  Laurie Hernandez

5. “One of the purest joys that man can afford in this world is to visit the Aegean Sea in the spring, with a breath of light breeze; I have never been able to imagine paradise in any other way. This joy grows right upside down, but God does not allow it to escalate so that the beloved visible world does not disappear with it, on the contrary, the invisible world becomes visible, and what we call God and eternal life and bliss join us on the ship and accompany us on the voyage. In the bitter hour of your death, close your eyes, and you will see Santorini, Naxos, Paros, Mykonos.” –  Nikos Kazantzakis

6. “Greece is a good place for rebirths.” –  Judith Martin

7. “The center of Western culture is Greece, and we have never lost our ties with the architectural concepts of that ancient civilization.” –  Stephen Gardiner

8. “Enthusiasm is a wonderful thing. In South America, they throw flowers to you. In Greece, Greeks throw themselves.” –  Melina Mercouri

9. “Student journeys which were important to me were Sicily, Greece, and Egypt, where I really saw these buildings, and that is where you’re able to grasp what things mean.” –  Ben Nicholson

10. “Europe holds a great history of philosophy from Greece until today. I read all those books and see these buildings, and I think of where I stand when I design my architecture.” –  Tadao Ando

11. “In every island of the Aegean Sea are found abundant traces of a vast prehistoric empire.” –  James Theodore Bent

12. “I want to have an ‘Eat, Pray, Love’ experience where I drop off the face of the planet and move to Greece.” –  Jennifer Hyman

13. “Greece is the home of the gods; they may have died but their presence still makes itself felt. The gods were of human proportion: they were created out of the human spirit.” –  Henry Miller

14. “We are all Greeks. Our laws, our literature, our religion, our arts, have their root in Greece.” –  Percy Bysshe Shelley

15. “And then God said, let there be Greece.” –  Unknown

16. “In Greece, we’re too poor to go to psychiatrists – we have friends instead.” –  Melina Mercouri

17. “The problem with Greece is that she’s just too beautiful.” –  Unknown

18. “Happy is the man, I thought, who, before dying, has the good fortune to sail the Aegean sea.” –  Nikos Kazantzakis

19. “Greece has got something like 1,400 islands. There is so much of Greece you can’t know even if you’re Greek. It’s sprinkled out all around the edge of the Aegean, all over the place. It’s already a secret place wherever you go, even if it’s somewhere huge like Athens or Corinth. The place enchanted me.” –  Joanna Lumley

20. “Greece is a good place to look at the moon, isn’t it?” –  Kari Hesthamar

21. “In Greece, people have a quality of life. People here live beautifully.” –  Otto Rehhagel

22. “Greece appears to be the fountain of knowledge; Rome of elegance.” –  Samuel Johnson

23. “The world is the expanding Greece and Greece is the shrinking world.” –  Victor Hugo

24. “If Greece is destroyed completely, an olive tree, a vine, and a boat will remain. That is enough to rebuild her from the beginning.” –  Odysseus Elytis

25. “The spirit of Greece, passing through and ascending above the world, hath so animated universal nature, that the very rocks and woods, the very torrents and wilds burst forth with it.” –  Walter Savage Landor

26. “You know you’re in Greece when you feel a unique, indescribable, out of this world euphoria being there and a deep sadness when you’re leaving.” –  Unknown

27. “The sea was sapphire colored, and the sky Burned like a heated opal through the air; We hoisted sail; the wind was blowing fair For the blue lands that to the eastward lie. From the steep prow I marked with quickening eye Zakynthos, every olive grove and creek, Ithaca’s cliff, Lycaon’s snowy peak, And all the flower-strewn hills of Arcady. The flapping of the sail against the mast, The ripple of the water on the side, The ripple of girls’ laughter at the stern, The only sounds:- when ‘gan the West to burn, And a red sun upon the seas to ride, I stood upon the soil of Greece at last!” –  Oscar Wilde

28. “Greece – The feeling of being lost in time and geography with months and years hazily sparkling ahead in a prospect of inconjecturable magic.” –  Patrick Leigh Fermor

29. “The isles of Greece, the isles of Greece! Where burning Sappho loved and sung, Where grew the arts of war and peace, Where Delos rose, and Phoebus sprung! Eternal summer gilds them yet, But all, except their sun, is set.” –  Lord Byron

30. “I like reading, free diving, and hiking. But my favorite thing to do is travel anywhere in Greece. I love everything about that place.” –  Max Irons

31. “I’m looking at the sea on the wall, and even though it’s a copy of a copy of the Aegean, I wish you would grab me and take me to Greece.” –  Analicia Sotelo

32. “When God was handing out the lands on earth he called the representatives of all tribes to meet at noon on a certain date. After a night of revelry, the Greeks showed up late only to find out God had already allocated each tribe its land. As usual, the Greeks grumbled, so finally, God conceded. “There are no more lots available except one I had kept for myself“ – and he gave them Greece. Truth or fiction, this is truly a blessed land.” –  Unknown

33. “It takes a lifetime to discover Greece, but it only takes an instant to fall in love with her.” –  Henry Miller

34. “Contemporary travelers to the Greek Isles come for myriad reasons and find a dazzling array of unexpected delights, for each of the more than three thousand islands has its own particular character. From the larger, bustling islands of Crete, Rhodes, and the island nation of Cyprus to the quieter havens of Folegandros and Kárpathos, to the hundreds of tiny, uninhabited islets of the region, the Greek Isles present a collage of diverse landscapes and customs. Mykonos is fun-loving, with lively tavernas and populated beaches. Delos is stoic, protecting the ruins of its ancient sanctuaries in solemn dignity. Milos is magical, with its volcanic rock formations and stunning village vistas.” –  Laura Brooks

35. “It is no wonder that historians trace the birth of Western civilization to these jewels of the Aegean, Ionian, and Mediterranean seas. The Greek Isles are home to wide-ranging and far-reaching cultural traditions and mythic tales, not to mention the colorful history and unforgettable vistas that still draw thousands of tourists to the region every year.” –  Laura Brooks

36. “Today, to walk along the pebbled pathways of a traditional Greek mountain village or the marbled streets of an ancient acropolis is to step back in time. To meander at a leisurely pace through these island chains by boat is to be captivated by the same dramatic landscapes and enchanted islets that make the myths of ancient Greece so compelling. To witness the Mediterranean sun setting on the turquoise sea is to receive one of life’s greatest blessings.” –  Laura Brooks

Athens Quotes

37. “In the world over, the very name of our country is immediately associated with the Parthenon.” –  Melina Mercouri

38. “Athens, the eye of Greece, mother of arts And eloquence.” –  John Milton

39. “Of the many smells of Athens two seem to me the most characteristic – that of garlic, bold and deadly like acetylene gas. and that of dust, soft and warm and caressing like tweed.” –  Evelyn Waugh

40. “Let there be light! Said Liberty, And like sunrise from the sea, Athens arose!” –  Percy Bysshe Shelley

41. “I want to see the Parthenon by moonlight.” –  Daphne Du Maurier

42. “We approached Athens from the north in early twilight, climbing a hill. When we reached its peak, we were dazzled to look down and see the Acropolis struck by one beam of the setting sun, as if posing for a picture.” –   Donald Hall

43. “You must understand what the Parthenon Marbles mean to us. They are our pride. They are our sacrifices. They are our noblest symbol of excellence. They are a tribute to the democratic philosophy. They are our aspirations and our name. They are the essence of Greekness.” –  Melina Mercouri

44. “Earth proudly wears the Parthenon as the best gem upon her zone.” –  Ralph Waldo Emerson

Crete Quotes

45. “I knew that no matter what door you knock on in a Cretan village, it will be opened for you. A meal will be served in your honor, and you will sleep between the best sheets in the house. In Crete, the stranger is still the unknown god. Before him, all doors and all hearts are opened.” –  Nikos Kazantzakis

46. “I wonder if Socrates and Plato took a house on Crete during the summer.” –  Woody Allen

47. “My favorite place to write is at my desk in my house in the mountains of Crete. I produce more there because one big distraction is missing: the Internet.” –  Neal Asher

48. “There is a kind of flame in Crete – let us call it “soul” – something more powerful than either life or death. There is pride, obstinacy, valor, and together with these something else inexpressible and imponderable, something which makes you rejoice that you are a human being, and at the same time tremble.” –  Nikos Kazantzakis

Read more about Crete:

• The best 4-day Crete itinerary
• Reasons to visit Crete
• Spinalonga tour from Crete

Santorini Quotes

49. “Santorini’s boutique hotels and fine dining make it one of the classier (and pricier) Greek islands, but this is balanced by the down-to-earth hospitality and tradition for which Greece is renowned.” –  Mike Gerrard

50. “I truly enjoyed Greece – Santorini. That’s somewhere that I always want to be.” –  Kendall Jenner

51. “On a summers night, I have sat on the balcony drinking Ouzo, watching the ghosts of Greek Heroes sailing past, listening to the rustle of their sail cloths and the gentle lapping of their oars…and lain alongside Pythagoras watching him study the myriad of triangles in the constellations twinkling above us. Whether it was Crete, the heat, the Ouzo, or a combination, it is unequaled anywhere other than Santorini, in my humble opinion.” –  Phil Simpkin

52. “According to some theories, the legendary Atlantis said to have sunk beneath the sea in a great cataclysm, is in actuality the Greek Island of Santorini.” –  Laura Brooks

Mykonos Quotes

53. “Her dress sparkled like the stars that blanketed the Mykonos night sky.” –  Anthea Syrokou

54. “Unless you have seen the houses of Mykonos, you can’t pretend to be an architect. Whatever architecture has to say, it is said here.” –  Le Corbusier

55. “We’re often wrong at predicting who or what will transform us. Encountering certain people, books, music, places, or ideas … at just the right time can immediately make our lives happier, richer, more beautiful, resonant, or meaningful. When it happens, we feel a kind of instant love for them, both deep and abiding. Now and then it can be something as trifling as a children’s book, a returned telephone call, or a night at a seaside bar in Mykonos.” –  Jonathan Carroll

56. “I felt like a pilgrim upon a rare and spiritual planet landing the soil of Mykonos, I ensured it could give me a high inspiration for a next new epic, which was machining inside my inner brains.” –  Nithin Purple

57. “Mykonos made you long for the restful, happy day to day reality of life on the Greek island, and it was the brief visits that tortured the soul. Paris was a romantic respite from life, Mykonos was life itself, and living.” –  Bobby Underwood

Did you like these Greece travel quotes? Check out:

• Quotes about Spain
• Quotes about Italy
• Quotes about France
• Quotes about London
• Spanish travel quotes
• Books set in Greece
• Greece inspired gifts
• Beautiful islands in the Mediterranean

Quotes About Greek Food

58. “Part of why I love Greek food so much is that it is simple, but it’s unpretentious. It’s authentic.” –  Princess Tatiana of Greece and Denmark

59. “ Greeks use food for everyday gatherings. Cooking is a big part of our lives. We want to show people our hospitality.” –  Ioanna Hawkins

60. “My Mom always cooked healthy. Greek food lends itself to cooking healthy.” –  Cat Cora

61. “My favorite power food is Greek yogurt and honey.” –  Misty May Treanor

62. “I love Greek food in the summer.” –  Antoni Porowski

63. “I’ve got my huge Greek family. I mean, I don’t know how many cousins I have – I can’t even keep track. There are just so many of us, and we love all Greek food – we have Greek night every Sunday night.” –  Elena Kampouris

64. “Right now I’d love to be sitting on a Greek island somewhere because of being Greek American, eating great octopus salad, and some fantastic lamb. Or sipping a little ouzo. I think the Mediterranean diet is one of the healthiest… Lots of nuts, vegetables, fruits, fresh fish, lean meats, yogurt.” –  Cat Cora

65. “If you go back to the Greeks and Romans, they talk about all three – wine, food, and art – as a way of enhancing life.” –  Robert Mondavi

Other Quotes About Greece

66. “My childhood in  Corfu  shaped my life. If I had the craft of Merlin, I would give every child the gift of my childhood.” –  Gerald Durrell

  67. “Gradually the magic of the island [ Corfu ] settled over us as gently and clingingly as pollen.” –  Gerald Durrell

68. “When you set sail for  Ithaca , wish for the road to be long, full of adventures, full of knowledge.” –  C.P. Cavafy

69. “You know, it is said that we Greeks are a fervent and warm-blooded breed. Well, let me tell you something – it is true.” –  Melina Mercouri

70. “Greek is a musical and prolific language, that gives a soul to the objects of sense, and a body to the abstractions of philosophy.” –  Edward Gibbon

71. “The Greek language seems different than other languages. I’m not the only person to think this. Usually, I come up with some kind of dopey metaphor for why it’s different. But it seems, somehow, more original, more like being in the morning of language.” –  Anne Carson

72. “The Greek language has the best mathematical structure and it will be used for new generation of most sophisticated computers, because only in Greek language there are no limits.” –  Bill Gates

73. “Get ready for wine, raki, and getting hand-fed by strangers.” –  Anthony Bourdain

74. “In many ways, we are all sons and daughters of ancient Greece.” –  Nia Vardalos

75. “There are two kinds of people – Greeks, and everyone else who wish they were Greek.” –  My Big Fat Greek Wedding

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About Or Amir

Hey, I'm Or! I'm a passionate traveler with a severe coffee, chocolate, and pastry addiction (or any other carb for that matter). I'm always planning my next trip to Spain, Italy, or any other country in Europe, and my goal is to help you make the most of each destination.

2 thoughts on “75 Incredibly Wanderlust-Fueling Quotes About Greece”

I have never been to Greece, but have been dreaming of island hopping and eating all the Greek foods someday! Reading through some of these quotes and seeing the pictures makes the itch to visit even stronger!

Well, I know you’re going to love Greece because everybody loves Greece 🙂 So glad you liked this post!

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Hi, I'm Or!

I'm a passionate traveler obsessed with traveling in Europe and discovering hidden gems in each place I visit. For me, it's not about ticking destinations off the bucket list but experiencing each one of them to the fullest. Read more about me and my story.

50+ Greece Quotes: Sayings That Will Inspire a Visit

By: Author Sophie Nadeau

Posted on Last updated: 23rd January 2024

Categories Greece

Last Updated on 23rd January 2024 by Sophie Nadeau

If you’re dreaming of the azure blue sea as much as us, then these Greece quotes are for you. From the many historic ruins in and around the capital city of Athens to the delicious Mediterranean cuisine of the country to the most remote of islands, Greece has much to offer even the most discerning of travellers. And these sayings about Greece will make you want to book a flight ASAP…

Greece is a country in South West Europe that boasts thousands of islands (between 1200 and 6000 depending on what you consider the minimum ‘size’ for an island to be) . Greece is most famous thanks to the fact that many consider it to be the cradle of Western Civilisation.

Easily one of the most popular travel destinations in Europe, highlights of a visit to Greece include island hopping in the Aegean Sea, being amazed by the Acropolis of Athens, and marvelling at the Meteroa Monastery Complex.

More off the beaten path hidden gems of Greece include the islands of Milos and Paros. The sheer diversity of the Greek islands, as well as their readily apparent beauty means that those looking to go somewhere romantic after their wedding should seriously consider a honeymoon in Greece .

50+ Greece Quotes You’ll Love

“The problem with Greece is that she’s just too beautiful.” – Unknown

“The light of Greece opened my eyes, penetrated my pores, expanded my whole being.” – Henry Miller

“The centre of Western culture is Greece, and we have never lost our ties with the architectural concepts of that ancient civilisation.” – Stephen Gardiner

“If I could go anywhere, I’d love to visit Greece someday because it looks so beautiful.” – Laurie Hernandez

“Greece is a good place to look at the moon, isn’t it?” – Kari Hesthamar

“Greece is a good place for rebirths.” – Judith Martin

“On a summer night, I have sat on the balcony drinking Ouzo, watching the ghosts of Greek Heroes sailing past, listening to the rustle of their sail cloths and the gentle lapping of their oars… and lain alongside Pythagoras watching him study the myriad of triangles in the constellations twinkling above us. Whether it was Crete, the heat, the Ouzo, or a combination, it is unequalled anywhere other than Santorini, in my humble opinion.” – Phil Simpkin

“I wonder if Socrates and Plato took a house on Crete during the summer.” – Woody Allen

“Enthusiasm is a wonderful thing. In South America, they throw flowers to you. In Greece, Greeks throw themselves.” – Melina Mercouri

“In a way, it’s nice to know that there are Greek gods out there, because you have somebody to blame when things go wrong. For instance, when you’re walking away from a bus that’s just been attacked by monster hags and blown up by lightning, and it’s raining on top of everything else, most people might think that’s just really bad luck; when you’re a half-blood, you understand that some divine force is really trying to mess up your day.” – Rick Riordan

“Gradually the magic of the island [ Corfu ] settled over us as gently and clingingly as pollen.” – Gerald Durrell

“In every island of the Aegean Sea are found abundant traces of a vast prehistoric empire.” – James Theodore Bent

“You can’t swing a cat in Ancient Greece without hitting one of Zeus’s ex-girlfriends.” – Rick Riordan

“Europe holds a great history of philosophy from Greece until today. I read all those books and see these buildings, and I think of where I stand when I design my architecture.” – Tadao Ando

“I want to have an ‘Eat, Pray, Love’ experience where I drop off the face of the planet and move to Greece.” – Jennifer Hyman

“My childhood in Corfu shaped my life. If I had the craft of Merlin, I would give every child the gift of my childhood.” – Gerald Durrell

“Greece is the home of the gods; they may have died but their presence still makes itself felt. The gods were of human proportion: they were created out of the human spirit.” – Henry Miller

“We are all Greeks. Our laws, our literature, our religion, our arts, have their root in Greece.” – Percy Bysshe Shelley

“Happy is the man, I thought, who, before dying, has the good fortune to sail the Aegean sea.” – Nikos Kazantzakis

“In Greece, people have a quality of life. People here live beautifully.” – Otto Rehhagel

“Experts in ancient Greek culture say that people back then didn’t see their thoughts as belonging to them. When ancient Greeks had a thought, it occurred to them as a god or goddess giving an order.

Apollo was telling them to be brave. Athena was telling them to fall in love. Now people hear a commercial for sour cream potato chips and rush out to buy, but now they call this free will. At least the ancient Greeks were being honest.” – Chuck Palahniuk

“It takes a lifetime to discover Greece, but it only takes an instant to fall in love with her.” – Henry Miller

“Greece has got something like 1,400 islands. There is so much of Greece you can’t know even if you’re Greek. It’s sprinkled out all around the edge of the Aegean, all over the place. It’s already a secret place wherever you go, even if it’s somewhere huge like Athens or Corinth. The place enchanted me.” – Joanna Lumley

“Greece appears to be the fountain of knowledge; Rome of elegance.” – Samuel Johnson

“I want to go to Italy and France; those are my two places. And I really want to go to Greece. I’ve seen so many pictures on Airbnb that make me think I should be living there. I could eat great salads and be on a boat.” – Mary Lambert

“Greece was a muse. It inspired creativity in magical ways that I can’t even begin to understand or explain.” – Joe Bonamass

“It is no wonder that historians trace the birth of Western civilization to these jewels of the Aegean, Ionian, and Mediterranean seas. The Greek Isles are home to wide-ranging and far-reaching cultural traditions and mythic tales, not to mention the colorful history and unforgettable vistas that still draw thousands of tourists to the region every year.” – Laura Brooks

“I want to see the Parthenon by moonlight.” – Daphne Du Maurier

“Alcohol makes other people less tedious, and food less bland, and can help provide what the Greeks called entheos, or the slight buzz of inspiration when reading or writing.” – Christopher Hitchens

“The world is the expanding Greece and Greece is the shrinking world.” – Victor Hugo

“The spirit of Greece, passing through and ascending above the world, hath so animated universal nature, that the very rocks and woods, the very torrents and wilds burst forth with it.” – Walter Savage Landor

“I truly enjoyed Greece – Santorini. That’s somewhere that I always want to be.” – Kendall Jenner

“Student journeys which were important to me were Sicily, Greece, and Egypt, where I really saw these buildings, and that is where you’re able to grasp what things mean.” – Ben Nicholson

“I like reading, free diving, and hiking. But my favorite thing to do is travel anywhere in Greece. I love everything about that place.” – Max Irons

“The sea was sapphire colored, and the sky Burned like a heated opal through the air; We hoisted sail; the wind was blowing fair For the blue lands that to the eastward lie.

From the steep prow I marked with quickening eye Zakynthos, every olive grove and creek, Ithaca’s cliff, Lycaon’s snowy peak, And all the flower-strewn hills of Arcady.

