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248 Best Quotes About Greece that You’ll Love for 2024 (for couples, travel, culture, funny quotes and more)

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Are you looking for the best quotes about Greece? You’ve found them! When traveling to romantic destinations, we often end up in Greece! Actually, we’d say we have become experts on travelling to the best Greek Islands for couples and the best beaches. 

After visiting Greece several times, it was time for us to share the best famous quotes about Greece. Using these quotes on your social media is a great travel tip as it will inspire your audience, even if just family and friends. 

In this post, we gathered over 200 quotes on Greece, including from philosophers, poets, movies and more. 

One of the best quotes about Greece
One of the best quotes about Greece
Quotes about Greece you'll love
Quotes about Greece you’ll love

What is a famous Greek quote?

“Even people who know nothing about Greece know something about Greece. The very name sparks visions of ancient civilizations that dominated the Mediterranean” by Polly Letofsky is a famous Greek quote about Greek civilisation and how it influenced the world.

What is Greece famously known for?

Greece is known for its culinary dishes like dolmades (stuffed wine leave), beautiful landscapes like Sarakiniko or Kleftiko on Milos Island, and for being the centre of civilization, mythology and education. 

Greece is also known for being one of the top honeymoon or engagement destinations in Europe. If you’re looking for romantic travel captions to illustrate your photos, check out our 300+ short couple captions here and our 460+ couple travel captions for Instagram here. 

Why is Greek so unique?

The Greek language is considered unique by Western civilizations as it has a different root from the latin root which is the base for French and English for example. The Greek language uses a different alphabet as well.

What is best about Greece?

What is best about Greece includes the chill and laid back lifestyle making it a popular relaxing destination, its beautiful beaches with turquoise clear waters, incredible sunset spots, its food, the cycladic architecture and its friendly people.

Whats your opinion about Greece in general?

We have traveled to Greece several times both on mainland Greece and in the Greek Islands. As travelers, we absolutely love Greece. Greece offers a variety of destinations often a lot cheaper than Western Europe beach destinations. The weather in Greece is warm from spring to mid/late fall allowing us to visit islands like Ios without having to handle the crowds of summer yet while still enjoying the beach. Whether you’re in Athens or on one of the islands, there is lots of architecture and history to explore as well. 

What do people around the world think about Greece?

Around the world, most people are fond of Greece, Santorini being one of people’s dream destinations. People see Greece as a beautiful vacation destination with beautiful and unique white Cycladic architecture. Most people also rave about Greek food! 

On a more serious note, the world is conscious of the influence of Greece in the development of civilization as we know it and how Greek philosophers have impacted that development as well.

What do you love about Greece / What do you love about Greeks?

Having traveled to Greece several times, there are lots of things we love about the country and its people. Our favourite things is that the Greek Islands are perfect for couple vacations. With turquoise clear waters, thin golden sand beaches, amazing food and laid back atmosphere, it makes you wonder what else you need really. We also loved visiting Athens and the Acropolis, trying new Greek dishes and meeting the locals!

Top 10 best quotes about Greece

If you’re looking for the best Greek quotes but have no time scrolling through our sections, we selected the most beautiful Greek quotes and most famous ones in this Top 10.

  1. “Athens, the eye of Greece, mother of arts and eloquence, native to famous wits” – John Milton.
  2. “It takes a lifetime for someone to discover Greece, but it only takes an instant to fall in love with her – Henry Miller.
  3. “You know you’re in Greece when you feel a unique, indescribable, out-of-this-world euphoria being there and deep sadness when you’re leaving.” – Unknown
  4. “In Greece, people have a quality of life. People here live beautifully” – Otto Rehhagel.
  5. “The Parthenon without the marbles is like a smile with a tooth missing” – Neil Kinnock, check out more smile captions here
  6. “Most British newspapers now have more columns than the Acropolis” – Ian Jack.
  7. “Greece is the most magical place on Earth” – Kylie Bax.
  8. “Wisdom begins in wonder.” – Socrates
  9. “The ancient Greek definition of happiness was the full use of your power along the lines of excellence” – John F Kennedy.
  10. “Her dress sparkled like the stars that blanketed the Mykonos night sky” – Anthea Syrokou, Australian Author.

Find more night sky captions here.

Romantic quotes about Greece and Greek love quotes

In this section, we included some of our favourite quotes about love in Greek, translated in English and quotes about love from Greek poets or about love and Greece. 

  1. “Greece was a muse. It inspired creativity in magical ways that I can’t even begin to understand or explain” – Joe Bonamassa.
  2. “I know that each one of us travels to love alone, alone to faith and to death.” – Yiannis Ritsos, Greek poet 
  3. “At a touch of love, everyone becomes a poet.” – Plato
  4. “Love is all we have, the only way that each can help the other.” – Euripides
  5. “Among all peoples, Greeks have dreamt life’s dream most beautifully” – Wolfgang Goethe

Quotes about Greece travel

As you know, we traveled several times to Greece and the Greek Islands so we had to include Greece travel quotes and quotes from Greece that you can use to illustrate your travel photos from Greece.

