Books and Movies Set in Greece

Greece is one of the most visited countries in Europe–it offers a rich culture, lots and lots of history, beautiful beaches, a temperate climate, popular islands, delicious food, and 18 UNESCO World Heritage Sites, so there is definitely something for everyone.

We tried to cover something for everyone in this list of movies and books set in Greece, too–there’s history, there’s romance, there’s food, there’s historic sites, there’s beaches, there’s action, and, as always, even a few books and movies set in Greece for children.

Let us know which ones of these are your favorites or which ones we should have included.

Eurydice Street: A Place in Athens

Author: Sofka Zinovieff

Genre: Nonfiction, Biography/Memoir

Places Featured: Athens, Greece

I love a good expat-learning-about-a-new-culture/fish-out-of-water story. Especially when they’re funny and honest and in beautiful interesting places like Athens, Greece. That’s what this book is–it’s a book about how Sofka Zinovieff adjusted to living in Athens with her Greek husband and their two children. It’s all about real life in Greece.

It’s All Greek to Me: A Tale of a Mad Dog and an Englishman, Ruins, Retsina and Real Greeks

Author: John Mole

Genre: Nonfiction, Biography/Memoir

Places Featured: Evia, Greece

Similar to the book above, this book is about Englishman John Mole and what happened to him when he followed his dream, moved to Greece, and began a life. Of course, those kinds of moves are never easy, but thankfully they are funny and interesting and a great way to learn about a different culture

Murder in Mykonos

Author: Jeffrey Siger

Genre: Fiction, Mystery/Crime

Places Featured: Mykonos, Greece

Murder in Mykonos is the first book in the Chief Inspector Andreas Kaldis, a series of books about a homicide detective who travels around Greece solving crime. The whole series is great for anyone who wants to explore Greece and Greek culture; this first book takes us to Mykonos where a serial killer is on the loose.

My Family and Other Animals

Author: Gerald Durrell

Genre: Biography/Memoir

Places Featured: Corfu, Greece

Gerald Durrell grew up on the Greek island of Corfu with his widowed mother and his siblings; he wrote a series of books, known as the Corfu Trilogy, about his childhood and this is the first book in the trilogy. It’s funny and innocent and involves lots of fun stories about Gerald’s siblings and pets and what life was like for a kid in Greece in the late 1930s. The book has been adapted several times into TV shows and movies.

The Girl Under the Olive Tree

Author: Leah Fleming

Genre: Fiction, Historical, War & Military

Places Featured: Crete, Greece

The Girl Under the Olive Tree is a story about Penelope Georgio who was stationed on the island of Crete as a nurse during World War II, so the story moves back and forth between 1941 and the present as Penelope struggles to make sense of what happened there. It’s an intriguing story that will keep you engaged.

The House of Dust and Dreams

Author: Brenda Reid

Genre: Fiction, Historical, War & Military

Places Featured: Crete, Greece

Similar to the book above, this book is about life on Crete during World War II. This book is centered around the stories of a British diplomat’s wife and a local woman living a very different, but intertwined, life. It’s well-written and you’ll learn about the war and the island.

The House on Paradise Street

Author: Sofka Zinovieff

Genre: Fiction, Drama, Historical, War & Military

Places Featured: Athens, Greece

This book also tells the story of two strong women–one, the British widow of Nikitas Perifanis who was recently killed in a car accident and the other, his estranged mother returning to Greece after almost sixty years of living in exile. As we learn the story behind the estrangement, we also learn about Greek history–and it’s fascinating.

The Island

Author: Victoria Hislop

Genre: Fiction, Drama, Historical, War & Military, Romance

Places Featured: Spinaloga & Crete, Greece

Young Alexis Fielding wants to know more about her family history, so she travels to the small town of Plaka, Greece on the island of Crete where her mother grew up. It’s a complicated, but well-researched, story that gets into Greece’s Civil War and the Nazi occupation, with some romance and family drama thrown in.

The Little Infamies: Stories

Author: Panos Karnezis

Genre: Short Stories

Places Featured: Greece

This is a fun collection of short stories about all the people (and a few animals!) that live in an unnamed Greek village. It isn’t particularly realistic (there’s a centaur in the village after all), but it’s a beautiful and different way to explore Greece.

The Summer of My Greek Taverna: A Memoir

Author: Tom Stone

Genre: Nonfiction, Biography/Memoir, Food and Drink

Places Featured: Patmos, Greece

Another memoir about an expat living in Greece, this one involves the all important Greek cuisine! Tom Stone spent some time on the island of Patmos working on his first novel and fell in love with a woman and the island, so he decided to invest in a Greek taverna and shares all those experiences–both the rewarding and the challenging–in this book. It’s an easy read…and includes recipes!

