Travel is always a mixed blessing - a great adventure, and a great burden of responsibility to bring guilt gifts to those you left behind. Here's a list of the best souvenirs to bring back from Hellas, location by location.
1. Athens
Big items: Rugs, antiques from the flea market or from the antique shops.Little items: Reproductions from the excellent National Archaeological Museum giftshop, small bronzes and brass statues of the Olympian gods (available elsewhere in Greece but with the best selection in the Plaka).
2. Delphi
Big item: Rugs and wool blankets.Little item: Silver jewelry. Also, at nearby Arachova, near Delphi, look for handwoven sweaters, and for the whimsical, Davy Crockett-style fur hats.
3. Ioannina
Big item: Copper and brassware sold near the old city wall in Ioaninna.Little item: Silver jewelry from plentiful shops in the same area.
4. Crete
Big item: Locally woven rugs.Little item: Deep sea-green colored olive oil soaps, woven bags, herb-based cosmetics, local honeys (first check your nation's rules for bringing in food items), reproductions of ancient Minoan ceramics.
5. Delos
Best item: Sweatshirts and t-shirts with an ancient image taken from a Delos mosaic, available only on the island at the otherwise unremarkable government souvenir stand.6. Kalmynos and most islands
Little item: Sponges, once locally fished but now usually from far away, though collected by locals. Cheap, fun, squishable into small places in your baggage. Great for kids, especially the big sponges which look like brains.7. Mykonos
Big (ticket) item: gold jewelry.Little/Medium items: Mermaid puppets, icon reproductions, Mount Athos resin incenses and beeswax candles.
8. Rhodes
Big (ticket) item: Hand-woven lace table goods.Little items: Small pieces of polychrome-glazed pottery with the Rhodian deer or the Colossus of Rhodes pictured; leather goods - a great time to replace that old shoulder bag with something you'll treasure.
9. Santorini
Big (ticket) item: Gold jewelry.Little item: Hand-woven sweaters, various items with Minoan imagery, particularly those showing the swallow from locally-found art.
10. Elsewhere in Greece
Mainland and mountain areas:Greece often has good copper cookware and other metal vessels. Skinny beeswax candles such as the ones used in churches are also prevalent - the sellers will bend them in front of you to prove their purity.All over Greece: Glass eye beads for protection, worry beads (komboloi), cobalt blue glass disks with brass charms (great for hanging in windows back home), enameled metal two-sided spring clips - buy lots as you'll actually use these at home or in the office.
