#8 Bragging About Greek Achievements

The fact that Greek-Americans are probably one of the most ethnically proud people in the US is evidenced in the constant reminder of Greek success. But can you really blame us?

From the beginning of civilization, Greece produced some of the best scholarly and scientific/technological works of the time (which the Romans then stole from us). In more recent times, Greece has kept to itself for the most part, but we’ve still managed to win the hearts of many.  

This widespread philhellenism has been achieved mainly through the following:

1. Food

2. Media (i.e. My Big Fat Greek Wedding, Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants, Mamma Mia!)

3. Famous People of Greek Origin

Take note that food is first on the list; that was completely intentional and well-deserved.  Even if most people don’t realize it, the owner of your local pizza joint, regardless of the restaurant’s name, may very likely be owned by a Greek family, not Italians.  Just because pizza is Italian cuisine, doesn’t mean Greeks can’t make it (it is pretty damn easy). This is true even in the smallest of towns, including my own rural hometown where I worked at a pizza restaurant called Angie’s. How did I get the job? The owners were Greek. No joke, that’s just how us Greek-Americans role. 

Getting back to the point, Greek-Americans will undoubtedly attribute any success a Greek person has to their heritage, or at least brag about the fact that a successful person is Greek.  And that person doesn’t have to cure cancer; it can legit be anything noteworthy. For example, I would be willing to bet that some Greek-American out there has brought up the fact that the inventor of the Pap smear was Giorgios Nicholas Papanikolaou, born on the Greek island of Evia and graduate of the University of Athens. 

This is serious stuff people. Its like a disease. As prideful Greek-Americans, we are programmed to go out of our way to know about this things.  There are even video blogs (humorous ones, of course) explaining the phenomenon of “Greek Success.”

Despite the sometimes sheer ridiculousness of this habitual boasting and bragging, you have to admit that its pretty damn cool that we do have all these historically influential natives.

I, for one, really appreciate and wonder at the fact that I can truly say that my ancestors are from the same Greek Island on which Sappho and Theophilos Hatzimihail grew up and developed their art.  That’s right, most of my Greek heritage is derived from Λέσβος (Lesvos) and its pretty frickin awesome, don’t you think? On my Dad’s side, however, my ancestors are from Sparta and, for any of you that have seen 300, you know just how sweet that is; and if you have it, you need to immediately!

It’s also important to mention that this trend is not limited to Greek-Americans. Oh no no no no no. Native Hellenes today make their importance known even today. So much so, in fact, that in the Spring of 2008, Skai TV opened up the polls to their viewers to vote on who is the greatest Greek of all time. Subsequently there is a show entitled Μεγαλοι Ελληνες (Great Greeks). No matter how ethnocentric this whole ordeal might be, it is still pretty kick ass.

Anyways, if you’re curious about other famous Greek-America people, you should check out this list. You better believe people took the time to compile a comprehensive list of notable Greeks on wikipedia.

That’s all for now. Expect great things for next week…Πασχα is almost here!!!

#6 Frappe

So pretty much every culture, especially European ones, love coffee and the Greeks are no exception.  But the Greeks have a specific coffee drink that I’ve never found any equivalent to and totally trumps an iced latte from starbucks.

Behold, the FRAPPE.

What is this wonder-drink, you might ask? Well, truth be told it is typically made from Nescafé (yes, like nestlé and yes it is instant coffee). Despite this, frappe is AMAZING.  I guess it is something like an iced cappuccino, but its thicker and foamier and just better in general.  

And you can trust me on this one because, while I am Greek-American, I’m an Italian Studies major and cappuccino happens to be my favorite hot espresso drink. No bias here. Just straight up facts.

What do I love most about this delicious caffeinated beverage? Well, I don’t know about you, but the way I drink my coffee often depends upon my mood. Some days I drink it black, other days I have it with just milk (soy because of lent) or with just some sugar (raw cane sugar obviously), and some days I like both. Why am I telling you this? Well there are three common varieties of frappe, which are perfect for mood-dependent coffee drinkers like myself. There is sweet, medium, and plain. So you can have your coffee as bitter or as sweet as you like it!

Now, before you go out hunting for one of these things (as you definitely should if you haven’t already had one), it is important to know that Greeks, as shown by ass-kicking in 300, are pretty hardcore and their coffee is no exception. The plain is pretty frickin bitter. For any first timers, I would suggest getting a medium so you can figure out whether the sweet would be too sweet or the plain too bitter.

That’s it for now. I’m just sipping on my post-dinner coffee writing a paper about the book of Qoheleth. You know, the usual.

#5 300

Ok, so this might be a really obvious one, but 300 is a totally bamf movie regardless of whether or not you are Greek.  Therefore, I could not resist writing about its awesome Greekness.

As a Spartan myself, 300 is proof that Greeks have a reason to be proud.  We really aren’t as ethnocentric as we come off to be – ok, well we are, but I mean that there’s good reason for it.

Now, this movie has everything. There’s kick ass action, there are some great lines, and some seriously attractive people.  What more could you ask for?

I think what I, as a Greek, like most about the movie, though, is the fact that it shows people what the Spartans were all about.  Although it is a fantasized version of the story, you really do get to see how the Spartans perceived themselves and what they were thought to be.  Sure its a mythical take, but the time of the 300 Spartans was a time where mythology was truly believed in (and the Spartans were serious about their religion).  All that menacing sorcery that they Persians seemed to preform was a take on how the Spartans, who believed in that sort of thing, would have understood their enemies to be.

Furthermore, the character of the Spartans is absolutely unbeatable.  They’re all about glory.  Trained from a young age to be both strong and clever.  I mean, Spartans took some serious beatings back then.  And it wasn’t only the men who were strong.  Since the men were always off fighting, or training to fight, Spartan women were seriously independent.

Spartans were also pretty cool because their society was like an early communism.  I guess it worked pretty well back then.

Overall, 300 made every one who didn’t know about the Greeks see that Greeks are freakin awesome.

So basically what I’m trying to say by making 300 #5 on stuff greek people like, is that Greek people like movies that make Greek people look good – which is every movie that Greeks are in because you just can’t make a Greek look bad.