Captain Create is out and about in his hot air balloon today, and has landed in the sunny Mediterranean country of Greece! The written history of Greece goes back about as far as any history can go, and we owe a lot of modern science, stories, and politics to those careful authors and historians. Greece today is bright and sunny, with beaches and rocky coastlines, modern cities built right up around ancient ruins, and delicious meals from the mountains and the sea for us to try!
Farmers in Greece grow everything from eggplant, tomatoes, and leafy greens to olives on trees that are a thousand years old. They raise animals like chickens, pigs, goats, and their most famous: lamb. Folks go out in boats to fish for things like shrimp, calamari, cod, hake, sea bream, and many other fish in the Mediterranean Sea. While it is up to you to taste anything you’d like, there is one dish that is served alongside many of the meats and fish at mealtime. Greek Salad!
This easy salad is perfect for hot summer days and can be made from any combination of summer veggies, a splash of olive oil, and a bit of salty Feta cheese, which is made from sheep’s milk and soaked in a salty brine. It does need a bit of time to rest once its been mixed, but the Greeks have plenty of things to do to pass the time… read on and find out!
What to do while the salad rests?
Greeks, both modern and ancient, enjoy all sorts of games and sport; They’re the ones that started the Olympic Games, after all! Aristotle reckoned the date of the first Olympics to be 776 BC, a date largely accepted by most, though not all, subsequent ancient historians. The ancient Olympics were as much a religious festival as an athletic event and were held in honor of the Greek god Zeus.
It started with just a footrace, and the fastest man was considered a champion. Many more events were added over the history of the Olympics, and you’ll be able to see many of those same events at the Summer Olympic Games in Tokyo this summer!
If you aren’t an Olympian, which most of us are not, in Greece soccer is the top game to play.