Articles
Levantine Greeks Need Protection by the Greek Government Amid Arab-Israeli War
Written By: Alexandros
Many Greeks worldwide do not realize why the current conflict in the Middle East affects Greece in a very profound way. With the entire world caught up in an Israel vs. Palestine dialectic, it is continually lost on the average Greek that there is a very strong Greek Orthodox Christian community located in the Levant, which numbers approximately 1.5 million: 1.1 million in Syria, 100,000 in Israel, and 300,000 in Jordan to be exact.
A Parent’s Perspective: Planning Your Family’s First Trip to Greece
Written By: Penelope Conomos Benis
You’ve only got one chance to make a good first impression. An introduction to beautiful Greece is the type of task any Greek parent can romanticize: the whitewashed structures donning symbolic blue domes, farm to table cuisine, picturesque beaches, history coming to life, and filotimo enveloping it all. Between seeing new lands, first meetings with native Greek family members and adjusting to cultural norms in a foreign venue, there are undoubtedly many twists and turns along the first family sojourn to the fatherland.
In Memory of Father Gregory Salloum, Recently Killed in Israeli Air Strike
Written By: Alexandros
Father Gregory Salloum was a Greek Orthodox priest in the village of Ibl Al Saqi, a town in the Marjeyoun district in Southern Lebanon. The town has a population of roughly 85,000 and is in close proximity to the Israeli occupied Golan Heights. On September 30th, 2024, Israel launched a large-scale strike accompanied by a minor ground incursion into Lebanese territory. It has been reported that one of the missile strikes seriously injured Fr.
I Was Blindsided When I Moved To Greece: Here’s What You Should Know Before You Visit
Written By: Will Anagnos
Before moving to Greece in 2016, I thought I had prepared myself well. I wanted to understand and fit in as much as possible, anticipating the cultural differences I would encounter while living in a foreign country. However, there were many things about Greece — and the Greeks — that I hadn’t expected. Here are a few things that stood out to me: The Way Greeks Communicate Greek conversations can sound intense, even if they’re just casual discussions.
Q+A with Alexandros Benis: Putting Our Founder On The Hot Seat
Written By: KTE Executive Board
Q: Why should someone like you, Alexandros, have any right to come into Greece, point problems out, and try to clean up the system – when you didn’t grow up in the system? Alexandros Benis (A.B.): “Let’s answer that by using the example of those who like to criticize the fact that I don’t speak fluent Greek. Unfortunately, I’m a product of a generation of Greeks who came to America and did not want to pass the Greek language to their children: they wanted to assimilate as quickly as possible.
Understanding What Greek Americans Can Do for Greece
Written By: Alexandros
When I think of solving the problems that Greece has today, my solutions almost always include the capacity of the Greek Diaspora to help Greece return to its former economic, social, and cultural glory. Everyone knows the economic hardships affecting Greece right now. Chief among them is the Greek government’s allowance of foreign national corporations to buy up land, inflate the cost of living, and siphon profits back to their home countries.
I Moved From Chicago to Greece: Here’s Why
Written By: Will Anagnos
I was raised in a Greek American home. Both of my parents were second-generation Greeks and deeply rooted in their cultural traditions. We went to church every Sunday, celebrated all the Greek holidays, and lived what I thought was a pretty typical Greek-American life. But there was one thing I never fully embraced: the language. Despite being surrounded by Greek culture, I never learned to speak Greek. In fact, I flunked Greek school, and my parents didn’t really push me to learn.
Why young Greek Americans should go to Ionian Village
Written By: Christophoros
For Greek Americans everywhere, Ionian Village is the best way to connect with their heritage through faith, fellowship and culture. Ask thousands of Greek Americans over the years about Ionian Village (IV) – the Greek Orthodox summer camp held near Patra, Greece for young Hellenes – and they will use phrases like “life-changing” and “the best summer of my life” to describe it. We can attest to having the same priceless experience, and a whole lot more.
Raising a Family in the Spirit of Hellenism
Written By: Penelope Conomos Benis
As parents, we have a profound influence over what we expose to our children. It’s a big responsibility, and oftentimes a challenge given the surrounding forces of social media. With respect to our Hellenic heritage, we are tasked with the onus of teaching our children its multifaceted composition: Orthodoxy, culture, and stewardship. As a mother of three sons – now college aged and beyond – I often reflect on the parental decisions my husband and I made: both positive and regretted, amid raising our children in the intended spirit of Hellenism.
