Since 1983 we have been composing walking holidays in Greece, and one thing has never changed: here you do not merely walk on a path, you walk inside a myth. The rock where Zeus is said to have grown up, the harbour Odysseus sailed from, the marble lane trodden for three thousand years… every step has its story.
Before you take yours, here is our great Greece quiz: three levels, twenty-four questions, from mythology to the flavours of a taverna, from the Cyclades to the Peloponnese. No traps and no stopwatch: just the pleasure of (re)discovering the country, quietly, a Greek coffee in hand.
Choose your level and let yourself be surprised. And if the urge to tread these paths takes hold, it will lead you straight to our walking holidays in Greece.
Which marble temple crowns the Acropolis of Athens?
Explanation The Parthenon, raised in the 5th century BC, was dedicated to Athena, protector of the city.
Which goddess gave Athens its name by offering the olive tree to the city?
Explanation Athena prevailed over Poseidon by offering the olive tree; the Athenians saw in it the finest of gifts.
Who rules over the gods from the summit of Olympus?
Explanation Zeus, master of the thunderbolt, presides over the assembly of the twelve Olympians.
The famous Greek cheese made from sheep's and goat's milk is called…
Explanation Feta, a protected designation of origin, is eaten in salad, baked, or simply drizzled with olive oil.
Which is the largest of the Greek islands?
Explanation Crete, in the far south, unrolls mountains, gorges and olive groves over nearly 260 km from east to west.
Which Aegean island is famous for its volcanic caldera and the sunsets of Oia?
Explanation Santorini was born of a gigantic eruption; its white villages cling to the rim of the caldera.
How are the Greek islands most often linked to one another?
Explanation A dense ferry network weaves island Greece together: it is the thread that lets you pair two or three islands on a single trip.
Which tree, king of Greek landscapes, gives the country's emblematic oil?
Explanation Some olive trees in Crete are said to be more than two thousand years old and still bear fruit.
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Which creature, half man and half bull, was shut in the labyrinth of Knossos, in Crete?
Explanation The Minotaur was defeated by Theseus, guided out of the labyrinth by Ariadne's thread.
Perched on sandstone pillars in Thessaly, these monasteries seem suspended between sky and earth. They are the…
Explanation "Meteora" means "suspended in the air": six Orthodox monasteries still cap towers of rock there.
At Delphi, who delivered the oracles in Apollo's name?
Explanation The Pythia gave her oracles in the temple of Apollo, at Delphi, which the Greeks held to be the navel of the world.
Which north wind cools the Aegean in the heart of summer?
Explanation The meltemi blows from the north in July and August: it brings the heat down and delights early-morning walkers.
The Colossus of Rhodes, one of the Seven Wonders of the world, represented which god?
Explanation This bronze statue some thirty metres high celebrated Helios; an earthquake toppled it around 226 BC.
How many principal gods sit on Mount Olympus?
Explanation The twelve Olympians (Zeus, Hera, Poseidon, Athena, Apollo, Artemis…) form the classical Greek pantheon.
This Greek dish of aubergines, minced meat and browned béchamel is called…
Explanation Moussaka bakes slowly in the oven: a taverna classic, to be savoured unhurriedly.
In Homer's Odyssey, which island is Odysseus struggling to return to?
Explanation Ithaca, in the Ionian Islands, is the kingdom where Penelope and his son Telemachus await him.
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According to legend, in the cave of which Cretan massif was Zeus raised, hidden from his father Cronos?
Explanation The Idaean cave, on Psiloritis, is one of the places where tradition has the young Zeus grow up.
Mount Zas, the highest summit in the Cyclades, overlooks which island?
Explanation "Zas" is a form of "Zeus": a cave at the summit, on Naxos, was consecrated to him.
Plain, without a base and topped by a simple capital, the columns of the Parthenon belong to which order?
Explanation The Doric order is distinguished from the Ionic (with volutes) and the Corinthian (with acanthus leaves) by its pure plainness.
Clinging to a cliff on Amorgos, dazzlingly white, this monastery bears the name of Panagia…
Explanation Panagia Hozoviotissa, founded in the 11th century, grips the rock face more than 300 m above the Aegean.
On Sifnos, gourmet capital of the Cyclades, revithada is a dish of… simmered all night in a wood-fired oven.
Explanation Revithada, those chickpeas cooked slowly in an earthenware pot, is traditionally shared on Sundays.
What are those paths flagged with stone or marble, which have linked the villages of the Cyclades for centuries, called?
Explanation The kalderimia, patiently paved, are the finest paths of island Greece: you walk there in the footsteps of the Ancients.
Tutor to Alexander the Great, this philosopher was himself a pupil of Plato.
Explanation Aristotle taught the young Alexander before he set off to conquer an empire as far as the gates of India.
What is the highest point in Greece, mythical home of the gods?
Explanation Mount Olympus, almost always wreathed in cloud, was for the Greeks the palace of the Olympians.
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Greece is not visited, it is savoured
A quiz is one thing; walking through the setting is another. Coming upon, at a bend in a kalderimi, the white chapel you have just named, sitting down in the taverna where revithada is still prepared as it was on the first day, greeting a shepherd on a path in the Cyclades… that is where the Greece of books becomes yours.
At Kelifos, specialists in walking holidays in Greece for more than forty years, we compose every itinerary in the register of the sweetness of life: charming addresses, your luggage transferred from stage to stage, and time, above all time, to savour every panorama. From the marble lanes of the Cyclades to the olive groves of Crete, from the shaded paths of the Ionian Islands to the legends of the Peloponnese, each region tells its share of the myth.
Want to go further? All our quizzes on Greece
This great quiz is only the doorway. To dig into a theme, nine tests are holding out their arms.
Finding your trip (by mood)
- Which Greek island is right for you? — the test that suggests your island, from Naxos to Crete.
- Cyclades or Ionian Islands? — the duel that decides between mineral white and Venetian green.
- What kind of walker are you in Greece? — wanderer, curious explorer, epicurean or lover of the open air?
Culture, myths and antiquity
- Are you unbeatable on Greek mythology? — the gods, the heroes and the legends of Olympus.
- Follow the Odyssey of Odysseus — the greatest journey in mythology, stop by stop.
- The ancient Peloponnese — from Olympia to Mycenae, three thousand years of history.
Destinations and the art of living
- Do you really know Crete? — Knossos, the Samaria gorge, Mount Ida and gastronomy.
- True or false on the Cyclades — to have done with the received ideas about the archipelago.
- Will you recognise these Greek specialities? — feta, moussaka, ouzo and the whole Greek art of living.
Continue reading
- Which Greek island is right for you? The complete guide
- Hiking in Greece: the best trails island by island
- The Most Beautiful Greek Islands, one for every wish
- When to Visit Greece: Our Month-by-Month Guide
Article written by
Maria Papadopoulou (Μαρία Παπαδοπούλου)
Editorial lead
I hike, and Greece is the place I keep coming back to. My initial studies (a Master’s in Marketing and a degree in Applied Foreign Languages) taught me how to build an editorial project, and the trails taught me the… Read more