  1. “Gods, not wanting to deprive the Greeks of the truth, they gave them poetry” – Joseph Joubert.
  2. “For the wise is easy to go anywhere. Because the whole world is home for a good soul.” – Democritus
  3. “We must free ourselves of the hope that the sea will ever rest. We must learn to sail in high winds.” – Aristotle Onassis, Greek tycoon
  4. “In Greece, we’re too poor to go to psychiatrists – we have friends instead” – Melina Mercouri.
  5. “It’s all Greek to me. Greece is a good place to look at the moon, isn’t it?” – Kari Hesthamar.
  6. “The light of Greece opened my eyes, penetrated my pores, expanded my whole being” – Henry Miller.
  7. “Experience, travel – these are an education in themselves.” – Euripides, Ancient Greek tragedian
  8. “I descended from the top of Olympus, and, a God in a human shape, I surveyed the earth. ’Twere an endless task to enumerate how great an amount of guilt was everywhere discovered.” – Henry Thomas Riley, English translator and lexicographer
  9. “The world is the expanding Greece and Greece is the shrinking world” Victor Hugo.
  10. “I like reading, free diving, and hiking. But my favorite thing to do is travel anywhere in Greece. I love everything about that place” – Max Irons.
  11. “There were mountains; there were valleys; there were streams. She climbed the mountains; roamed the valleys; sat on the banks of streams…..when, from the mountain-top, she beheld, far off, across the Sea of Marmara the plains of Greece, and made out (her eyes were admirable) the Acropolis with a white streak or two which must, she thought, be the Parthenon, her soul expanded with her eyeballs, and she prayed she might share the majesty of the hills, know the serenity of the plains, etc. etc., as all such believers do.” – Virginia Woolf
  12. “Greece – The feeling of being lost in time and geography with months and years hazily sparkling ahead in a prospect of un-conjecturable magic” – Patrick Leigh Fermor.
  13. “The mention of Greece fills the mind with the most exalted sentiments and arouses in our bosoms the best feelings of which our nature is capable” – James Monroe.
  14. “What the mind and the heart is for a human being, Greece is for humanity.” – Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, German poet, playwright and novelist

Short quotes about Greece

If you’re looking for Greece quotes short enough to not bore your people, these are it! We also included a couple of quotes about Greece beauty.

  1. “The problem with Greece is that she’s just too beautiful.” – Unknown
  2. “And then God said, let there be Greece.” – Unknown
  3. “Greece is more than a country. It is an experience.” – Unknown
  4. “Greece is too old to die” Lito Seizani. – Unknown
  5. “Greece is a good place for rebirths” Judith Martin. – Unknown
  6. “My favorite power food is Greek yogurt and honey” – Misty May Treanor.

Greek Island quotes

Whether you’re looking for Greek sea quotes or quotes about islands, you’ll find what you’re looking for in this list of quotes about the Greek Islands.

  1. “Greece has got something like 1,400 islands. There is so much of Greece you can’t know even if you’re Greek. It’s sprinkled out all around the edge of the Aegean, all over the place. It’s already a secret place wherever you go, even if it’s somewhere huge like Athens or Corinth. The place enchanted me” – Joanna Lumley.
  2. “The Aegean sea washes Greece on two sides: first, the side that faces towards the east and stretches from Sunium, towards the north as far as the Thermaean Gulf and Thessaloniceia, a Macedonian city; and secondly, the side that faces towards the south, I mean the Macedonian country, extending from Thessaloniceia as far as the Strymon” – Strabo.
  3. “My favorite place to write is at my desk in my house in the mountains of Crete. I produce more there because one big distraction is missing: the Internet” – Neal Asher.
  4. “I wonder if Socrates and Plato took a house on Crete during the summer” Woody Allen.
  5. “The island has magical landscapes and a special energy coming from the sea, the winds, and the land that can’t be found elsewhere” – Eugenie Niarchos.
  6. “Going over to Lesvos in Greece and meeting some of these poor refugees who have just made the treacherous sea crossing opened my eyes in a way I can’t even begin to describe. It’s put a fire in my belly to really try to do something, the little I can do.” – Douglas Booth
One of the best Greek Islands quotes
One of the best Greek Islands quotes

Quotes about Corfu

Corfu is one of the most magical Greek Islands. We included a couple of quotes about Greece Corfu Island in this section.

  1. “My childhood in Corfu shaped my life. If I had the craft of Merlin, I would give every child the gift of my childhood” – Gerald Durrell.
  2. “Gradually, the magic of the island Corfu settled over us as gently and clingingly as pollen” – Gerald Durrell.
  3. “It was no half-hearted spring, this: the whole island (Corfu) vibrated with it as though a great ringing chord had been struck. Everyone and everything heard it and responded.” – Gerard Durrell

Mykonos quotes

If it’s your first time to the Greek Islands, you may be looking for quotes about Mykonos. As it’s a popular destination, numerous authors have shared their thoughts about the island. You can find their quotes in this section. 