The flapping of the sail against the mast, The ripple of the water on the side, The ripple of girls’ laughter at the stern, The only sounds:- when ‘gan the West to burn, And a red sun upon the seas to ride, I stood upon the soil of Greece at last!” – Oscar Wilde

“The isles of Greece, the isles of Greece! Where burning Sappho loved and sung, Where grew the arts of war and peace, Where Delos rose, and Phoebus sprung! Eternal summer gilds them yet, But all, except their sun, is set.” – Lord Byron

“Her dress sparkled like the stars that blanketed the Mykonos night sky.” – Anthea Syrokou

“Unless you have seen the houses of Mykonos, you can’t pretend to be an architect. Whatever architecture has to say, it is said here.” – Le Corbusier

“Contemporary travelers to the Greek Isles come for myriad reasons and find a dazzling array of unexpected delights, for each of the more than three thousand islands has its own particular character.” – Laura Brooks

“Earth proudly wears the Parthenon as the best gem upon her zone.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson

“Of the many smells of Athens two seem to me the most characteristic – that of garlic, bold and deadly like acetylene gas. and that of dust, soft and warm and caressing like tweed.” – Evelyn Waugh

“We approached Athens from the north in early twilight, climbing a hill. When we reached its peak, we were dazzled to look down and see the Acropolis struck by one beam of the setting sun, as if posing for a picture.” – Donald Hall

“Athens, the eye of Greece, mother of arts And eloquence.” – John Milton

“Let there be light! Said Liberty, And like sunrise from the sea, Athens arose!” – Percy Bysshe Shelley

“Today, to walk along the pebbled pathways of a traditional Greek mountain village or the marbled streets of an ancient acropolis is to step back in time. To meander at a leisurely pace through these island chains by boat is to be captivated by the same dramatic landscapes and enchanted islets that make the myths of ancient Greece so compelling. To witness the Mediterranean sun setting on the turquoise sea is to receive one of life’s greatest blessings.” – Laura Brooks

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40+ Quotes about Greece to feed your wanderlust (with images)

Greece is always one of the most desired summer destinations for travelers. The magnificent landscape, the open sea, and the local life, all these elements are immortalized in the famous quotes about Greece that you’ll see below. The prospect of a long, lazy summer after a tough winter is always a reason for joy, and that’s why I thought of writing this article: to feed your wanderlust.

Each of these inspirational quotes about Greece, which you’ll read in this article, belongs to famous and less-famous people. You will see one-line quotes for Greece like the ones by Henry Miller, but you’ll also find longer, more descriptive ones by Kazantzakis and Patrick Leigh Fermor. The choice wasn’t easy. I wanted these quotes on Greece to highlight a specific element or portray what Greece is all about.

These quotes about Greece contain accuracy and exaggeration, but they also express love and admiration. Most are written by foreign travelers, but I included several quotes from Greeks about their country. So, if you want some inspiration for your upcoming journey to Greece or if you’re searching for Instagram captions for your Greek photos, you’re in the right place.

Table of Contents

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Popular travel quotes about Greece: The voice of foreign travelers

The natural beauty of Greece, plus the simplicity of life, always attracted foreign travelers. Some of them wrote wonderful lines about the country. It’s not an exaggeration to say that every writer, artist, or philosopher traveled to Greece and observed things the locals often overlook. Here you can see what these people thought about the country. Some of their travel quotes about Greece remain still relevant -and legendary.

Greece is the home of Gods. They may have died, but their presence still makes itself felt. The gods were of human proportion: they were created out of the human spirit. – Henry Miller  

Greece – The feeling of being lost in time and geography with months and years hazily sparkling ahead in a prospect of inconjecturable magic. – Patrick Leigh Fermor

I want to see the Parthenon by moonlight. – Daphne Du Maurier  

The world is expanding Greece and Greece is the shrinking world. – Victor Hugo  

The light of Greece opened my eyes, penetrated my pores, expanded my whole being. – Henry Miller ( The Colossus of Maroussi )  

How can any educated person stay away from the Greeks? I have always been far more interested in them than in Science. – Albert Einstein  

Greece is a good place To look at the moon, isn’t it You can read by moonlight You can read on the terrace Υou can see a face As you saw it when you were young – Leonard Cohen ( Days of Kindness )

Famous quotes about Greece: the voice of Greeks

Of course, Greek writers and poets have also traveled extensively around the country. Their descriptions have a more local touch, but they offer us some extremely accurate descriptions. To see a country through the locals’ eyes is always interesting. Greece’s Nobelist poets, Giorgos Seferis and Odysseus Elytis , together with Nikos Kazantzakis ( writer of Zorba ) and Cavafy , deserve definitely a mention. Here you can find some of their quotes about Greece.

One of the purest joys that man can afford in this world is to visit the Aegean Sea in the spring, with a breath of light breeze; I have never been able to imagine paradise in any other way. This joy grows right upside down, but God does not allow it to escalate so that the beloved visible world does not disappear with it, on the contrary, the invisible world becomes visible, and what we call God and eternal life and bliss join us on the ship and accompany us on the voyage. In the bitter hour of your death, close your eyes, and you will see Santorini , Naxos, Paros, Mykonos. – Nikos Kazantzakis  

Enthusiasm is a wonderful thing. In South America, they throw flowers at you. In Greece, Greeks throw themselves. – Melina Mercouri

Wherever I travel, Greece hurts me. – George Seferis  

If a separate personal Paradise exists for each of us, mine must be irreparably planted with trees of words which the wind silvers like poplars, by people who see their confiscated justice given back, and by birds that even in the midst of truth of death insist on singing in Greek and saying eros, eros, eros. ― Odysseas Elytis  

If you deconstruct Greece, you will, in the end, see an olive tree, a grapevine, and a boat remain. That is, with as much, you reconstruct her. – Odysseas Elytis

Quotes about life in Greece

Greek culture and daily life are, of course, the cornerstone elements of society. The Greek way of living received praise from several authors and writers, and it’s fair to dedicate a section full of quotes about Greek life.

Among all peoples, the Greeks have dreamt life’s dream most beautifully. — Johann Wolfgang von Goethe  

We have exiled beauty; the Greeks took up arms for her. ―Albert Camus  

I knew that no matter what door you knock on in a Cretan village, it will be opened for you. A meal will be served in your honor, and you will sleep between the best sheets in the house. In Crete, the stranger is still the unknown god. Before him, all doors and all hearts are opened. – Nikos Kazantzakis  

It takes a lifetime for someone to discover Greece, but it only takes an instant to fall in love with her. – Henry Miller  

Great suffering descended on Greece. So many bodies thrown into the jaws of the sea, the jaws of the earth… all for a linen undulation, a bit of cloud, a butterfly’s flicker, a swan’s down, an empty tunic —all for a Helen. – Giorgos Seferis  

I had begun to grasp, in the past few weeks, one of the great and uncovenanted delights of Greece; a pre-coming of age present in my case: a direct and immediate link, friendly and equal on either side, between human beings, something which melts barriers of hierarchy and background and money and, except for a few tribal and historic feuds, politics and nationality as well… Existence, these glances say, is a torment, an enemy, an adventure and a joke which we are in league to undergo, outwit, exploit and enjoy on equal terms as accomplices, fellow-hedonists, and fellow-victims. ― Patrick Leigh Fermor  

We must not forget that in the long twenty-five centuries there has not been one that poetry was not written in the Greek language. ― Odysseus Elytis  

“Greece is like a mirror. It makes you suffer. Then you learn.’ To live alone?’ To live. With what you are.” ― John Fowles ( The Magus )

The best quotes about the Greek islands

The Greek islands attract millions of tourists per year. Therefore, it’s only fair to include a separate section of quotes about the Greek islands. Here you will find a mixture of both Greek and international artists and travelers talking about the islands.

There is a kind of flame in Crete – let us call it ‘soul’ – something more powerful than either life or death. There is pride, obstinacy, valor, and together with these something else inexpressible and imponderable, something which makes you rejoice that you are a human being, and at the same time tremble. – Nikos Kazantzakis  

Unless you have seen the houses in Mykonos, you can’t pretend to be an architect. Whatever architecture has to say, it is said here. – Le Corbusier  

The isles of Greece, the isles of Greece! Where burning Sappho loved and sung, Where grew the arts of war and peace, Where Delos rose, and Phoebus sprung! Eternal summer gilds them yet, But all, except their sun, is set. – Lord Byron  

As you set out for Ithaca, hope your road is a long one, full of adventure, full of discovery. – Konstantinos Kavafis  

The only sounds: – when ‘gan the West to burn, and the red sun upon the seas to ride, I stood upon the soil of Greece at last! – Oscar Wilde  

Happy is the man, I thought, who, before dying, has the good fortune to sail the Aegean sea. – Nikos Kazantzakis

My childhood in Corfu shaped my life. If I had the craft of Merlin, I would give every child the gift of my childhood. ― Gerald Durrell, ( My Family and Other Animals )

Famous Quotes about Athens, Greece

Athens is one of the most legendary cities of antiquity. A fair part of our knowledge about Ancient Greece and ancient Greeks comes from Athens. Nowadays, Athens is a buzzing metropolis of almost four million inhabitants. Nevertheless, contemporary Athens still attracts plenty of visitors due to the combination of ancient and modern history.

Of the many smells of Athens two seem to be the most characteristic – that of garlic, bold and deadly like acetylene gas. And that of dust, soft and warm and caressing like tweed. – Evelyn Waugh

The Parthenon is really only a farmyard over which someone put a roof; colonnades and sculptures were added because there were people in Athens who happened to be working and wanted to express themselves. – Pablo Picasso  

If Athens shall appear great to you, consider then that her glories were purchased by valiant men, and by men who learned their duty. – Pericles

I am a citizen, not of Athens, or Greece, but of the world. – Socrates  

Earth proudly wears the Parthenon as the best gem upon her zone. – Ralph Waldo Emerson  

Athens, the eye of Greece, mother of arts and eloquence. – John Milton  

How great are the dangers I face to win a good name in Athens? – Alexander the Great

Quotes about the Greeks & the Greek landscape

Last but definitely not least, here’s one section that couldn’t be missing. Here you will find quotes about the Greeks and the country’s landscape. Writers and philosophers extensively explored the Greeks’ connection to their land, and here’s what they thought about it.

For the Greeks, values existed a priori and marked out the exact limits of every action. Modern philosophy places its values at the completion of action. ― Albert Camus  

Whatever, in fact, is modern in our life we owe to the Greeks. Whatever is an anachronism is due to mediaevalism. ― Oscar Wilde  

There is more of Mozart here than anywhere in the world. The road to Epidaurus is like the road to creation. One stops searching. One grows silent, stilled by the hush of mysterious beginnings. If one could speak one would become melodious. –Henry Miller ( The Colossus of Maroussi )  

The Laconian peninsula lay weightlessly along the eastern horizon and, slightly more substantial, the outline of Elaphonisi—Stag-Island—loomed between us. Wraithlike on the Lybian Sea which expanded southwards far beyond the divider-point capes of Malea and Matapan, hovered Cythera once again, and beyond it, hardly discernible, Anticythera, the last stepping stone to the two stormy western capes of Crete. ― Patrick Leigh Fermor ( Mani )  

The Greeks invented trigonometry. They did autopsies and dissections. What could you tell an ancient Greek that he couldn’t say, ‘Big Deal.’ Could you tell him about the atom? Atom is a Greek word. The Greeks knew that the major events in the universe can’t be seen by the eye of man. – Don Delillo ( White Noise )

The Greeks had invented democracy, built the Acropolis, and called it a day. – David Sedaris  

The Greeks made Space the subject-matter of a science of supreme simplicity and certainty. Out of it grew, in the mind of classical antiquity, the idea of pure science. – Hermann Weyl

Bonus: Greek Guides & Summer Essentials

If you made it to the end of this list of 40+ Greece quotes, I guess you’re ready for a Greek vacation. I wrote extensively about Greece in this travel blog, so I’d like to share some of my resources to help you plan your trip.

• How to visit the Greek islands on a budget . In this comprehensive article, you’ll find tips and info on how to spend three weeks island hopping in the Greek islands for less than 1,000 euros. Check out the Greek islands guide here .
• One week in Greece itineraries . That’s probably the most thorough article you’ll find online about a one-week vacation in Greece. Perfect for culture lovers and for people willing to have an easy-going holiday, but also for nature lovers. Find out the perfect one-week itinerary for you here .
• The best day trips from Athens . If you’re spending a couple of days in Athens, make sure to take one (or more) day trips out of the city. A combination of impressive landscapes, endless sea views, and tales of antiquity awaits you two hours away from the Greek capital. So , see here the best day trips from Athens .
• More Greece wanderlust . There’s a dedicated category about Greece with loads of articles. There you’ll find remote islands, photo reports, polaroids, and guides to antiquity spots. Check the Greece category here .

Last but not least, if you visit Greece during summer, don’t forget these three items:

• Sunscreen . The heat is intense, and you don’t want to travel without one.
• Pop-up tent . Most of the islands -especially in the Cyclades- have no natural shade. So get a pop-up tent that fits in your suitcase and be covered.
• Mosquito Repellent . Depending on the area you’re visiting, there’s a chance that you might face problems with mosquitos. No worries, you won’t be in danger, but it can be annoying.

So, I hope you enjoyed the travel quotes about Greece. Let me know in the comments if you have already visited Greece or if you’re about to.

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Last Updated on April 12, 2024 by George Pavlopoulos

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Hi George, you have uncovered some great quotes. I especially like the one: The Greeks had invented democracy, built the Acropolis, and called it a day. This explains so much.

Let me offer you my own quote about Greece.

Greece is heaven and hell – John

Hahaha -thank you, John! Your quote is brilliant, I can confirm that. And, guess what: every Greek will agree with you!

Beautiful thoughts… so adorable and apt to beautify a place like Greece! Loved the thought of a stranger being the unknown God. One can certainly feel welcome in a strange land with an aspiration to visit this gorgeous place. Thanks for the post. The Greek guide and summer essentials are add-ons!

Hey Kritika, Thank you so much for your kind comment. Greece is a wonderful country -did you visit it already? All the best, George

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25 Beautiful Greece Quotes to Inspire Your Greek Travels

Beautiful Greece – the country that launched a thousand travel Instagram captions. Yet most of what gets written under pictures of Santorini or Athens has nothing to do with Greece (see: banal quotes about pretty sunsets). What a shame, when literature has given us so many gorgeous quotes about Greece!

So here are our favorite Greek quotes, written by Greek authors, philosophers, and the occasional foreign Greek devotee.

Don’t have time to read now? Pin for later!

>> Read Next: The 10 Best Sandy Beaches in Greece for a Perfect Greek Beach Trip <<

Where to Stay in Greece

Budget:  If you’re looking for a budget hotel in lively Monastiraki, book a stay at  Fivos Hote l. Located right by Monastiraki Station, the hotel has free wifi and ensuite bathrooms.  Check out prices and availability at Fivos Hotel here .

Mid-range:  If you want more traditional accommodation, stay at the  Kimons Athens Hotel  in Plaka. The rooms are cozy and there’s a roof terrace that guests can enjoy.  Check out guest reviews, prices, and availability at Kimons Athens Hotel here .

Luxury:  To enjoy a bit of luxury in Monastiraki, check into the four-star  Emporikon Athens Hotel  on Agia Irini Square. The rooms are sophisticated and swanky, with a traditional take on comfort.  Check out guest reviews, prices, and availability at Emporikon Athens Hotel here .

Our Favorite Greek Quotes & Quotes About Greece

Greece is the most magical place on Earth.

There is a kind of flame in Crete – let us call it “soul” – something more powerful than either life or death. There is pride, obstinacy, valor, and together with these something else inexpressible and imponderable, something which makes you rejoice that you are a human being, and at the same time tremble. 

-Nikos  Kazantzakis

Gradually the magic of the island [Corfu] settled over us as gently and clingingly as pollen. 

-Gerald Durrell

I know that each one of us travels to love alone, alone to faith, and to death. I know it. I’ve tried it. It doesn’t help. Let me come with you.

-Giannis Ritsos

Coming to Greece soon and no idea how to get from the airport to the center of Athens? Check this convenient airport transfer service

Experts in ancient Greek culture say that people back then didn’t see their thoughts as belonging to them. When ancient Greeks had a thought, it occurred to them as a god or goddess giving an order. Apollo was telling them to be brave. Athena was telling them to fall in love. Now people hear a commercial for sour cream potato chips and rush out to buy, but now they call this free will. At least the ancient Greeks were being honest. 

– Chuck Palahniuk

I want to have an ‘Eat, Pray, Love’ experience where I drop off the face of the planet and move to Greece.

-Jennifer Hyman

Happy is the man, I thought, who, before dying, has the good fortune to sail the Aegean sea.” 

-Nikos Kazantzakis

Alcohol makes other people less tedious, and food less bland, and can help provide what the Greeks called entheos, or the slight buzz of inspiration when reading or writing.

-Christopher Hitchens

I want to see the Parthenon by moonlight.

-Daphne Du Maurier

Not life, but good life, is to be chiefly valued.

In many ways we are all sons and daughters of ancient Greece.

-Nia Vardalos

Greece was a muse. It inspired creativity in magical ways that I can’t even begin to understand or explain.

-Joe Bonamassa 

Greece has got something like 1,400 islands. There is so much of Greece you can’t know even if you’re Greek. It’s sprinkled out all around the edge of the Aegean, all over the place. It’s already a secret place wherever you go, even if it’s somewhere huge like Athens or Corinth. The place enchanted me. 

-Joanna Lumley

You can’t swing a cat in Ancient Greece without hitting one of Zeus’s ex-girlfriends.

-Rick Riordan

Greece gave democracy to the rest of the world.

-Alexis Tsipras

We must free ourselves of the hope that the sea will ever rest. We must learn to sail in high winds.

-Aristotle Onassis

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We are all Greeks. Our laws, our literature, our religion, our arts have their root in Greece.

-Percy Bysshe Shelley

Give me a lever long enough and a fulcrum on which to place it, and I shall move the world.

-Archimedes

Love is composed of a single soul inhabiting two bodies.

Experience, travel – these are as education in themselves.

On a summer night, I have sat on the balcony drinking Ouzo, watching the ghosts of Greek Heroes sailing past, listening to the rustle of their sail cloths and the gentle lapping of their oars

-Phil Simpkin

>> Read Next: Essential Greece Packing List: What to Wear & Pack for Greece <<

In a way, it’s nice to know that there are Greek gods out there, because you have somebody to blame when things go wrong.

>> Read Next: Planning a Trip to Greece: Your Travel Checklist <<

Since we cannot change reality, let us change the eyes which see reality.

At the touch of love everyone becomes a poet.

Wisdom begins in wonder.

5 Things to Bring with You to Greece

We’re working on our full list of what to pack for Greece, but here are five things you want to bring with you!

The Lonely Planet Greece :  a good guidebook can help you with the kinds of tips you need if you’re out exploring Greece and feel a bit lost, especially if you don’t have internet or a cell signal. These also have recommendations for the major sites in Greece, which will come in handy if you’ll be visiting more than one Greek city or island.

Unlocked Cell Phone:  Allison and I both have unlocked cell phones that we bought in Europe (I use a  Samsung and she uses an  iPhone ). This allows up to get sim cards when we travel so that we always have the internet. Being able to pick up a Greek sim card for around ten Euros is a great way to stay connected while you’re here.

If you don’t have an unlocked cell phone that can use a Greek sim card, you can buy a cheaper  unlocked phone online  and bring it with you!

Pacsafe Citysafe  or Other Anti-Theft Bag:  This is the bag both Allison and I use (and they also make men’s versions). It has a pouch with RFID technology so our credit cards can’t get scanned from afar, interlocking zippers to make it harder to pickpocket, and it’s roomy enough to be a perfect sightseeing day bag. If you’d rather bring something smaller, you can pack a  money belt  instead. 

This is especially handy in Athens where tourist sites are crammed and anyone who looks like an obvious tourist is a potential target.

Grayl Water Filter :  Being on the road means staying hydrated. If you want to avoid having to buy lots of single-use plastic water bottles, bring a reusable one with you. If you’re concerned about drinking the local tap water (or you don’t love the taste) grab one with a reusable water filter built right in. 

Seabands:  If you get seasick easily, pack some Seabands or   seasickness pills  so you can go island hopping without getting sick. A trip to Greece isn’t complete without at least one day spent in the islands, so make sure you’re prepared to enjoy it to the fullest!

Greece Travel Resources

Headed to Greece? We have some great travel resources to help you with your trip. First read our guide to  planning a trip to Greece , which covers visas, budgets, vaccines, and much more. We also have a  Balkan currency guide that explains how money works in Greece and local tipping customs.

