ABSTRACT
This chapter outlines the attributes of ethnicity; these largely represent what Barth terms “shared cultural matter” that which tends to identify a group, yet can change without damage to the group. It looks at community members’ explicit assessments of the diffentia between Greek-American and mainstream American culture. Certain of the attributes of Greek ethnicity- ethnic food, Greek dancing and, among some, language facility- are obvious to the most casual observer. Informants invariably pointed to the traits enumerated by the priests as critical identifiers of Greek ethnicity. The moral code is fundamentally a product of ethnic/group ideology rather than a religious construct; it is grounded to no small degree in the concept of philotomo. Much as ethnicity is expressed in and by individuality, so is it expressed in and by the family. Viewing ethnicity simply as something that grows from a pool of common cultural material provides a static and incomplete image. Ethnicity, like religion, reflects situational priorities.