  1. “The beauty in front of her interrupted her thoughts. She took a deep breath, staring at the shores of Mykonos with the scenic coves and the golden sand beaches” – Angel Sefer.
  2. “We’re often wrong at predicting who or what will transform us. Encountering certain people, books, music, places, or ideas at just the right time can immediately make our lives happier, richer, more beautiful, resonant, or meaningful. When it happens, we feel a kind of instant love for them, both deep and abiding. Now and then it can be something as trifling as a children’s book, a returned telephone call, or a night at a seaside bar in Mykonos.” – Jonathan Carroll
  3. “I felt like a pilgrim upon a rare and spiritual planet landing on the soil of Mykonos; I ensured it could give me a high inspiration for a next new epic, which was machining inside my inner brains.” – Nithin Purple, The Bell Ringing Woman: A Blue Bell of Inspiration
  4. “Unless you have seen the houses in Mykonos, you can’t pretend to be an architect. Whatever architecture has to say, it is said here” – Le Corbusier.
  5. “The Greek Isles present a collage of diverse landscapes and customs. Mykonos is fun-loving, with lively tavernas and populated beaches. Delos is stoic, protecting the ruins of its ancient sanctuaries in solemn dignity. Milos is magical, with its volcanic rock formations and stunning village vistas” – Laura Brooks, speaking about Kleftiko, mainly accessible by boat
  6. “And you will go to Mykonos, with a vision of a gentle coast, and a sun to maybe dissipate, shadows of the mess you made.” – Fleet Foxes
  7. “Some places, such as Paris, have a magic best experienced for brief periods so the romantic feeling doesn’t become tainted by a day-to-day reality. But Mykonos was different in that respect. Mykonos made you long for the restful, happy day-to-day reality of life on the Greek island, and it was the brief visits that tortured the soul. Paris was a romantic respite from life, Mykonos was life itself, and living.” – Bobby Underwood

If you want more life related captions and quotes, check out our 300+ river captions and quotes about life.

  1. “This was Mykonos, a seaside sanctuary so timeless that I half expected to glimpse Hercule Poirot and Captain Hastings walking along the dock as we disembarked from the ferry” – Bobby Underwood.
  2. “Located in the Cyclades and surrounded by the blue-green water of the Aegean sits whitewashed, windmill-strewn Mykonos, the island of the winds” – Lizy Manola.

Quotes about Greece’s island Milos

A list of quotes on Greece would not be complete without quotes about Milos Island, one of our favourite Greek Islands.

  1. “The Greek Isles present a collage of diverse landscapes and customs. Mykonos is fun-loving, with lively tavernas and populated beaches. Delos is stoic, protecting the ruins of its ancient sanctuaries in solemn dignity. Milos is magical, with its volcanic rock formations and stunning village vistas” – Laura Brooks.

Quotes about Crete

After visiting Crete twice, we can safely say, it’s one of our favourite islands as well. Bigger than its sisters, it holds many treasures from canyons to pink beaches and stunning sunsets. Check out these quotes about Crete:

  1. “There is a kind of flame in Crete – let us call it “soul” – something more powerful than either life or death. There is pride, obstinacy, valor, and together with these, something else inexpressible and imponderable, something which makes you rejoice that you are a human being, and at the same time tremble” – Nikos Kazantzakis.
  2. “I knew that no matter what door you knock on in a Cretan village, it will be opened for you. A meal will be served in your honor, and you will sleep between the best sheets in the house. In Crete, the stranger is still the unknown God. Before him, all doors and all hearts are opened” – Nikos Kazantzakis.
  3. “An ardent desire to go took possession of me once more. Not because I wanted to leave – I was quite all right on this Cretan coast and felt happy and free there and I needed nothing – but because I have always been consumed with one desire; to touch and see as much as possible of the earth and the sea before I die.” – Nikos Kazantzakis.
  4. “I wonder if Socrates and Plato took a house on Crete during the summer.” – Woody Allen
  5. “On a summer night, I have sat on the balcony drinking Ouzo, watching the ghosts of Greek heroes sailing past, listening to the rustle of their sail cloths and the gentle lapping of their oars and lain alongside Pythagoras watching him study the myriad of triangles in the constellations twinkling above us. Whether it was Crete, the heat, the Ouzo, or a combination, it is unequaled anywhere other than Santorini, in my humble opinion” – Phil Simpkin.
  6. “I like the thought that what we are to do on this earth is embellished it for its greater beauty so that oncoming generations can look back to the shapes we leave here and get the same thrill that I get in looking back at theirs – at the Parthenon, at Chartres Cathedral” – Philip Johnson.
  7. “As you set out for Ithaca, hope your road is a long one, full of adventure, full of discovery” – Konstantinos Kavafis.
  8. “What I liked about Greece was the impressive force of the language itself, unconfined by dictionaries, spoken in the streets, in cafés, and in the country” – Peter Levi.
  9. “I’m looking at the sea on the wall, and even though it’s a copy of a copy of the Aegean, I wish you would grab me and take me to Greece” – Analicia Sotelo.
  10. “Of the many smells of Athens, two seem to be the most characteristic – that of garlic, bold and deadly like acetylene gas. And that of dust, soft and warm and caressing like tweed” – Evelyn Waugh.
One of the best Santorini quotes
One of the best Santorini quotes

Santorini quotes

Santorini holds many treasures from unique beaches like Vlychada beach to small under-the-radar villages like historical Pyrgos that offers a 360° view on Santorini. Santorini is also famous for its beautiful caldera and stunning caldera hotels in Fira. All of this beauty has, of course, inspired many famous visitors to write about it. We gathered their thoughts below. Find over 200+ quotes about Santorini here.