If you are still trying to figure out your itinerary, check out our guides on  where to go in Greece  and when is the  best time to visit.  We also have a guide to the best Greek souvenirs to bring back with you.

If you’ll be spending time in Athens, check out our  Athens Instagram Guide , the  best Athens day trips , and our complete  Athens hotel guide.

We publish new content about the Balkans almost every day! For more information about traveling to Greece and the Balkans, bookmark our  Greece  and  Balkan  travel pages so you can find out what’s new before your trip.

Finally, Make Sure You Come to Athens with Travel Insurance

I’m sure you’re aware that it’s a good idea to have  travel insurance  for traveling in Greece, the Balkans, or anywhere in the world!

Stephanie and I have both been paying customers of  World Nomads  for the last three years. We love the peace of mind it gives us in case of emergencies, accidents, illnesses, theft, or trip cancellation or disruption. 

While Athens is safe, there’s always a risk inherent in everyday travel like theft or injury, so it’s better to play it safe. The saying goes “if you can’t afford travel insurance, you can’t afford to travel,” and we think it’s true!

Get a travel insurance quote for your trip here.

Pin this Post of Greece Quotes & Greece Instagram Captions for Your Trip

Stephanie has been living in and traveling around the Balkans for the past three years. She’s written for National Geographic Online , appeared on CNN Arabic and in the New York Times , and ridden more Balkan buses than is good for a person.

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70 Best Quotes about Greece

• Mar 17, 2023

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Greece is a country that has always held a special place in my heart. The moment I set foot on its shores, I fell in love with its rich history, lively culture, delicious food and stunning natural landscapes. 

Exploring the best places on the mainland in Greece and venturing to the most beautiful Greek Islands only deepened my love for this magical place. I often find myself daydreaming about the crystal-clear waters of the Aegean Sea and the warm embrace of the Mediterranean sun. It's no wonder that the allure of Greece has inspired countless writers, poets, and travellers over the centuries.

In this article, we’ve put together some of the most inspiring quotes about Greece that perfectly capture the essence of this breathtaking destination. Whether you're looking for inspiration for your next Instagram caption or simply want to appreciate the beauty of Greece, these quotes are sure to leave you in awe.

Famous Quotes about Greece 

“I came to the Greeks early, and I found answers in them. Greece's great men let all their acts turn on the immortality of the soul. We don't really act as if we believed in the soul's immortality and that's why we are where we are today.” -  Edith Hamilton

“Happy is the man, I thought, who, before dying, has the good fortune to sail the Aegean sea.” - Nikos Kazantzakis, Zorba the Greek

“We are all Greeks. Our laws, our literature, our religion, our arts have their root in Greece” -  Percy Bysshe Shelley

“Greece is a good place to look at the moon, isn’t it”-  Kari Hesthamar, So Long, Marianne: A Love Story

 “Athens, the eye of Greece, mother of arts And eloquence.” -  John Milton

“Greece – The feeling of being lost in time and geography with months and years hazily sparkling ahead in a prospect of inconjecturable magic” - Patrick Leigh Fermor

“The ancient Oracle said that I was the wisest of all the Greeks. It is because I alone, of all the Greeks, know that I know nothing.” - Socrates

“If I’d been born in ancient Greece, I’d worship Zeus and Aphrodite” - Richard Dawkins

“The ancient Greeks have a knack of wrapping truths in myths.” - George Santayana

“It takes a lifetime to discover Greece, but it only takes an instant to fall in love with her.” - Henry Miller

“How can any educated person stay away from the Greeks? I have always been far more interested in them than in science.” - Albert Einstein

“Hence we will not say that Greeks fight like heroes but that heroes fight like Greeks.” -Winston Churchill

“The light of Greece opened my eyes, penetrated my pores, expanded my whole being.” - Henry Miller

“If Greece is destroyed completely, an olive tree, a vine, and a boat will remain. That is enough to rebuild her from the beginning.” - Odysseus Elytis

“I truly enjoyed Greece – Santorini. That’s somewhere that I always want to be.” - Kendall Jenner

“My favorite place to write is at my desk in my house in the mountains of Crete . I produce more there because one big distraction is missing: the Internet.” - Neal Asher

“The Greeks had invented democracy, built the Acropolis and called it a day.” - David Sedaris

“Greece has got something like 1,400 islands. There is so much of Greece you can’t know even if you’re Greek. It’s sprinkled out all around the edge of the Aegean, all over the place. It’s already a secret place wherever you go, even if it’s somewhere huge like Athens or Corinth. The place enchanted me.” - Joanna Lumley

“Greece was a muse. It inspired creativity in magical ways that I can’t even begin to understand or explain.” -  Joe Bonamassa 

“Today, to walk along the pebbled pathways of a traditional Greek mountain village or the marbled streets of an ancient Acropolis is to step back in time.” - Laura Brooks

“You can’t swing a cat in Ancient Greece without hitting one of Zeus’s ex-girlfriends” -  Rick Riordan

“Unless you have seen the houses in Mykonos , you can’t pretend to be an architect. Whatever architecture has to say, it is said here” - Le Corbusier

The world is the expanding Greece and Greece is the shrinking world” - Victor Hugo

“How great are the dangers I face to win a good name in Athens.” - Alexander the Great

Greece Quotes for Instagram 

“I want to have an ‘Eat, Pray, Love’ experience where I drop off the face of the planet and move to Greece.” -  Jennifer Hyman

“In many ways we are all sons and daughters of ancient Greece.” - Nia Vardalos

“There is something magical about Greece that draws you in and never lets you go.” - Unknown

“Greece is not just a destination, it's an experience that will stay with you forever.” - Unknown

“I like reading, free diving, and hiking. But my favorite thing to do is travel anywhere in Greece. I love everything about that place” - Max Irons

“Greece is like a mirror. It makes you suffer. Then you learn. – To live alone? – To live. With what you are.” -  John Fowles, The Magus

“Greece is a country where the ancient and the modern coexist in perfect harmony.” - Unknown

“There are two kinds of people. Greeks, and everyone else who wish they was Greek.” - My big fat Greek wedding

“I’m looking at the sea on the wall, and even though it’s a copy of a copy of the Aegean, I wish you would grab me and take me to Greece.” - Analicia Sotelo

“In Greece, people have a quality of life. People here live beautifully.” - Otto Rehhagel

“In Greece, we’re too poor to go to psychiatrists – we have friends instead.” -  Melina Mercouri

“Greece is the home of the gods; they may have died but their presence still makes itself felt. The gods were of human proportion: they were created out of the human spirit.” - Henry Miller

“From the stunning beaches to the charming villages, Greece is a country that never fails to capture your heart.” - Unknown

“Greek food is not just delicious, it's a journey through the flavors and traditions of the Mediterranean.” - Unknown

“Greece is a country that welcomes you with open arms and makes you feel like you're part of the family.” - Unknown

“If you go back to the Greeks and Romans, they talk about all three – wine, food, and art – as a way of enhancing life.” - Robert Mondavi

“The mention of Greece fills the mind with the most exalted sentiments and arouses in our bosoms the best feelings of which our nature is capable” - James Monroe

“The Greek islands are a place of dreams, where the sea whispers secrets and the sun sets fire to the sky” - Unknown

Short Quotes about Greece

“In Greece, wise men speak and fools decide.” - George Santayana

“Greece is the most magical place on Earth.” - Kylie Bax

“And then God said, let there be Greece.” - Unknown

“Greece is too old to die.” - Lito Seizani

“Greece is a good place for rebirths.” - Judith Martin

“Get ready for wine, raki, and getting hand-fed by strangers.” - Anthony Bourdain

“I want to see the Parthenon by moonlight” - Daphne du Maurier

“If the gods spoke, they would use the language of the Greeks” - Cicero

“My God, how much blue you spend so we cannot see you!” - Odysseus Elytis

“The problem with Greece is that she’s just too beautiful.” - Dimitra Tzanos

“What the mind and the heart is for a human being, Greece is for humanity.” - Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

Quotes from Greek Philosophers

“The greater the difficulty the more glory in surmounting it. Skilful pilots gain their reputation from storms and tempests.” - Epictetus

“Those who educate children well are more to be honored than they who produce them; for these only gave them life, those the art of living well.” - Aristotle

“We can easily forgive a child who is afraid of the dark; the real tragedy of life is when men are afraid of the light.” - Plato

“Let food be thy medicine and medicine be thy food.” - Hippocrates

“Knowing yourself is the beginning of all wisdom” - Aristotle

“There are three classes of men; lovers of wisdom, lovers of honor, and lovers of gain” - Plato

“Reserve your right to think, for even to think wrongly is better than not to think at all.” - Hypatia

“You must remember that no one lives a life free from pain and suffering.” - Sophocles

“First say to yourself what you would be, and then do what you have to do.” - Epictetus

“We have two ears and one tongue so that we would listen more and talk less.” - Diogenes

“Silence is better than unmeaning words.” - Pythagoras

“The ideal man bears the accidents of life with dignity and grace, making the best of circumstances.” - Aristotle

“There is nothing permanent except change.” - Heraclitus

“Do not spoil what you have by desiring what you have not; remember that what you now have was once among the things you only hoped for.” - Epicurus

“By all means, marry. If you get a good wife, you'll become happy; if you get a bad one, you'll become a philosopher.” - Socrates

“He is a wise man who does not grieve for the things which he has not, but rejoices for those which he has.” - Epictetus

“There are two things a person should never be angry at, what they can help, and what they cannot.” - Plato

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170+ Best Greece Quotes and Quotes About Greece

By: Author Girl with the Passport

Posted on Last updated: February 15, 2022

Categories Travel Quotes , Travel Tips

Looking for magical Greece quotes and quotes about Greece that will make you fall in love with this next-level awesome country all over again?

Well, look no further my friend because this expertly curated list of amazing Greece quotes has been hand-selected to help satiate (at least somewhat) your wanderlust and satisfy your undying love for all this Greece, Greece, and, oh yeah, Greece.

So, stop searching high and low all across the internet for quotes about Greece that are kind of mediocre at best.

Instead, use these epic Greece captions for Instagram and this selection of funny Greece quotes to inspire both you are your followers today.

Because I for one am all about sharing the love – and some of these best Greek love quotes – with all your friends, family, and followers.

I mean, if you’ve got Greece on the mind then why not them too, gosh darn it? After all, I’ve been to Greece more times than I can count and personally feel like traveling to Greece – or thinking about traveling to Greece – is always a good idea.

So, what are you waiting for? Go forth, use these best Greek quotes about life well, and be the travel happy human that I know you are.

This post may contain affiliate links. Please see my disclosure for more information. As an Amazon Associate, I earn a small commission from qualifying purchases.

Best Greece Quotes and Quotes about Greece

Whether you’re looking for a bit of travel inspiration or desperately need to spice up your Instagram feed full of photos from Greece, these best Greece quotes and quotes about Greece are here to help.

Not only will these quotes about Greece inspire you to book a plane ticket sooner than you think, but they could also make the perfect Greece captions for Instagram photos that you may not know what to do with.

1. “Greece is the home of Gods. They may have died, but their presence still makes itself felt.” – Henry Miller

2. “Greece was a muse. It inspired creativity in magical ways that I can’t even begin to understand or explain.” – Joe Bonamassa

3. “Greece is the most magical place on Earth.”’ – Kylie Bax

4. “Such is the aspect of this shore; “Tis Greece, but living Greece no more! So coldly sweet, so deadly fair, We start, for the soul is wanting there.” – Lord Byron

5. “For me, Greece is Maria Farantouri. This is how I imagined Goddess Hera to be: strong, pure, and vigilant. I have never encountered any other artist able to give me such a strong sense of the divine.” – François Mitterrand

6. “Greece – The feeling of being lost in time and geography with months and years hazily sparkling ahead in a prospect of un-conjecturable magic” – Patrick Leigh Fermor

7. “You know you’re in Greece when you feel a unique, indescribable, out of this world euphoria being there and a deep sadness when you’re leaving.” – Unknown

8. “The light of Greece opened my eyes, penetrated my pores, expanded my whole being.” – Henry Miller

9. “The island has magical landscapes and a special energy coming from the sea, the winds, and the land that can’t be found elsewhere.” – Eugenie Niarchos

10. “One of the purest joys that man can afford in this world is to visit the Aegean Sea in the spring, with a breath of light breeze; I have never been able to imagine paradise in any other way. This joy grows right upside down, but God does not allow it to escalate so that the beloved visible world does not disappear with it, on the contrary, the invisible world becomes visible, and what we call God and eternal life and bliss join us on the ship and accompany us on the voyage. In the bitter hour of your death, close your eyes, and you will see Santorini, Naxos, Paros, Mykonos. “– Nikos Kazantzakis

11. “The mention of Greece fills the mind with the most exalted sentiments and arouses in our bosoms the best feelings of which our nature is capable.” – James Monroe

12. “Earth proudly wears the Parthenon as the best gem upon her zone.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson

13. “Right now I’d love to be sitting on a Greek island somewhere because of being Greek American, eating great octopus salad, and some fantastic lamb. Or sipping a little ouzo. I think the Mediterranean diet is one of the healthiest. Lots of nuts, vegetables, fruits, fresh fish, lean meats, yogurt.” – Cat Cora

14. “I like reading, free diving, and hiking. But my favorite thing to do is travel anywhere in Greece. I love everything about that place.” – Max Irons

15. “It takes a lifetime for someone to discover Greece, but it only takes an instance to fall in love with her.” – Henry Miller

16. “Greece was a muse. It inspired creativity in magical ways that I can’t even begin to understand or explain.” – Joe Bonamassa

17. “Happy is the man, I thought, who, before dying, has the good fortune to sail the Aegean sea.” – Nikos Kazantzakis

18. “Gradually the magic of the island (Corfu) settled over us as gently and as clingly as pollen. “ – Gerald Durrell

19. “Greece is the most magical place on Earth.” – Kylie Bax

20. “Of all the peoples, the Greeks have dreamt the dream of life the best. “ – Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe

21. “Greece is a good place for rebirths.” – Judith Martin

22. “The problem with Greece is that she’s just too beautiful.” – Anon

Best Greece Captions for Instagram

Are you not-so-low-key obsessed with Greece? Yeah, welcome to the club. That’s why my Insta feed is brimming over with hopefully not heinous photos of Greece.

But, as we all know only too well, Instagram users have the attention span of a very small goldfish.

Therefore, I wanted to give you a selection of riveting Greece captions for Instagram that are short but engaging.

This way, you can still make a whole lot of impact – and stand out from the crowd – on a ginormous social media platform where content creators are all vying for users’ attention.

23. “Living the sweet life in Santorini.”

24. “Picture-perfect moments.”

25. “Go where you feel most alive.”

26. “I’m all about the salty air and sunkissed hair.”

27. “BRB, checking something off my bucket list.”

28. “Woke up in the dreamiest place.”

29. “Nothing but the Greek island life for me.”

30. “You can meet me in Mykonos.”

31. “I followed my heart and it led me to Greece.”

32. “Meet me in Greece.”

33. “I got 99 problems and Greece ain’t one.”

34. “The world is yours to explore.”

35. “Sweet dreams are made of feta cheese…who am I to disagree?”

36. “Every stamp in your passport comes with a story.”

37. “Pretending I’m in ‘Mamma Mia’ everywhere I go.”

38. “Aren’t you glad we went to Athens?”

39. “Do more things that are like this.”

40. “Just hopping from one Greek island to the next.”

41. “It’s no secret that I belong in Greece.”

42. “To find yourself, think for yourself.” – Socrates

43. “Know thyself.” (inscribed in the forecourt of the Temple of Apollo in Delphi 2,000+ years ago)

44. “‘I want to see the Parthenon by moonlight.’ – Daphne Du Maurier

45. “Greece is more than a country. It is an experience.” – Unknown

46. ‘It’s all Greek to me.’

47. “Keep calm and travel to Greece.”

48. “Greece is a good place to look at the moon, isn’t it?” – Kari Hesthamar

49. “I want Rome and the Coliseum, the Acropolis, Athens; I want beauty, and the flame of life.” – Eleanora Duse

50. “The world is expanding Greece and Greece is the shrinking world.” – Victor Hugo

51. “Let there be light! said liberty, and from sunrise like the sea, Athens Rose.” – P B Shelly

52. “Greetings from Greece.”

Funny Greece Quotes and Quotes about Greece

For me, these past few months have felt overwhelming with a capital “O”. So, if you feel like I do, or just love laughing your butt off, then these funny Greece quotes are where it’s at.

Who knows, after reading some of these funny quotes about Greece you might even LOL for REAL. Hey, you never know. It could happen!

53. “Greeks are like the current, They push you over and then try to suck you in.” – Beryl Dov

54. “There are two kinds of people. Greeks, and everyone else who wish they were Greek. “ – My Big Fat Greek wedding

55. “The Parthenon without the marbles is like a smile with a tooth missing.” – Neil Kinnock

56. “If you deconstruct Greece, you will, in the end, see an olive tree, a grapevine, and a boat remain. That is, with as much you reconstruct her.”– Odysseas

57. “I want to have an ‘Eat, Pray, Love’ experience where I drop off the face of the planet and move to Greece.” – Jennifer Hyman

58. “In a way, it’s nice to know that there are Greek gods out there because you have somebody to blame when things go wrong.” – Rick Riordan

59. “Most British newspapers now have more columns than the Acropolis.” – Ian Jack

60. “You know, it is said that we Greeks are a fervent and warm-blooded breed. Well, let me tell you something – it is true.” – Melina Mercouri

61. “You can’t swing a cat in Ancient Greece without hitting one of Zeus’s ex-girlfriends.” – Rick Riordan

62. “Alcohol makes other people less tedious, and food less bland, and can help provide what the Greeks called entheos, or the slight buzz of inspiration when reading or writing.” – Christopher Hitchens

63. “An Aristotle was but the rubbish of an Adam, and Athens but the rudiments of Paradise.” – Robert South

64. “If you look at a map of Europe you will observe that Greece is a skeleton-like hand stretching its crooked fingers out into the Mediterranean Sea.” – Will Durant

Best Santorini Quotes

I know I’ve said it before but it’s so true that I’m gonna say it again.

Santorini is EASILY one of the most beautiful islands that I’ve ever been to. PERIOD.

I mean, those old-world windmills, those blue-domed churches, those stunning panoramas of the Aegean, and those white-washed buildings hidden at the end of small alleys are the stuff that travel dreams are made of!

So yeah, I was more than a little impressed. And trust me, that’s high praise coming from someone who’s been to a lot of islands and who’s actually grown up on one (yes, NYC really is an island).

That’s why, if you need to be reminded of this island’s awe-inspiring beauty or want to share Santorini’s ethereal beauty with someone special, then use these very best Santorini quotes to help remind everyone just how great this island really is.

65. “Lena studied the faces of the girls on the sidelines. She could tell that Kostos owned the lust of what few local teenage girls there were in Oia, but instead, he chose to dance with all the grandmothers, all the women who had raised him, who had poured into him the love they couldn’t spend on their own absent children and grandchildren.” – Ann Brashares

66. “According to some theories, the legendary Atlantis said to have sunk beneath the sea in a great cataclysm, is in actuality the Greek Island of Santorini.” – Laura Brooks

67. “Off the Santorini cliff on a dark, starless night, I tossed a message in a bottle and love found me washed up on the black lava sand of the Aegean shore. As with my previous loves, volcanic in nature. Almost destructive before it started.” – Melody Lee

68. “On a summers night, I have sat on the balcony drinking Ouzo, watching the ghosts of Greek Heroes sailing past, listening to the rustle of their sail cloths and the gentle lapping of their oars…and lain alongside Pythagoras watching him study the myriad of triangles in the constellations twinkling above us. Whether it was Crete, the heat, the Ouzo, or a combination, it is unequaled anywhere other than Santorini, in my humble opinion.” – Phil Simpkin

69. “Santorini is calling and I must go.”

70. “We descended from the chariot and walked across the volcanic island in the Cyclades group of Greek islands. A fear did wake me like the active Santorini. I felt, anytime my mind outbreaks with the real passion of words. But I maintained my mind with silent revenge, which was active, secretly in my inward cavity.” – Nithin Purple

71. “Arthur tried to hold her hand to steady her and reassure her, but she wouldn’t let him. He held on to his airline hold-all with its tin of Greek olive oil, its towel, its crumpled postcards of Santorini, and its other odds and ends. He steadied and reassured that instead.” – Douglas Adams

Best Greek Quotes About Life

Greece is a prehistoric civilization that has been around forever.

It also served as a mecca for prominent intellectuals of the ancient world and was even the birthplace of some of the greatest philosophers of all time (yes Aristotle and Plato, I’m talking about you).

