The term 'Hellenes' is used for all those people who identify with Hellenic language and culture, and while most Hellene migrants to Sydney originated from the areas that now constitute the Hellenic Republic (known in English as Greece), substantial numbers arrived from countries such as Cyprus, the former Soviet Union ...
Greek Australians (Greek: Ελληνοαυστραλοί, Ellinoafstrali) are Australians of Greek ancestry. Greek Australians are one of the largest groups within the global Greek diaspora.
According to the 2016 Australian census, Melbourne has the largest Greek population in Australia with 173,598 Greeks, making up 3.87% of Greater Melbourne's population. In Greek Australians, the Hellenic identity and values are passed down from one generation to the next.
The Greeks or Hellenes (/ˈhɛliːnz/; Greek: Έλληνες, Éllines [ˈelines]) are an ethnic group and nation indigenous to Greece, Cyprus, southern Albania, Anatolia, parts of Italy and Egypt, and to a lesser extent, other countries surrounding the Eastern Mediterranean and Black Sea.
The Greek-Australian cast are stereotyped as working-class, not having fully grasped the complexities of English grammar, and relatively unintelligent.
Conclusion. While every person is unique, the Greeks share some similarities that can identify them as belonging to the same heritage. Physically, many Greeks have the same olive skin, brown eyes, and straight noses. They also tend to have dark hair and developed cheekbones with rectangular-shaped faces.
Greece is a collectivist society in the sense that there is strong loyalty shown to familial and social groups. The social life of many Greeks is usually kept to a close circle of family and friends. These personal relationships are deeply important to people's day-to-day life.
Instead Greeks refer to themselves as “Έλληνες”— Hellenes. The word “Greek” comes from the Latin “Graeci”, and through Roman influence has become the common root of the word for Greek people and culture in most languages. In English, however, both “Greek” and “Hellenic” are used.
A child of a Greek citizen acquires Greek nationality automatically at birth. The same applies to children born in Greece whose parents have lived legally and permanently in Greece for five years.
Now, ancient DNA suggests that living Greeks are indeed the descendants of Mycenaeans, with only a small proportion of DNA from later migrations to Greece.
The first migrants from Greece were seven young sailors convicted of piracy by a British naval court and transported to Australia, where they arrived in August 1829. After being pardoned, two of the sailors settled in Australia. The first significant Greek migration to Australia began in the 1850s during the gold rush.
Marrickville is lined with traditional Greek shops, bakeries, tavernas, and even kafeneia, giving off the feeling that the suburb was plucked out of Greece and placed near Sydney. In fact, visitors to the district will likely hear Greek spoken all around them.
There was further immigration in the years between the two World Wars as the Ottoman Empire expelled Greeks from Turkey (Asia Minor). However, the biggest influx occurred in the post-war period after World War II up until the 1970s. Thousands of Greeks arrived over this time seeking better economic opportunities.
Currently more than 250,000 people speak Greek at home, while 378,265 people consider themselves of Greek origin in Australia. On the other hand, almost 317,000 speak Italian at home, whilst 916,121 Australians identify to be of Italian origin.
The New York City Metropolitan Area, including Long Island, New York, and Bergen County, New Jersey, is home to the largest Greek population in the United States.
Greeks as an ethnic group in Australia were also faced with the problems of a different language, religion and customs which, together with the inhospitable attitude of the people, made them feel unwelcome.
Ancient Greece
As with Ancient Egyptians, Mycenaean Greeks and Minoans generally depicted women with pale or white skin and men with dark brown or tanned skin.
Religion in Greece is dominated by Christianity, in particular the Greek Orthodox Church, which is within the larger communion of the Eastern Orthodox Church.
The common verbal greeting in Greece is “Yassas” (Hello) or the more informal “Yiasoo”. Address people by their appropriate title, e.g. 'Keerios' (Mr) for men and 'Keeria' (Mrs) for women. You may find people address elders they are not related to as 'Theia' (Aunty) and 'Theios' (Uncle).
What is the reason modern Greeks call themselves Hellenes, but not Byzantines or Romans?
Greeks are warm and hospitable. When meeting someone for the first time, they shake hands firmly, smile, and maintain direct eye contact. Good friends often embrace; they may also kiss each other on each cheek. Male friends often slap each other's arm at the shoulder.
But beyond the typical Mediterranean stereotype of dark hair, brown eyes and olive skin that we often associate with people of Greek descent, we also know that modern Greeks are quite diverse in appearance, including those with much fairer coloring (blue and green eyes, blond hair and even the occasional redhead), and ...