  1. “According to some theories, the legendary Atlantis said to have sunk beneath the sea in a great cataclysm, is in actuality the Greek Island of Santorini.” – Laura Brooks
  2. “And now Percy has his arms around me and Santorini and the sea are spread like a feast before us and there is sky all the way to the horizon. And what a sky it is.” – Mackenzi Lee, The Gentleman’s Guide to Vice and Virtue
  3. “Never go too long without watching a sunset.” – Atticus
  4. “Off the Santorini cliff on a dark, starless night, I tossed a message in a bottle and love found me washed up on the black lava sand of the Aegean shore. As with my previous loves, volcanic in nature. Almost destructive before it started.”- Melody Lee, Moon Gypsy
  5. “It’s almost impossible to watch a sunset and not dream.” – Bern Williams
  6. “Santorini sunsets seem surreal” – Dave Briggs, Dave’s Travel Pages
  7. “Santorini is beautiful too. But for me her soul is my beautiful “home” I love travelling, but find peace at home.” – Amit
  8. “Santorini’s boutique hotels and fine dining make it one of the classier Greek islands, but this is balanced by the down-to-earth hospitality and tradition for which Greece is renowned” – Mike Gerrard, English Travel Writer
  9. “Santorini is calling and I must go” – Anon
  10. “I enjoyed Greece. Santorini, that’s somewhere I always want to be” – Kendall Jenner, model
  11. “Work tip: stand up, stretch, take a walk, get on a plane, go to Santorini, never return” – Anon
  12. “Stepping into Santorini ferry port is a bit like chaos, but a beautiful one” – Us, after experiencing Santorini’s port several times. Check out our Santorini Ferry Port Survival Guide to avoid scams and have the best experience when arriving to Santorini by ferry. 

Greek Island life quotes

In this section, we included a couple of Mediterranean quotes that illustrate the Greek Island life well.

  1. “Today, to walk along the pebbled pathways of a traditional Greek mountain village or the marbled streets of an ancient acropolis is to step back in time. To meander at a leisurely pace through these island chains by boat is to be captivated by the same dramatic landscapes and enchanted islets that make the myths of ancient Greece so compelling. To witness the Mediterranean sun setting on the turquoise sea is to receive one of life’s greatest blessings.” – Laura Brooks, American writer
  2. “I have always been consumed with one desire; to touch and see as much as possible of the earth and the sea before I die.” – Nikos Kazantzakis, Zorba the Greek

Greek Island hopping quotes

Greek Island hopping is a popular way to see the islands. People hop on ferries and stay a few days on different islands in between. To illustrate your Greek Island hopping journey, don’t hesitate to use on of these famous quotes about Greece:

  1. “The isles of Greece, the isles of Greece! Where burning Sappho loved and sung, Where grew the arts of war and peace, Where Delos rose, and Phoebus sprung! Eternal summer gilds them yet, But all, except their sun is set” – Lord Byron.
  2. “I followed my heart and it led me to the Greek Islands” – Unknown
  3. “ We must free ourselves of the hope that the sea will ever rest” – Unknown
  4. “Women are like those blinkin’ little Greek Islands, places to call at but not to stay” – Stacy Aumonier
  5. “I’m on a Greek island here, it’s a beautiful day. I’m planning on passing out on the beach, snorkeling, you know maybe some watercolors, do a little cooking, more napping, eating, napping, contemplating mysteries of the universe, or nap, either one, or eat cheese, all of those are honorable options.” – Anthony Bourdain
  6. “Right now, I’d love to be sitting on a Greek island somewhere because of being Greek American, eating great octopus salad and some fantastic lamb. Or sipping a little ouzo. I think the Mediterranean diet is one of the healthiest—lots of nuts, vegetables, fruits, fresh fish, lean meats, yogurt” – Cat Cora.
  7. “I’d like to live in the Greek Islands” – Paul Wesley
  8. “No man is an island” – John Donne

Ancient Greece quotes

From famous quotes from ancient Greece to old Greek quotes, you’ll find a range of quotes on ancient Greece in this section: 

  1. “In many ways, we are all sons and daughters of ancient Greece” – Nia Vardalos, one of the famous quotes about ancient Greece
  2. “The center of Western culture is Greece, and we have never lost our ties with the architectural concepts of that ancient civilization.” – Stephen Gardiner, English bishop and politician, who quotes ancient Greece as the birth place of civilization.
  3. “Damned Greek, you found everything; philosophy, geometry, physics, astronomy… you left nothing for us.” – Johann Christoph Friedrich von Schiller, German playwright, poet, and philosopher
  4. “I have a tattoo on my arm that says, in ancient Greek: “I am certain of nothing.” I think that’s a good operating principle.” –  Anthony Bourdain
  5. “The most sacred place in the ancient world was the oracle at Delphi in central Greece. Kings, warriors and envoys travelled from across the known world to hear the prophecies of the oracle. Above the gates at Delphi, a short inscription greeted every weary traveler:
    Know thyself. This simple advice was considered the most important piece of knowledge anyone could possess. And to understand what the oracle told you, you first had to understand yourself.” – Bear Grylls
  6. “If in the library of your house you do not have the works of the ancient Greek writers, then you live in a house with no light.” – George Bernard Shaw, Irish playwright and critic

Quotes about Greece from Poets

Looking for literary quotes about Greece? Check out these ones:

  1. “Athens, the eye of Greece, mother of arts And eloquence” – John Milton.
  2. “Be afraid of the Greeks bearing gifts” – Virgil.
  3. “We are all Greeks. Our laws, our literature, our religion, our arts have their root in Greece” – Percy Bysshe Shelley, English Romantic Poet
  4. “Let there be light said Liberty, and from sunrise, like the sea, Athens arose.” – Percy Bysshe Shelley.
  5. “Such is the aspect of this shore; “Tis Greece, but living Greece no more! So coldly sweet, so deadly fair, We start, for the soul is wanting there” – Lord Byron.
  6. “The sea was sapphire-colored, and the sky burned like a heated opal through the air. We hoisted sail; the wind was blowing fair For the blue lands to the eastward lie. From the seep prox, I marked with quickening eye Zakynthos, every olive grove and creek. The only sounds: – when ‘gan the West to burn, and the red sun upon the seas to ride, I stood upon the soil of Greece at last” – Oscar Wilde (Impression du Voyage).
  7. “The only sounds: when ‘gan the West to burn, and a red sun upon the seas to ride, I stood upon the soil of Greece at last!” – Oscar Wilde, Irish Writer

