The art of making cheese is as old as the tale of Ulysses, who walked in on the cheese-making Cyclop, in Homer's epic, to find him nestling his small, fresh, white goat's milk cheese.

Cheese has been a seminal part of the Greek diet since time immemorial, and to this day Greeks eat large amounts of it, by some sources, up to 40 pounds a year, each. Most Greek cheese is made of sheep's milk, or a combination of sheep's and goat's milk. Relatively little is made of cow's milk, although there is a tradition of cow's milk cheeses in certain of the Cycladic islands. Of the sheep's milk, or combination of sheep's and goat's milk cheese produced in Greece, the majority is brine-cured. More than any other single factor, the country's myriad wild grasses and greens help to distinguish the flavor and texture of Greek cheeses. Sheep and goats graze freely, and are nourished mainly on wild grasses, which make for much tastier milk than would arise if the animals were fed exclusively on grains or commercial feed.

Cheese making is a seasonal undertaking. Commercially, most cheese is produced from November to May, after the animals have given birth and nursed, and when the terrain is lush with flora from the winter rains.

Following is a brief list with descriptions of the major Greek cheeses.

Brine cheeses

FETA. The most popular cheese in Greece and the best-known Greek cheese internationally. Feta is a soft, white cheese made usually from a combination of sheep's and goat's milk. The name "feta" means "slice" or "wedge," and derives from the way the cheese is cut into blocks, before being placed in the barrels, where it ages in salt brine. Feta is the Greek mountain cheese par excellence. It can range in texture and flavour, from creamy and soft to rather hard, almost crumbly, sharp and pungent.

Other brine cheeses
There are several other brine-aged cheeses that are traditionally made in Greece. Among them is telemes, a cheese that is found mainly in Thraki and is very similar to feta, except that cow's milk is also used to make it. It is also aged exclusively in tins, not barrels.

SFELA. This is a sharp brine-aged cheese made in the southern Peloponnese. Its name comes from the Greek sfelida, which means slice.

Semi-hard cheeses

KASERI. Kaseri is the most popular table cheese, after feta. It is a mild, yellow, spun-curd cheese made of either ewe's or cow's milk.

GRAVIERA. One of the best table cheeses in Greece, produced in several areas. Graviera is generally a nutty, pale yellow cheese with a hard rind made either of sheep's milk or of cow's milk, depending on the region. Graviera, sweet, mellow, and nutty, is one of the most delicious Greek cheeses. Graviera that is made of sheep's milk comes from Crete, Mitilini, Dodoni, Arta and Kalpaki. (Crete is actually the most famous graviera-producing region, and here one of the unusual ways to serve the cheese is with honey and walnuts). Graviera that is made of cow's milk, which is yellowier and a little creamier, is made mostly in Tinos, Siros, Naxos, Corfu, Larisa, and Seres.

Hard cheeses

KEFALOTIRI. A very hard, light-yellow sheep's or goat's milk cheese, with a sharp tangy flavor. The cheese is made mainly in Crete, as well as in Naxos, Kefalonia, Thesalia and Ipiros. It is a popular grating cheese.

KEFALOGRAVIERA. Another pale-yellow cheese with a hard rind and an abundance of small air holes. As its name indicates, in both flavor and texture, it falls somewhere between graviera and kefalotiri. It can range from sweet and mild to quite piquant. Kefalograviera is the cheese of choice for grilling and frying, but it can also be eaten as a table cheese.

LADOTIRI. Another unusual cheese. Its name means "oil cheese." Traditionally, the cheese, which is shaped like miniature barrels, was steeped in olive oil and aged for several months. Two islands in Greece are known for their ladotiri, Mitilini and Zakinthos. In Mitilini, it is extremely difficult to find authentic ladotiri nowadays. Commercial producers dip the cheese in paraffin instead of olive oil. In Zakinthos, though, a bevy of artisanal cheese makers have kept up traditions and the local ladotiri is pungent and delicious. It can be found easily in the farmers' cooperative market in the island's capital.

FORMAELA. This is a sharp, cylindrical cheese made in the foothills and mountain villages of Parnassus, especially in Arahova. It is made mainly of sheep's milk, and was traditionally eaten as a grating cheese.

METSOVONE. This is a rich, hard, smoked yellow cheese made in Metsovo, hence its name. It resembles smoked Provolone. Metsovone is made in large sausage like loaves, usually from raw cow's milk. It is delicious as a table cheese, but also is delicious fried (saganaki), as the local tavernas serve it -with a sprinkling of paprika- and melted into cheese sauce.

