Daily News for Curious Minds

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🇬🇷 WHAT’S NEW IN GREECE

🎨 “Greek Art Now”: Contemporary Greek art travels worldwide through a groundbreaking program 

🌳 Two trees in Arcadia made history - again - this time without needing a war. Both trees, a plane tree in the village of Vervena and a linden tree in Astros, have witnessed the Greek Revolution 🫢 

More news from Greece

🐠 Greece is drawing underwater borders - with new marine parks that scream “do not disturb unless you are a dolphin”

🚗 Greece opened its first hydrogen station powered by imported gas from Austria. “Energy independence” anyone?

⚡️ Only in Greece could the sun cause a crisis - too much solar!

🌎️ WHAT’S NEW OUTSIDE OF GREECE

🎽 Zaltos and Mantzouranis went full Greek at the NCAA: hammers flying, records crying

🥇 While most teens are scrolling, Anthony’s out winning science awards like it’s casual

🧩 GREEK BUREAUCRACY OBSTACLE COURSE

Introducing our newest section: Greek Bureaucracy Obstacle Course - because loving Greece means loving (and we mean looooving) paperwork. Every few weeks, we’ll break down one baffling process you choose, so you can survive (mostly) intact.

This week, the famous Personal Identification Number (PIN) - a single number to replace your AFM, AMKA, and maybe even your birthday 😂.

Click here to get step-by-step instructions on how to brave through this process. Good luck 🧿 

💎 CULTURAL GEMS

🧿 The Evil Eye in Greece: Protection, Belief and Tradition

The concept of the mati, or evil eye, isn’t just a tourist trinket - it’s a system of protection that has outlived empires, Enlightenment thinkers and multiple Greek governments. Today, it shows up everywhere - from a newborn’s crib to high-end jewelry stores in Mykonos.

The belief is simple: envy (even loving praise) can invite misfortune. Compliment someone (“your house is amazing!” or “love your hair”) without a counter-charm or a “ftou-ftou”, and, boom, you unleash the evil eye accidentally: they wake up with a headache and a general sense of doom and gloom - they have the mati 🤯 

What’s the antidote like? Wearing the mati for protection is step one. Taking the mati away is a whole ritual - usually performed by an aunt/grandma/cousin who knows (I am looking at you, Katerina). The xematiasma includes whispered prayers passed down like secret recipes and, occasionally, olive oil in a glass of water. If the oil forms a perfect circle you’re fine. If it scatters? You’ve been hit. 

You can say “eimai matiasmenos” (I am afflicted with the evil eye), or “me xematiazeis?” (can you take the evil eye off me?). Greeks may not fully believe in the mati - but they still wear one. Just in case.

📆 BEST OF GREEK CALENDAR

🎤 July 12 - August 23, 2025, Sani Festival (performers include Buena Vista All Stars, Norah Jones, Gloria Gaynor and more), Halkidiki

🎨 July 4 - October 15, 2025, Bridging Cultures, Art Space Pythagorion, Samos

🕺 October 3-12, 2025, Zeibekiko Festival, Australia

🧳 TRAVEL NEWS

⛱️ Skopelos: where the trees outnumber tourists

Skopelos is a pine-covered island in the Northern Sporades, between Skiathos and Alonissos in the Aegean Sea, where Mamma Mia was filmed. Among the most popular must-dos in Skopelos are Agios Ioannis Chapel (the Mamma Mia church), stroll around the Chora, Panagitsa of Pyrgos and Glossa Village.

While most visitors are busy chasing Mamma Mia photo ops in Skopelos, here are a few hidden gems:

🌊 Perivoliou Beach: a cliff-framed hideaway with crystalline waters and hard-to-find silence.

🏘️ Karya Village: Where a half-hidden spring flows under a plane tree; and, yes, you can fill up your bottle.

⛪️ Agios Ioannis sto Kastri at sunrise: Not for the church, but for the local grandma selling homemade glyko tou koutaliou (spoon sweets).

🆕 OBSESSIONS

🎥 8 open-air cinemas in Athens that serve gourmet flavors under the stars

🥗 Santorini’s essential restaurants for 2025

✨ TRENDING GREEK SOCIAL MEDIA

American vs Greek moms on kids’ behavior

@ariannapapalexopoulos

The difference is that #GreekMoms will make loud noises to instill fear in the child while the #AmericanMom will tell the kid to sit in a ... See more

 🧑‍🍳 RECIPE OF THE WEEK

Greek cheese pies from Skopelos

💡 INSPIRATION

😎 GREEK FYI

🇬🇷 A fun fact about Greece is that the country’s official name is the Hellenic Republic. Greeks are known as Hellenes and they call their country Hellas, an Ancient Greek word. These original terms were used until the Byzantine period when Roman rulers named the Hellenes ‘Graecus’ from Graecia.

😂 MYTHIC MEMES

That’s it for now. Catch you next week for more news, drama and deep dives. 🧿 Stay Greek. [email protected]

🛑 Disclaimer

This newsletter contains humor, satire, and commentary meant to entertain, inform, and occasionally make you spit out your Greek coffee. Any opinions expressed are those of the author(s) and not necessarily representative of all Greeks, Greeks of the diaspora, or that one relative who always has an opinion at family gatherings. We strive for accuracy, but you should verify anything important — especially if you're about to start a heated WhatsApp thread over it. Any memes, quotes, or third-party content belong to their respective owners and are used under fair use. Unsubscribe anytime (but we’ll miss you)