Quotes about Greece history

In this list you’ll find sayings about Greece and its history:

  1. “Europe holds a great history of philosophy from Greece until today. I read all those books and see these buildings, and I think of where I stand when I design my architecture” Tadao Ando.
  2. 1“In every island of the Aegean Sea are found abundant traces of the vast prehistoric empire” – James Theodore Bent.
  3. “Without Greek studies there is no education.” – Leo Tolstoy, Russian writer
  4. “How great are the dangers I face to win a good name in Athens?” – Alexander the Great.

Quotes about Greece culture

From Greek quotes about food to quotes about Greeks behaviours, you’ll find numerous famous quotes about Greece culture in this section.

  1. “Greeks use food for everyday gatherings. Cooking is a big part of our lives. We want to show people our hospitality” – Ioanna Hawkins, one of the famous Greek food quotes
  2. “Enthusiasm is a wonderful thing. In South America, they throw flowers to you. In Greece, Greeks throw themselves.” – Melina Mercouri
  3. “If you go back to the Greeks and Romans, they talk about all three – wine, food, and art – as a way of enhancing life” – Robert Mondavi.
  4. “I can’t teach anybody anything. I can only make them think.” – Socrates
  5. “Get ready for wine, raki, and getting hand-fed by strangers” – Anthony Bourdain.
  6. “We’ve come full circle, but the best remains the heart of the city, the greatest center of the greatest city, our Acropolis, where our Christmas tree is lighted” Daniel Patrick Moynihan.
  7. “In Greece wise men speak and fools decide.” – George Santayana, Spanish philosopher, essayist, poet and novelist
  8. “After the endless disappointing cups of Nescafé, served as though the tasteless dissolving granules of instant coffee were a delicacy, Alexis felt no cup of coffee had ever tasted as powerful and delicious as this. It seemed that nobody had the heart to tell the Greeks that Nescafé was no longer a novelty – it was this old-fashioned thick and treacly fluid that everyone, including her, craved.” – Victoria Hislop
  9. “Experts in ancient Greek culture say that people back then didn’t see their thoughts as belonging to them. When ancient Greeks had a thought, it occurred to them as a god or goddess giving an order. Apollo was telling them to be brave. Athena was telling them to fall in love. Now people hear a commercial for sour cream potato chips and rush out to buy, but now they call this free will. At least the ancient Greeks were being honest” Chuck Palahniuk.
  10. “The spirit of Greece, passing through and ascending above the world, hath so animated universal nature, that the very rocks and woods, the very torrents and wilds burst forth with it” – Walter Savage Landor.
  11. “Greece is a good place for rebirths.” – Judith Martin, American author and columnist
  12. “Among all peoples, the Greeks have dreamt life’s dream most beautifully” – Wolfgang Goethe.
  13. “The people of Crete, unfortunately, make more history than they consume locally” – Hector Munro.
  14. “Greece appears to be the fountain of knowledge; Rome of elegance” – Samuel Johnson.
  15. “It is a shame to be called educated those who do not study ancient Greek writers” – Francois Rabelais.

Quotes about Athens Greece

In this section, you’ll find a range of Athens quotes including quotes about the Parthenon and the Acropolis. We recently visited Athens and were blown away by the beauty, history and atmosphere of the city. If you’ve never been, we highly recommend!

  1. “I want Rome and the Coliseum, the Acropolis, Athens; I want beauty, and the flame of life” -Eleanora Duse.
  2. “When the city comes alive with the evening song, we dance in the shadow of the great Parthenon.” – Giannis Georgantelis
  3. “In the world over, the very name of our country is immediately associated with the Parthenon” – Melina Mercouri.
  4. “I want to see the Parthenon by moonlight” – Daphne du Maurier.
  5. “Earth proudly wears the Parthenon as the best gem upon her zone” Ralph Waldo Emerson.
  6. “There are men whose manners have the same essential splendor as the simple and awful scripture on the friezes of the Parthenon, and the remains of the earliest Greek art” – Ralph Waldo Emerson.
  7. “Maid of Athens, ere we part, give, oh, give me back my heart!” – Lord Byron 
  8. “You must understand what the Parthenon Marbles mean to us. They are our pride. They are our sacrifices. They are our noblest symbol of excellence. They are a tribute to the democratic philosophy. They are our aspirations and our name. They are the essence of Greekness” – Melina Mercouri.
  9. “The Parthenon is really only a farmyard over which someone put a roof; colonnades and sculptures were added because there were people in Athens who happened to be working and wanted to express themselves” – Pablo Picasso
  10. “The Greeks had invented democracy, built the Acropolis, and called it a day” David Sedaris.
  11. “We approached Athens from the north in the early twilight, climbing a hill. When we reached its peak, we were dazzled to look down and see the Acropolis struck by one beam of the setting sun as if posing for a picture” – Donald Hall.
  12. “An Aristotle was but the rubbish of an Adam, and Athens but the rudiments of Paradise” – Robert South.
  13. “At Athens, wise men propose, and fools dispose” – Alcuin.