Therefore, it should come as no surprise to anyone that there are some amazing and truly awesome Greek quotes about life that have been helping people get through the tough times since ye olde 29 BCE.

Okay, I kid about the date but in all seriousness, this selection of best Greek quotes about life are spot on and will leave you with all the feels while enthusiastically nodding your head, “yes” in agreement.

72. “Men would live exceedingly quiet if these two words, mine and thine, were taken away.” – Anaxagoras

73. “He has the most who is most content with the least.” – Diogenes

74. “As iron is eaten away by rust, so the envious are consumed by their own passion.” – Antisthenes

75. “We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence then is not an act, but a habit.” – Aristotle

76. “Make the best use of what is in your power, and take the rest as it happens.” – Epictetus

77. “Raising children is an uncertain thing; success is reached only after a life of battle and worry.” – Democritus

78. “No man ever steps in the same river twice, for it’s not the same river and he’s not the same man.” – Heraclitus

79. “Beware the barrenness of a busy life.” – Socrates

80. “Always be kind, for everyone is fighting a hard battle. “ – Plato

Best Greek Love Quotes and Greece Quotes about Love

Looking for some of the best Greek love quotes of all time? If so then this section is for you!

Because this amazing selection of Greece quotes about love will make the perfect caption for any and all of your romantic couples’ photos from Greece.

So, stop stressing and start using these epic quotes about Greece to quickly and easily describe all your latest and great pictures.

81. “Selfishness doesn’t consist in a love to yourself but in a big degree of such love.” – Aristotle

82. “There are three classes of men; lovers of wisdom, lovers of honor, and lovers of gain.” – Plato

83. “One word frees us of all the weight and pain in life, that word is Love.” – Sophocles

84. “Whatever possession we gain by our sword cannot be sure or lasting, but the love gained by kindness and moderation is certain and durable.” – Alexander The Great

85. “Love is the joy of the good, the wonder of the wise, the amazement of the Gods.” – Plato

86. “To love rightly is to love what is orderly and beautiful in an educated and disciplined way.” – Plato

87. “Love is composed of a single soul inhabiting two bodies.” – Aristotle

88. “Love is the joy of the good, the wonder of the wise, the amazement of the Gods.” – Plato.

89. “At the touch of love, everyone becomes a poet.” – Plato

90. “True love never has a happy ending, because there is no ending to true love.” – Alexander The Grea

91. “Those who intend on becoming great should love neither themselves nor their own things, but only what is just, whether it happens to be done by themselves or others.” – Plato

Best Quotes about Athens

Part vibrant, modern, capital city, part awe-inspiring ancient metropolis, Athens is probably one of the most unique and difficult to describe places that I’ve ever been to.

So, if words escape you when it comes to Athens, then be sure to give this selection of the best quotes about Athens a good, long read.

92. “A great city, whose image dwells in the memory of man, is the type of some great idea. Rome represents conquest; Faith hovers over the towers of Jerusalem; and Athens embodies the pre-eminent quality of the antique world, Art.” – Benjamin Disraeli

93. “I am a citizen, not of Athens, or Greece, but of the world.” – Socrates

94. “My good friend, you are a citizen of Athens, a city which is very great and very famous for its wisdom and power – are you not ashamed of caring so much for the making of money and for fame and prestige, when you neither think nor care about wisdom and truth and the improvement of your soul?” – Plato

95. “When the freedom they wished for most was freedom from responsibility, then Athens ceased to be free and was never free again.” – Edith Hamilton

96. “If Athens shall appear great to you, consider then that her glories were purchased by valiant men, and by men who learned their duty.” – Pericles

97. “How great are the dangers I face to win a good name in Athens.” – Alexander the Great

98. “Athens, the eye of Greece, mother of arts and eloquence. “ – John Milton

99. “At Athens, wise men propose, and fools dispose.” – Alcuin

100. “Let there be light! Said Liberty, And like sunrise from the sea, Athens arose!” – Percy Bysshe Shelley

101. “Many of our ideas of democracy, so much of our literature and philosophy and science can be traced back to roots right here in Athens.” – Barrack Obama

102. “And thence from Athens turn away our eyes To seek new friends and stranger companies.” – Shakespeare

103. “Ancient of days! august Athena! where, Where are thy men of might? thy grand in soul? Gone–glimmering through the dream of things that were; First, in the race that led to glory’s goal, They won, and pass’d away–Is this the whole?” – Lord Byron

104. “The Parthenon is really only a farmyard over which someone put a roof; colonades and sculptures were added because there were people in Athens who happened to be working and wanted to express themselves.” – Pablo Picasso

105. “I am not going to let Athens affect the rest of my life.” – Paula Radcliffe

106. “The commonwealth of Athens is become a forest of beasts.” – Shakespeare

107. “In cities like Athens, poor houses lined narrow and tortuous streets in spite of luxurious public buildings.” – Stephen Gardiner

108. “When will there be justice in Athens? There will be justice in Athens when those who are not injured are as outraged as those who are.” – Thucydides

109. “An Aristotle was but the rubbish of an Adam, and Athens but the rudiments of Paradise.” – Robert South

110. “Athens is like a sluggish horse, and I am the gadfly trying to sting it into life.” – Jostein Gaarder

111. “Athens’ biggest worry was the sheer recklessness of its own democratic government. A simple majority of the citizenry, urged on and incensed by clever demagogues, might capriciously send out military forces in unnecessary and exhausting adventures.” – Thucydides

112. “As in Athens, the right to participate was restricted to men, just as it was also in all later democracies and republics until the twentieth century.” – Robert A. Dahl

113. “So far has Athens left the rest of mankind behind in thought and expression that her pupils have become the teachers of the world, and she has made the name of Hellas distinctive no longer of race but of intellect, and the title of Hellene a badge of education rather than of common descent.” – Isocrates

Best Mykonos Quotes

Known for being the unofficial party capital of the Aegean, Mykonos is filled with insane nightclubs where the house music is always pumping and where people are still dancing even after the sun comes up.

Add in a selection of pristine sandy beaches that are unlike anything you’ve ever seen and you easily have one of the most beautiful islands in Greece.

So, if you want to channel all that awesomeness into a few simple words then give these best Mykonos quotes a look since they are easily some of the best Greece quotes on this list.

114. “Unless you have seen the houses of Mykonos, you can’t pretend to be an architect. Whatever architecture has to say, it is said here.” – Le Corbusier

115. “Her dress sparkled like the stars that blanketed the Mykonos night sky” – Anthea Syrokou, The Greek Tapestry

116. “The beauty in front of her interrupted her thoughts. She took a deep breath, staring at the shores of Mykonos with the scenic coves and the golden sand beaches.” – Angel Sefer

117. “Located in the Cyclades and surrounded by the blue-green water of the Aegean sits whitewashed, windmill-strewn Mykonos, the island of the winds.” – Lizy Manola, Mykonos Muse

118. “The island has magical landscapes and a special energy coming from the sea, the winds, and the land that can’t be found elsewhere.” – Eugenie Niarchos

119. “Located in the Cyclades and surrounded by the blue-green water of the Aegean sits whitewashed, windmill-strewn Mykonos, the island of the winds.” – Lizy Manola

120. “Mykonos, which probably meant it was time for them to get.” – Rick Riordan

121. “In every island of the Aegean Sea are found abundant traces of a vast prehistoric empire.” – James Theodore Bent

122. “But Mykonos was different in that respect. Mykonos made you long for the restful, happy day-to-day reality of life on the Greek island, and it was the brief visits that tortured the soul. Paris was a romantic respite from life, Mykonos was life itself, and living.” – Bobby Underwood, author of the Long Gray Goodbye

123. “The Greek Isles present a collage of diverse landscapes and customs. Mykonos is fun-loving, with lively tavernas and populated beaches. Delos is stoic, protecting the ruins of its ancient sanctuaries in solemn dignity. Milos is magical, with its volcanic rock formations and stunning village vistas.” – Laura Brooks, Greek Isles

124. “The beauty in front of her interrupted her thoughts. She took a deep breath, staring at the shores of Mykonos with the scenic coves and the golden sand beaches.” – Angel Sefer, Deadly Secrets

125. “We’re often wrong at predicting who or what will transform us. Encountering certain people, books, music, places, or ideas … at just the right time can immediately make our lives happier, richer, more beautiful, resonant, or meaningful. When it happens, we feel a kind of instant love for them, both deep and abiding. Now and then it can be something as trifling as a children’s book, a returned telephone call, or a night at a seaside bar in Mykonos.” – Jonathan Carroll, Bathing the Lion

126. “I felt like a pilgrim upon a rare and spiritual planet landing the soil of Mykonos,I ensured it could give me a high inspiration for a next new epic, which was machining inside my inner brains.” – Nithin Purple, The Bell Ringing Woman

Best Ancient Greece Quotes and Quotes about Ancient Greece

If there’s anything I know about Greece it’s that is old as dirt. Or, ancient if you want to be more technical about it.

Hence the reason why there are a ton of ancient Greece quotes and quotes about ancient Greece that are just waiting to be read.

So, stop scrolling and start using these ancient Greece quotes to channel thousands of years of wisdom from some of the greatest minds in human history.

127. “If I’d been born in ancient Greece, I’d worship Zeus and Aphrodite.” – Richard Dawkins

128. “Unless you have seen the houses of Mykonos, you can’t pretend to be an architect. Whatever architecture has to say, it is said here.” – Le Corbusier

129. “Greek is a musical and prolific language, that gives a soul to the objects of sense, and a body to the abstractions of philosophy.” – Edward Gibbon

130. “Even people who know nothing about Greece know something about Greece. The very name sparks visions of ancient civilizations that dominated the Mediterranean.” ― Polly Letofsky

131. “Athens, the eye of Greece, mother of arts and eloquence, native to famous wits.” – John Milton

132. “I would like to be a philosopher in ancient Greece and a poet in ancient China.” – Shan Sa

133. “The ancient Greek definition of happiness was the full use of your power along the lines of excellence.” – John F. Kennedy

134. “The outsiders stood always in awe in front of what they had surnamed the Celestial City with Mighty Walls. The great mystery that cloaked its very foundations kept impelling the youth of Crotona, as well as those of the adjacent cities, to seek admittance. In spite of the difficult rules of the Master, curiosity goaded many to venture inside its secrecy, with a passionate aspiration to discover the unknown.” ― Karim El Koussa

135. “Athens – a city which is very famous for its wisdom and its power. Are you not ashamed of caring so much for making the money and making of fame and prestige, when you neither think nor care about wisdom and truth and the improvement of your soul?” – Aristotle

136. “Empire may be gained by gold, not gold by an empire. It used, indeed, to be a proverb that “It is not Philip, but Philip’s gold that takes the cities of Greece.” – Aemilius

137. “The Greek language has the best mathematical structure and it will be used for a new generation of most sophisticated computers because only in the Greek language there are no limits.” – Bill Gates

138. “How can any educated person stay away from the Greeks? I have always been far more interested in them than in Science.” – Albert Einstein

Best Greek Sayings about Life

What can I say? The Greeks are ancient like “whoa” and know their shiz when it comes to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness (Yes, I know that phrase isn’t Greek).

So, if you’re feeling a bit stuck or kind of lost at the moment and like you need a little bit of insight into life, then give these Greek sayings about life a read.

I pinkie promise that these best Greek sayings about life are well worth your time since they provide some pretty profound insights into the state of the human experience.

140. “The happy man is the one who has a healthy body, a wealthy soul and a well-educated nature.” – Thales

141. “Educating the mind without educating the heart is no education at all.” – Aristotle

142. “What you leave behind is not what is engraved in stone monuments, but what is woven into the lives of others.” – Pericles

143. “It’s not what happens to you, but how you react to it that matters.” – Epictetus

144. “You can discover more about a person in an hour of play than in a year of conversation.” – Plato

145. “For a man to conquer himself is the first and noblest of all victories.” – Plato

146. “The secret of change is to focus all of your energy, not on fighting the old, but on building the new.” – Socrates

147. “Human behavior flows from three main sources: desire, emotion, and knowledge.” – Plato

148. “Happiness resides not in possessions, and not in gold, happiness dwells in the soul.” – Democritus

149. “Silence is better than unmeaning words” – Pythagoras

150. “Wine and children speak the truth” – Greek Proverb

151. “Wealth consists not in having great possessions, but in having few wants.” – Epictetus

152. “One swallow does not make a summer” – Greek Proverb

153. “One swallow does not make a summer” – Aristotle

154. “A society grows great when old men plant trees whose shade they know they shall never sit in” – Greek Proverb

155. “An orator without judgment is a horse without a bridle.” – Theophrastus

156. “It’s sweet to view the sea when standing on the shore” – Christian Archippus

157. ‘The camel does not see her own hump.’

158. “He who becomes a sheep is eaten by the wolf.” – Greek Proverb

159. “Reserve your right to think, for even to think wrongly is better than not to think at all.” – Hypatia

160. “It is difficult to argue with the belly, as it has no ears” – Greek Proverb

161. “Madness does not go to the mountains, it goes to people.”

162. “First say to yourself what you would be, and then do what you have to do.” – Epictetus

163. “A lucky person is someone who plants pebbles and harvests potatoes”’ – Greek Proverb

164. “He who cannot bear misfortune is truly unfortunate.”

165. “Whatever is good to know is difficult to learn.” – Greek Proverb

166. “The most difficult thing in life is to know yourself.” – Thales

167. “It is not possible to step twice into the same river” – Greek Proverb

168. “The foundation of every state is the education of its youth.” – Diogenes

169. “Win by persuasion, not by force” – Bias of Priene

170. “There is nothing permanent except change.” – Heraclitus

171. “We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.” – Aristotle

172. “The mind is not a vessel to be filled but a fire to be kindled.” – Plutarch

173. “No man ever steps in the same river twice, for it’s not the same river and he’s not the same man.” – Heraclitus

174. “True wisdom comes to each of us when we realize how little we understand about life, ourselves, and the world around us.” – Socrates

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215 Quotes About Greece That Makes You Love The Country

Looking for the best quotes about Greece? Well, in this post, you will find a wide range of Greece quotes, including Greece Instagram captions, quotes from Greek philosophers, and even Funny Greece captions.

Whether you are looking for the perfect words to go with the photos that you captured on a dream holiday in Greece , or you want some beautiful Greece captions to fuel your wanderlust, you will find interesting things about this spectacular country in these quotes and captions.

Greece is undoubtedly one of Europe’s most beautiful destinations that attract a variety of travelers, from love-struck honeymoon couples looking for a romantic paradise to hen and stag party seekers in search of all-night parties to art and history enthusiasts.

It is home to one of the most powerful and the oldest empire that was the birthplace of many inventions, philosophers, scientists, and leaders.

No matter why you choose Greece, there are plenty of beautiful towns, cities, islands, and villages in Greece that you will make you fall in love with them with their whitewashed coastal villages, cobbled alleys that feels so medieval, excellent food, gorgeous coves, splendid white sand beaches , rich history, and architecture.

Get ready to fall in love with gorgeous Greece right away through these quotes about ancient Greece and Greece quotes for Instagram.

BEST QUOTES ABOUT GREECE 

The first set of quotes about Greece are the most famous Greek quotes that poetically describe the country’s fantastic beauty.

‘Greece was a muse. It inspired creativity in magical ways that I can’t even begin to understand or explain.’ – Joe Bonamassa 

‘Greece is the most magical place on Earth.’ – Kylie Bax

‘Greece is the home of Gods. They may have died, but their presence still makes itself felt.’ – Henry Miller

‘Greece – The feeling of being lost in time and geography with months and years hazily sparkling ahead in a prospect of un-conjecturable magic’ – Patrick Leigh Fermor

‘For me, Greece is Maria Farantouri. This is how I imagined Goddess Hera to be: strong, pure, and vigilant. I have never encountered any other artist able to give me such a strong sense of the divine.’ – François Mitterrand

‘You know you’re in Greece when you feel a unique, indescribable, out of this world euphoria being there and a deep sadness when you’re leaving.’ – Unknown

‘Such is the aspect of this shore; “Tis Greece, but living Greece no more! So coldly sweet, so deadly fair, We start, for the soul is wanting there.’ – Lord Byron

‘The light of Greece opened my eyes, penetrated my pores, expanded my whole being.’ – Henry Miller

‘The island has magical landscapes and a special energy coming from the sea, the winds, and the land that can’t be found elsewhere.’ – Eugenie Niarchos

‘One of the purest joys that man can afford in this world is to visit the Aegean Sea in the spring, with a breath of light breeze; I have never been able to imagine paradise in any other way. This joy grows right upside down, but God does not allow it to escalate so that the beloved visible world does not disappear with it, on the contrary, the invisible world becomes visible, and what we call God and eternal life and bliss join us on the ship and accompany us on the voyage. In the bitter hour of your death, close your eyes, and you will see Santorini, Naxos, Paros, Mykonos.’ – Nikos Kazantzakis

The mention of Greece fills the mind with the most exalted sentiments and arouses in our bosoms the best feelings of which our nature is capable.’ – James Monroe

GREECE CAPTIONS FOR INSTAGRAM

Below quotes about Greece could be your perfect Greece captions for Instagram to go with the pictures. If you are looking for some Greece travel inspiration, feel free to use these beautiful Greece Instagram captions with the hashtags.

‘It’s all Greek to me.’

‘Greece is a good place to look at the moon, isn’t it?’ – Kari Hesthamar

‘I want to see the Parthenon by moonlight.’ – Daphne Du Maurier

‘I want Rome and the Coliseum, the Acropolis, Athens; I want beauty, and the flame of life.’ – Eleanora Duse

‘The world is expanding Greece and Greece is the shrinking world.’ – Victor Hugo

‘Let there be light! said liberty, and from sunrise like the sea , Athens Rose.’ – P B Shelly

‘Greece is more than a country. It is an experience.’ – Unknown

‘Earth proudly wears the Parthenon as the best gem upon her zone.’ – Ralph Waldo Emerson

‘The Parthenon without the marbles is like a smile with a tooth missing.’ – Neil Kinnock

‘Located in the Cyclades and surrounded by the blue-green water of the Aegean sits whitewashed, windmill-strewn Mykonos, the island of the winds.’ – Lizy Manola

‘I like reading, free diving, and hiking . But my favorite thing to do is travel anywhere in Greece. I love everything about that place.’ – Max Irons

Recommended: 75 GREECE PUNS AND JOKES THAT WILL MAKE YOU LAUGH

‘Her dress sparkled like the stars that blanketed the Mykonos night sky.’ ― Anthea Syrokou

‘The beauty in front of her interrupted her thoughts. She took a deep breath, staring at the shores of Mykonos with the scenic coves and the golden sand beaches.’ – Angel Sefer

‘You have your brush, you have your colors, you paint the paradise, then in you go.’ ― Nikos Kazantzakis

‘Mykonos, which probably meant it was time for them to get.’ — Rick Riordan

‘If you deconstruct Greece, you will, in the end, see an olive tree, a grapevine, and a boat remain. That is, with as much you reconstruct her.’ – Odysseas

‘Right now I’d love to be sitting on a Greek island somewhere because of being Greek American, eating great octopus salad, and some fantastic lamb. Or sipping a little ouzo. I think the Mediterranean diet is one of the healthiest. Lots of nuts, vegetables, fruits, fresh fish, lean meats, yogurt.’ – Cat Cora

SHORT QUOTES ABOUT GREECE

Below are some short quotes from Greece that you can use if you want to keep the Greece sayings simple.

‘Greece gave democracy to the rest of the world.’ – Alexis Tsipras

‘Greece is too old to die.’ – Lito Seizani

‘Greece is a good place for rebirths.’ – Judith Martin

‘My favorite power food is Greek yogurt and honey.’ – Misty May Treanor

‘At Athens, wise men propose, and fools dispose.’ – Alcuin

‘The problem with Greece is that she’s just too beautiful.’ – Unknown

‘Athens, the eye of Greece, mother of arts And eloquence.’ – John Milton

‘Be afraid of the Greeks bearing gifts.’ — Virgil

‘And then God said, let there be Greece.’ – Unknown

‘Get ready for wine, raki, and getting hand-fed by strangers.’ – Anthony Bourdain

QUOTES ABOUT GREECE CULTURE & HISTORY

Greece empire being one of the earliest ever to known to us, the culture, traditions and history of this country is deep and enriching. It probably would take years for anyone to get to know about this gorgeous country full of monuments, stories, legends and folklores.

But through these beautiful quotes about Greece culture, history and traditions, we get glimpses of the world that once existed here, and to the present day Greece that has left a significant influence not only in Europe but around the world as well. Enjoy these quotes for Greece to understand and also appreciate this country.