Bonus Children’s Books set in Greece:

Atticus the Storyteller’s 100 Greek Myths by Lucy Coats and Anthony Lewis

Growing Up in Ancient Greece by Chris Chelepi

The Treasury of Greek Mythology: Classic Stories of Gods, Goddesses, Heroes & Monsters by Donna Jo Napoli

Never on Sunday (1960)

Rating: Not rated

Genre: Comedy, Romance

Places Featured: Greece

In this romantic comedy from the 1960s, Melina Mercouri plays a beautiful sex worker in Greece named Ilya who is pursued by an American philosopher (aptly named Homer) played by Jules Dassin (who also wrote and directed the movie) who wants to help her turn her life around. It’s a sweet feel-good movie with Pygmalion vibes and beautiful scenery.

Zorba the Greek (1964)

Rating: Not Rated

Genre: Comedy, Drama, Action/Adventure

Places Featured: Crete, Greece

A classic in Greek cinema, Zorba the Greek is about a proper (you might say uptight) Englishman traveling to Crete for business when he meets an energetic poor man named Zorba who offers to help the Englishman with his business. He offers more than that, though, as the two men explore Crete and teach other life lessons. It’s also based on a book.

For Your Eyes Only (1981)

Rating: PG

Genre: Action/Adventure

Places Featured: Greece

James Bond movies are, of course, classics and I think part of the reason they do so well is because they have such varied and interesting locations. This one (with Roger Moore as the famous spy) is set in Greece, so the scenery really is gorgeous, and, as you can expect, the action and intrigue is all there, too.

Shirley Valentine (1986)

Rating: R

Genre: Comedy, Romance, Self-Discovery/Change

Places Featured: Mykonos, Greece

This British romantic-comedy is a sweet feel-good movie about a middle-aged woman who needs a break from life (don’t we all?) so she travels to Greece and not only finds romance, but finds herself. It’s one of those movies that many will identify with.

The Big Blue (1988)

Rating: PG

Genre: Action/Adventure

Places Featured: Greece

This French movie (originally titled Le Grand Bleu) is a cult classic about two famous free divers (divers who go underwater without any assistance from breathing apparatus). Jacques Mayol and Enzo Maiorca were both real free divers who were friends and competitors, but this movie is a fictionalized account of their relationship.

Eternity and a Day (1998)

Rating: Not Rated

Genre: Drama

Places Featured: Thessaloniki, Greece

Eternity and a Day is a slow thoughtful movie about a Greek man who finds out he is dying and while working on putting his affairs in order, he meets a young Albanian immigrant hiding from the police (and human traffickers) and the two form an unlikely bond and help each other. It’s a thought-provoking and beautiful piece of cinema.

Captain Correlli’s Mandolin (2001)

Rating: R

Genre: Drama, Romance, War & Military

Places Featured: Cephalonia, Greece

Based on a novel of the same name (though there is definitely some differences in plot), Captain Correlli’s Mandolin is about the forbidden romance between Captain Corelli, an Italian military officer sent to a Greek Island during World War II played by Nicholas Cage, and Pelagia, the beautiful daughter of the island’s doctor. Of course the impending war (and the fact that Pelagia is already engaged) threatens their romance. (One note: there are very mixed reviews on this one–I mean, it is Nicolas Cage–but it does have beautiful Greek scenery, so enjoy it for what it is.)

Mamma Mia (2008)

Rating: Romance, Musical

Genre: Drama, Romance

Places Featured: Messenia, Greece

A fun classic for fans of musicals and romantic comedies. Mamma Mia (based on a musical of the same name whose inspiration came from the songs of the musical group ABBA) is about the young bride-to-be Sophie (played by Amanda Seyfried) and her mother Donna (played by Meryl Streep) who own a villa on a Greek island. For her wedding, Sophie wants to find her father–one of three men–so she invites them all to the villa and, of course, surprise and drama ensue.

My Life in Ruins (2009)

Rating: PG-13

Genre: Comedy, Romance

Places Featured: Greece

The perfect movie for anyone planning on visiting any of the ancient Greece ruins, My Life in Ruins is about Georgia Ianakopolis (played by Nia Vardalos) a Greek-American teacher who becomes a tour guide and although she’s disillusioned with her life and her job, she leads a random group of tourists around some of Greece’s most famous sights. It’s a charming comedy with a sweet story. (Find out more about Nia Vardalos in this post about her movies set in Greece.)

Before Midnight (2013)

Rating: R

Genre: Drama, Romance

Places Featured: Messenia, Greece

The third installment of the Before trilogy (the other two are Before Sunrise set in Vienna and Before Sunset set in Paris), Before Midnight continues the story of Jesse (played by Ethan Hawke) and Celine (Julie Delpy), now married with children and on vacation in Greece. As with the other films, this movie has a lot of dialogue as it explores both the challenges and the benefits of long-term love and romance.

Bonus Children’s Movies set in Greece:

Hercules (1997)

Honorable Mention Movies Set in Greece:

Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life (2003)

The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 1 and 2 (2005/2008)

The Two Faces of January (2014)