Nature quotes about Greece or by Greek philosophers

Greece without nature wouldn’t be Greece. Check out these quotes about the Greek nature:

  1. “Nature does nothing uselessly.” – Aristotle
  2. “In all things of nature, there is something of the marvelous.” – Aristotle
  3. “The donkey called the rooster big-headed.” – Proverb
  4. “The camel can’t see her own hump.”- Proverb
  5. “The roots of education are bitter, but the fruit is sweet.” – Aristotle
An inspirational quote about Greece
An inspirational quote about Greece

Famous quotes from Greek philosophers

Greek philosophical quotes and Greek wisdom quotes have been around for centuries, inspiring today’s mediations and life quotes. In this section, you’ll find numerous famous Greek philosopher quotes including Socrates quotes in Greek.

  1. “The ancient Oracle said that I was the wisest of all the Greeks. It is because I alone, of all the Greeks, know that I know nothing” – Socrates, a famous ancient Greek philosopher
  2. “I know that I know nothing” – Socrates, from the ancient Greek “ἓν οἶδα ὅτι οὐδὲν οἶδα hèn oîda hóti oudèn oîda.”
  3. “Wise men speak because they have something to say; Fools because they have to say something.” – Plato
  4. “Wait for the wisest of all counselors, time.” – Pericles
  5. “Let food be thy medicine and medicine be thy food.” – Hippocrates.
  6. “For persuasion, reasoning is far stronger than gold.” – Democritus, ancient Greek philosopher
  7. “Everything flows.” – Heraclitus, ancient Greek philosopher
  8. “I am not an Athenian or a Greek, but a citizen of the world” – Socrates.
  9. “Everything flows.” – Heraclitus, ancient Greek philosopher
  10. “It is more important to know what sort of person has a disease than to know what sort of disease a person has.” – Hippocrates
  11. “Life is short, the art long.” – Hippocrates
  12. “For persuasion, reasoning is far stronger than gold.” – Democritus, ancient Greek philosopher
  13. “Athens – a city which is very famous for its wisdom and its power. Are you not ashamed of caring so much for making the money and making of fame and prestige when you neither think nor care about wisdom and truth and the improvement of your soul?” Aristotle.
  14. “Death does not concern us, because as long as we exist, death is not here. And when it does come, we no longer exist.” – Epicurus
  15. “The beginning is the most important part of the work.” – Plato
  16. “There is only one good, knowledge, and one evil, ignorance.” – Socrates
  17. “There was never a genius without a tincture of madness.” – Aristotle
  18. “Empire may be gained by gold, not gold by an empire. It used, indeed, to be a proverb that “It is not Philip, but Philip’s gold that takes the cities of Greece” – Aemilius.
  19. “There is nothing permanent except change.” – Heraclitus
  20. “Man is the measure of all things.” – Protagoras, ancient Greek philosopher
  21. “Happy is the man, I thought, who, before dying, has the good fortune to sail the Aegean Sea” – Nikos Kazantzakis.
  22. “The educated differ from the uneducated as much as the living differ from the dead.” – Aristotle
  23. “I have never come across someone who could inspire more respect than the Greek philosophers.” – Friedrich Nietzsche, German philosopher and cultural critic
  24. “Educating the mind without educating the heart is no education at all.” – Aristotle
  25. “We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.” – Aristotle
  26. “Beware the barrenness of a busy life.” – Socrates, ancient Greek philosopher

Funny quotes about Greece

The list of the best quotes for Greece would not be complete without funny Greece quotes for Instagram:

  1. “I want to have an “Eat, Pray, Love” experience where I drop off the face of the planet and move to Greece” – Jennifer Hyman.
  2. “Give me a word, any word, and I’ll show you that the root of that word is Greek.” – Every Greek person, ever
  3. “You have your brush; you have your colors, you paint the paradise, then in you go” – Nikos Kazantzakis.
  4. “It’s all Greek to me!” – Everyone who’s tried to learn Greek!
  5. “The Greek might admit that honesty is the best policy, but he tries everything else first.” – Will Durant, American writer, historian, and philosopher
  6. “You know, it is said that we Greeks are a fervent and warm-blooded breed. Well, let me tell you something – it is true” – Melina Mercouri.
  7. “You can’t swing a cat in Ancient Greece without hitting one of Zeus’s ex-girlfriends” – Rick Riordan.
  8. “If Greece is destroyed completely, an olive tree, a vine, and a boat will remain. That is enough to rebuild her from the beginning.” – Odysseus Elytis
  9. “Alcohol makes other people less tedious, and food less bland, and can help provide what the Greeks called entheos, or the slight buzz of inspiration when reading or writing” – Christopher Hitchens.
  10. “If you look at a map of Europe, you will observe that Greece is a skeleton-like hand stretching its crooked fingers out into the Mediterranean Sea” – Will Durant.
  11. “I’m going to Greece for the sex! Sex for breakfast! Sex for dinner! Sex for tea!” – Shirley Valentine
  12. “In a way, it’s nice to know that there are Greek gods out there because you have somebody to blame when things go wrong. For instance, when you’re walking away from a bus that’s just been attacked by monster hags and blown up by lightning, and it’s raining on top of everything else, most people might think that’s just really bad luck; when you’re a half-blood, you understand that some divine force is really trying to mess up your day” – Rick Riordan.
  13. “If I’d been born in ancient Greece, I’d worship Zeus and Aphrodite” – Richard Dawkins.

Ancient Greek quotes about life

In this section you’ll find a number of Greek life quotes (as in living in Greece) and Greek quotes life related (life in general). 

