The monuments of Classical Antiquity - the foundation of Western civilisation - attract tourists from all over the world. Archaeological excavations continue to yield knowledge about Greece's extraordinary past. Greece has long advocated the return of the Parthenon Marbles from the British Museum in London to their original home in Athens

Contemporary Greek culture draws on both folk traditions and the Classical heritage, with a distinctly modern edge. Two Greek poets - George Seferis and Odysseus Elytis - have won the Nobel Prize for Literature. Many Greek composers, such as Mikis Theodorakis and Vangelis, enjoy global recognition.

Through the initiative of the late Minister of Culture Melina Mercouri, the EU-sponsored institution of the 'Cultural Capital of Europe' was launched in Athens in 1985. Thesaloniki was 'Cultural Capital' in 1997, and Patras will follow in 2006.