By Gina DeChellis, Emily Learn, Savannah Franks, Abby Collins, Sarah

Ihnat and Erica O’Rell

OverView of culture
 Reasons for
migration
● Greeks began migrating to the U.S. in
the 1820s after war of independence
from the Ottoman Empire
● Economic challenges
● Employment opportunities
● Most were men to secure dowries for
their sisters
● Today, Greeks are 0.4% population of
the United States
Greek heritage
Hellenism
● Ancient Greek culture or ideals
● Followed the death of Alexander the Great
● “Greekness” which is greek values, culture and language are
connected the Alexander the Great
● Over 50 million in the population of Europe believe in Hellenic
culture
● It allowed educational systems to withhold their identity and spread
culture
 Greek heritage
continued...
Archeological sites
● Each site has a historical meaning for the Greek and most were dedicated to Greek
Gods and Goddesses
● Examples:
○ Parthenon- temple dedicated to the greek goddess, Athena. Can be found in
in Athens and there is a replica in Nashville

○ Ancient Theatre of Epidaurus- sanctuary dedicated to the God of medicine

and was held for music and dramatic shows
Greek heritage
continued...
Greek mythology
● Famous stories about Gods and Goddesses
● Each God and Goddess are assigned a symbol
○ Examples:
■ Zeus, the God of lightning
■ Athena, Goddess of wisdom
■ Poseidon, God of the sea
● Usually have a deeper meaning
● The Creation is the origin story of how greek mythology began
● Contains different kinds of species and monsters
● Most of the time the stories contain a hero
 Greek heritage
continued...
Festivals
● The Olympics was a religious festival and
remains still to this day, but involving
modern sports
● Known for having cultural events year round
● Greek heritage month is in June
○ Celebrate with food, music and dancing
 Where do most Greeks live?
● Highest amount of Greeks live in the New York
City, Boston and Chicago area
● In 2000, Tarpon Springs, Florida had the highest
population
● The United States is the largest community for
Greeks aside from Greece and ahead of
Australia, Cyprus, Albania, Canada, Germany
and the United Kingdom
Educational styles and the importance
of education
● System is divided into 3 levels: primary, secondary and tertiary
■ Primary is from ages 6 to 12
■ Secondary has 2 stages: Middle school and a 3 year school
■ Higher tertiary is universities, tech universities and academies
● Need to take Panhellenic exam
○ Emphasizes on theory over practical application
● Importance of education
○ To produce good citizens
● Educational opportunities
○ Limited due to tuition being expensive and the famous entrance exam is difficult to pass.
○ If they do pass the exam, they go into college and study the major they chose.
 What is their work ethic?

● Controversy between if the Greeks are hard workers or not.

● Regard work as a curse
● Some say they work the longest hours in Europe
● Some say productivity is low
● Others say they are lazy
● Germans think they need to adopt their work ethics
 Pregnancy and
Childbearing Practices
 ●
Fertility As the years go on the fertility rate among the Greek
culture has actually declined and continues to do so. This
decline is leading to a decrease in the Greek population.
● There is a festival thrown called the annual Phallus festival
to honor and increase fertility among the women in Greece,
and is considered a popular tradition.
● A tradition called Krevati was used to promote fertility.
This ritual is done before a Greek wedding and the bride-
to-be and her single friends come together to decorate the
couple’s future marriage bed.
 ● Greek physicians used herbs to prevent
Contraceptive pregnancy. They were administered as
pessaries (into the vagina), and these herbs
methods were believed to shut down the uterus before
the seed could pass.
● Eventually the herbs were see as evil and then
replaced with an oral contraceptive herd called
silphium.
● Today contraceptive pills are used but only by
4% of the greek culture.
Naming Process
● One of most characteristic traditions in Greek 2. Name after Saints
culture - Less frequent
1. Name after Grandparents - If the pregnancy is difficult, the mother calls a
- Most common tradition saint for protection until she gives birth, then
- If child is a boy, named after paternal names the child after the saint
grandfather - Child then gets a second birthday
- If child is a girl, named after maternal - The day family celebrates saint, they also
grandmother celebrate the child
- Family has party at home. Guests say Hronia
- Modern spin= first name whatever and middle
Polla (happy birthday) and bring presents
name is blend of both grandparents
Postpartum traditions
● Birth customs include ● It is very important to
that the mother and
baby must rest and be
isolated for 40 days
after birth. This period
is called ‘lochia’ and is
a time when women
can cherished and
pampered.
Greek families that
after birth the child is
celebrated. They use a
practice called “to
asimo to pethi” or “to
silver the child”, and
this was a time when
gifts are given to the
child to ward off the
evil eye.
 Old wives tales

