Greece

Actually true

• The Acropolis has stood for nearly 2,500 years

  The Parthenon was completed in 438 BC and still dominates the Athens skyline despite wars, explosions and centuries of weather.

• Greece really has over 6,000 islands

  Only around 200 are inhabited, but the Aegean and Ionian seas are scattered with them.

• The Olympics began here and never really stopped

  The ancient games started in 776 BC at Olympia, and the modern Olympics revived in Athens in 1896.

• The meal really can last three hours

  Greek dining is built around slow, shared meze plates, not a quick sit-down-and-leave affair.

Commonly believed, wrong

• "All Greek islands look like Santorini"

  Crete, Corfu, Naxos and hundreds of others have completely different landscapes, from green mountains to volcanic cliffs.

• "Greek food is just gyros and salad"

  Regional Greek cuisine spans hundreds of stews, pies and seafood dishes far beyond tourist staples.

• "Greece is a small, minor country historically"

  Its philosophy, mathematics, drama and political systems underpin much of Western civilization.

• "Modern Greeks worship the ancient gods"

  Greece has been overwhelmingly Orthodox Christian for over a thousand years, though ancient mythology remains a point of pride.