lopi.'s Profile

"Pikilia" (spelled ποικιλία in Greek) is the actual Greek word for "variety" and it's the word the tavernas list in their menus, meaning a plate containing a variety of meze foods. Meze is more like it, as it's used to describe any kind of food that can casually accompany a drink of ouzo or wine.
I also see you list "meze" as used in Middle East/Arabic countries, which may be true, as "meze" is not a Greek word, it's actually of Turkish origins.

I guess that, in terms of food, Greece was greatly influenced by its eastern neighbors.

I'm from Greece, and people here have the same tradition. I think it may be due to the fact that fish/seafood is particularly prone to spoiling, and cheese, having been made through a process that involves bacteria, can result to fish/seafood spoiling quicker than normal. At least, that's what I presumed from all the warnings I heard from my grandmother on that matter.