● A greek physician believed that if a pregnant woman were to look at any

images of other people their child may end up resembling that individual.
● The same physician also stated that pregnant women that were exposed to or
even imagined an alarming sight would put their infant at risk of being
malformed.
Death Practices and Beliefs
 ● Began with “Prothesis” which was the preparation of the body.
○ Body was first washed, then clothed in red & white
○ A crown of leaves, ribbons, and flowers was placed on the departed
Ancient greek ●
○ Body was then placed on planks
Followed by “Ekphora” which was the funeral procession
death ○ Family & friends carried the body to a grave outside of the city on the
third day before daybreak
practices/Rituals ● Burial then followed
○ Corpse was wrapped in cloth or placed in a coffin, then cremated
○ Ashes were placed in a special container
○ Sacrifices were made & gifts were left at the grave
○ A tombstone was placed
● “Perideipnoin” which was a celebratory feast followed
ANcient greek death beliefs
● At the moment of death the soul (psyche) left ones
body
● All souls would partake on a journey to Hades
● The body that housed the soul on earth was not
important
● Soul went to 1 of 4 places in hades
○ Tartarus which is were the evil souls went to
○ Asphodel Meadows which is where the average
indifferent souls went
○ Mourning Fields where the souls who wasted their
lives on unrequited love went
○ Elysium where gods, demigods, and those who lived
virtuous lives went
 ❏ Believe an “evil spirit” enters the home when someone dies
Modern greek ❏ Windows are kept open to drive out the evil spirit

death traditions ❏ All mirrors in the house are covered in towels/cloths

❏ This forces the family to only focus on the death of their loved
one and not themselves
❏ The body is dressed in a new outfit so the body can be laid
to rest in grace
❏ Candles are used as a way to say goodbye to the deceased
❏ Mourning lasts a full 24 hours
❏ During this time family members and friends pay their
respects at the deceased home
❏ Here they expresses their feelings in a very intense manner
 References
Customs & Traditions: Birth. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://chnm.gmu.edu/greekam/birth_frame.html

Education in Greece. (4 January 2014). Retrieved from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Education_in_Greeceness-34384671

Germans tell Greeks to rise earlier and work harder to avoid financial crisis. (2010, March 05). Retrieved from
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/greece/7378905/Germans-tell-Greeks-to-rise-earlier-and-work-harder-to-avoid-financial-crisi
s.html

Greek Americans. (2018, September 21). Retrieved from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greek_Americans

Greek Funeral Customs. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.funeralwise.com/customs/greek/

Greek Heritage Month. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://greekday.com/greek-heritage-month/

Greek immigrants. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://immigrationtounitedstates.org/529-greek-immigrants.html

Greeks. (2018, November 17). Retrieved from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greeks

Haland, E. J. (2014). Rituals of Death and Dying in Modern and Ancient Greece. Retrieved November 19, 2018, from
https://www.cambridgescholars.com/download/sample/61829

Howe, K. (2017, April 02). Pregnancy & Childbirth in Ancient Greece. Retrieved from https://womeninantiquity.wordpress.com/2017/03/31/pregnancy-
and-childbirth/amp/
References continued...
Kasimis, C., & Kassimi, C. (2017, March 02). Greece: A History of Migration. Retrieved from https://www.migrationpolicy.org/article/greece-
history-migration

Pentaris, P. (n.d.). Death in the Modern Greek Culture. Retrieved November 19, 2018, from
https://research.gold.ac.uk/11349/1/STA_Pentaris_2012.pdf

Pickles, M. (2015, September 30). Greek tragedy for education opportunities. Retrieved November 19, 2018, from
https://www.bbc.com/news/business-34384671

Ramon, J. C. (2017, November 21). What Is Hellenism in Ancient Greek Culture? Retrieved from
https://classroom.synonym.com/hellenism-ancient-greek-culture-7917.html