  1. “Greek is a musical and prolific language that gives a soul to the objects of sense and a body to the abstractions of philosophy” – Edward Gibbon.
  2. “The unexamined life is not worth living.” – Socrates
  3. “Even people who know nothing about Greece know something about Greece. The very name sparks visions of ancient civilizations that dominated the Mediterranean” Polly Letofsky.
  4. .“Do not spoil what you have by desiring what you have not; remember that what you now have was once among the things you only hoped for.” – Epicurus
  5. “I would like to be a philosopher in ancient Greece and a poet in ancient China” Shan Sa.
  6. “Knowing yourself is the beginning of all wisdom.” – Aristotle
  7. “How can any educated person stay away from the Greeks? I have always been far more interested in them than in Science” – Albert Einstein.
  8. “The Greek language has the best mathematical structure, and it will be used for a new generation of most sophisticated computers because only in the Greek language there are no limits” – Bill Gates.

Famous Greek mythology quotes

Quotes on Greek mythology and Greek goddesses quotes are quite famous all over the world, Greece being the centre of mythology. In this section you’ll find a mix of them including Greek goddess quotes. 

  1. “Greece is the home of the Gods. They may have died, but their presence still makes itself felt” – Henry Miller.
  2. “If the gods spoke, they would use the language of the Greeks” – Cicero, Roman statesman and philosopher 
  3. “This is how I imagined Goddess Hera to be: strong, pure, and vigilant. I have never encountered any other artist able to give me such a strong sense of the divine!” – François Mitterrand.
  4. “My God, how much blue you spend so we cannot see you!” – Odysseus Elytis, Greek poet awarded with the Nobel prize

Movie quotes about Greece

Movies are usually a heaven for quotes so we gathered some quotes about Greece from famous movies below:

  1. “She perched on her windowsill, gazing at the lurid sun soaking into the Caldera, trying to appreciate it even though she couldn’t have it. Why did she always feel she had to do something in the face of beauty?” – Ann Brashares, American novelist – The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants
  2. “The best things in life, the very best things happen unexpectedly.” – Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again – A fun musical, one of the many movies about Greece
  3. “On my wedding night, my mother said, “Greek women, we may be lambs in the kitchen, but we are tigers in the bedroom.” – Maria Portokalos (My Big Fat Greek Wedding).
  4. “There are two kinds of people. Greeks, and everyone else who wishes they were Greek” – Gus Portokalos (My Big Fat Greek Wedding).

Inspirational Greek quotes in English about happiness

Inspirational Greek quotes about happiness are still used nowadays so it’s good to know some fo them. If you don’t feel happy because you are alone, check out our 600+ alone captions.

  1. “Travel can be one of the most rewarding forms of introspection.” – Lawrence Durrell
  2. “You don’t develop courage by being happy in your relationships everyday. You develop it by surviving difficult times and challenging adversity.” – Epicurus, ancient Greek philosopher
  3. “I felt once more how simple and frugal a thing is happiness: a glass of wine, a roast chestnut, a wretched little brazier, the sound of the sea. Nothing else.” – Nikos Kazantzakis, Greek author – Zorba the Greek
  4. “Knowledge creates happiness.” – Plato, ancient Greek philosopher
  5. “The less you want, the richer you are. The more you need in order to be happy, the more miserable you’ll be.” – Yanni, Greek American composer
  6. “Happiness is the meaning and the purpose of life, the whole aim and end of human existence.” – Aristotle, ancient Greek philosopher
  7. “Happiness depends upon ourselves.” – Aristotle
  8. “Since we cannot change reality, let us change the eyes which see reality.” – Nikos Kazantzakis

Greek motivational quotes about fear and freedom

In this section, you’ll find a couple of quotes Greece related about fear and freedom.

  1. “I hope nothing – I fear nothing – I am free.” – Nikos Kazantzakis, Greek author. This is a quote that communicates peace of mind, something we all strive fore these days. If you would like more peace captions, check out our list of 700+ peace captions for instagram here.
  2. “A man needs a little madness, or else he never dares cut the rope and be free.” – Nikos Kazantzakis, Zorba the Greek
  3. “All you need is passion. If you have a passion for something, you’ll create the talent.” – Yanni
  4. “Reach what you cannot.” – Nikos Kazantzakis, Report to Greco
  5. “I sometimes think that only being torn to pieces can keep us whole.” – Yiannis Ritsos

Greek quotes about war

Find some Greek war quotes in this section: 

  1. “Hence we will not say that Greeks fight like heroes but that heroes fight like Greeks” – Winston Churchill
  2. “Only the dead have seen the end of the war.” – Plato
  3. “You will never do anything in this world without courage. It is the greatest quality of the mind next to honor.” – Aristotle
  4. “Ten soldiers wisely led will beat a hundred without a head.” – Euripides
  5. “Pay attention to your enemies, for they are the first to discover your mistakes.” – Antisthenes
  6. “Give me a lever long enough and a fulcrum on which to place it, and I shall move the world.” – Archimedes
  7. “The greater the difficulty, the more the glory in surmounting it.” – Epicurus
  8. “Alors, c’ est la guerre! (Well, then it’s war).” – Ioannis Metaxas, Greek Prime Minister, pronounced in French, you can learn more about how to say things in French here
  9. “Never start a job, a battle, or a relationship, if the fear of losing overshadows the prospect of success.” – Aristotle Onassis

Greeks sayings and proverbs

Greece sayings and proverb are quite popular. See the best ones in this section: 

