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Manners and Customs of Greece. A description of Greeks by an English-woman.
Manners and Customs of Greeks
The Greeks have the reputation of being civil and friendly to strangers. I am going to show you how much that reputation is worth when it is put to the test. Judging by my own experience, I should say that a traveller in Greece is constantly in the happy state of feeling that every Greek is his host, and that he is an honoured guest. There were odd moments when I felt inclined to alter my opinion entirely ; but as it would be unfair to visit the sins of the few on the kind heads of the many, I shall first introduce you to the Greeks in their role of courteous and hospitable hosts to the stranger within their gates. To begin with the peasants. I had many opportunities of sampling their manners, for I did all my railway travelling third class, lived amongst the poorest natives on their simple native fare, and tramped many a long mile, by night as well as by day, across lonely plains and over wild mountains, far out of reach of any cry for help. My only companion was my friend Charmion, another Englishwoman who was as absolute a stranger as I in that land. How were we treated ? In the little villages particularly we attracted much attention, for there strangers are much more of a novelty than in the towns. But as travellers usually go to Greece in parties under the escort of an experienced guide, or at any rate put themselves in charge of a dragoman directly they get there, two stranger women by them selves were rather a remarkable spectacle even to the townspeople. Some of the villagers had never seen such a sight before, they told us in the course of examining our clothes, and asking us a hundred and one questions as to our nationality, how we liked their beautiful scenery, the why and wherefore we had come to their beloved country. In the curiosity we excited there was never a trace of rudeness, and sooner or later it always lost itself in a whole-hearted desire to do something, anything, for us. Friendliness usually took the practical form of feasting us on national delicacies fruit, loukoumi, the sweet meat which is known in England as Turkish Delight, and mastica, a white liqueur, which turns a milky colour when it is mixed, as it generally is, with water. Hospitality of this kind was frequently lavished on us by peasants at wayside inns, but it was in the trains, above all other places, that we were most persistently entertained. All along the route our fellow-travellers would dive into baskets and bags of produce they were taking to market, and bring out for us luscious green figs or bunches of grapes ; they would share with us the melon they had brought as food and drink for the journey ; from one pocket they would extract a couple of monstrous peaches, and from another a knife, with which they would proceed to peel them before offering us their gift ; and at every wayside station, where the whole train emptied itself for a walk and a talk, labourers and soldiers would vie with each other in bringing to our carriage window refreshments from the stall which serves as station buffet. By the shopkeepers we were treated with equal courtesy, and we noticed that the people who sold eatables and drinkables heartily appreciated our preference for native provisions. Had we tasted this and that ? If not, we must do so at once. There was not the least necessity to buy if we did not like what we tasted, or did not want anything more. There was more hospitality than business in these invitations to taste and try, and to refuse would have been ungracious, discourteous. Often the experience was pleasant, but I can assure you it sometimes needed courage to sample such fare as sour smelling goat's-milk cheese scooped out of a barrel, and various titbits fished out of a keg of oil. The prices we were charged did not lead me to suspect that we were being cheated, and on comparing notes with well-known residents of good standing, I found that we were being quite fairly treated in all our little commercial transac tions. Nevertheless, when it comes to doing anything like a business deal with a Greek, it behoves a foreigner to be on his guard. Traders have a keen eye to business. They are said to rival the Jews in making a bargain. In the commercial world they have acquired a reputation for rather " sharp ' methods of transacting business, together with a somewhat dim perception of the moral responsibility of a promise. Experience leads me to believe that this reputation has not yet been lived down sufficiently to bid you ignore it. With regard to the professional classes, the Greeks themselves admit that their country is troubled with a somewhat high average of undesirables ; but this is an evil which springs from good. Education is so well cared for in Greece that the poorest boys can become doctors, lawyers, and so forth, provided they have the wish to enter on a professional career, and the ability to pass the necessary examinations. As a result of these national educational facilities, the professional ranks get over crowded, and the keen competition for a livelihood to which this state of affairs gives rise is apt to suggest dis honourable means of gaining money. This problem of overcrowded professions, common to many countries, is a particularly difficult one in Greece, where the ways and means of earning a living are very limited. Only about 18 per cent, of the land is cultivable, so it would not do for every boy to want to be a farmer. And Greek boys have very little encouragement to turn their attention to engineering and industrial pursuits, for manufactures cannot flourish in a country triply handicapped by lack of coal, water-power, and capital. Let me take you back among friends. One letter of introduction to a man of any standing in the reputable section of the professional classes, together with an interest in art and literature, will quickly carry a stranger into the midst of the aristocracy of Greek intellect ; for the hospitable Greek to whom that letter is presented will not only extend his own warm hand of welcome to his visitor, but take any trouble to bring him into contact with the particular authorities he is anxious to meet. The Greeks, particularly the peasants, have a very gracious way of replying to any expression of gratitude for services voluntarily performed by them on a stranger's behalf. To the merest " Thank you," for anything they do, they answer quite simply : " It is my duty.' :
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