The Greeks are a delightfully friendly, hospitable people with a zest for life and an absorbing interest in humanity. An outsider can expect them to ask many questions, some quite personal. This questioning speeds up the process of getting acquainted.

Like Americans, the Greeks are devoted to freedom, and their rich cultural heritage is derived from many lands. Greek society, aside from royalty, is virtually classless. However, education and wealth command respect, as they do in the United States.

The typical Greek is intensely patriotic and proud of his country. He wants other people to share his enthusiasm for the beauty of Greece and the achievements of the Greeks. His family commands his deepest loyalty and affection, but he likes to gather with his friends and to extend his circle of friends whenever he can.

The man is the head of his family, but women are treated with respect and consideration. Women won the right to vote in 1952, and the modern Greek woman is less restricted socially than her mother was. Parental influence is strong. Children are given every opportunity possible to develop themselves mentally and physically.

Most Greeks take politics seriously and make no secret of their views. They have a talent for oratory and use every free minute to develop it.

The coffee house serves as a home away from home. Here the Greek man can spend hours over a small cup of coffee, can read the newspaper, or can play backgammon for small stakes.

Village women do not go to the coffee house. Instead they gather at sweetshops, at church on Sundays, or at the village water fountain.

Strolling with friends in the open air is a great pastime, especially on Sunday afternoons. In the country, girls customarily stroll with girls and boys with boys. But many a young man spots his future bride in the course of a stroll.

A visitor will see Greek men who seem to be counting beads on a string. They are called worry beads, and clicking them together relieves nervous tension. Greek women apparently have steady nerves—they never click their beads.

An old belief that lingers in remote villages is that blue beads ward off the evil eye. Another belief of the distant past is that a hand held up with the fingers extended toward another person can cast an evil spell. This gesture is insulting in Greece and can lead to violent argument.