‘The Greeks had invented democracy, built the Acropolis, and called it a day.’ – David Sedaris

‘My childhood in Corfu shaped my life. If I had the craft of Merlin, I would give every child the gift of my childhood.’ – Gerald Durrell

‘Europe holds a great history of philosophy from Greece until today. I read all those books and see these buildings, and I think of where I stand when I design my architecture.’ – Tadao Ando

‘In every island of the Aegean sea are found abundant traces of the vast prehistoric empire.’ – James Theodore Bent

‘How great are the dangers I face to win a good name in Athens? – Alexander the Great

‘In the world over, the very name of our country is immediately associated with the Parthenon.’ – Melina Mercouri

More sayings about Greece culture, the role of women and the society in general. Some of these quotes in Greek have been translated to English.

‘In many ways, we are all sons and daughters of ancient Greece.’ – Nia Vardalos

‘In Greece, people have a quality of life. People here live beautifully.’ – Otto Rehhagel

‘We’ve come full circle but the best remains the heart of the city, the greatest center of the greatest city, our Acropolis, where our Christmas tree is lighted.’ – Daniel Patrick Moynihan

‘Greeks use food for everyday gatherings. Cooking is a big part of our lives. We want to show people our hospitality.’ – Ioanna Hawkins

‘Experts in ancient Greek culture say that people back then didn’t see their thoughts as belonging to them. When ancient Greeks had a thought, it occurred to them as a god or goddess giving an order. Apollo was telling them to be brave. Athena was telling them to fall in love. Now people hear a commercial for sour cream potato chips and rush out to buy, but now they call this free will. At least the ancient Greeks were being honest.’ – Chuck Palahniuk

‘Unless you have seen the houses in Mykonos, you can’t pretend to be an architect. Whatever architecture has to say, it is said here.’ – Le Corbusier

‘The spirit of Greece, passing through and ascending above the world, hath so animated universal nature, that the very rocks and woods, the very torrents and wilds burst forth with it.’ – Walter Savage Landor

‘You must understand what the Parthenon Marbles mean to us. They are our pride. They are our sacrifices. They are our noblest symbol of excellence. They are a tribute to the democratic philosophy. They are our aspirations and our name. They are the essence of Greekness.’ – Melina Mercouri

‘We’re often wrong at predicting who or what will transform us. Encountering certain people, books, music, places, or ideas at just the right time can immediately make our lives happier, richer, more beautiful, resonant, or meaningful. When it happens, we feel a kind of instant love for them, both deep and abiding. Now and then it can be something as trifling as a children’s book, a returned telephone call, or a night at a seaside bar in Mykonos.’ – Jonathan Carroll

‘Among all peoples, the Greeks have dreamt life’s dream most beautifully.’ — Wolfgang Goethe

‘The people of Crete, unfortunately, make more history than they consume locally.’ – Hector Munro

‘Greece appears to be the fountain of knowledge; Rome of elegance.’ – Samuel Johnson

‘It is a shame to be called educated those who do not study ancient Greek writers.’ – Francois Rabelais

‘Gods, not wanting to deprive the Greeks of the truth, they gave them poetry.’ — Joseph Joubert

‘Hence we will not say that Greeks fight like heroes but that heroes fight like Greeks.’ – Winston Churchill

‘We are all Greeks. Our laws, our literature, our religion, our arts have their root in Greece.’ – Percy Bysshe Shelley

‘In Greece, we’re too poor to go to psychiatrists – we have friends instead.’ – Melina Mercouri

‘There are men whose manners have the same essential splendor as the simple and awful scripture on the friezes of the Parthenon, ane the remains of the earliest Greek art.’ – Ralph Waldo Emerson

QUOTES ABOUT GREECE TRAVEL

Whether you are traveling in Europe for the first time or the nth time, you should definitely add Greece to your bucket list. And once you go there, there is no looking back, because you will end up going again and again to Greece.

Below quotes about Greece will tell you why the country can get addictive, and the love for Greece as expressed by these people. You will find travel captions for Greece in this list, including quotes about Santorini, Greek food quotes, Greek sun quotes and quotes about Athens, perfect for some Greece travel inspiration.

‘There is a kind of flame in Crete – let us call it ‘soul’ – something more powerful than either life or death. There is pride, obstinacy, valor, and together with these something else inexpressible and imponderable, something which makes you rejoice that you are a human being, and at the same time tremble.’ – Nikos Kazantzakis

‘I knew that no matter what door you knock on in a Cretan village, it will be opened for you. A meal will be served in your honor, and you will sleep between the best sheets in the house. In Crete, the stranger is still the unknown god. Before him, all doors and all hearts are opened.’ – Nikos Kazantzakis

‘I like the thought that what we are to do on this earth is embellished it for its greater beauty so that oncoming generations can look back to the shapes we leave here and get the same thrill that I get in looking back at theirs – at the Parthenon, at Chartres Cathedral.” – Philip Johnson

‘The isles of Greece, the isles of Greece! Where burning Sappho loved and sung, Where grew the arts of war and peace, Where Delos rose, and Phoebus sprung! Eternal summer gilds them yet, But all, except their sun is set .’ – Lord Byron

‘As you set out for Ithaca, hope your road is a long one, full of adventure, full of discovery.’ – Konstantinos Kavafis

‘I felt like a pilgrim upon a rare and spiritual planet landing the soil of Mykonos, I ensured it could give me a high inspiration for a next new epic, which was machining inside my inner brains.’ – Unknown

‘What I liked about Greece was the impressive force of the language itself, unconfined by dictionaries, spoken in the streets, in cafés, and in the country.’ – Peter Levi

‘The sea was sapphire-colored, and the sky burned like a heated opal through the air. We hoisted sail, the wind was blowing fair. For the blue lands to the eastward lie.’ – Oscar Wilde

‘The only sounds: – when ‘gan the West to burn, and the red sun upon the seas to ride, I stood upon the soil of Greece at last!’ – Oscar Wild

‘I’m looking at the sea on the wall, and even though it’s a copy of a copy of the Aegean, I wish you would grab me and take me to Greece.’ – Analicia Sotelo

‘Of the many smells of Athens two seem to be the most characteristic – that of garlic, bold and deadly like acetylene gas. and that of dust, soft and warm and caressing like tweed.’ – Evelyn Waugh

‘On a summer night, I have sat on the balcony drinking Ouzo, watching the ghosts of Greek Heroes sailing past, listening to the rustle of their sail cloths and the gentle lapping of their oars and lain alongside Pythagoras watching him study the myriad of triangles in the constellations twinkling above us. Whether it was Crete, the heat, the Ouzo, or a combination, it is unequaled anywhere other than Santorini, in my humble opinion.’ – Phil Simpkin

‘We approached Athens from the north in the early twilight, climbing a hill. When we reached its peak, we were dazzled to look down and see the Acropolis struck by one beam of the setting sun as if posing for a picture.’ – Donald Hall

‘Some places, such as Paris , have a magic best experienced for brief periods so the romantic feeling doesn’t become tainted by a day-to-day reality. But Mykonos was different in that respect. Mykonos made you long for the restful, happy day to day reality of life on the Greek island, and it was the brief visits that tortured the soul. Paris was a romantic respite from life, Mykonos was life itself, and living.’ – Bobby Underwood

‘It takes a lifetime for someone to discover Greece, but it only takes an instant to fall in love with her.’ – Henry Miller

‘My favorite place to write is at my desk in my house in the mountains of Crete. I produce more there because one big distraction is missing: the Internet.’ – Neal Asher

‘The Aegean sea washes Greece on two sides: first, the side that faces towards the east and stretches from Sunium, towards the north as far as the Thermaean Gulf and Thessaloniceia, a Macedonian city; and secondly, the side that faces towards the south, I mean the Macedonian country, extending from Thessaloniceia as far as the Strymon.’ — Strabo

‘Gradually the magic of the island Corfu settled over us as gently and clingingly as pollen.’ – Gerald Durrell

‘If you go back to the Greeks and Romans, they talk about all three – wine, food, and art – as a way of enhancing life.’ – Robert Mondavi

‘The Greek Isles present a collage of diverse landscapes and customs. Mykonos is fun-loving, with lively tavernas and populated beaches. Delos is stoic, protecting the ruins of its ancient sanctuaries in solemn dignity. Milos is magical, with its volcanic rock formations and stunning village vistas.’ – Laura Brooks

‘I wonder if Socrates and Plato took a house on Crete during the summer.’ – Woody Allen

‘Greece has got something like 1,400 islands. There is so much of Greece you can’t know even if you’re Greek. It’s sprinkled out all around the edge of the Aegean, all over the place. It’s already a secret place wherever you go, even if it’s somewhere huge like Athens or Corinth. The place enchanted me.’ – Joanna Lumley

‘This was Mykonos, a seaside sanctuary so timeless that I half expected to glimpse Hercule Poirot and Captain Hastings walking along the dock as we disembarked from the ferry.’ – Bobby Underwood

‘The Parthenon is really only a farmyard over which someone put a roof; colonnades and sculptures were added because there were people in Athens who happened to be working and wanted to express themselves.’ – Pablo Picasso

FUNNY QUOTES ABOUT GREECE 

Below quotes about Greece are some funny Greece captions that will induce a giggle or two, especially if you have been there. Don’t laugh alone. Pass these funny quotes about Greeks to your friends too.

‘I want to have an ‘Eat, Pray, Love’ experience where I drop off the face of the planet and move to Greece.’ – Jennifer Hyman

‘In a way, it’s nice to know that there are Greek gods out there, because you have somebody to blame when things go wrong. For instance, when you’re walking away from a bus that’s just been attacked by monster hags and blown up by lightning, and it’s raining on top of everything else, most people might think that’s just really bad luck; when you’re a half-blood, you understand that some divine force is really trying to mess up your day.’ – Rick Riordan

‘If I’d been born in ancient Greece, I’d worship Zeus and Aphrodite.’ – Richard Dawkins

‘There are two kinds of people. Greeks, and everyone else who wish they were Greek.’ – My big fat Greek wedding

‘An Aristotle was but the rubbish of an Adam, and Athens but the rudiments of Paradise.’ – Robert south

‘Most British newspapers now have more columns than the Acropolis.’ – Ian Jack

‘You know, it is said that we Greeks are a fervent and warm-blooded breed. Well, let me tell you something – it is true.’ – Melina Mercouri

‘You can’t swing a cat in Ancient Greece without hitting one of Zeus’s ex-girlfriends.’ – Rick Riordan

‘Alcohol makes other people less tedious, and food less bland, and can help provide what the Greeks called entheos, or the slight buzz of inspiration when reading or writing.’ – Christopher Hitchens

‘If you look at a map of Europe you will observe that Greece is a skeleton-like hand stretching its crooked fingers out into the Mediterranean Sea.’ — Will Durant

FAMOUS GREEK PHILOSOPHERS QUOTES

Below quotes about Greece have been the words of wisdom passed down through human kind for many centuries. These truthful words of the wise Greek philosophers consist of Greek sayings, Greek love quotes and beautiful Greek quotes about life.

‘Man is the measure of all things.’  –  Protagoras

Yet is it more honorable, and just, and upright, and pleasing, to treasure in the memory good acts than bad.’ – Xenophon

‘Give me a word, any word, and I’ll show you that the root of that word is Greek.’

‘Give me a lever long enough and a fulcrum on which to place it, and I shall move the world.’ – Archimedes

‘The easiest thing in the world is self-deceit; for every man believes what he wishes, though the reality is often different.’ – Demosthenes

‘I would far rather be ignorant than knowledgeable of evil.’ – Aeschylus

‘Strength and beauty are the blessings of youth; temperance, however, is the flower of old age.’ – Democritus

‘For persuasion, the reasoning is far stronger than gold.’  –  Democritus

‘For the wise is easy to go anywhere. Because the whole world is home to a good soul.’ – Democritus

‘Nothing exists except atoms and empty space; everything else is just opinion.’ – Democritus

‘Not life, but good life, is to be chiefly valued.’ – Socrates

‘There is only one good, knowledge, and one evil, ignorance.’ – Socrates

‘The ancient Oracle said that I was the wisest of all the Greeks. It is because I alone, of all the Greeks, know that I know nothing.’  –  Socrates

‘Beware the barrenness of a busy life.’ – Socrates

‘The unexamined life is not worth living.’ – Socrates

I am not an Athenian or a Greek, but a citizen of the world. ‘ — Socrates

‘Virtue does not come from money, but from virtue comes money and all other good things to man, both to the individual and to the state.’ – Socrates

‘He is the richest who is content with the least, for content is the wealth of nature.’ – Socrates

‘My advice to you is get married: if you find a good wife you’ll be happy; if not, you’ll become a philosopher.’ – Socrates

‘Wisdom begins in wonder.’ – Socrates

‘One of the penalties for refusing to participate in politics is that you end up being governed by your inferiors.’ – Plato

‘For what should a man live, if not for the pleasures of discourse?’ – Plato

‘Wise men speak because they have something to say; Fools because they have to say something.’ – Plato

‘Knowledge creates happiness.’ – Plato

‘The beginning is the most important part of the work.’ – Plato

‘At a touch of love, everyone becomes a poet.’ – Plato

‘People are like dirt. They can either nourish you and help you grow as a person or they can stunt your growth and make you wilt and die.’ – Plato

‘No man should bring children into the world who is unwilling to persevere to the end in their nature and education.’ – Plato

‘Knowledge without justice ought to be called cunning rather than wisdom.’ – Plato

‘Only the dead have seen the end of the war.’ – Plato

‘For a man to conquer himself is the first and noblest of all victories.’ – Plato

‘Man: a being in search of meaning.’ – Plato

‘ There are two things a person should never be angry at, what they can help, and what they cannot.’ – Plato

‘Those who are too smart to engage in politics are punished by being governed by those who are dumber.’ – Plato

‘Those who intend on becoming great should love neither themselves nor their own things, but only what is just, whether it happens to be done by themselves or others.’ – Plato

‘Good people do not need laws to tell them to act responsibly, while bad people will find a way around the laws.” – Plato

‘All men by nature desire to know. An indication of this is the delight we take in our senses; for even apart from their usefulness they have loved for themselves and above all others the sense of sight. For not only with a view to action, but even when we are not going to do anything, we prefer sight to almost everything else. The reason is that this, most of all the senses, makes us know and brings to light many differences between things.’ – Aristotle

‘Anybody can become angry — that is easy, but to be angry with the right person and to the right degree and at the right time and for the right purpose, and in the right way — that is not within everybody’s power and is not easy.’ ― Aristotle

‘Happiness depends upon ourselves.’ – Aristotle

‘Those who educate children well are more to be honored than they who produce them; for these only gave them life, those the art of living well.’ ― Aristotle

‘Never start a job, a battle, or a relationship, if the fear of losing overshadows the prospect of success.’ – Aristotle Onassis

‘Educating the mind without educating the heart is no education at all.’ – Aristotle

‘At his best, man is the noblest of all animals; separated from law and justice he is the worst.’ – Aristotle

‘We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.’ – Aristotle

‘Nature does nothing without purpose or in vain.’  –  Aristotle

‘Whosoever is delighted in solitude, is either a wild beast or a god.’ ― Aristotle

‘Moral excellence comes about as a result of habit. We become just by doing just acts, temperate by doing temperate acts, brave by doing brave acts.’ – Aristotle

‘There was never a genius without a tincture of madness.’ – Aristotle

‘Happiness is the meaning and the purpose of life, the whole aim and end of human existence.’ ― Aristotle

‘We must free ourselves of the hope that the sea will ever rest. We must learn to sail in high winds.’ – Aristotle Onassis

‘Thou wilt find rest from vain fancies if thou doest every act in life as though it were thy last.,’  –  Aristotle

‘You will never do anything in this world without courage. It is the greatest quality of the mind next to honor.’ – Aristotle

‘To perceive is to suffer.’ ― Aristotle

‘The roots of education are bitter, but the fruit is sweet.’ – Aristotle

‘The energy of the mind is the essence of life.’ – Aristotle

‘Even when laws have been written down, they ought not always to remain unaltered.’ – Aristotle

‘Wit is educated insolence.’ – Aristotle

‘It is the mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain a thought without accepting it.’ ― Aristotle

‘Knowing yourself is the beginning of all wisdom.’ ― Aristotle

 ‘Misfortune shows those who are not really friends.’ – Aristotle

‘The ultimate value of life depends upon awareness and the power of contemplation rather than upon mere survival.’ – Aristotle

‘I count him braver who overcomes his desires than him who conquers his enemies; for the hardest victory is over self.’ – Aristotle

‘Education is an ornament in prosperity and a refuge in adversity.’ – Aristotle

‘In all things of nature, there is something of the marvelous.’ – Aristotle

Find more profound quotes from Greek philosophers in this ultimate list of quotes about Greece, which influenced millions of people in Ancient Greece kingdom.

‘A man needs a little madness, or else he never dares cut the rope and be free.’ – Nikos Kazantzakis

‘Reach what you cannot.’  –  Nikos Kazantzakis

‘I was happy, I knew that. While experiencing happiness, we have difficulty in being conscious of it. Only when the happiness is past and we look back on it do we suddenly realize – sometimes with astonishment – how happy we had been.’ ― Nikos Kazantzakis

‘I felt once more how simple and frugal a thing is happiness: a glass of wine, a roast chestnut, a wretched little brazier, the sound of the sea. Nothing else.’ – Nikos Kazantzakis

‘Happy is the man, I thought, who, before dying, has the good fortune to sail the Aegean sea.’ – Nikos Kazantzakis

‘Since we cannot change reality, let us change the eyes which see reality.’ – Nikos Kazantzakis

‘I have always been consumed with one desire; to touch and see as much as possible of the earth and the sea before I die.’ – Nikos Kazantzakis

‘I hope nothing. I fear nothing. I am free.’ – Nikos Kazantzakis

‘This is true happiness: to have no ambition and to work like a horse as if you had every ambition. To live far from men, not to need them and yet to love them. To have the stars above, the land to your left and the sea to your right and to realize of a sudden that in your heart, life has accomplished its final miracle: it has become a fairy tale.’ ― Nikos Kazantzakis

It is possible to provide security against other ills, but as far as death is concerned, we men live in a city without walls. – Epicurus

‘Let no one be slow to seek wisdom when he is young nor weary in the search of it when he has grown old. For no age is too early or too late for the health of the soul.’ – Epicurus

‘Do not spoil what you have by desiring what you have not; remember that what you now have was once among the things you only hoped for.’ – Epicurus

‘Of all things which wisdom provides to make life entirely happy, much the greatest is the possession of friendship.’  –  Epicurus

‘You don’t develop courage by being happy in your relationships every day. You develop it by surviving difficult times and challenging adversity.’ – Epicurus

‘Death does not concern us, because as long as we exist, death is not here. And when it does come, we no longer exist.’  –  Epicurus

‘The art of living well and the art of dying well are one.’ – Epicurus

‘The greater the difficulty, the more the glory in surmounting it.’ – Epicurus

‘Painting is silent poetry, and poetry is a painting that speaks.’ – Plutarch

‘Know how to listen and you will profit even from those who talk badly.’ – Plutarch

‘Those who aim at great deeds must also suffer greatly.’ – Plutarch

‘The wildest colts make the best horses.’ – Plutarch

‘Time will explain it all. He is a talker and needs no questioning before he speaks.’ – Euripides

‘Experience, travel – these are as education in themselves.’ – Euripides

‘Youth is the best time to be rich, and the best time to be poor.’ – Euripides

‘Be careful to leave your sons well instructed rather than fools, for the hopes of the instructed are better than the wealth of the ignorant.’ – Epictetus

‘It’s not what happens to you, but how you react to it that matters.’ – Epictetus

‘In order to please others, we lose our hold on our life’s purpose.’ – Epictetus

‘The waking have one world in common; sleepers have each a private world of his own.’ – Heraclitus

‘There is nothing permanent except change.’ – Heraclitus

‘If you do not expect the unexpected you will not find it, for it is not to be reached by search or trail.’ – Heraclitus

‘History is Philosophy teaching by examples.’ – Thucydides

‘The secret of happiness is freedom. The secret of freedom is courage.’ – Thucydides

‘What you leave behind is not what is engraved in stone monuments, but what is woven into the lives of others.’ – Pericle

‘Famous men have the whole earth as their memorial.’ – Pericles

‘The less you want, the richer you are. The more you need in order to be happy, the more miserable you’ll be.’ – Yanni

‘All you need is passion. If you have a passion for something, you’ll create the talent.’  –  Yanni

‘Pay attention to your enemies, for they are the first to discover your mistakes.’ – Antisthenes

‘Choose rather be strong in the soul than strong of body.’ – Pythagoras

ANCIENT GREECE QUOTES

Ancient Greece was one of the oldest and most advanced civilisations in the world. Greece gave some of the brightest minds, emperors, scientists, architects, and thinkers along with the invention of many things that we still use in our day-to-day lives. Below are some beautiful quotes about Greece that are specially dedicated to ancient Greece.

