CHANIA, CRETE

ERASMUS+/KA2 “Education, Profession and European Citizenship” Project 1st Transnational Meeting Alikianos, Chania, Crete, 24.10-27.10.2016

In co-operation with schools from Greece, Hungary, Poland, Romania and Slovakia ΓΕΝΙΚΟ ΛΥΚΕΙΟ ΑΛΙΚΙΑΝΟΥ ΧΑΝΙΩΝ

GREECE IN A NUT SHELL

Greece (Greek: Ελλάδα, Elláda [eˈlaða]), officially the Hellenic Republic (Greek: Ελληνική Δημοκρατία Ell a a [eliniˈci ðimokraˈti.a]), also known since ancient times as Hellas (Ancient Greek: Ἑλλάς Hellás [ˈhɛləs]), is a transcontinental country located in southeastern Europe. Greece's population is approximately 10.9 million as of 2015. is the nation's capital and largest city, followed by Thessaloniki.

Greece is strategically located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Situated on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula, it shares land borders with Albania to the northwest, the Republic of Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and to the northeast. Greece consists of nine geographic regions: Macedonia, Central Greece, the Peloponnese, Thessaly, Epirus, the Aegean Islands (including the Dodecanese and Cyclades), Thrace, Crete, and the Ionian Islands. The Aegean Sea lies to the east of the mainland, the Ionian Sea to the west, the Cretan Sea and the Mediterranean Sea to the south. Greece has the longest coastline on the Mediterranean Basin and the 11th longest coastline in the world at 13,676 km (8,498 mi) in length, featuring a vast number of islands, of which 227 are inhabited. Eighty percent of Greece is mountainous, with Mount Olympus being the highest peak at 2,918 meters (9,573 ft).

The history of Greece is one of the longest of any country, having been continuously inhabited since 270,000 BC. Considered the cradle of Western civilization, Greece is the birthplace of democracy, Western philosophy, the Olympic Games, Western literature, historiography, political science, major scientific and mathematical principles, and Western drama, including both tragedy and comedy. The were first unified under Philip of Macedon in the fourth century BC. His son the Great rapidly conquered much of the ancient world, spreading Greek culture and science from the eastern Mediterranean to the Indus River. Greece was annexed by Rome in the second century BC, becoming an integral part of the Roman Empire and its successor, the Byzantine Empire. The first century AD saw the establishment of the Greek Orthodox Church, which shaped modern Greek identity and transmitted Greek traditions to the wider Orthodox World. Falling under Ottoman dominion in the mid-15th century, the modern nation state of Greece emerged in 1830 following a war of independence. Greece's rich historical legacy is reflected by its 18 UNESCO World Heritage Sites, among the most in Europe and the world.

Greece is a democratic and developed country with an advanced high-income economy, a high quality of life, and a very high standard of living. A founding member of the United Nations, Greece was the tenth member to join the European Communities and has been part of the Eurozone since 2001. It is also a member of numerous other international institutions. Greece's unique cultural heritage, subsequently large tourism industry, prominent shipping sector and geostrategic importance, classify it as a middle power. It is the largest economy in the Balkans, where it is an important regional investor.

