Culture

Arts

Theatre
The presence of theatre never ceased to influence the way of life and thinking of Greeks. Be it recreational or instructional, theatre tradition remains strong.

Literature
Greece, due to its geographical position, is from the 12th century a land of ‘passage’ that links Europe to Asia, the Aegean Sea to the Mediterranean, the South of Europe to the Holy land and North Africa. Influences from all those places converge in the land and in its literature.

Book publishing has led a continuous upward trend over the past 30 years in Greece. New businesses have emerged, media groups have penetrated the book sector and there has also been a decisive creation of booksellers’ chains.

Music
The global reputation of Modern Greek music rests largely on the works of Manos Hatzidakis and Mikis Theodorakis. However, Byzantine music, traditional folk music and mostly classical music have contributed to the country’s musical tradition as well as its international fame.

Cinema
Cinema was an extremely popular activity in the 1950s and 1960s, although its popularity later declined, though many important films were made in the 1970s. Its popularity has been on the rise again in the last decade, mainly due to the building of new venues and the restoration of old ones.

Architecture
Greece is universally known as the cradle of several architectural cultures. Besides the Classical and the Byzantine, that acquired and persistent dissemination westwards and eastwards respectively, one could mention a long succession of architectural traditions that flourished on Greek soil.

Visual Arts
The history of the visual arts in Greece has been similar to that of the state history itself, and has experienced the given relationship between centre and periphery.

Contemporary visual art production in Greece aims at capturing international attention. But what exactly does it mean to be a young Greek artist in the early 21st century?