Such memories of misrule, diaspora and catastrophe (including frequent devastating earthquakes) remain uncomfortably close for many Greeks, despite nearly three decades of democratic stability and the country's integration into the EU. The poverty of, and enduring paucity of opportunity in, their homeland long frustrated talented and resourceful Greeks, many of whom emigrated . Those who stayed were lulled, until the late 1980s, by a civil-service-driven full-employment policy which resulted in the lowest jobless rate in western Europe. The downside of this was an occasionally staggering lack of worker initiative, but official attempts to impose a more austere economic line are still often met by waves of strikes. Since the early 1990s, Greece has become fully integrated into the Western economy, privatization and competition have demolished state monopolies, and inevitably growing disparities in wealth have appeared.

Outside the public sector, the meticulousness of Greek craftworkers is legendary, even if their values and skills took a back seat to the demands of crisis and profiteering when the evacuation of Asia Minor and the rapid 1950s depopulation of rural villages prompted the graceless urbanization of Athens and other cities. Amidst the often superficial sophistication that resulted, it's easy to forget the nearness of the village past and stubbornly lingering Third World attributes. You may find, for example, that buses operate with Germanic efficiency, but ferries sail with an unpredictability little changed since the time of Odysseus.

Social attitudes , too, are in transition as Greece adapts to mass tourism and the modern world. The encounter has been painful and at times destructive, as the values of a rural, conservative society have been irrevocably lost. Though younger Greeks are adaptable and cash registers ring happily, at least in tourist areas, visitors still need to be sensitive in their behaviour towards the older generation. The mind boggles imagining the reaction of black-clad elders to nudism, or even scanty clothing, in a country where the Orthodox church remains an all-but-established faith and the self-appointed guardian of national identity. Although senior clerics have recently depleted a huge reservoir of respect with regressive stances on a number of issues, even the most worldly young Greeks, who never otherwise set foot in a church, are still likely to be married, buried and have their children baptized with Orthodox rites.