Famous Greeks: Alexander the Great is the most famous Greek personality ever. His short life was full of adventures. Born in Pella, Macedonia, in 356 BC, he became king at the age of 20. After he united the Greek city-states, he launched an expedition to the East and managed to conquer the Persian Empire and extend the borders of his kingdom till India. He died a month before he turned 33, beloved as a god while he was alive and celebrated as a legend after his death. Homer, the famous poet of the Greek antiquity, is known all over the world for his two epic poems, the Iliad and the Odyssey. Historians believe that Homer was blind, as shown by his name, which in Greek means "he who can't see". Many cities claim to be the birthplace of Homer, while it is believed that he died in Ios, the homeland of his mother. He lived in the 8th century BC and didn't actually write his poems, but narrated them and scholars wrote them down. Socrates is considered today as the founder of Western philosophy. His notions of ethics, virtue and truth passed through centuries. Although we have no manuscipts of Socrates himself, his life and ideology are vividly presented in the works of Plato and Xenophon, his direct students, while some accounts are also found in Aristotle and Aristophanes. Socrates believed that the real truth is hidden in every man and all he has to do is to discover it. Because of his philosophical teachings, he was accused of corrupting the youth and was sentenced to death by the Athenian politicians. He died in prison drinking poison. Plato, the Metaphysic Philosopher, (428-358 BC) is one of the three most famous Athenian philosophers. Student of Socrates and teacher of Aristotle, Plato is the most vague of the classical thinkers. His theories were much innovative for his time. Plato introduced a new political system, where philosophers, as the holders of real truth and knowledge, would rule. An opponent of democracy, Plato thinks that ruling a state must not be based on persuasion but on wisdom. Giving his theories a metaphysical aspect, Plato believed that two parallel worlds exist, the real world and the world we live in, which is a reflection of the real world. Aristotle, the Philosopher of Reason, student of Socrates and Plato, is the third most famous philosopher of the Greek antiquity. He studied in the Academy of Plato, the first university of the world. When Plato died, he went to teach the son of king Phillip of Macedon, Alexander the Great. On his return to Athens, he founded Lyceum, a school of philosophy and other sciences. Although only one third of his work survives today, it can be seen that he studied almost all sciences known in the ancient times. His philosophical notions survived for centuries and influenced a lot the Western culture. Pericles, the Inspired Statesman, (495-429 BC) was the man who led Athens to its glory. An inspired politician, a brave general and a persuasive orator, Pericles led his hometown to the top scale. It was under his guidance that Athens became the greatest naval power all over Greece, that the Acropolis was built and that culture was developed. Born in 495 BC, he took part in many battles and remained leader of the town for 40 years. After his death, Athens lost his power and never managed to recover from this loss. Leonidas, the legendary King of Sparta, is world famous for his act of self-sacrifice, when he and his 300 Spartan soldiers died in the battle of Thermopylae to protect the rest of Greece from the Persian invasion, in 480 BC. Today, the statue of Leonidas lies at the site of Thermopylae to commemorate this special event. The tomb of the king is found in Sparta, his homeland, where he was honored as a god till the Roman times. Solon, the Athenian Lawmaker, (638-558 BC) was an Athenian politician, lawmaker and poet. He came into power in a time when the society of Athens was facing serious social problems and his reforms were crucial for the creation of a new governmental system that would make the fate of the town, democracy. He actually gave political rights to common citizens, not only the noblemen, and enforced trade as the main economic source of the town. Although his political measures lasted for short, Solon had already set the ground for the development of the town which came with Pericles about half a century later. Hippocrates, the Physician, (460-377 BC) is the most famous physician of ancient Greece. Developing very innovative theories and practices for his time, he combined medical observation and philosophy to cure illnesses. Hippocrates believed that the human body has the power to heal itself. He said that all is a matter of balance between the four elements of the body: blood, black bile, yellow bile and phlegm. People get ill in case this balance is interrupted. To restore this balance, he didn't use drugs, except for natural extracts and soothing balms. Archimedes, the Mathematecian, (287-212 BC) is famous as the greatest mathematecian, engineer, inventor and astronomer of the ancient world, a Leonardo da Vinci of his times. He was born in the Greek colony of Syracuse in modern Italy. We don't know much about his life and he probably wasn't that famous in his era. However, when his manuscripts were found and translated in the Medieval times, he attracted the attention of many scientists. His most famous theory is the Principle of Archimedes, the centre of hydrostatics, according to which when an object is immersed in liquid, the amount of liquid displaced is equal to the volume of that object. Archimedes is also famous for measuring the circle. the painter. His real name was Domenicos Theotokopoulos, however he became famous as "El Greco" (The Greek). When he was born, Crete was under Venetian Occupation. At the age of 26, he moved to Italy, opened a workshop and spent several years there. In 1577, he moved to Toledo Spain, where he stayed till his death. Regarded as a precursor of Expressionism and Cubism by modern critics, the paintings of El Greco were mostly inspired by religion. He also made many famous portraits. El Greco died in 1614 and was buried in the Church of Santo Domingo El Antigua, in Toledo. Aristotle Onassis (1906-1975) is probably the most famous Greek businessman and he was considered one of the richest men in the world, when he was alive. Born in , now Izmir Turkey, to Greek parents, he left to and managed to make a vast fortune out of tobacco trade at first and then of shipping. Although his methods were not always legal, he managed to exploit his persuasive nature, acquaintances and good luck to get rich. Onassis married twice, to Athina Livanos and to Jacqueline Kennedy.

