Prefecture of Zante (Zakynthos) Travel Forum

I'm going to zante ND SOMEONE TOLD ME THAT greece count age from conception and the drinking age is 17. Does this mean you only have to be 16 years and 3 months old
cheers

It only counts like that if the barman was there at the moment of conception. :o)))

As far as I know, there is no legal drinking age in Greece, 17 is the age for legal alcohol PURCHASE, although it is not necessarily enforced all that strictly since drinking is a social thing and not the competitive sport it seems to be in some countries.
There is a folk tradition that your age is the year you are in, rather than the year you officially completed on your last birthday, but this should not be confused with administrative formalities, where Greece follows exactly the same standards as the rest of the EU.
Which is just as well since it would be a bit difficult to record dates of conception: if you were born a couple of months prematurely, you could then theoretically not drink until x years after a date 2 months BEFORE you were conceived....

ROTFLOL!!

I think all the above info is a little confusing. Yes, 17 is the age for legal alcohol PURCHASE. This was set to comply with the EU directives. Practically, there is no social problem of alcoholism in Greece. Most Greeks can control themselves when drinking (although alco-test for drivers is very strict). That's why in most bars and in the market nobody will ask about your age, but if: a) you look much younger than you really are or b) you have drunk too much and you started making troubles around. For the State the age counts since your birth day according to your ID documents.

Is there any practical reason why governments impose an age limit for drinking alcohol??? Yes, perhaps there is. If, you are planning on coming to Greece to drink just to drink and get drunk, as many young visitors from more strict countries often do, then you must be prepared to face the personal consequences...forget the law...you should be thinking only of your own safety and your health. So sadly, many young and inexperienced drinkers, come to Greece and they drink too much. Hopefully, the worse they suffer is a bad hangover...but, I have been witness to far worse scenarios...several of which even ended tragically.
Sorry if I sound like I am preaching, but, just use you common sense and be careful. This advice is true for most things when traveling in a new country. It's not much fun having your holiday spoiled because you drank too much just because you could. A mature person, should always drink in moderation when traveling.

Excuse me for asking, but what do the rites of Dionysios have to do with the price of eggs in China?

Actually, the religious activities of Dionysis were much more preferable to those of the Greek Orthodox church...yes, I do see your point! LOL