More Olympian Revenge

The elaborate stories in Greek mythology guarantee that the gods of Olympus were never bored. They were either constantly falling in love, protecting or punishing someone. The following are people that managed to anger the gods and their chosen punishments:

Ixion: A king of the Lapiths in Thessaly, he pushed his father-in-law into a bed of coal and wood making it the first murder of kin in mythology. Ixion was shunned by the other kings and princes in the area, but Zeus took pity on him and invited him to sit with the rest of the gods in Olympus as a guest. Ixion, however, did not respect Zeus's hospitality as he lusted after Hera. Zeus decided to trick him and presented him with a cloud (nephele) of Hera, with which Ixion mated. This union with the cloud-Hera produced the Centaur who later ruled the mountain of Pelion in Magnesia. As punishment for his betrayal, Zeus struck him with a thunderbolt and tied him to a spinning burning wheel for all eternity.

Sisyphos: Sisyphos was the king of Corinth who managed to trick both men and gods alike with his craftiness. He betrayed Zeus's secrets, took his brother's throne, and when he was chained by Thanatos (death) as punishment for his betrayal, he even managed to trick Thanatos into releasing him and tying up death. After this he was dragged to Tartarus again, where he once again tricked Persephone into allowing him to visit the world of the living. Finally, the gods reserved special punishment for Sisyphos in Hades: He was forced to push a large rock up a hill and right before he reached the top, the rock would roll back down forcing him to start his ordeal again.

Read the rest of the article at www.allthegreeks.com and more revenge stories here.

Image and Source: www.theoi.com

It's a Fact: Greece Is Leaking ...Brains

For decades now Greece has been the country that sends away its children ("η Ελλάδα που διώχνει τα παιδιά της" as generations have said before us). Back in the old days it was poverty. They literally had little to eat so they would emigrate to other countries, make a living for themselves and send money to their families back home. Today it's for other reasons.

In the midst of an international and national crisis, at a time when it's most in need of development, Greece is losing its best... literally leaking brains.

It's frustrating.

Lena, a friend, has gotten two masters in England and shortly after graduating, family issues and bad weather conditions in London brought her back to Greece to try and find a job, build a life. After months of searching for a job in her field of study, she finally finds a job that lower than her expectations just to have one. Her masters degrees were more scorned than appreciated, as employers did not want to (or could not afford to) pay extra for her extra years in school (masters). Eventually she left for London again.

It's not so much the low pay that bothers job-hunters, even though that is a particularly big issue when you spend years in university. It's the lack of appreciation for skill and the almost complete lack of prospect in the majority of Greek businesses. There is no room to grow, and this is a major problem, especially for those who have received degrees from abroad where the mindset is generally different (and not everyone wants to get a job in the "secure" public sector).

Read the results of a Greek study on "brain drain" and similar articles at www.allthegreeks.com.

Source: http://alfavita.gr/artra/art27_5_10_848.php

Image: http://matadorabroad.com/2010/03/

Blue-Flag Beaches 2010

Four hundred and twenty one beaches and 9 marinas were awarded the blue flag this year in Greece. The "Blue Flags" program is an international effort made by the Foundation for Environmental Education (FEE) based in Denmark, which awards blue flags to beaches that meet certain criteria of cleanliness and safety. In Greece the coordinator of the program is the Greek Organization for the Protection of Nature (Ελληνική Εταιρεία Προστασίας της Φύσης) and a list of the beaches awarded for 2010 is provided below. Greece comes in 2nd place this year in the number of beaches that were awarded. The beaches or marinas that want to receive a blue flag must be tested every year. This is how it works:

First of all, the EEPF does not go around the entire country testing the water of all the beaches. So it is left in the hands of the mayors around the country to apply for a blue flag every year. Once the mayor applies, the EEPF and its team run the necessary tests in order to determine whether the beach in question is suitable enough for a blue flag.

Therefore, if you're curious as to why some of the most amazing beaches you know don't have blue flags, know that it's probably because no mayor applied for a blue flag for this beach. So, of course there are lots of beaches around the country that are breathtaking (a big example is Porto Katsiki and Kathisma in Lefkada), but no one bothered to apply so they can receive a blue flag.

In any case, for those beaches that do apply for a blue flag, there are four different areas on which they are tested:

See the criteria and the full list of Greek beaches at allthegreeks.com.

Source: http://www.eepf.gr/

Image: http://www.goldensands.gr/goldensun/grk/beach.php