Maria Callas. She is mostly called La Divina and she has been awarded as the greatest opera singer in the world. was born in 1923 in New York to Greek parents. In 1937, her family moved to Athens and she attended music courses in the Conservatory of Athens. Soon, her teachers appreciated her warm and heavy voice. After some performances in the Greek National Opera, she moved to Italy and started to perform in La Scala di Milan. Her career reached its peak in the 1950s and then it decreased, either from a vocal decline or because she wanted to focus on her personal life, which was marked by an unlucky marriage, a devastating affair to Greek ship owner Aristotle Onassis and loneliness.

WEATHER Hopefully we will have a nice weather in October -it’s still autumn. In October it is usually 15,6C  23,7C degrees in Crete. The average temperature is 19,4C. But it’s hard to predict, so check the weather forecast before leaving to Chania/Crete! You may check the weather conditions from the website of the weather station of our school: http://www.weatherlink.com/user/alikianos http://penteli.meteo.gr/stations/alikianos/

or the weather forecast from the Hellenic National Meteorological System: http://hnms.gr/hnms/english/forecast/forecast_city_html?&dr_city=Chania_Souda

PLEASE DOWNLOAD THE FOLLOWING APPS IN YOUR SMARTPHONE BEFORE STARTING YOUR JOURNEY:

1. Plickers 2. Actionbound 3. QR creator 4. QR reader 5. Socrative

It is important that you download these apps before the course starts, since if everybody will download all the apps in our WiFi, it will probably crash. Thank you for your co-operation!

TRANSFER We will try to transfer all groups from and to the airport (or the port), or from your hotel to the school and back by our own cars.

REFRESHMENTS We have a pleasure to offer you coffee, tea and tab water with little snacks during breaks. Greek tab water is very clean and there for fully drinkable.

SOCIAL EVENTS = DINNERS & DRINKS Our school will try to offer you launch on 25 and 26.10.2016. The launches are social events and optional for everybody – though a good way to get to know each other and have fun too! We have tried to choose different kind of restaurants. We do recommend that you try local restaurants in your free time, if you are interested in dining like the authentic Greek people.

QUESTIONS ??? If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to ask!

Contact information:

Before the meeting:

Stelios Stavgiannoudakis [email protected] 00306937633461 Kyriakos Koumakis [email protected] 00306936846534

During the meeting:

Geniko Lykeio Alikianou 00302821077166 Stelios Stavgiannoudakis [email protected] 00306937633461 Yiannis Nikolaou [email protected] 00306932357080

YOU ARE WARMLY WELCOME TO GREECE, CHANIA AND TO OUR MEETING!

ΥΠΟΥΡΓΕΙΟ ΠΑΙΔΕΙΑΣ, ΕΡΕΥΝΑΣ KAI ΘΡΗΣΚΕΥΜΑΤΩΝ ΠΕΡΙΦΕΡΕΙΑΚΗ ΔΙΕΥΘΥΝΣΗ ΚΡΗΤΗΣ ΔΙΕΥΘΥΝΣΗ ΔΕΥΤΕΡΟΒΑΘΜΙΑΣ ΕΚΠΑΙΔΕΥΣΗΣ ΧΑΝΙΩΝ ΓΕΝΙΚΟ ΛΥΚΕΙΟ ΑΛΙΚΙΑΝΟΥ