Why Greek Orthodox Christianity is under fire in America
Written By: Pericles
When I was a young boy, I remember coming to church with my Father, who served as the priest of our small parish of less than 100 families. Growing up, I served on the altar through new parish assignments and all the milestones of life, even well into college. Young men who serve on the altar understand the mission to serve the Lord and assist the priest with the preparation of the holy and sacred mysteries every Sunday.
Why Greek Americans should visit Greece
Written By: Stavros
Greece is one of the most popular summer tourist destinations around the world – known far and wide as the perfect vacation spot for many reasons. For one, as an EU member state it is accessible, and English is commonly spoken by Greeks living there. Also, most places have fair prices. The natural beauty in the mountains and at the beaches draws in tourists by the hundreds of thousands. It is a place where it is easy to relax, but also safe to explore.
How to (really) get your Greek ID card
Written By: KTE Executive Board
If you already have your Greek Citizenship, owning a Greek ID card is extremely helpful and useful. The new Greek ID card is digitized and scans at governmental security checkpoints in all EU member countries, which means shorter lines at airports and being considered an EU passport holder entering your home country for all member states. Of course, you can also use it as a form of ID anywhere in Greece, which is good because it never hurts to have the authorities view you as more of a local and not as a tourist.
The Case For (And Against) Nationalizing Vital Industries in Greece
Written By: Alexandros
What is the purpose of the government when it comes to making economic decisions? The modern political landscape is entirely monolithic as it relates to its nearly religious dedication to free market capitalism. However, much of the justification for such economic policies is founded upon certain presuppositions that KTE does not subscribe to. Before you can form economic policy, you must first define the roles of the state and outline its responsibilities.
Why Third Generation Greeks Have One Last Chance to Claim Their Heritage
Written By: Christophoros
If you’re a third generation Greek living in America, Canada, Australia or any other major hub of Hellenes worldwide, there’s a good chance you are still clinging onto your Greek heritage. That’s a good thing, but it must be said that those members of the Diaspora statistically have a very consequential decision to make: they can either repatriate themselves back to Greece, or let the forces of Western culture erase their children’s heritage, and the heritage of their children’s children.
After 2024, the Olympics should permanently return to Greece
Written By: KTE Executive Board
As Greek Americans, there are many aspects of the Hellenistic culture we respect – including our fatherland’s place as the origin point of the Olympics. With global interest at an all-time high for the Paris 2024 Games, it is important to remember the historic genesis of the Olympics. This article will focus on the enduring nature of the world’s most highly regarded competitive event and why it should uphold the memory – and intent – of its origins.
Greek-Americans Rally Support for their Homeland in 2024 Paris Olympics
Written By: Nikolas
The relationship between Greece and its American Diaspora has always been one of profound affection and outpouring support. Meanwhile, Greek patriotism in the states seems to reach new heights with every iteration of the Olympic Games, which famously originated in Olympia, Greece in 776 B.C. Greek-Americans are well-known for their unabashed pride in their heritage, and the response to the 2024 Paris Olympics are a prime example. With these most recent Olympic Games heading into their final week, let’s take a closer look into the commitment shown from Greek-Americans to support their homeland in a myriad of ways.
What KTE’s Founders Learned Working at a Greek Restaurant in Greece
Written By: Christophoros
This summer my brother and I lived out the Greek American dream: we spent a season working for free at a Greek restaurant in Greece. Working in our homeland, a place our Pappou fled after WWII, was extremely eye-opening and one of the richest life experiences we have shared together. My brother Alexandros and I are open and honest about the fact that we are Greek Americans, not Greeks. However, like many Greek Americans, we crave a return to Greece and felt its call grow in the truest sense from everything we learned working at Medusa Milos, one of the best authentic restaurants in all of Greece.
Greece is my Medicine
Written By: Christophoros
Greece is my medicine. Many other Greeks living abroad know what I mean when I say this – I need to visit the homeland of my ancestors regularly to reconnect with the culture, language and spiritual traditions I have admired all my life. Diaspora Greeks are part of a uniquely split identity between the Greek heritage we treasure and the Western environment our relatives willingly sought out. Yes, my ancestors fled Greece after WWII in pursuit of greater economic promises, but now that those promises have been fully explored and American society has fundamentally changed for the worse, I crave a permanent return to Greece for myself and my future children.
