In Troy there lies the scene. From isles of Greece
The princes orgulous, their high blood chafed,
Have to the port of Athens sent their ships,
Fraught with the ministers and instruments
Of cruel war. William Shakespeare, Troilus and Cressida, prologue
The Greeks are strong, and skilful to their strength,
Fierce to their skill, and to their fierceness valiant. ibid. I I 7-8, Troilus
Greece was not a powerful enemy. Poor and politically unstable it too was ruled by a dictatorship with extreme right-wing politics. Greece was nonetheless pro-British and in alliance with Britain and France from April 1939. World War II: The Complete History: The World Shall Hold Its Breath, Discovery 2000
Two hundred years ago workmen were swarming over the Acropolis, the rock that dominates the ancient city of Athens. Andrew Graham-Dixon, The Elgin Marbles, BBC 2012
One of the greatest international controversies of the last two centuries. ibid.
Lord Elgin took about half of the marble sculptures that survived on the Parthenon. ibid.
An act of wholesale plunder. ibid.
17th September 1802: The Mentor hit a rock in a storm and sank. She was carrying seventeen cases of marbles including fourteen pieces of the frieze. ibid.
To Byron, Elgin was a despoiler of Greece’s proud heritage. ibid.
The controversy caused by Elgin’s actions was only just beginning. ibid.
[Melina] Mercouri’s campaign in the 1980s took the issue of the Marbles’ return to an international level. ibid.
This is where Western civilisation began. Joanna Lumley’s Greek Odyssey I: The Land of the Ancient Greeks, ITV 2011
Delphi lies to the north of the Bay of Corinth. ibid.
I’ve come to the most north-westerly corner of Greece. The British have been falling under this island’s spell for centuries – this is Corfu. Joanna Lumley’s Greek Odyssey II
The houses here are terribly expensive. One went only two days ago for fifteen million Euros. ibid.
Byron never did see the Greeks win their independence. ibid.
The island of Spetses is half a day by sea from Athens. Joanna Lumley's Greek Odyssey III
Crete – the largest of all the Greek islands ... Everybody who traded had to come past. ibid.
Spinalonga was one of the last leper colonies in Europe. ibid.
I’m two-thirds the way up the highest mountain in Greece: it’s Mount Olympus. Joanna Lumley’s Greek Odyssey IV
Off the southern coast of mainland Greece lie the ruins of a city founded over five thousand years ago. This city thrived for two thousand years during the time that saw the birth of Western civilisation. But then the city vanished, consumed by the sea. City Beneath the Waves: Pavlopetri, BBC 2011
Thought to be the oldest submerged city in the world. ibid.
It laid forgotten under the waves for three thousand years when it was discovered purely by chance. ibid.
But Greek can reach parts of you nothing else can touch. I made the discovery late in life and it seems worthwhile shouting about it so that other people can come across it earlier and get more out of it. Peter French, Greek as a Treat introduction, BBC books 1993
Ten years after joining the Euro this country [Greece] is effectively bankrupt. And the government has put the airport up for sale. This World, Michael Portillo’s Great Euro Crisis, BBC 2012
I believe that Greece’s crisis is due to having joined the Euro. ibid.
The Greeks went on a buying spree of German luxury cars. ibid.
Greece’s most notorious public expenditure bonanza was on the 2004 Olympic Games ... Buildings and facilities lie unused ... The financial fiasco of the Athens Olympics. ibid.
€240 billion, about £200 billion. ibid.
The Greeks I’ve spoken to say they want to stay in the Euro. ibid.
Greece isn’t a democracy now it’s run through a troika – three foreign officials that fly into Athens airport and tell the Greeks what they can and can’t do. Nigel Farage
107,000 people landed on the Greek islands this August alone. Panorama: Europe’s Border Crisis: The Long Road, BBC 2015
Thousands of refugees locked down in Europe’s camps … I have been investigating camp conditions … Seeing a doctor can be a daily struggle. Some of Europe’s most desperate at the height of the Coronavirus pandemic. Panorama: Coronavirus Crisis: Europe’s Migrant Camps, BBC 2020
Greece is one of the first countries in Europe to close its popular spaces and restrict crowds. Ten days later the country is in full lockdown; so is the camps. ibid.
An historic betrayal has consumed Greece. Having set aside the mandate of the Greek electorate, the Syriza government has wilfully ignored last week’s landslide ‘No’ vote and secretly agreed a raft of repressive, impoverishing measures in return for a ‘bailout’ that means sinister foreign control and a warning to the world.
Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras has pushed through parliament a proposal to cut at least 13 billion Euros from the public purse – 4 billion Euros more than the ‘austerity’ figure rejected overwhelmingly by the majority of the Greek population in a referendum on 5 July.
These reportedly include a 50 per cent increase in the cost of healthcare for pensioners, almost 40 per cent of whom live in poverty; deep cuts in public sector wages; the complete privatization of public facilities such as airports and ports; a rise in value added tax to 23 per cent, now applied to the Greek islands where people struggle to eke out a living. There is more to come. John Pilger, article July 2015, ‘The Problem of Greece is Not a Tragedy; It is a Lie’; viz website
When the people of Greece rejected the return of the monarchy, the British attacked. The Power Principle, 2011
Europe is in the grip of a huge migration crisis. An influx of millions fleeing Europe and seeking new lives. I’m travelling to Europe’s gateway Greece to follow the journeys of migrant children caught up in the chaos. I see the suffering of the most vulnerable. Stacey Dooley: Migrant Kids in Crisis: Greece, BBC 2016
A third are under 18. ibid.
Greece: a country on the brink of going bust. I want to find out why some have been driven to the point of suicide. Stacey Dooley: Coming Here Soon, BBC 2012
Greece needed to be bailed out by the rest of Europe. The government was forced to slash spending, cut wages and raise taxes. ibid.
Over half of young Greeks are unemployed. ibid.
I can’t look if they jump. ibid.
We Do Not Pay take their protest to those public services directly affected by government’s new charges. ibid.
I’m on a journey around Greece. At the eastern edge of Europe a land of mystery with fabulous islands and rugged mountains, it’s one of the most beautiful and troubled countries in Europe. After years of upheaval people here are still having a tough time. Greece with Simon Reeve I, BBC 2018
Around 25 million foreign holidaymakers to Greece every year. ibid.
Tourism accounts for 25% of the national economy, but it’s 60% for islands like Kos. ibid.
Greece has been receiving an influx of refugees and migrants. ibid.
Crete has its own unique history and geography … 600,000 people live on Crete. The biggest cities are on the coast. ibid.
Greece didn’t actually meet the requirements of membership of the Euro but Europe turned a blind eye … Once inside the Euro, Greece was able to borrow money at very low rates … The country went a bit bonkers. ibid.
Greek firms control the world’s largest merchant shipping fleet by tonnage, including a quarter of the world’s oil tankers. Greece with Simon Reeve II
Many of these workers remain stuck in a terrible limbo just preying they’ll get a work permit. ibid.
Greek trains have been a huge drain on the country. Vast sums have been ploughed into building and running major public infrastructure like the rail network, even though Greece had some of the lowest passenger levels of any railway in Europe. ibid.