Gey transported back in time through these beautiful quotes about ancient Greece that cover Greek love quotes and Greek mythology quotes. Some of these original quotes in Greek can be found in English here.

‘Greek is a musical and prolific language, that gives a soul to the objects of sense, and a body to the abstractions of philosophy.’ – Edward Gibbon

‘Even people who know nothing about Greece know something about Greece. The very name sparks visions of ancient civilizations that dominated the Mediterranean.’ ― Polly Letofsky

‘I would like to be a philosopher in ancient Greece and a poet in ancient China.’ – Shan Sa

‘Athens, the eye of Greece, mother of arts and eloquence, native to famous wits.’ – John Milton

‘The ancient Greek definition of happiness was the full use of your power along the lines of excellence.’ – John F Kennedy

‘The outsiders stood always in awe in front of what they had surnamed the Celestial City with Mighty Walls. The great mystery that cloaked its very foundations kept impelling the youth of Crotona, as well as those of the adjacent cities, to seek admittance. In spite of the difficult rules of the Master, curiosity goaded many to venture inside its secrecy, with a passionate aspiration to discover the unknown. Yet, to enroll, young men and women should be introduced by their parents. Sometimes, it was one of the assigned Masters of the Pythagorean Society who assumed the introduction. At the massive wooden gated entrance, one could admire the marble statue of Hermes-Enoch, the father of the spiritual laws. A cubical stone formed its stall where a skillful hand had carved the words: No entry to the vulgar.’ ― Karim El Koussa

‘Empire may be gained by gold, not gold by an empire. It used, indeed, to be a proverb that “It is not Philip, but Philip’s gold that takes the cities of Greece.’ – Aemilius

‘Athens – a city which is very famous for its wisdom and its power. Are you not ashamed of caring so much for making the money and making of fame and prestige, when you neither think nor care about wisdom and truth and the improvement of your soul?’ – Aristotle

‘How can any educated person stay away from the Grees? I have always been far more interested in them than in Science.’ – Albert Einstein

‘The Greek language has the best mathematical structure and it will be used for a new generation of most sophisticated computers because only in the Greek language there are no limits.’ – Bill Gates

BEAUTIFUL GREECE SAYINGS

Ending the run of the quotes about Greece with these beautiful Greek proverbs that are words of wisdom reflecting the lives of the people, which has been passed down hundreds of generations.

‘Reserve your right to think, for even to think wrongly is better than not to think at all.’ – Hypatia

‘He who becomes a sheep is eaten by the wolf.’ – Greek Proverb

‘Madness does not go to the mountains, it goes to people.’

‘A lucky person is someone who plants pebbles and harvests potatoes.’ – Greek Proverb

‘An orator without judgment is a horse without a bridle.’ – Theophrastus

‘He who cannot bear misfortune is truly unfortunate.’

‘Whatever is good to know is difficult to learn.’ – Greece Proverb

‘The camel does not see her own hump.’

That’s the epic list of the best quotes about Greece for you. Which ones did you like? If you have enjoyed reading, check these other quotes for some travel inspiration.

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124 Epic Quotes About Greece That Will Inspire You To Visit

Ahh, Greece! The only country that will leave a piece of itself in your heart. These 124 quotes about Greece will inspire you to visit or reminisce about watching sunsets from the Acropolis , admiring the views in Santorini , or swimming with sea turtles in Zakynthos. 

Here I have compiled the best Greece quotes from poets, authors, Greek philosophers, and those who just love all things Greek. Get ready to get excited for your adventure in this breathtaking country. OPA! 

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Best Quotes About Greece

Below I have listed all my favorite quotes about Greece. Before you pack for Greece , read through these beautiful quotes and save your favorites before you go relaxing on the beaches in Santorini , chasing sunsets in Zia Kos , visiting the historical sites in Athens , or island hopping in the Ionian Sea .

1. “Greece is the most magical place on Earth.”-Kyle Bax

2.  “You know, it is said that we Greeks are a fervent and warm-blooded breed. Well, let me tell you something – it is true.” – Melina Mercouri  

3. “The Greek language seems different than other languages. I’m not the only person to think this. Usually, I come up with some kind of dopey metaphor for why it’s different. But it seems, somehow, more original, more like being in the morning of language.” – Anne Carson

4. “Greece is a good place to look at the moon, isn’t it?”– Kari Hesthamar

5.  “The isles of Greece, the isles of Greece! Where burning Sappho loved and sung, where grew the arts of war and peace, where Delos rose, and Phoebus sprung! Eternal summer gilds them yet, but all, except their sun, is set.” – Lord Byron 

6. “What I liked about Greece was […] the impressive force of the language itself, unconfined by dictionaries, spoken in the streets, in cafés and in the country.”- Peter Levi

7. “Greek is a musical and prolific language, that gives a soul to the objects of sense, and a body to the abstractions of philosophy.” – Edward Gibbon

8. “If I’d been born in ancient Greece, I’d worship Zeus and Aphrodite”– Richard Dawkins 

9. “Greece is the home of Gods. They may have died, but their presence still makes itself felt.” – Henry Miller

10. “How great are the dangers I face to win a good name in Athens.”– Alexander the Great 

11. “Greece was a muse. It inspired creativity in magical ways that I can’t even begin to understand or explain.”– Joe Bonamassa  

12. “Greece – The feeling of being lost in time and geography with months and years hazily sparkling ahead in a prospect of inconjecturable magic.” – Patrick Leigh Fermor

13. “Greece gave democracy to the rest of the world.”-Alexis Tsipras 

14. “For me, Greece is Maria Farantouri. This is how I imagined Goddess Hera to be: strong, pure, and vigilant. I have never encountered any other artist able to give me such a strong sense of the divine.” – François Mitterrand

15. “The light of Greece opened my eyes, penetrated my pores, expanded my whole being.” – Henry Miller 

16. “Greece appears to be the fountain of knowledge; Rome of elegance.” – Samuel Johnson

 17. “Greece is a good place for rebirths.” – Judith Martin 

“Europe holds a great history of philosophy from Greece until today. I read all those books and see these buildings, and I think of where I stand when I design my architecture.” – Tadao Ando  

18. “When God was handing out the lands on earth he called the representatives of all tribes to meet at noon on a certain date. After a night of revelry, the Greeks showed up late only to find out God had already allocated each tribe its land. As usual, the Greeks grumbled, so finally, God conceded. “There are no more lots available except one I had kept for myself“ – and he gave them Greece. Truth or fiction, this is truly a blessed land.” – Unknown

19. “Athens, the eye of Greece, mother of arts and eloquence, native to famous wits.”– John Milton

20. “The sea was sapphire colored, and the sky. Burned like a heated opal through the air; we hoisted sail; the wind was blowing fair. For the blue lands that to the eastward lie. From the steep prow I marked with quickening eye Zakynthos, every olive grove and creek, Ithaca’s cliff, Lycaon’s snowy peak, and all the flower-strewn hills of Arcady. The flapping of the sail against the mast, the ripple of the water on the side, the ripple of girls’ laughter at the stern, the only sounds:- when ‘gan the West to burn, and a red sun upon the seas to ride, I stood upon the soil of Greece at last!” – Oscar Wilde

21. ”As you set out for Ithaca, hope your road is a long one, full of adventure, full of discovery.”– Konstantinos Kavafis

22. “Experts in ancient Greek culture say that people back then didn’t see their thoughts as belonging to them. When ancient Greeks had a thought, it occurred to them as a god or goddess giving an order. Apollo was telling them to be brave. Athena was telling them to fall in love. Now people hear a commercial for sour cream potato chips and rush out to buy, but now they call this free will. At least the ancient Greeks were being honest. “–Chuck Palahniuk

Inspiring Quotes About Greece

23. “If you go back to the Greeks and Romans, they talk about all three – wine, food, and art – as a way of enhancing life.”– Robert Mondavi

24. “Alcohol makes other people less tedious, and food less bland, and can help provide what the Greeks called entheos, or the slight buzz of inspiration when reading or writing.” -Christopher Hitchens 

25. “If you go back to the Greeks and Romans, they talk about all three – wine, food, and art – as a way of enhancing life.” – Robert Mondavi “

26. You must understand what the Parthenon Marbles mean to us. They are our pride. They are our sacrifices. They are our noblest symbol of excellence. They are a tribute to the democratic philosophy. They are our aspirations and our name. They are the essence of Greekness.” – Melina Mercouri

27. “Greece has got something like 1,400 islands. There is so much of Greece you can’t know even if you’re Greek. It’s sprinkled out all around the edge of the Aegean, all over the place. It’s already a secret place wherever you go, even if it’s somewhere huge like Athens or Corinth. The place enchanted me. “- Joanna Lumley  

28. “Happy is the man, I thought, who, before dying, has the good fortune to sail the Aegean sea. “– Nikos Kazantzakis, Zorba the Greek

29. “Hence we will not say that Greeks fight like heroes but that heroes fight like Greeks.” – Winston Churchill

30. “If Greece is destroyed completely, an olive tree, a vine, and a boat will remain. That is enough to rebuild her from the beginning.” – Odysseus Elytis

31.  “The spirit of Greece, passing through and ascending above the world, hath so animated universal nature, that the very rocks and woods, the very torrents and wilds burst forth with it.” – Walter Savage Landor

32. “The world is the expanding Greece and Greece is the shrinking world.” – Victor Hugo

33.  “The Greeks had invented democracy, built the Acropolis and called it a day.”– David Sedaris

34.  “If you go back to the Greeks and Romans, they talk about all three – wine, food, and art – as a way of enhancing life.”– Robert Mondavi

35.  “There is a kind of flame in Crete – let us call it “soul” – something more powerful than either life or death. There is pride, obstinacy, valor, and together with these something else inexpressible and imponderable, something which makes you rejoice that you are a human being, and at the same time tremble. “-Nikos Kazantzakis

Related Post: Things To Do In Athens

Greek Quotes For Those Who Love Greek Culture

36.“Among all peoples, the Greeks have dreamt life’s dream most beautifully.” — Wolfgang Goethe

37.  “I’ve got my huge Greek family. I mean, I don’t know how many cousins I have – I can’t even keep track. There are just so many of us, and we love all Greek food – we have Greek night every Sunday night.” – Elena Kampouris

38. “Greeks use food for everyday gatherings. Cooking is a big part of our lives. We want to show people our hospitality.” – Ioanna Hawkins

39.  “Today, to walk along the pebbled pathways of a traditional Greek mountain village or the marbled streets of an ancient acropolis is to step back in time. To meander at a leisurely pace through these island chains by boat is to be captivated by the same dramatic landscapes and enchanted islets that make the myths of ancient Greece so compelling. To witness the Mediterranean sun setting on the turquoise sea is to receive one of life’s greatest blessings.” – Laura Brooks 

40. ”In many ways we are all sons and daughters of ancient Greece.”- Nia Vardalos

41.  “It is no wonder that historians trace the birth of Western civilization to these jewels of the Aegean, Ionian, and Mediterranean seas. The Greek Isles are home to wide-ranging and far-reaching cultural traditions and mythic tales, not to mention the colorful history and unforgettable vistas that still draw thousands of tourists to the region every year.” – Laura Brooks

 42.  “In Greece, we’re too poor to go to psychiatrists – we have friends instead.” – Melina Mercouri

43. “In Greece, people have a quality of life. People here live beautifully.” – Otto Rehhagel

44.  “Greece is the home of the gods; they may have died but their presence still makes itself felt. The gods were of human proportion: they were created out of the human spirit.” – Henry Miller

45. “The center of Western culture is Greece, and we have never lost our ties with the architectural concepts of that ancient civilization.” – Stephen Gardiner

46. ”We are all Greeks. Our laws, our literature, our religion, our arts have their root in Greece.” -Percy Bysshe Shelley

47.  “Enthusiasm is a wonderful thing. In South America, they throw flowers to you. In Greece, Greeks throw themselves.” – Melina Mercouri

48. “On a summer night, I have sat on the balcony drinking Ouzo, watching the ghosts of Greek Heroes sailing past, listening to the rustle of their sail cloths and the gentle lapping of their oars.” -Phil Simpkin

Funny Greek Quotes

49. “Work Tip: Stand up. Stretch. Take a walk. Go to the airport. Get on a plane. Go to Greece. Never return.”- Unknown

50.“You can’t swing a cat in Ancient Greece without hitting one of Zeus’s ex-girlfriends.”-Rick Riordan 

51. “I want to go to Italy and France; those are my two places. And I really want to go to Greece. I’ve seen so many pictures on Airbnb that make me think I should be living there. I could eat great salads and be on a boat.” – Mary Lambert 

52. “Be afraid of the Greeks bearing gifts.”— Virgil

53. “There are two kinds of people. Greeks, and everyone else who wish they was Greek.” – My Big Fat Greek Wedding

54. “Give me a word, any word, and I’ll show you that the root of that word is Greek”-Greeks

55. “I want to have an ‘Eat, Pray, Love’ experience where I drop off the face of the planet and move to Greece.”– Jennifer Hyman 

56. “The mention of Greece fills the mind with the most exalted sentiments and arouses in our bosoms the best feelings of which our nature is capable.” – James Monroe

57. “In a way, it’s nice to know that there are Greek gods out there, because you have somebody to blame when things go wrong.” -Rick Riordan.

58. “Most British newspapers now have more columns than the Acropolis.’ – Ian Jack

59. “If you look at a map of Europe you will observe that Greece is a skeleton-like hand stretching its crooked fingers out into the Mediterranean Sea.” — Will Durant

Quotes About Greece Travel

60. “If I could go anywhere, I’d love to visit Greece someday because it looks so beautiful.” – Laurie Hernandez 

“One of the purest joys that man can afford in this world is to visit the Aegean Sea in the spring, with a breath of light breeze; I have never been able to imagine paradise in any other way. This joy grows right upside down, but God does not allow it to escalate so that the beloved visible world does not disappear with it, on the contrary, the invisible world becomes visible, and what we call God and eternal life and bliss join us on the ship and accompany us on the voyage. In the bitter hour of your death, close your eyes, and you will see Santorini, Naxos, Paros, Mykonos.” – Nikos Kazantzakis 

61.  “I like reading, free diving, and hiking. But my favorite thing to do is travel anywhere in Greece. I love everything about that place.” – Max Irons

62.  “I’m looking at the sea on the wall, and even though it’s a copy of a copy of the Aegean, I wish you would grab me and take me to Greece.” – Analicia Sotelo 

63. “Contemporary travelers to the Greek Isles come for myriad reasons and find a dazzling array of unexpected delights, for each of the more than three thousand islands has its own particular character. From the larger, bustling islands of Crete, Rhodes, and the island nation of Cyprus to the quieter havens of Folegandros and Kárpathos, to the hundreds of tiny, uninhabited islets of the region, the Greek Isles present a collage of diverse landscapes and customs. Mykonos is fun-loving, with lively tavernas and populated beaches . Delos is stoic, protecting the ruins of its ancient sanctuaries in solemn dignity. Milos is magical, with its volcanic rock formations and stunning village vistas.” – Laura Brooks

Ancient Greece Quotes

64. “Not life, but good life, is to be chiefly valued.”-Socrates

65. “The ancient Oracle said that I was the wisest of all the Greeks. It is because I alone, of all the Greeks, know that I know nothing.”– Socrates 

66. “Yet is it more honorable, and just, and upright, and pleasing, to treasure in the memory good acts than bad.” – Xenophon

67.  “There are two things a person should never be angry at, what they can help, and what they cannot.” – Plato

68. “Not life, but good life, is to be chiefly valued.”-Socrates 

69. ”Those who intend on becoming great should love neither themselves nor their own things, but only what is just, whether it happens to be done by themselves or others.”– Plato

70. “Knowledge without justice ought to be called cunning rather than wisdom.” – Plato

71. “The unexamined life is not worth living.” – Socrates 

72. “People are like dirt. They can either nourish you and help you grow as a person or they can stunt your growth and make you wilt and die.” – Plato

73. “At a touch of love, everyone becomes a poet.” – Plato

74. “Wisdom begins in wonder.” – Socrates 

75. “Knowledge creates happiness.”– Plato 

77.  “For what should a man live, if not for the pleasures of discourse?” – Plato

78.  “The easiest thing in the world is self-deceit; for every man believes what he wishes, though the reality is often different.”– Demosthenes 

79. “Virtue does not come from money, but from virtue comes money and all other good things to man, both to the individual and to the state.” – Socrates

80.  “I would far rather be ignorant than knowledgeable of evil.” – Aeschylus

81.  “All men by nature desire to know. An indication of this is the delight we take in our senses; for even apart from their usefulness they have loved for themselves and above all others the sense of sight. For not only with a view to action, but even when we are not going to do anything, we prefer sight to almost everything else. The reason is that this, most of all the senses, makes us know and brings to light many differences between things.” – Aristotle

82. “Nothing exists except atoms and empty space; everything else is just opinion.” – Democritus 

83. “Beware the barrenness of a busy life.” – Socrates 

Short Greek Quotes & Captions

84. “I want to see the Parthenon by moonlight”– Daphne Du Maurier

85. “Greece is too old to die.”– Lito Seizani

86. All you want is Greece.

87. It’s all Greek to me!

88. I left my heart in Greece

89. Keep calm and go to Greece!

90. Eat, sleep, and travel to Greece.

91. Keep calm and eat a gyro.

92. I love Greece.

Greek Quotes For Instagram

93.  “And then God said, let there be Greece.” – Unknown

94.  “The problem with Greece is that she’s just too beautiful.” – Unknown

95.  “You know you’re in Greece when you feel a unique, indescribable, out of this world euphoria being there and a deep sadness when you’re leaving.” – Unknown 

96.  “Part of why I love Greek food so much is that it is simple, but it’s unpretentious. It’s authentic.” – Princess Tatiana of Greece and Denmark

97.  “I love Greek food in the summer.” – Antoni Porowski

98.  “Greece is more than a country. It is an experience.” – Unknown

99.  “It takes a lifetime to discover Greece, but it only takes an instant to fall in love with her.” – Henry Miller 

100. “Athens, the eye of Greece, mother of arts And eloquence.” – John Milton 

101. “Get ready for wine, raki, and getting hand-fed by strangers.” – Anthony Bourdain

READ: 11 Awesome Things To Do In Zakynthos

Greece Instagram Captions & Greece Puns

102. I followed my heart and it led me to Greece.

103.  Just hopping from one Greek island to the next.

104.  Aren’t you glad we went to Athens? 

105. I followed my heart and it led me to Greece. 

106.  It’s no secret that I belong in Greece.

107. Greece a small piece of heaven on earth. 

108. Greetings from Greece. 

109. Athena, where ya at?

110. Feta late than never. 

111. Greece, I’m going to myth you.

112.  I can be your gyro, baby!

113. What Athens in Greece, stays in Greece. 

114. Take another Greece of my heart.

115. Greecey hair, don’t care. 

116. All Rhodes lead to Greece.

117. Wonders never Greece.

118.  I should be souvlaki. 

119. Greece, I’ll definitely be baklava!

120. Olive you.

121. I’m not a freddo tell you that I’m in love with Greece.

122.  Greeking out over these views.

123. Got Greece on my mind. 

124. Symi in Greece.

124 Greece Quotes And Captions Final Thoughts

I hope you enjoyed these 124 quotes about Greece and they inspired you to visit or had you reminiscing about memories you made there. Which was your favorite Greece quote? Let me know in the comments below. 

Check out my posts on Athens and Zakynthos to inspire you on your trip to Greece. 

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The Robert Mondavi quote got me, because wine and food. Greece is definitely up there on the list!

Yes food and wine Agnes! I hope you get to visit soon! Greece is such a beautiful country!

These quotes are getting me very excited for my trip to Greece! It was planned for last year but we had to postpone for obvious reasons.

Oh I am so sorry to hear that Krista. I had to postpone some trips too. You’re going to love Greece. Every town and island I visited is just beautiful. Hopefully, you get to visit this year.

Comments are closed.

20 Famous Greek Quotes And Their Meanings

Ancient Greece contained many of the greatest scientists and philosophers in the history of civilization. Great thinkers who contributed endless knowledge in almost every subject. It’s quite incredible how many of the Greek quotes on this list date back as far as the 5th century BC and yet they are still known, and their meaning is still relevant today. 

It seems that the Greeks have always had a deep understanding of the human condition, and the words with which to express it. And they continue to do so today. Many of our quotes are from the ancients, but some are more modern, and many are proverbs of unknown origin that are merely woven into the daily wisdom of Greek life. 

