The Greek Madness

By Katherine Kizilos

"Many orderly and predictable events take place in Greece. The new underground rail system in Athens, for example, is handsome, well-designed and a model of efficiency. All around the country, bread rises and is baked in thousands of reliable bakeries. Well-dressed children go to school and do their homework and play soccer in the park when siesta time is over. Church bells ring on name days and everybody visits their parents at Easter. In many ways, Greece is still a traditional society, which means a Greek is more likely to follow custom and convention than an Australian - because here it is easier for a person to cut loose and declare themselves free of all ties than it is in Greece.

For all that, the Greek reputation for madness is not unfounded. Public drunkenness is rare, but it is not unusual for people to yell at each other in the street (and then, perhaps, to embrace), to push in, to smoke too much, to become argumentative, or to buy you, a perfect stranger, a meal for no reason except that they like the look of you and why should you be sitting there all alone on such a beautiful evening? If the ability to strike up a spontaneous friendship is a sign of madness, then the Greeks are barking.

Greeks can also be exasperating, particularly in banks and government offices. As a rule (with honourable exceptions) the melancholy facts of bureaucracy and paperwork do not bring out the best in the Greek people. There may be historical reasons for this, connected to the long years of Greek subjugation under the Ottomans and the sense it gave them that any official - even a bank teller or a post office clerk - is a powerful person who can use his influence for personal advantage.

My own experience is that everyday dealings in Greece - shopping, ordering coffee, asking for directions - are unpredictable. You can never tell where the simplest exchange will take you. One can be met with great kindness or exasperating rudeness, sometimes in dizzying succession.

Whether or not you like this is a matter of temperament. On a recent trip to Greece, my son, who does not speak Greek, witnessed a long and intense conversation between a husband and wife as we traveled down a mountain together in a car. He watched their hand gestures, listened to their raised voices and their laughter, and wondered what it was all about.

Peas, I told him. Green peas. They are particularly good this year. Nick wants Sophia to buy more peas."

Read the whole thing at the Global Greek World blog here.

Comments

[Margaret]

I thought I recognised her name and, having visited her blog, I realise that I read her book, The Olive Grove, a few months ago, and really enjoyed it. Her writing has a very light touch whilst still conveying masses of interesting information. I particularly loved her description of the relationship between a mother-in-law and daughter-in-law ... having just spent the weekend with mine.

[Stavros]

M,

No idea she had written a book. I think I'll read it if for no other reason than to compare notes about Greece and Greeks.

Thanks for the tip.

[Simon Baddeley]

Ah ha. "There may be historical reasons for this, connected to the long years of Greek subjugation under the Ottomans and the sense it gave them that any official - even a bank teller or a post office clerk - is a powerful person who can use his influence for personal advantage." This is why such behaviour never occurs in Corfu - well not so far in our experience but Byron while delayed in Cephalonia wrote of one of his Greek companions "One of them found fault the other day with the English language, because it had so few shades of a Negative, whereas a Greek can so modify a 'No' to a 'Yes', and vice versa, by the slippery qualities of his language, that prevarication may be carried to any extent and still leave a loop-hole through which perjury may slip without being perceived. This was the Gentleman's own talk, and is only to be doubted because in the words of the Syllogism 'Now Epimenides was a Cretan'. But they may be mended by and bye. (28 Sept 1823)
I was chatting to a Greek friend from Thessaly. We were sharing experiences of each other's countrymen. He observed that whereas the Greeks indeed have many different ways of saying "no", the British have innumerable ways of saying that 'something can't be done'. Being British I wouldn't understand this but I will definitely look into it if you come back to me in a few days.

[Margaret]

S,

And how about this one?

Middlesex, by Jeffrey Eugenides

A friend we met yesterday told me I have to read it before our holiday!

[Stavros]

M,

I haven't yet read Middlesex. Anyone who wins a Pulitzer prize is obviously a great writer worth reading, although to be honest I haven't done so yet because I don't know if the subject matter is my cup of tea. I'll wait for your verdict before I take the plunge.

I have been thinking of putting together a reading list of modern Greek writers and poets. There is no doubt that Eugenides must be on the list.

Simon,

The Turkokratia gets blamed for many things. I wonder sometimes how much it continues to effect the national psyche two hundred years later. Perhaps the spirit of resistance so eloquently given voice by Yiannis Ritsos, an ardent Communist (but also the consummate Greek), in his poem "Romiosini," is the product of a never ending bungling and corrupt state apparatus.

I have always found it ironic that Greeks look upon the state with disdain and distrust yet still expect it to take care of their every need. They may give the bureaucrats who make their lives miserable, the five fingered salute yet they would do anything to ensure that their little boy and girl can someday become one and thus be ensured of a job where they really don't have to work with a lucrative early retirement. I believe that over half the Greek work force is employed by the state and therefore they live off the earnings of the other half of the country which is among the hardest working in terms of hours worked in the world, surpassed only by South Korea.

My take on Greeks having different ways of saying "no" is that Greeks are often reluctant to insult someone or give the impression that something can't be done (this would reflect badly on them). Therefore they obfuscate, delay, pretend there was a miscommunication, erect obstacles, and finally ignore you. They will do anything but come out and say NO, even if they have to say YES while meaning NO. The state bureaucracy is, of course, ideally suited for this type of muddled thinking. That is why Greek bureaucrats are hated and why Greeks, when they are at the end of their rope have no choice but to flee to the mountains, where they can sing klephtic songs, eat roast lamb and dream of a utopia that unfortunately will never come, at least not in this world :)

[maria]

oh my goodness, i just posted something about the way i had to handle a very long day in the middle of summer dealign with 'powerful' people (not much is different from the above post)

i found middlesex in a 2nd hand bookshop, so i must make time to read it after reading this post

[Stavros]

Maria,

Some Greeks flee to the mountains while others with more patience and brains wait things out while they partake of a leisurely breakfast. Well done.

[Simon Baddeley]

I so love this image of fleeing to the mountains and.... I'm laughing. Thanks Stavros. It reminds me of that notorious joke about Greek hell. You know it surely?
http://democracystreet.blogspot.com/2007/07/e-mail-from-corfu-man-dies-and-goes-to.html
To which I'd add with half my family Greek:
http://democracystreet.blogspot.com/2007/07/greece-ranks-at-bottom-of-eu-tables.html
I've never met a lazy Greek, nor a stupid one. Where are they all? Why the jokes? What's with not only being unable to 'absorb' EU money for infrastructure, but 'ranking at the bottom of the table' for this capacity. You have to work to do so badly. Were the last Olympic Games secretly more of a mess than our Dome! Didn't look like it to me. What is this?

[Simon Baddeley]

By the way I have noticed the ways Margaret has subtly hinted that 'something can't be done'. Nice. Did you notice Stavros how could we are at this? S

[Stavros]

Simon,

:)

I certainly ask some of the same questions.

I too think that there are plenty of Greeks who are industrious, smart and capable. Unfortunately these same people are beaten down by a nanny state that seeks to rein them in at every turn. The cultivation of efficient, resposnsive and accountable local government is not in keeping with the requirement to preserve an expanfding central government. As a result, its primary purpose entails taking decisionmaking out of the hands of those who are most informed and putting it in the hands of those who are least informed about local conditions. This powerlessness creates communities that have no stake in the future, no civic consciousness and therefore are consigned to repeating failed policies.