10 interesting things about Greece

1. St Andrew and St George, the patron saints of Scotland and England, are also patron saints of Greece.

2. Greece is the only country in Europe that has legislation to determine the permitted shelf life for milk, which is five days.

3. Greece has more than 2,000 islands, of which about 170 are populated.

4. In 1996, the Diagram Prize for the most oddly titled book went to ‘Greek Rural Postmen and their Cancellation Numbers’.

5. The average Greek adult has eight cigarettes a day. Only Serbia and Bulgaria smoke more.

6. Athens is an anagram of hasten as well as the less common words ‘sneath’ (the pole of a scythe) and ‘snathe’ (to prune or lop trees).

7. Until 1983, leprosy was grounds for divorce in Greece.

8. About seven per cent of the world’s marble comes from Greece.

9. Greece is the world’s leading producer of sea sponges, especially in the sea off Kalymnos island.

10. The Greek national cheese is Feta, which is eaten more in Greece than any other country.