We’ve listed 20 of our favorite Greek quotes and their meaning for you here in the hopes that they bring a little inspiration, motivation, or wisdom to you as you go about your day. 

Table of Contents

Quotes About Wisdom 

“The only true wisdom is in knowing you know nothing.” – Socrates . 

Widely considered one of the greatest thinkers of all time and the founder of Western Philosophy, Socrates nevertheless said that it is in believing that you know nothing that you achieve wisdom. He believed that those who thought they knew nothing were more likely to search out knowledge and continue learning than those who thought that they knew everything already. 

“Wise men speak because they have something to say; fools because they have to say something.” – Plato .

Another of the world’s greatest thinkers, and a student of Socrates, Plato, reminds us that it is best to keep our mouths shut if we have nothing of value to say. That talking just for the sake of it is foolish.

“Wait for the wisest of all counselors, time.” – Pericles.

An injunction against rash decisions and hasty action by a prominent politician of Ancient Greece, Pericles. Since he played an important role in developing democracy, his words on thinking before acting are certainly worth listening to. 

“You can knock on a deaf man’s door forever.” – Nikos Kazantzakis.

One of our more modern quotes, the meaning of this one was made famous in the 1940s by Greek literary giant Nikos Kazantzakis. The Crete -born novelist used it in his best-known work, Zorba The Greek. This quote conjures up a powerful image of futility, of an action we can perform over and over again with no hope of ever succeeding. This evocative use of language is one of the reasons why Kazantzakis was repeatedly nominated for a Nobel Prize in literature.

The Importance Of Self Knowledge 

“The camel does not see her own hump” Greek Proverb .

In Greece, this is a folksy way of calling someone a hypocrite. It refers to the fact that people are often quick to point out flaws in others when they often have similar ones of their own. It talks about how we are often unaware of, or intentionally blind to, our own defects. 

“The unexamined life is not worth living.” – Socrates .

If we don’t want to be like the blind camel, we should take a close look at ourselves and our own lives. According to Socrates, if we do not examine our lives, we are likely to be unaware of the consequences of our actions, the impact we have on other people, and the value that we could be bringing to the world around us. He thought that it was through moral self-examination that we could live our most worthy lives. 

“Where rage seeds, repentance reaps.” – Greek Proverb.

Most cultures have a proverb or two that runs along this theme, that if we act in anger, we will come to regret it later. It counsels us to calm down and examine our actions before we go ahead with them. 

“No man ever steps in the same river twice, for it’s not the same river and he’s not the same man.” – Heraclitus.

This is the first of two quotes on our list by another ancient Greek philosopher, Heraclitus, and both of them have meaning to do with change. Heraclitus believed that the only constancy in nature was change and that everyone and everything was constantly changing from moment to moment. 

Many people use this quote to say that we should never go back in our lives. That if we return to a place we once loved expecting to find it unchanged, we will be disappointed. And while this can be true, Heraclitus was not necessarily telling us that change is bad or that returning to the river would be a mistake. He was merely saying that we should always expect and be prepared for change. 

“Reserve your right to think, for even to think wrongly is better than not to think at all” – Hypatia .

A quote here by one of Greece’s most famous female philosophers – yes, there were several notable female philosophers of ancient Greece, although sadly, their legacies are less well preserved. Hypatia was a prominent mathematician, philosopher, astronomer, and teacher and reminds us here of the importance of thinking for ourselves. 

Friendship And Love

“An open enemy is better than a false friend.” – Greek Proverb.

Anyone who’s ever been on the receiving end of betrayal by someone they thought was their friend can acknowledge the truth of this one. If you’re anything like us, you’d rather know who your enemies are upfront. Ok, ‘enemies’ is a little strong, but we’d definitely prefer it if people who didn’t like us said so (or just stayed out of our way) rather than pretending to be our friends. 

“I don’t need a friend who changes when I change and who nods when I nod; my shadow does that much better.” – Plutarch.

What use is a friend who only tells you what you want to hear? Who agrees with you even when you’re making bad life choices? We need friends who are honest with us and speak their minds, and we need to do the same for our friends too. Or else we all might as well be talking to our shadows. 

“Love is composed of a single soul inhabiting two bodies.” – Aristotle.

A quote on the idea of soulmates from Aristotle, a student of Plato and one of history’s greatest philosophers. This quote is thought to be based on the Greek myth that said humans were once whole, but Zeus, fearing their power, split each one into two separate beings. Humans were from then on destined to spend their lives searching for their other half or soulmate, achieving true happiness only when they found them. 

Quotes About Bravery 

“You don’t develop courage by being happy in your relationships everyday. You develop it by surviving difficult times and challenging adversity.” – Epicurus.

Epicurus was a philosopher whose teachings challenged Plato’s and would later inspire some of the greatest thinkers of the 18th and 19th centuries. Epicurus’s words remind us that we would never need to be brave if there were no hard times or challenges and that if life is always easy, we will never learn to be courageous. 

“We must free ourselves of the hope that the sea will ever rest. We must learn to sail in high winds.” – Aristotle Onassis.

Some more words of wisdom from the 20th-century, these ones come from Aristotle Onassis, a Greek shipping mogul and one of the richest men in the world. He was an astute businessman and his words counsel us to train ourselves to act and succeed when the going is tough and not wait for circumstances to become more manageable. 

“There is nothing permanent except change.” – Heraclitus.

The second of our quotes by Greek philosopher Heraclitus with meaning about the inevitability of change. Again this quote does not warn us that change is good or bad but merely reminds us that it happens and that the only way to be happy in life is to prepare for it. Anyone who’s ever tried to ignore or deny change and progression will know that it does not make for an easy life!

“Small opportunities are often the beginning of great enterprises.” – Demosthenes.

Success doesn’t often come to us all at once, and we rarely get the chance to make massive leaps forward in one go. Instead, success is often the product of many small steps taken in the right direction and small opportunities taken advantage of. If anyone understood this, it was Demosthenes, a man who lost his father at a young age, was swindled of his inheritance by unscrupulous guardians, and who forged a career for himself as one of Greece’s most prominent public speakers despite having a debilitating speech impediment.

Kindness And Duty To Others

“What you leave behind is not what is engraved in stone monuments, but what is woven into the lives of others.” – Pericles.

We like this idea that our impact on other people is our most important legacy, more so than any material gains or monuments that we might leave behind. Pericles is thought to have meant it especially in relevance to the teaching of others and the positive shaping of children’s lives. 

“Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle.” – Socrates (maybe).

The origins of this quotation are now being contested, and there are claims to it coming from an Egyptian, a Scot, or an Englishman. But since it also gets attributed to both Plato and Socrates, we thought we’d get away with including it here, especially since it’s still so popular today. It is also one of our favorite quotes on this list because living by it is one of the easiest ways to make a difference in the world. Simply by being kind, because you never know what other people are going through. 

“A society grows great when old men plant trees whose shade they know they shall never sit in” – Greek Proverb.

Another one of our Greek quotes which gets a lot of use these days and whose meaning is especially relevant during all the current talks about environmental issues and climate change . This one is all about working to create a better future for our children and all future generations, even though we may not be around to reap the benefits of our work. 

And Our Personal Favourite

“Wine and children speak the truth” – Greek Proverb .

Anyone who’s had a 2 am phone call from a drunk friend or received a brutally honest opinion from a child can attest to the fact that this is correct!

Reece is the creator and editor of Travel Snippet. He has visited more than 38 countries over a 10-year period. His travels have taken him through the majestic mountains of Italy, into the cities of central Europe, across the islands of Indonesia, and to the beaches of Thailand, where he is currently living. He is passionate about travel and shares his expertise by providing the best travel tips and tricks to help you plan your next adventure.

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Greek People Quotes

This section provides some famous Greek Quotes by famous people.

From ancient till modern times, Greece has been the homeland for many important historical events and people who have marked the history of the country and have influenced the course of the world. People with talent, inspiration, and vision have set the grounds of modern civilization.

You will find below a list of famous Greek quotes by famous people in Greece. After reading the most famous Greek quotes, you can also get informed about the famous Greek people .

Socrates Philosopher of the 5th century BC One thing i know, that i know nothing. This is the source of my wisdom.

Plato Philosopher of the 5th century BC Good people do not need law to tell them to act responsibly, while bad people will find a way around the laws.

Aristotle Philosopher of the 4th century BC Anybody can become angry - that is easy, but to be angry with the right person and to the right degree and at the right time and for the right purpose, and in the right way - that is not within everybody's power and is not easy.

Epicurus Philosopher of the 4th century BC You don't develop courage by being happy in your relationships everyday. You develop it by surviving difficult times and challenging adversity.

Heraclitus Philosopher of the 4th century BC There is nothing permanent except change.

Socrates Philosopher of the 5th century BC By all means, get married: if you find a good wife, you'll be happy; if not, you'll become a philosopher.

Alexander the Great Conqueror of the 4th century BC I am indebted to my father for living, but to my teacher for living well.

Plutarch Historian of the 1st century BC The real destroyer of the liberties of the people is he who spreads among them bounties, donations and benefits.

Democritus Philosopher of the 5th century BC Nothing exists except atoms and empty space; everything else is just opinion.

Aristotle Philosopher of the 4th century BC Love is composed of a single soul inhabiting two bodies.

Socrates Philosopher of the 5th century BC All men's souls are immortal, but the souls of the righteous are immortal and divine.

Plato Philosopher of the 5th century BC He who steals a little steals with the same wish as he who steals much, but with less power.

Epicurus Philosopher of the 4th century BC Death does not concern us, because as long as we exist, death is not here. And when it does come, we no longer exist.

Solon Lawmaker of the 6th century BC Let no man be called happy before his death. Till then, he is not happy, only lucky.

Xenophon Historian of the 4th century BC Excess of grief for the dead is madness; for it is an injury to the living, and the dead know it not.

Thucydides Historian of the 4th century BC It is frequently a misfortune to have very brilliant men in charge of affairs. They expect too much of ordinary men.

Demosthenes Orator of the 4th century BC Small opportunities are often the beginning of great enterprises.

Pericles Statesman of the 5th century BC Wait for the wisest of all counselors, time.

Aristotle Philosopher of the 5th century BC At his best, man is the noblest of all animals; separated from law and justice he is the worst.

Plato Philosopher of the 5th century BC Man: a being in search of meaning.

Plutarch Historian of the 1st century BC I don't need a friend who changes when I change and who nods when I nod; my shadow does that much better.

Herodotus Historian of the 5th century BC Whatever comes from God is impossible for a man to turn back.

Thucydides Historian of the 4th century BC History is Philosophy teaching by examples.

Alexander the Great Conqueror of the 4th century BC I am not afraid of an army of lions led by a sheep; I am afraid of an army of sheep led by a lion.

Xenophon Historian of the 4th century BC Fast is fine, but accuracy is everything.

Nikos Kazantzakis Writer of the 20th century Since we cannot change reality, let us change the eyes which see reality.

Giannis Ritsos Poet of the 20th century I know that each one of us travels to love alone, alone to faith and to death. I know it. I've tried it. It doesn't help. Let me come with you.

Aristotle Onassis Shipping magnate of the 20th century If women didn't exist, all the money in the world would have no meaning.

Nikos Kazantzakis Writer of the 20th century There is only one woman in the world. One woman, with many faces.

Odysseus Elytis Poet of the 20th century You'll come to learn a great deal if you study the Insignificant in depth.

Maria Callas Opera singer of the 20th century It's a terrible thing to go through life thinking that you have a rock on your side when you haven't.

Aristotle Onassis Shipping magnate of the 20th century We must free ourselves of the hope that the sea will ever rest. We must learn to sail in high winds.

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50+ Best Greek Quotes From Famous Philosophers

The ancient Greek civilization was a peerless blend of science, art, and knowledge which is reflected in Greece's famous philosopher quotes.

With the motto 'Eleftheria i thanatos' ('Freedom or Death'), the ancient Greeks effectively infused the values of glory, loyalty, intelligence, and hospitality into their culture. The sheer simplicity and insight of any famous Greek philosopher or thinker's quote make them a timeless gem.

Be it  Socrates, Aristotle, Plato, or Epicurus, name any Greek philosopher and you'll get a plethora of Greek wisdom in the form of profound philosophical quotes.

For instance, Aristotle's "Love is composed of a single soul inhabiting two bodies" is one of the classic Greek philosopher quotes relevant even today. It might even be the most famous quote ever along with Socrates' wisdom quote, “The only true wisdom is in knowing you know nothing”.

The knowledge and insight that the Greek philosopher quotes impart about the world, various human qualities, and different aspects of life are indeed something we can all cherish even though they were said many thousands of years ago.

For more Greek wisdom, take a look at The Odyssey quotes and [Illiad quotes].

Thoughtful Ancient Greece Quotes By Philosophers

Here are some intensely thought-provoking Greek philosopher quotes that are significant even in today's world and age.

1. “Anybody can become angry - that is easy, but to be angry with the right person and to the right degree and at the right time and for the right purpose, and in the right way - that is not within everybody's power and is not easy.”

-Aristotle.

2. “Nothing is more active than thought, for it travels over the universe, and nothing is stronger than necessity for all must submit to it.”

3. “Nothing exists except atoms and empty space; everything else is just opinion.”

-Democritus.

4. “It is hard to contend against one’s heart’s desire; for whatever it wishes to have it buys at the cost of soul.”

-Heraclitus.

5. “Medicine to produce health must examine disease; and music, to create harmony must investigate discord.”

-Plutarch, circa 180 A.D.

6. “You shall, I question not, find a way to the top if you diligently seek for it; for nature hath placed nothing so high that it is out of the reach of industry and valor.”

-Alexander The Great.

7. “I am not afraid of an army of lions led by a sheep; I am afraid of an army of sheep led by a lion.”

- Alexander The Great .

8. "No man ever wetted clay and then left it, as if there would be bricks by chance and fortune."

-Plutarch, 'Plutarch's Morals', 1497.

9. "He who is of calm and happy nature will hardly feel the pressure of age, but to him who is of an opposite disposition youth and age are equally a burden."

-Plato, 'Republic', Book One, c. 375 B.C.

10. "I only wish that ordinary people had an unlimited capacity for doing harm; then they might have an unlimited power for doing good."

-Plato, 'Last Days of Socrates'.

11. "The greatest way to live with honor in this world is to be what we pretend to be."

Insightful Ancient Greek Quotes

Here are some wise Greek philosopher quotes about the world and its people.

12. "The greater the difficulty, the more the glory in surmounting it."

-Epictetus.

13. "All human actions have one or more of these seven causes: chance, nature, compulsions, habit, reason, passion, desire."

-Aristotle, 'The Art Of Rhetoric'.

14. "Youth is easily deceived because it is quick to hope."

15. "The ideal man bears the accidents of life with dignity and grace, making the best of circumstances."

16. "The very spring and root of honesty and virtue lie in good education."

- Plutarch , 'Plutarch's Morals', 1497.

17. "Worthless people live only to eat and drink; people of worth eat and drink only to live."

18. "When men speak ill of thee, live so as nobody may believe them."

19. "Even when laws have been written down, they ought not always to remain unaltered."

-Aristotle, 'Politics,' Should Law Be Changed?

20. "There are two things a person should never be angry at; what they can help, and what they cannot."

21. "Apply yourself both now and in the next life. Without effort, you cannot be prosperous. Though the land be good, you cannot have an abundant crop without cultivation."

22. "It is just that we should be grateful, not only to those with whose views we may agree, but also to those who have expressed more superficial views; for these also contributed something, by developing before us the powers of thought."

-Aristotle, 'Metaphysics.'

23. "The life of money-making is one undertaken under compulsion, and wealth is evidently not the good we are seeking; for it is merely useful and for the sake of something else."

-Aristotle, 'Nicomachean Ethics of Aristotle'.

24. “Do not say a little in many words but a great deal in few.”

- Pythagoras .

Greek Philosopher Quotes About Knowledge And Learning

Increase your understanding of the Greek culture with these Greek philosopher quotes on knowledge and learning.

25. “When you want wisdom and insight as badly as you want to breathe, it is then you shall have it.”

26. "The one exclusive sign of thorough knowledge is the power of teaching."

27. “Are you not ashamed of heaping up the greatest amount of money and honor and reputation, and caring so little about wisdom and truth and the greatest improvement of the soul?”

-Plato, 'The Trial And Death Of Socrates.'

28. "The learning and knowledge that we have, is, at the most, but little compared with that of which we are ignorant."

29. “One thing I know, that I know nothing. This is the source of my wisdom.”

30. “True wisdom comes to each of us when we realize how little we understand about life, ourselves, and the world around us.”

31. "Silence at the proper season is wisdom, and better than any speech."

-Plutarch, 'Plutarch's Morals,' 1497.

32. "The only true wisdom is in knowing you know nothing."

33. "It is impossible to live a pleasant life without living wisely and well and justly. And it is impossible to live wisely and well and justly without living a pleasant life."

34. "I know that I am intelligent, because I know that I know nothing."

Ancient Quotes About Greek Mythology And Gods

Here are some classic Greek mythology quotes and quotes about the Greek Gods.

35. "But his sister, Artemis of the wild, the lady of wild beasts,

scolded him bitterly and spoke a word of revilement:

'You run from him, striker from afar...Fool, then why do you wear that bow, which is wind and nothing.”

-Homer, ‘ The Iliad .’

36. “They did not know her-gods are hard for mortals to recognize.”

37. “Her gray eyes clear, the goddess Athena answered, "Down from the skies I come to check your rage if only you will yield.”

-Homer, ‘The Iliad.’

38. “All things are in the hand of heaven, and Folly, eldest of Jove's daughters, shuts men's eyes to their destruction. She walks delicately, not on the solid earth, but hovers over the heads of men to make them stumble or to ensnare them.”

39. “Sing, O muse, of the rage of Achilles, son of Peleus, that brought countless ills upon the Achaeans.”

40. “Ruin, eldest daughter of Zeus, she blinds us all, that fatal madness—she with those delicate feet of hers, never touching the earth, gliding over the heads of men to trap us all. She entangles one man, now another.”

41. “Beauty! Terrible Beauty!

A deathless Goddess-- so she strikes our eyes!”

42. “Ah how shameless – the way these mortals blame the gods. From us alone they say come all their miseries yes but they themselves with their own reckless ways compound their pains beyond their proper share.”

-Homer, ‘The Odyssey.’

43. “Hateful to me as the gates of Hades is that man who hides one thing in his heart and speaks another.”

44. "Once we’d left the island in our wake-

no land at all in sight, nothing but sea and sky-

then Zeus the son of Cronus mounted a thunderhead

above our hollow ship and the deep went black beneath it."

45. “Stand beside me, Athena, fire me with daring, fierce as the day we ripped Troy's glittering crown of towers down. Stand by me - furious now as then, my bright-eyed one - and I would fight three hundred men, great goddess, with you to brace me, comrade-in-arms in battle!”

46. "Athena: You wish to be called righteous rather than act right. [...] I say, wrong must not win by technicalities."

-Aeschylus.

47. “Bear up, my child, bear up; Zeus who oversees and directs all things is still mighty in heaven.”

-Sophocles.

Famous Greek Quotes About Love

Check out the best Greek love quotes from famous personalities of the time.

48. "Those who intend on becoming great should love neither themselves nor their own things, but only what is just, whether it happens to be done by themselves or others."

49. "True love never has a happy ending, because there is no ending to true love."

50. “Whatever possession we gain by our sword cannot be sure or lasting, but the love gained by kindness and moderation is certain and durable.”

51. “Of all the varieties of virtues, liberalism is the most beloved.”

52. “There are three classes of men; lovers of wisdom, lovers of honor, and lovers of gain.”

53. “One word frees us

Of all the weight and pain in life,

That word is Love.”

54. “Selfishness doesn’t consist in a love to yourself, but in a big degree of such love.”

55. "To love rightly is to love what is orderly and beautiful in an educated and disciplined way."

56. "Love is the joy of the good, the wonder of the wise, the amazement of the Gods."

57. "Love is composed of a single soul inhabiting two bodies."

58. “At the touch of love everyone becomes a poet.”

Here at Kidadl , we have carefully created lots of interesting family-friendly quotes for everyone to enjoy! If you liked our suggestions for Greek quotes then why not take a look at Spartan quotes , [ Achilles quotes ], or Plato symposium quotes.

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With a Master of Arts in English, Rajnandini has pursued her passion for the arts and has become an experienced content writer. She has worked with companies such as Writer's Zone and has had her writing skills recognized by publications such as The Telegraph. Rajnandini is also trilingual and enjoys various hobbies such as music, movies, travel, philanthropy, writing her blog, and reading classic British literature. 

