Greece has been churning out legends since way before you were a glint in the milkman’s eye… 😳

They’ve given us democracy and the Olympic Games, but more importantly - spanakopita (flakey spinach pie).

This episode of The Binge List is an Adonis 💪 We’re picking our fave film, book, podcast, and TV show inspired by Greece.

Best read with a shot of ouzo.

Shirley Valentine

Listen, Lewis Gilbert’s 1989 romcom isn’t The Revenant, but it’s the feel-good throwback we need in lockdown 💙

Shirley is a Liverpudlian housewife who talks to her wall and drinks wine while she makes egg and chips. She’s also our spirit animal right now.

“If you’ve got a headache, she’s got a brain tumour”

Ugh. We all know a Gillian 🙄

Gill is Shirley’s neighbour and she’s a serious one-upper. She also has an Italian bloodhound that she feeds a vegan diet of muesli to… Makes total sense that Shirley says buh bye to her and escapes to Greece 👋

When she gets there, Shirley meets a taverna owner and starts to find, ahem, joy again (read: swims naked and has steamy boat sex).

You go, Shirl.

The Magus

An “electrifying chase through the labyrinth of soul...”

Think what The New York Times is trying to say is that author John Fowles takes trippy mind games to a new level 🍭

Nicholas Urfe is an Oxford graduate who leaves his girlfriend to become an English teacher at a school on a Greek island. Depressed and bored, he meets a local guy called Maurice who lives in a mansion and likes to play ‘the godgame’...

Rule 101: don’t trust a rich stranger with a God complex.

These games start off as a bit of eccentric fun but get super twisted and dark very quickly. The masques (performances) become re-enactments of Nazi occupation and messed up Greek myths... Things unravel and Nicholas struggles to tell what is real anymore.

You will read this in less than a week. And you will also never sleep again 👀

If you want to cop out and go for the film adaptation, a young Michael Caine plays a blinder as Nicholas.

Betty in the Sky with a Suitcase

It's as nutty as it sounds. Betty is a flight attendant sharing stories from the skies. We hear about cabin crew mooning each other and Betty goes off on tangents about her days at camp...

Wholesome fun. Better with a glass of Greek white.

This is her 100th episode and it starts with a campfire-type song… Yeah, you’ll need more vino 🍷 She interviews a taverna owner in Meteora, which is an Avatar-looking rock formation with monasteries plonked on top. And all the music Betty uses in the episode is recorded from street performers in Athens or nicked from restaurants she visited 🎸

The Trip to Greece

Two men in their 50s wearing Brit-abroad clothes ripping into each other's' careers…

Get a bowl of olives for this.

Rob Brydon and Steve Coogan head out on their fourth trip together. It’s part-scripted and part improv… like TOWIE with more wrinkles, less tan. Think Ronnie Corbett impersonations and fancy restaurants in dreamy settings. And lots of dad hats.

It’s supposed to be loosely based on the tale of Odysseus, following his journey home. So the pair visit postcard-perfect setting like Lesbos, Kavala, and Athens.

Never on a Sunday by Manos Hadjidakis

Manos Hadjidakis thinks you’re better than those PJs and all the carbs you just anxiety-ate...

The famous Greek composer (and theorist, fancy) does classy tunes like his Oscar-winning song, Never on a Sunday. Whack it on and daydream about wafting round olive groves.

This one’s a keeper - hit the Lucky button then save this trip for a happier time 💚