  1. “Reserve your right to think, for even to think wrongly is better than not to think at all” – Hypatia, a famous Greek saying.
  2. “The tongue has no bones, but bones it crashes.” – Greek Proverb
  3. “He who becomes a sheep is eaten by the wolf” – Greek Proverb
  4. “Wine and children speak the truth.” – Greek Proverb
  5. “An orator without judgment is a horse without a bridle” Theophrastus
  6. “It is difficult to argue with the belly, as it has no ears.” – Greek Proverb
  7. “A drop of wisdom is better than a sea of gold.” – Greek Proverb
  8. “A society grows great when old men plant trees whose shade they know they shall never sit in.” – Greek Proverb
  9. ” The donkey called the rooster big-headed.” – Greek Proverb
  10. “Too many opinions sink the boat.”- Greek Proverb
  11. “He who cannot bear misfortune is truly unfortunate. Whatever is good to know is difficult to learn” – Greek Proverb.
  12. “Win by persuasion, not by force.” – Greek Proverb
  13. “Unripe grape gets sweet as honey, at a slow pace.” – Greek Proverb
  14. “One swallow does not make a summer.” – Greek Proverb

Greek quotes about friends

If you’re looking for one of the Greek friendship quotes, try this one:

  1. “Of all things which wisdom provides to make life entirely happy, much the greatest is the possession of friendship.” – Epicurus 

Greek language quotes 

Check out a number of Greek quotes in the Greek language with the roman and English translations below. If you want to learn more words in Greek, check out how to say hello in Greek here. 

  1. Greek: Για να πετύχεις στη ζωή χρειάζεσαι δύο πράγματα: άγνοια και αυτοπεποίθηση.

Roman: Ya na petíhis sti zoí hriázese dío prágmata: ágnia ke aftopepíthisi.

Translation: “To succeed in life, you need two things: ignorance and confidence.”

  1. Greek: Έχω αποτύχει ξανά και ξανά και ξανά στη ζωή μου και αυτός είναι ο λόγος που πετυχαίνω.

Roman: Ého apotíhi xaná ke xaná ke xaná sti zoí mu ke aftós íne o lógos pu petihéno.

Translation: “I’ve failed over and over and over again in my life and that is why I succeed.”

  1. Greek: Το να αγαπάς δεν είναι τίποτα. Το να σε αγαπούν είναι κάτι. Αλλά το να αγαπάς και να σε αγαπούν είναι τα πάντα.

Romanization: To na agapás den íne típota. To na se agapún íne káti. Alá to na agapás ke na se agapún íne ta pánda.

Translation: “To love is nothing. To be loved is something. But to love and be loved is everything.”

  1. Greek: Είμαι πιο πολύ ο εαυτός μου όταν είμαι μαζί σου.

Romanization: Íme pio polí o eaftós mu ótan íme mazí su.

Translation: “I’m much more me when I’m with you.”

  1. Greek: Σ’ ευχαριστώ που πάντα είσαι το ουράνιο τόξο μου μετά την καταιγίδα.

Romanization: S’ efharistó pu pánda íse to uránio tóxo mu metá tin kateyída.

Translation: “Thank you for always being my rainbow after the storm.”

  1. Greek: Επιτυχημένος είναι ο άνθρωπος που μπορεί να θέσει σταθερά θεμέλια με τα τούβλα που οι άλλοι έχουν πετάξει πάνω του.

Roman: Epitihiménos íne o ánthropos pu borí na thési statherá themélia me ta túvla pu i áli éhun petáxi páno tu.

Translation: “A successful man is one who can lay a firm foundation with the bricks others have thrown at him.”

  1. Greek: Η ευτυχία δεν είναι κάτι που παίρνουμε έτοιμο. Έρχεται μέσα από τις δικές μας πράξεις.

Roman: Ι eftihía den íne káti pu pérnume étimo. Érhete mésa apó tis dikés mas práxis.

Translation: “Happiness is not something ready-made. It comes from your own actions.”

  1. Greek: Δεν έχει σημασία το πόσο αργά προχωράς, αρκεί να μη σταματήσεις.

Roman: Den éhi simasía to póso argá prohorás, arkí na mi stamatísis.

Translation: “It does not matter how slowly you go as long as you do not stop.”

Romantic, funny and short captions about Greece

Though this post is about quotes about Greece, we wanted to share a quick list of captions about Greece that you can use as well. 

  1. The best things in life are Greek
  2. You, Greece and me
  3. You and me in Greece is the dream
  4. Taking my love to Greece
  5. Traveling Greece with you is worth so much more than all those sunsets
  6. Enjoying some Aegean Vitamin Sea!
  7. All Rhodes lead to Greece
  8. All Rhodes lead me to you
  9. Sweet love in Santorini
  10. Gorgeous sunsets and gorgeous girlfriend, what more could I ask for?
  11. Gorgeous sunsets and gorgeous boyfriend, what more could I ask for?
  12. Gorgeous sunsets and gorgeous partner, what more could I ask for?

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We are Mary and Eric, the founders of Be Right Back, a blog dedicated to romance around the globe and at home.

We are Mary and Eric, the founders of Be Right Back, a blog dedicated to romance around the globe and at home. With over 10 years of experience in dating and traveling to romantic places, we share our favorite date ideas and romantic destinations to help couples level up their relationships. Having lived in and traveled through the USA, we also share our favourite things to do in the States.

With 70,000 monthly readers and 16,000 followers on social media, Be Right Back is your go-to resource for romantic trip ideas and couple activities at home and abroad.

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