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2) At Kidadl, we strive to recommend the very best activities and events. We will always aim to give you accurate information at the date of publication - however, information does change, so it’s important you do your own research, double-check and make the decision that is right for your family. We recognise that not all activities and ideas are appropriate for all children and families or in all circumstances. Our recommended activities are based on age but these are a guide. We recommend that these ideas are used as inspiration, that ideas are undertaken with appropriate adult supervision, and that each adult uses their own discretion and knowledge of their children to consider the safety and suitability. Kidadl cannot accept liability for the execution of these ideas, and parental supervision is advised at all times, as safety is paramount. Anyone using the information provided by Kidadl does so at their own risk and we can not accept liability if things go wrong.

3) Because we are an educational resource, we have quotes and facts about a range of historical and modern figures. We do not endorse the actions of or rhetoric of all the people included in these collections, but we think they are important for growing minds to learn about under the guidance of parents or guardians.

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I've written guidebooks about Greece for 15 years. Here are the hidden-gem locations you've been missing.

• As a guidebook writer , I've had the opportunity to explore Greece's hidden-gem locations.
• Instead of visiting the most-crowded islands, I recommend checking out Rhodes, Symi, and Hydra.
• I also love visiting the Peloponnese region, often referred to as an island within the mainland.

When travelers think about Greece, they probably think of hot spots like Athens, Santorini , and Mykonos.

But with popular places like Athens posed to be one of the top summer-travel destinations in 2024, many tourists will want to escape the crowds and visit the country's lesser-known spots .

Fortunately, I've spent 15 years writing guidebooks about Greece so I know a lot of great hidden gems.

Here's where I recommend visiting to get a flavor of authentic Greece, far from the well-trodden paths.

Rhodes sees about 300 days of sunshine each year.

Rhodes was one of the first island destinations I explored for my guidebook work. The island is easy to reach from Athens, as it's accessible by ferry or plane.

Admittedly, the island does get busy with all-inclusive crowds who come to relax on the many beaches. But the part I really fell in love with was Rhodes Old Town, also known as the Medieval City of Rhodes.

Named a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1988 , this medieval city can also get pretty busy in summer with cruise visitors. That's why I recommend traveling in the spring or fall. Luckily, the island has about 300 days of sunshine a year , making it a great place to visit in any season.

I never get tired of the views in Symi.

When I take the ferry into Symi Harbor, I always make sure I'm out on the deck with my camera ready. I never get tired of the view of the colorful Venetian-style mansions tumbling down the hillside.

Although the island isn't famous for its beaches, it has some gorgeous swim spots. I recommend visiting Nimborio, a small sheltered cove with a narrow strip of sand surrounded by vegetation — and the occasional goat.

Hydra features the world's largest herd of working equines.

I love Hydra for several reasons, mainly because cars and motorcycles aren't allowed here. Instead, the island features the world's largest herd of working equines , who help to transport luggage and goods.

As soon as you step off the ferry, you'll be greeted by the horsemen who line their animals up to transport your luggage to your hotel.

Hydra doesn't have many sandy beaches, but you can swim directly off the Spilia bathing platforms along the coastal path next to Hydra Town.

I also recommend checking out the town's many fashion and jewelry boutiques, which stock local Greek designers.

The Peloponnese region offers a beautiful mix of mountains and beaches.

Sometimes referred to as an island within the mainland, the Peloponnese region is surrounded by water. It connects to the mainland at two points: the Corinth Canal and the Rio-Antirrio Bridge.

This stunning area has a mix of mountains and long stretches of beautiful beaches.

My favorite place to visit is Nafplio, which is a two-hour drive from Athens and the country's original capital. While there, I recommend visiting Bourtzi Castle, which was built in 1471 on a tiny island off the Nafplio port.

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60 Self-Love Quotes You Should Read to Yourself Every Day

On Assignment for HuffPost

To always feel your best, you have to take care of yourself — and we’re not just talking about pampering. Sometimes, simply reading about self-love can help you achieve the best version of yourself — which is why we’ve gathered some of the best self-love quotes out there. Try to read through them every day, as a constant reminder that you are, indeed, oh-so-special. But don’t forget to keep that attitude up all day long.

Try to spend some time taking care of your body by exercising (even going for a walk will suffice!), or simply stand in front of the mirror and give yourself a compliment. You deserve it!

And if you ever need a little reminder, here it is: You are special, you are unique, you are loved and you deserve to be recognized for all the wonderful things you do each and every day.

Go on now and start loving yourself even more!

• “Once you’ve accepted your flaws, no one can use them against you.” - George R.R. Martin
• “You change the world by being yourself.” - Yoko Ono
• “One of the greatest regrets in life is being what others would want you to be, rather than being yourself.” - Shannon L. Alder
• “Flowers grow back even after the harshest winters. You will, too.” - Jennae Cecelia
• “The hardest challenge is to be yourself in a world where everyone is trying to make you be somebody else.” - E.E Cummings
• “The most terrifying thing is to accept oneself completely.” - Carl Gustav Jung
• “Self-love is an ocean and your heart is a vessel. Make it full, and any excess will spill over into the lives of the people you hold dear. But you must come first.” - Beau Taplin
• “Our first and last love is self love.” - Christian Nestell Bovee
• “Who looks outside, dreams; who looks inside, awakes.” - Carl Gustav Jung
• “Loving yourself isn’t vanity; it’s sanity.” - Katrina Mayer

• “I took a deep breath and listened to the old brag of my heart. I am, I am, I am.” - Sylvia Plath
• “No one can rescue me. I know because I’ve already tried to get them to do it. It doesn’t work. This is all on me.” - Michelle D’Avella
• “Feel the fact that you are enough.” - Mark Nepo
• “Don’t fall into the trap of sacrificing your self-esteem for affection and acceptance.” - Ashley Graham
• “Treat yourself like someone you love.”- Glennon Doyle
• “I’m safe inside this container called me.” - Haruki Murakami
• “I used to be bound by people who placed limits on what they thought I could do. Through that, I learned that if you want something, you have to be the one to go out and do it If you don’t ask for something, you’re not going to get it.” - Ashley Graham
• “And I said to my body, ‘I want to be your friend.’ It took a long breath. And replied, ’I have been waiting my whole life for this.” - Nayyirah Waheed
• “Loneliness is a sign you are in desperate need of yourself.” - Rupi Kaur
• “To fall in love with yourself is the first secret to happiness.” - Robert Morley
• “Document the moments you feel most in love with yourself - what you’re wearing, who you’re around, what you’re doing. Recreate and repeat.”- Warsan Shire
• “Sometimes I pretend to be normal. But it gets boring. So I go back to being me.” - Ain Eineziz
• “If we all did the things we are capable of doing we would literally astound ourselves.” - Thomas Edison
• “Self-love, my liege, is not so vile a sin, as self-neglecting.” - William Shakespeare
• “A man cannot be comfortable without his own approval.” - Mark Twain

• “To be yourself in a world that is constantly trying to make you something else is the greatest accomplishment.” - Ralph Waldo Emerson
• “If you aren’t good at loving yourself, you will have a difficult time loving anyone, since you’ll resent the time and energy you give another person that you aren’t even giving to yourself.” - Barbara De Angelis
• “Life isn’t about finding yourself. Life is about creating yourself.”- George Bernard Shaw
• “Embrace the glorious mess that you are.” - Elizabeth Gilbert
• “Find out who you are and do it on purpose.” - Dolly Parton
• “Talk to yourself like someone you love.” - Brené Brown
• “Beauty begins the moment you decide to be yourself.” - Coco Chanel
• “The more I like me, the less I want to pretend to be other people.” - Jamie Lee Curtis
• “There is you and you. This is a relationship. This is the most important relationship.” - Nayyirah Waheed
• “Remind yourself that you cannot fail at being yourself.” - Wayne Dyer
• “How you love yourself is how you teach others to love you.” - Rupi Kaur
• “Doubt kills more dreams than failure.” - Suzy Kassem
• “You are free, you are powerful, you are good, you are love, you have value you have a purpose. All is well.” - Abraham Hicks
• “This is not the moment to wilt into the underbrush of your insecurities. You’ve earned the right to grow. You’re going to have to carry the water yourself.” - Cheryl Strayed
• “Rock bottom became the solid foundation on which I rebuilt my life.” - J.K. Rowling

• “Love yourself first and everything else falls into line. You really have to love yourself to get anything done in this world.” - Lucille Ball
• “I must undertake to love myself and to respect myself as though my very life depends upon self-love and self-respect.” - Maya Angelou
• “Friendship with oneself is all-important because without it one cannot be friends with anyone else in the world.” - Eleanor Roosevelt
• “What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us.” - Ralph Waldo Emerson
• “Never give up on anyone. And that includes not giving up on yourself.” - Dieter F. Uchtdorf
• “When you say ‘yes’ to others make sure you are not saying ‘no’ to yourself.” - Paulo Coelho
• “Be yourself; everyone else is already taken.” - Oscar Wilde
• “No one can make you feel inferior without your consent.”- Eleanor Roosevelt
• “Plant hope in your heart’s wounds.” - Alexandra Vasiliu
• “You’re always with yourself, so you might as well enjoy the company.” - Diane von Furstenberg
• “When I loved myself enough, I began leaving whatever wasn’t healthy. This meant people, jobs, my own beliefs and habits–anything that kept me small. My judgement called it disloyal. Now I see it as self-loving.” - Kim McMillen

• “The real difficulty is to overcome how you think about yourself.” - Maya Angelou
• “You have to believe in yourself when no one else does – that makes you a winner right here.” - Venus Williams
• “Be brave enough to heal yourself even when it hurts.” - Bianca Sparacino
• “Stay true to yourself. An original is worth more than a copy.”- Suzy Kassem
• “We accept the love we think we deserve.” - Stephen Chbosky
• “It is interesting how often we can’t see all the ways in which we are being strong.” - Lena Dunham
• “Love is the great miracle cure. Loving ourselves works miracles in our lives.” - Louise Hay
• “I think in life you should work on yourself until the day you die.” - Serena Williams
• “Today you are you! That is truer than true! There is no one alive who is you-er than you! Shout loud, ‘I am lucky to be what I am!...’” - Dr. Seuss

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Opinion | Allan Ripp: Despite wanderlust, I never seem to…

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Opinion | Allan Ripp: Despite wanderlust, I never seem to go anywhere. Do travel posters count?

Friends and family are accustomed to me asking: Where are you going? What will you do? Where will you stay? This year has already elicited a good mix of itineraries. One couple is touring Portugal’s vineyards. My brother-in-law will be hiking in Croatia. Our upstairs neighbors are taking their two sons to Japan. Even our apartment building’s super is planning a do-over safari in Tanzania.

I can trace the precise origin of my voyager fantasies. When I was a kid in the 1960s, my parents took me to Tuesday night travelogues at our local museum, featuring 16 mm films and vibrant slide shows of tulip fields in the Netherlands, bullfights in Mexico and bikini-filled beaches in Brazil. I was smitten with all destinations and never missed a National Geographic special.

My parents took their share of overseas excursions, bringing back liquor miniatures and trinkets from Israel and Greece to fill my shelves. The kid across the street brought over a small jar of the Caribbean Sea he scooped up on a trip to St. John in the Virgin Islands — I sprinkled some on my cheeks like holy water, though I now suspect it came from his sink.

But my own childhood jaunts were limited: Lake Erie, Chautauqua Lake and Boca Raton, Florida. I did talk a good game, however. A camp friend’s mom approached my mom in the supermarket and asked how we enjoyed our trip to “the Orient,” including stops in Tokyo, Peking (now called Beijing) and Ceylon (now known as Sri Lanka). I’d told her son that we’d visited all three, not expecting word to reach my mother. I should have stuck with domestic locales.

Asthma and fear of flying shrunk the radius of my range as I grew older. I couldn’t even handle a semester abroad like my college friends, though I managed a three-week solo trip to Italy between jobs in 1979, taking hundreds of Nikon photos I still peruse to remind me that I really could hit the long road, if I so chose.

There was also the six-week honeymoon my wife and I took in 1981, traveling from Lisbon, Portugal, to Rome. It included charcuterie picnics beside swan lakes, a visit with Maurice Chevalier’s mistress in Arles, France, eating gravel-tasting calves’ brains (by mistake) in Barcelona, Spain, and other forever memories. But in the 43 years since, I’ve barely touched foreign soil unless you count Toronto — and my daughter’s wedding at an Italian vineyard (I was mostly walking on air).

So, what happened to keep me so homebound when my heart yearns to wander? I can name plenty of culprits — work, children, time zone challenges, 9/11, COVID-19, the dog. But the real resistance lies within me. I like the idea of going to faraway places, but the stressful, routine-busting reality? Not so much, especially return hauls with inevitable airport delays, turbulence, lost bags and jet lag exhaustion. I never have to dread the long schlep home because I’m already home. And frankly, the food’s better here than there, along with the water pressure, mattresses and definitely the drivers.

I realize long-distance travel is recharging and offers a fresh perspective — and an appreciation — of your regular life and ZIP code. It’s always enlightening to be a tourist in a strange land, but you have to break out of your comfort zone. It takes enormous force of will to get me to go crosstown for dinner, never mind take leaps across the world.

Increasingly as I age, I also calculate the trade-offs of straying too far: the lost iPhone, the bout of food poisoning or worse. My sister recently returned from five wondrous weeks in India carrying vials of rabies vaccine from being bitten by a feral street dog. At that price, you can keep the Taj Mahal.

And yet, my globe-trotting dreams are fulfilled, thanks to an apartment full of vintage travel posters. Our walls are adorned with colorful, sun-dappled scenes of the French Riviera, a village in Denmark, sheep grazing on a pastoral hill overlooking the River Tweed in Scotland, the white-washed Greek island of Andros, giraffes marching across the Serengeti. Merely walking from one room to another stamps my mental passport.

This summer will be much like last summer and the one before: commuting to a weekend house 95 miles away, plus two weeks at the beach. Nothing on tap for East Asia. But I can still be transported by the 1930s railway poster facing my bed, promoting India’s enticing Shillong Valley — the “Scotland of the East.” It’s a Shangri-La view of a cozy thatched cottage nestled in a lush forest, only “24 hours from Calcutta.”

Maybe next summer.

Allan Ripp runs a press relations firm in New York.

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3 must-visit travel destinations for summer 2024.

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Beautiful woman tans on sandbank surrounded by turquoise ocean from above

Summer 2024 has the potential to be the busiest travel season of all time.

In the first quarter of this year, global tourism reached 97% of pre-pandemic levels. Some 285 million people traveled internationally between January and March, which is a 20% increase compared to the same period in 2023.

Indicators suggest that a high number of Americans in particular will travel in the next few months. Between October 2022 and September 2023, the State Department issued 24 million passport books and cards —the highest number in U.S. history.

TSA projects to screen record numbers of travelers this summer and is already seeing unusually high traffic. While it has historically been busiest on major holidays, it recorded one of its busiest days of all time ( with 2.8 million travelers ) on May 17.

With all of this global travel on the horizon, where should tourists travel in the summer of 2024?

My advice is to avoid Europe’s tourist hotspots—particularly the destinations where locals are actively opposing more visitors. Instead, head to one of the three destinations I recommend for unique and compelling travel experiences.

Paros, Greece

Greek village of Naousa, Paros island, Greece

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With thousands of islands, jaw-dropping views, and sparkling Mediterranean waters, Greece is a perennially popular tourism destination.

It receives 31.3 million tourists annually, making it the 13th most visited country in the world. Its popularity shows no signs of waning, and if last year’s travel trends are any indication, Greece is set to be busy again this summer.

Last summer, Greece’s most popular areas were, by most accounts, overcrowded. The Acropolis was slammed by so many visitors that officials had to cap the number of daily visitors at 20,000 . Massive queues for photo ops formed at iconic spots on Mykonos and Santorini.

Instead of battling the crowds, those after a dose of Greek island inspired relaxation should seek out Paros, a low-key alternative to Mykonos and Santorini.

It’s a Cycladic island, just like its two more famous counterparts, so the appeal is much the same. It features whitewashed buildings draped in bougainvillea and beautiful Aegean Sea beaches, as well as an appealing assortment of restaurants, hotels, and places to shop.

Exploring by boat, visiting Antiparos (its tiny sister island) for serene, unspoiled beaches, indulging in local seafood dishes, and visiting ancient ruins are some of the best things to do here.

While Paros is right now a more tranquil alternative to Greece’s over-touristed islands, its star is rising. It’s named among Condé Nast Traveller’s “The 24 Best Places to Go in 2024,” and A-listers like Tom Hanks and Jeff Bezos have been spotted on Paros and in its waters.

New luxury hotels like Cove Paros and Avant Mar have recently opened, and it’s easier to reach than ever before, with new airlines (Saudia, Etihad Airways, British Airways, and more) now serving the Cyclades.

People enjoying riding horses riding on tropical sand beach facing the lagoon, aerial view, Indian ... [+] Ocean, Mauritius Island

For powder-white beaches, inviting blue waters, luxury resorts, and a dynamic cultural scene, there are few better places to visit than Mauritius.

Mark Twain described this island country’s beauty best when he said, “Mauritius was made first and then heaven, heaven being copied after Mauritius.”

Mauritius is part of the Mascarenes, a group of islands that float in the Indian Ocean about 1,000 miles off the coast of southeastern Africa. Its remoteness plus its astounding natural beauty made it a haunt for jetsetters in the 1980s.

Today, a new wave of hospitality has arrived. New luxury resorts are opening, and existing ones are being restored. It made Tripadvisor’s “Best of the Best Destinations” for 2024. I predict this island’s popularity will take off soon.

Mauritius is a paradise for watersport enthusiasts, with opportunities for world-class boating, kitesurfing, scuba diving, and snorkeling. On land, there are forests, waterfalls, national parks, and exotic flora and fauna.

Mauritius is also culturally fascinating. At various times across its history, the Portuguese, Dutch, French, and British have settled the island. Slavery brought people from East Africa, and workers were imported from India, China, and other places.

Today, the island is ethnically, linguistically, and religiously diverse. It’s the only African country where Hinduism is the most practiced religion. It has no official language; instead, its people flit between Mauritian Creole, French, and English as needed.

Mauritian cuisine is widely celebrated and reflects the ethnic diversity of its population. Dishes combine Indian, Creole, French, Chinese, African, and Persian influences.

Visitors can take in Mauritius’ history and culture at the Intercontinental Slavery Museum, which chronicles the country’s slave trade, and the House of Digital Art, which features art installations and immersive experiences.

Fishermen on stilts at the sunset, Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka, another island country floating in the Indian Ocean, is a land of verdant highlands and stunning beaches. Its appeal is a blend of surf and wellness cultures, similar to Bali before its boom in popularity and resulting over-tourism.

Centers of yoga, reiki, breathwork, and other well-being practices have sprung up around the island in recent years. Some of these centers, like Kalukanda House and Anantara Peace Haven Tangalle Resort, combine wellness concepts with luxury-level amenities and accommodations.

Sri Lanka is a place for nature lovers, home to 22 national parks. Its mountains and thick, subtropical jungles support a wide variety of plant and animal species. Visitors catch glimpses of elephants, otters, sloth bears, and elusive leopards on safari.

The Pekoe Trail, a 186-mile path that was completed in 2023, takes trekkers through the Central Highlands, including local villages, tea plantations, and holy shrines. You can also explore Sri Lanka by train, traveling easy while taking in scenic views and enjoying a unique cultural experience.

In the lowlands and along its coastlines, Sri Lanka serves up soft-sand beaches with frothy, surfable waves. There are beach towns with trendy hotels and cocktail bars, as well as quiet strips of untouched sand.

Mirissa Beach, known for its calm, crystal-clear waters and rock formations, shows up among Tripadvisor’s “Best of the Best Beaches” for 2024.

Unlike some of the world’s most popular tourist destinations (particularly in Europe), Sri Lanka actually wants more visitors right now. Its tourism authority is investing in marketing campaigns to attract more people, while anti-tourism protests heat up in the Canary Islands, Venice, and Amsterdam, among other places.

Sri Lanka is still recovering from a bombing event, the pandemic, severe economic crisis, and other recent incidents. Tourism is a major source of income for the country, and visiting the country can help put cash into the locals’ hands.

With all that Sri Lanka has to offer, combined with its tourism authority’s marketing efforts and the proliferation of wellness and luxury hotels, I see Sri Lanka growing in popularity this summer and beyond.

It made Travel + Leisure’s list of “The 50 Best Places to Travel in 2024” and its south and central regions show up on Condé Nast Traveller’s “The 24 Best Places to Go in 2024.”

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