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By Malcolm Brabant
BBC News, Athens

Worshippers may be denied access to the Temple of Zeus
Worshippers who believe in the 12 gods of ancient Greece are trying to stage a ceremony at the Temple of Zeus in Athens on Sunday.
This is meant to be a landmark event to celebrate official recognition of their religion by a court last year.

But the culture ministry, which controls Greece's ancient monuments, may deny them access.

The Orthodox Church has said they are miserable resuscitators of a degenerate dead religion.

In 2003, white-clad worshippers performed an illicit ceremony at the Temple of Hephaestus, just below the Acropolis.

They were chased off the site by ministry of culture staff.

Similar problems may beset them this time when they attempt to pray for international peace at the ruins of the Temple of Zeus.

Ancient rights

Despite vigorous opposition from the highly conservative Greek Orthodox Church, a court last year officially recognised the revived ancient Greek religion.


The group is loyal to Zeus and the other Olympians

One of its leaders, Doretta Peppa, a writer who calls herself a high priestess, told the BBC that the temples were built to respect the gods and now they were going to be put to their proper use.

Ms Peppa said she had been given official permission to use the temple, but she had heard that the culture minister had changed his mind after pressure from the church.

The president of the Association of Greek Clergymen, Father Efstathios Kollas, has described the followers of the Olympic gods as a handful of miserable resuscitators of a degenerate dead religion who wish to return to the monstrous dark delusions of the past.

Ms Peppa and her followers aspire to have the rights afforded to Britain's druids who worship at Stonehenge, and Danish believers in Thor and the Nordic gods who are allowed to perform marriages, baptisms and funerals.

World's youth sees Britons as racist drunks

Special report: what is Britain?

Ewen MacAskill, diplomatic editor
Friday November 10, 2000
The Guardian

Britons are seen by young people in other countries as arrogant, xenophobic and frequently drunk, according to a poll conducted by the British Council in 17 countries and published yesterday.
A British Council report accompanying the poll said that in general "young people overseas have a positive image of the UK as a country but are less admiring of Britons as a people".

The pollsters, Mori, carried out face to face interviews with 3,505 people aged 24-40 between January and June this year. Those interviewed tended to be well-educated and were targeted as the next generation of leaders.

The British Council said a big factor in Britain's reputation for drunkenness was the scenes of violence by football supporters abroad.
Other factors contributing to a negative view of Britain were the royal family, violence in Northern Ireland and racial intolerance. Pictures of English fans rioting at Marseilles during the 1998 World Cup went round the world.

In a focus group discussion, an Italian among those being interviewed portrayed the British as "having tea at five o'clock, having a Queen and always drunk".

Overall, the view of British society is ambivalent. "On the whole, they see it as fair, caring and democratic, but also as divided by class and, in the eyes of some, racially intolerant," the report said.

David Green, the British Council director, said he was concerned "by the high proportion of young people who associate us British with an arrogant and condescending view of other countries. Anyone who watched, for instance, the scenes at Charleroi during Euro 2000 can understand how these perceptions arise. Countering them will not be easy."

A task force has begun trying to knit together a presentational policy for the various departments and organisations involved with Britain's image overseas, such as the Foreign Office, the British Council, the British Tourist Authority and the Design Council.

The poll showed Britain had a good reputation for higher education. The view of British business was also good, though businessmen were regarded as cautious or complacent.

British scientists are seen as among the best in the world but there is puzzlement abroad at the failure of the country to exploit their innovations.

According to the poll, Britain was least liked by young people in China, which may partly have been a reaction to the Nato bombing of the Chinese embassy in Belgrade. Britain was most popular in Nigeria.

Among European countries, Britain was least popular in Greece, again possibly a reaction to the Nato bombing. After Greece, Britain was least popular with German youths. It was most popular with France.

The report, Through Other Eyes 2; How the world sees the United Kingdom, follows on from a similar exercise last year in which interviews took place in 13 other countries.

One of the biggest changes is in the way young people obtain their information about Britain, with 21% finding out through the internet.