Having exported chaos, drama, tragedy and democracy before most nations stayed late enough to want souvlaki, Greece boasts an unrivalled legacy. From smoggy Athens to the blindingly bright islands dotting the sea, ancient fragments abound-the belly button of the cosmos at Delphi, fallen columns galore on sacred Delos, Frescoed Minoan palaces on Crete and even, quite possibly, the remnants of Atlantis at Santorini.

Easter to mid-June for the weather fewer crowds-or around 600BC to witness the birth of democracy

Dining out beneath the floodlit Acropolis in Athens Taking a walk in spring through the Mani or Arcadia mountains in the Peloponnese lsland-hopping from Piraeus to Mykonos, Delos and Naxos Hiking through Crete’s dramatic Samaria Gorge Wondering at the monasteries of Meteora, perched high on their pinnacles of rock Catching that first glimpse of Santorini’s sheer cliffs and whitewashed buildings

Read Zorba the Greek by Nikos Kazantzakis-a tale about living life to the fullest by Greece’s most celebrated contemporary author; Captain Corelli’s Mandolin by Louis de Bernieres-a captivating WW ll-era love story set on Kefallonia

Listen to Demis Roussos-the larger than life singer who spent the 1980 strutting the wold stage clad in his kaftan. Tanni is a US-based techno wizard who hails from Greece

Watch Eternity and a Day, directed by Theodoros Angelopoulos-traces the last days of a celebrated Greek writer; Orgasmos tis Ageladas (The Cow’s Orgasm), directed by Olga Malea-a light-hearted comedy about two girls from Larissa who are frustrated by the restrictions of small-town society

Eat spanakopita (spinach pie), moussaka (layers of eggplant or zucchini, minced meat and potatoes topped with cheese and baked)or, for something sweet, baklava (layers of filo pastry filled with honey and nuts)

Drink Greel coffee, the national drink-it served in a small cup with the grounds and no milk. Ouzo, the most popular aperitif Greece, is distilled from grape stems and flavoured with anise

Kalimera (good day)

The Parthenon; ouzo; plate-smashing; package tourists; beautiful beaches; the birthplace of philosophy; inter-island hopping; olives

Greeks wear blue trinkets to ward off the evil eye; gum mastic (from the lentisk bush) has been used since ancient times to cure ailments from stomach ache to snake bite

lf you arrive in a Greek town in the early evening in summer, you could be forgiven for thinking you’ve arrived mid-festival This is the time of the volta, when everyone takes to the streehed from their siesta, dresses up and raring to go.