In The Mind

Volume 1, Issue 1

Christmas 2008

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It’s All In The Mind! By Des Nouvel

After I’d taken residence in Greece, friends used to ask me about the Greek character – ‘What are they like’, ‘Are they friendly’, ‘How do they feel about foreigners settling in their country?’ etc., etc. It’s taken me maybe fifteen years of the twenty-two I’ve been here to accurately answer the questions. It’s important, firstly, to realise that to be Greek has nothing to do with location or birthplace; it is a condition of mind.

Petros, born and raised in Cleveland, Ohio, feels exactly the same about politics, lovemaking and basketball etc., as does his contemporary in Acharavi, Corfu. They may differ hotly on the best way to construct a Moussaka, but will eat either with gusto after first making their point. They will both pursue with determination, the departing customer who left their wallet containing a large amount of money on their restaurant table, returning it intact with a modest flourish. Yet, they would think nothing of overcharging that same customer one night later for a fraction of the originals sum – the first code ‘honour’, the second one ‘business’.

Their outlook on life and death make them formidable adver-saries or ridiculously generous. ‘Kill me once, but not every day of my life’, a philosophy forever imprinted in the minds of would-be occupiers of Greece from Xerxes of Persia to Adolph Hitler. Alternatively, ‘You have no money but you have a face’, a firm assurance I myself have received

that, because you are a part of their lives, your credit is good until whenever you can pay.

Their custom of carrying the deceased through the community with the coffin lid off, the mourners and family walking behind and the village band playing in front, all help both young and old cope more readily with the idea of death; almost like a celebration of that person’s life, rather than the sobriety of final departure. They take mega-risks in business and are inveterate gamblers but they

be invited, with eagerness and sincerity, to join family celebrations on religious feast days, weddings and christenings etc.

Reliability here is relative; lend a Greek 5 euros and you’ll never see it again - lend the same man 5,000 euros and it will be paid back exactly on the date agreed. Huge business all over the world is done on the basis of a handshake between Greeks – their word is all-binding. Ask me about their medical profession, and I’ll describe some of the finest treatment my wife and I have ever received; after all, they more or less invented medicine, didn’t they?

Recent movies like ‘My Big Fat Greek Wedding’, ‘Captain Corelli’s Mandoline’ and, before them, ‘Shirley Valentine’, have all very accurately captured the essence of the Greek character in humour and in hardship. The strength and durability of that race from a very ancient country, breathe life and vitality into what were thought to be dying virtues like family values, consideration, love for the aged and infirm, safety on the streets, and the law of hospitality.

So, he is considerate yet volatile, he is steadfast yet wayward, he is optimistic yet cheerfully pessimistic, he is strong yet gentle and he is my friend. Yes, it is all in the mind, but it exists in Greeks all over the world.

‘Kill me
once, but not every day of my life’,

will never starve if the bet or venture goes ‘pear-shaped’ – why? – because they are all members of the

largest ‘family’ in the world. Everybody, from the Prime Minister to the local priest, is supposed to be their ‘cousin’, or ‘related by marriage’, and therefore will not allow them to suffer in any way. If you are ‘broke’ in Greece, it just means that you have no money, but you can still live well, it seems.

How do they feel about foreigners in their country? If those people try to acquire some of the language, or to integrate into the culture and community, they will find fresh eggs on their doorstep every now and then, or a litre of homemade olive oil – no note, just a gift from a good neighbour. You’ve been polite enough to say ‘good morning’ to them in their own language a few times and you will

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