Greece

When you think of the Athens, the first thing that comes to your mind is probably the ancient Acropolis with the very known Parthenon... Looking from that perspective, this is the most iconic postcard of Athens I could possibly get :) And I got it thanks to Elena!

Athens is the capital and the largest city of Greece, full of ancient monuments and building that witness of the city's long history and rich culture. Athens is considered one of the world's oldest cities, with its recorded history spanning around 3,400 years and is widely referred to as the cradle of Western civilization and the birthplace of democracy. 

I'm copying the myth of how the goddess Athena became the patron deity of Athens from Wikipedia... Really interesting! 

Athena competed with Poseidon to be the patron deity of Athens, which was yet unnamed, in a version of one founding myth. They agreed that each would give the Athenians one gift and that the Athenians would choose the gift they preferred. Poseidon struck the ground with his trident and a salt water spring sprang up; this gave them a means of trade and water—Athens at its height was a significant sea power, defeating the Persian fleet at the Battle of Salamis—but the water was salty and not very good for drinking.

Athena, however, offered them the first domesticated olive tree. The Athenians (or their king, Cecrops) accepted the olive tree and with it the patronage of Athena, for the olive tree brought wood, oil, and food.

The Parthenon, whose construction started in 447 BC, is dedicated to goddess Athena as well. It is also interesting to mention that Athens is home to two UNESCO sites - the Acropolis and the medieval Daphni Monastery. 

Greece

Weekend! I decided to do a quick update tonight, showing two of the cards I've received this week. After almost a year, I received a card from Greece. It's a lovely donkey carrying some vegetables. Donkeys were a common way of transporting goods and people in the past at the Mediterranean, therefore, in the Greece as well. Many many thanks to Despina for this cute postcard!

Greece

Naxos is a Greek island and the biggest island of the Cyclades island group. Naxos is a popular tourist destination, with several ruins and a number of beautiful beaches. The largest town and capital of the island is Hora or Naxos City, but there are few other villages on the island as well, for example Filoti, Apiranthos, Vivlos, Agios . . .  Naxos is also known within Greece for its potatoes. Thanks, Sofia!

Greece

In the morning I was in such a bad mood, and I just wanted to stay in the bed for a whole day, but, unfortunately, it doesn't go like that. After a really tough day in school, the thing that made me happy were five beautiful postcards that I found in my mailbox :) I decided to show you one of them right away.

Santorini is a Greek island situated in the southern Aegean Sea, about 200 kilometers from the Greek mainland. Santorini is in fact what remains after an enormous volcanic explosion that destroyed the earliest settlements, on a formerly single island, and created the current geological caldera.

Santorini is the place where the biggest eruption in recorded history happened, around 3600 years ago. It is called the Minoan or the Thera eruption. The theory says that the eruption may have led indirectly to the collapse of the Minoan civilization on the island of Crete, 110 kilometers to the south, through a gigantic tsunami that it caused. There's also another theory saying that the Thera eruption is the source of the Atlantis legend.

However, talking more recently, there was a major earthquake and a volcanic eruption in 1956 as well. Since then, the vulcano hasn't been active.

A huge thank to Sofia for sending me a nice postcard from Greece. It's my first one from there, so it'll have a special place in my collection for sure. Thank you, Sofia :)