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Several anecdotes suggest that Thales was not solely a thinker; he was involved in business and politics. One story recounts that he bought all the olive presses in Miletus after predicting the weather and a good harvest for a particular year. Another version of this same story states that he bought the presses to demonstrate to his fellow Milesians that he could use his intelligence to enrich himself. Herodotus recorded that Thales advised the city-states of Ionia to form a federation.

The Greek islands of Kárpathos, Khálki, Kássos and Crete form an arc where the lŭra is the dominant instrument. It is a three-stringed fiddle similar to the Turkish kemençe. Kosta Moundakis is probably the most widely-respectedmaster of the lŭra, which is often accompanied by the oud-like laoúto, which resembles a mandolin. Bagpipes are often played on Kárpathos.

Classical (or "early") Greek philosophy focused on the role of reason and inquiry. In many ways it paved the way both to modern science and to modern philosophy. Clear unbroken lines of influence lead from early Greek philosophers, through early Muslim philosophy to the Renaissance, the Enlightenment, and the secular sciences of the modern day.

During the Protogeometric and Geometric periods, Greek pottery was decorated with abstract designs. In later periods, as the aesthetic shifted and the technical proficiency of potters improved, decorations took the form of human figures, usually representing the gods or the heroes of Greek history and mythology. Battle and hunting scenes were also popular, since they allowed the depiction of the horse, which the Greeks held in high esteem. In later periods erotic themes, both heterosexual and male homosexual, became common.

Famous Greek musicians include Nikos Skalkottas, Dimitri Mitropoulos, Maria Callas, Manos Hadjidakis, Mikis Theodorakis, Vangelis, Demis Roussos and Nana Mouskouri.

Services, including tourism, make up the largest and fastest-growing sector of the Greek economy, accounting for about 70% of GDP in 2002.

In the Classical period for the first time we know the names of individual sculptors. Phidias was artistic director of the Parthenon project. Praxiteles made the female nude a respectable subject for the first time in the Late Classical period (mid 4th century); his Aphrodite of Cnidus, of which copies survive, was said by Pliny to be the greatest statue in the world.

The population of Modern Greece includes small minorities of Muslims, Roman Catholics, Protestants, and Jews. A minute number of Greeks are practitioners of Hellênismos, which is a modern attempt to reconstruct the pagan religion of ancient Greece.

Ancient Greece was also renowned for its pottery, which included everything from drinking vessels to urns. Black-figure pottery, in which the decorations appear as black silhouettes over a red background, are highly representative of early Greek craftsmanship. Later forms include red-figure pottery and white-figure pottery.

Despite the country's numerically small and ill-equipped armed forces, Greece made a decisive contribution to the Allied efforts in World War II. At the start of the war Greece sided with the Allies and refused to give in to Italian demands. Italy invaded Greece on 28 October 1940, but Greek troops repelled the invaders after a bitter struggle. This marked the first Allied victory in the war. Hitler then reluctantly stepped in, primarily to secure his strategic southern flank: troops from Germany, Hungary, Bulgaria and Italy successfully invaded Greece, overcoming Greek, British, Australian and New Zealand units.

The majority of Greeks (95 to 98%) have at least nominal membership of the Eastern Orthodox Church, although religious observance has declined in recent years. Greek Muslims make up about 1.3% of the population, and live mainly in Thrace. Greece has some Roman Catholics: mainly in the Cyclades islands of Syros, Paros and Naxos; some Protestants and some Jews, mainly in Thessaloniki. Some groups in Greece have started an attempt to reconstruct Hellênismos, the old Greek pagan religion. See also: Greek Orthodox Church.

The manufacturing sector accounts for about 13% of GDP. The food industry is one of the most profitable and fastest-growing areas of manufacturing, with significant export potential. High-technology equipment production, especially for telecommunications, is also a fast-growing sector. Other important areas include textiles, building materials, machinery, transport equipment, and electrical appliances.

Greece has a mixed capitalist economy with the public sector accounting for about half of GDP. Tourism has great importance, providing a large portion of GDP and foreign exchange earnings. Greece also counts as a world leader in shipping (first in terms of ownership of boats and third by flag registration) [2] (http://www.marad.dot.gov/MARAD_statistics/Country-MFW-7-04.pdf). Greece figures prominently as a major beneficiary of EU aid, equal to about 2.4% of GNP. The export of manufactured goods, including telecommunications hardware and software, foodstuffs and fuels accounts for the rest of Greek income.

Greek music is a mixture of influences from its own indigenous culture with Western and Middle Eastern cultures. Turkish and Ottoman elements can be most clearly heard in the traditional songs, dhimotiká, as well as the modern bluesy rembétika music.