Egypt is a fertile valley of rich river soil, low-lying, warm, monotonous, a slow-flowing river, and beyond, the limitless desert.
Greece is a country of sparse fertility and keen, cold winters, and hills and mountains sharp cut in stone, where strong men must work hard to get their bread.
And while Egypt submitted and suffered and turned her face toward death, Greece resisted and rejoiced and turned full-face to life.
- Edith Hamilton, The Greek Way