Admin explains why she loves SwissGre

Why i ship it

The two countries have excellent historical and diplomatical relationships. Switzerland was one of the nations who supported Greece during the Revolution against Turkey in 1821 . Their relations still remain warm even nowadays and they are very close. Switzerland and Greece developed diplomatic relations after the second one's independence in 1830.

History

It may be unbeliavable but the relations between Switzerland and Greece actually began from the Ancient times. In Bern, a bronze amphora with a Greek inscription (6th century BC) is discovered. Presence of Greek vessels in Lenzburg (canton of Aargau) is suspected on the spot production by Greek craftsmen, while ancient coins with the head of Artemis are discovered in Icino.

Greek coins of the 4th century B.C. contacts Switzerland's relations with Greece and the participation of Swiss in Macedonian troops. The 2nd century B.C. stoic philosopher Posidonious of Rhodes likens the Helvetian Celts to the Gaul warriors. According to Strabo(1st century B.C.) they are described as gold-rich and peaceful.

Julius Caesar reported that the Helvetian Celts borrowed and used Greek letters for their writing.Funerary monuments bearing Greek characters are described by the Roman historian Tacitus. 

Archaeological excavations in the canton of Valais brought to the light two Parian marble statues of the gods Apollo and Aphrodite which are now exhibited in the Martigny Giannda Foundation.

The Swiss city Basel is first mentioned with its Greek origin name as early as 374 A.D. (Derived from the Greek given name Basilius).

The relations of these two countries continued even in the Byzantine and medieval eras. Various objects (such as diptychs and icons) travel from church to church and monastery to monastery. Valuable information can be found in the library bearing the Greek inscription “Ψυχής Ιατρείον” (meaning “healing of the soul”), at the St. Gallen Abbey, the St. Maurice Abbey, the Sion Valère Museum, the Zurich National Museum and others. Swiss warriors and knights were known to defend various Greek regions like Rhodes, Crete, Euboa and the Peloponnese from the Turks after the fall of Constantinople. Those men were distinguished for their skills in warfare.

In Switzerland the interest for the Greek History and Culture still remained unchanged during the Renaissance era with Basel being the epicenter and the spiritual ties with the wisdom of the ancient Greek world are reinstated ever more. In particular, after the Fall of Constantinople, the Greek spiritual heritage inspires the Humanists (Erasmus) and the Protestant Reformation. The exchange of views between the Patriarch of Constantinople Cyril Loukaris (1572 - 1638) and the Geneva Academy theology Professor Antoine Léger (1596 - 1661) is illustrated in a series of manuscripts.

The remarkable contribution of Franciscus Portus, born in Rethymno, Creta, and a Calvin’s friend, is worth mentioning. He taught Greek at the then newly established Geneva Academy (1562 - 1581) and vigorously defended the modern Greek, against the Erasmian pronunciation. His work was taken over by his son, Emil.

In the field of visual arts, Swiss painters Angelica Kauffman and Johann Heinrich Füssli (alias Henry Fuseli (famous for his work Reflections On the Painting and Sculpture of the Greeks, 1765) had their role to play in  the 18th century Neoclassicism movement.

Ugo Foscolo the national poet of Italy, who was born in Zakynthos was persecuted for his democratic ideas and passed into Zurich(1813-1816). In 1816 he met with his disciple Andreas Calvos, the Greek poet, and both, thanks to the assistance of Kapodistrias departed for London.

The first governor of Greece Ioannis Kapodistrias is considered as a national hero in Switzerland because he introduced the Swiss neutrality and the creation of the Swiss cantons. The governing model of this country is based on the Ancient Athenian democracy as well.