Discovering the Greek Family Unit, From a Generation X Perspective
Written By: Penelope
I’ve always been proud of my Greek heritage – that’s an understatement for myself and many fellow Hellenes. In my youth, I embraced it in what I thought was its entirety. I learned how to Greek dance, regularly attended Greek Orthodox Church, enrolled myself in Greek school, strictly followed the religious calendar and dyed my Easter eggs red. Growing up, I participated in JOY, GOYA and YAL. I taught myself to cook all of my favorite Greek dishes.
Understanding the Greek Tax Code and the Impact of Potential Tax Cuts
Written By: Anastasios
The Greek tax code has long been a topic of intense discussion and scrutiny, both domestically and internationally. Greece’s financial landscape, marked by the aftermath of a severe debt crisis and stringent austerity measures, has been shaped significantly by its tax policies. This article aims to provide an overview of the Greek tax code and analyze the benefits of lowering taxes in Greece while also addressing the common arguments against doing so.
How to (really) get your Greek Citizenship
Written By: Christophoros
Unlike the United States, where citizenship is assigned by birth in the country’s borders, Greek Citizenship is done by parentage. As far as the legal process goes, Greeks in the diaspora need to prove to the Greek government that they have an ancestor with Greek Citizenship. Greek Americans are now required to work their citizenship process through one of the eight General Consulates of the Hellenic Republic within the United States that they were born closest to.
Two Versions of Greece
Written By: Alexandros
There exists two distinct versions of Greece: the one imagined and lived by those in the diaspora, and the one imagined and lived by Greeks who remain, to this day, in the fatherland. The Greece that is imagined by the current population is one desperately trying to impersonate America and its neighbors. It is consumed by consumerism, it hastens to glorify American art, music, and its heroes, and it is becoming secular and modern in every way imaginable by the West.
Why do Greek Americans go to church more than Greeks in the homeland?
Written By: Anastasios
Because no Greeks in America would even know they were Greek if it wasn’t for the church. Despite existing in a modern-day, pluralistic America, Greek Orthodox churches play a vital role in transmitting and preserving Hellenic culture, even among those who can hardly speak Greek. The reason some Greek Americans still know a few words of their ancestral language is solely because of the church’s presence and the religious traditions that sustain Greek identity. The higher church attendance among Greek Americans compared to Greeks in Greece can be attributed to several factors, including cultural, social, and historical differences.
De-Stigmatizing Right Wing Politics
Written By: Alexandros
The stigmatization of right wing politics is something that has plagued Greece for a long time, and it all comes back to what happened with Golden Dawn (Χρυσή Αυγή). Those familiar with 21st century Greek politics remember Golden Dawn for their ascription as a neo-Nazi and neo-fascist organization that defined the right wing political space before its leadership were sent to prison and the party was permanently dismantled in 2020.
The New Colonization of Greece
Written By: Alexandros
Remembering our four centuries under Ottoman rule, Greeks should consider the cultural infiltration of America a new kind of societal subversion and defend our traditions accordingly. Greece was once a colony of the Ottoman Empire. Across nearly 400 years, Greeks were second-class citizens in the land they inhabited for millennia. During this period of occupation and the many wars of reconquest that were fought to reclaim Hellenic territory, untold millions of Greeks were lost due to genocide, starvation, famine, war, and forced conversion and assimilation.
Why KTE?
Written By: Alexandros
Because the city on the hill is sinking. There is great need for serious reform in Greece and beyond. Following in the footsteps of secular American extremism is a dangerous place to take the Greek nation, and yet it is the precise direction the country is headed if things do not change quickly. Many Greeks residing abroad were stirred awake by the recent legalization of gay marriage in Greece, because it marked a concerning departure from its historically traditional society.
The Need for Right-Wing Consolidation in Greece
Written By: Alexandros
As of the European Parliament election results, nationalist parties in Greece account for nearly 20% of the Greek electorate. This would place the combined nationalist parties in the second place spot, ahead of left-wing SYRIZA and center-left PASOK. However, given the fragmentation of the Nationalist space in Greece, the support is distributed between 4 separate polling parties, with further fragmentation resulting from voters being drawn to the large center-right party Nea Dimokratia as well as several smaller right-wing parties that fail to garner the necessary 1% to register on polls.