The sun of Greece

25 years ago I heard a joke. 

During a world conference, the representative of China meets the Greek representative. Interested about Greece, the China rep, asks about the population of Greece. Upon hearing the answer (10 millions) he asks: “And on which hotel are you staying?”

It is very difficult for people from big countries, population and/or size wise, like USA, Germany, France and U.K.  to understand the problems of a small country like Greece. Especially Greece. There are many countries with population close to the one Greece has, (Belgium, Portugal, etc.) but without the other special characteristics and conditions Greece has, only because of its place in the world map.

And that is only about the geopolitics of Greece, a thing that mostly interests the politicians and the companies behind them. It is not about the psychology of the people that live in it. Not about the special bond that Greeks have with this land, that is their home. Not about how they live and work under the same sun, that all world has, but call it Helios and have been calling it Helios for thousands of years.

When you are born in a strong country, it is easy to feel the protection that this country provides to the citizens and accept being a member of this society, with pleasure and gratitude. For Greeks, on the other hand, it has never been like that. The Greek history from ancient times proves just one thing: that Greeks chose to be Greeks. They chose to be the carriers and successors of a civilization, of a language, of a history. And they chose it willingly, knowing that it is a difficult task, because they lack either the special weight of a big population or a problem free region.