SAN MIHALI. One of the few traditional exclusively cow's milk cheeses made in Greece. San Mihali is a specialty of the island of Siros (it is named for the Roman Catholic Church on the island). It is hard and piquant and was traditionally eaten locally as a grating cheese.

Soft fresh cheeses

TOULOUMOTIRI. Visitors to Samos and Mitilini are likely to find cheese mongers in both the main towns and villages selling touloumotiri. Its name literally means "skin cheese." Traditionally, this soft, peppery cheese is aged over several months in goat skins. It is a specialty of the eastern Aegean islands and cheese mongers there still sell it directly from the skin. A slightly shocking sight, but the cheese, soft, white and very pungent, is unforgettable.

GALOTIRI. Another very unusual and very sharp soft white cheese. Its consistency is like ricotta with cream added to it, and its name literally means "milk cheese." Although produced in small quantities, and most often for personal consumption, all over Greece, its production is strictly seasonal. The cheese is made of ewe's milk in July and August. It is eaten as a table cheese, almost as a spread like American cream cheese, but is also a favorite in summer salads (replacing the ubiquitous feta) and in savory pies. It is usually sold from very small barrels at the cheese counters of major supermarkets.

KOPANISTI. The name means "pounded," and the cheese is the sharpest, most pungent produced in Greece. It is one of the traditional cheeses of the Cycladic islands, and especially well-known is the salmon-colored kopanisti from Mykonos. Kopanisti is left to ferment over several months, often in skins, during which time certain Roquefort -like bacteria develops giving the cheese its piquancy. Depending on where the cheese is from it is either pinkish or bluish in color. Delicious and strong, but not for the faint of heart!

Whey cheeses

These account for a surprisingly large part of total cheese making in Greece. Most whey cheeses are made from the residual liquids of feta. The cheeses are seasonal, usually produced from December to June, because at that time of year local greens and other fauna are most plentiful and milk creamiest.

MIZITHRA. The word dates to the 16th century, when it referred to a kneaded cheese. Mizithra is a feta by product. Traditionally the whey from feta is combined with some hole milk, and curdled for several days. The curds are collected, drained, lightly salted and pressed. Mizithra is sold either as a soft table cheese, or aged into rock-hard balls and used as a grating cheese.

ANTHOTIRO. The word literally means "blossom" cheese, after the way the curds "blossom" -as they are stirred, the curds rise to the tops of the vats and open in a shape resembling blooms. The cheese is similar to ricotta, but lightly salted. It is eaten fresh with jam or honey, and often baked into sweet pastries, especially around Easter time.

MANOURI.This is a creamy, buttery mild white cheese that is sold in log-shaped loaves. It is excellent as a dessert cheese, topped with honey, or with poached fruits, and complements the sweet wines of Greece exceptionally well.

Other regional cheeses

Included here are the cheeses a lucky and curious traveler is likely to encounter in various parts of Greece.

PRETZA. A soft, creamy, very sharp and pungent white cheese made in Zakinthos in the spring. Imagine a fiery cream cheese. Locals spread it on bread and drizzle olive oil over it for breakfast.

KRASOTIRI or GILOMENO. These are two similar sheep's milk cheeses, sure to win an oenophile's heart, since they are aged in the lees. These wine cheeses are found exclusively in certain Greek islands. Kos and Nisiros, for example, are known for the log-shaped wine cheese called "krasotiri." In Sifnos, we found the "gilomeno," -after the local word for lees. Gilomeno is shaped into small barrels and aged for several months in the thick wine residue, until what results is an extremely powerful, hard cheese. Traditionally, the cheese was aged in pits, filled with must or lees and covered. Nowadays, you are more likely to find it submerged in small plastic barrels.

PETROTIRI. A sheep's milk cheese that comes from the mountain villages on the island of Tinos and literally means "rock cheese," after the way it is made. Once coagulated, the cheese is pressed between small flat rocks. It has a lovely pungent rind and a creamy interior. Certainly, one of the most beautiful cheeses in Greece.

KATHOURA. The mozzarella-like goat's milk cheese, made in the island of Ikaria. It is shaped into fist sized balls and either served fresh or aged in brine.

MEGITHRA. A specialty of the Cycladic islands that is one of the few Greek cheeses that has anything added to the curds. When the curds are first cut, either oregano or thyme is mixed in. The cheese is then placed in goat skins for several months to mature.

HLORO. The fresh white goat's milk cheese from Santorini, and the main ingredient in the island's well-known Easter sweets, the melitinia.

GREEK CHEVRE. There are two producers in Greece who make cheese under the name "chevre." The largest is the Averoff Dairy in Metsovo, which produces a chevre, nothing like the traditional French cheese. Averoff's rendition is aged, pungent and extremely hard. It is delicious, but it's not anywhere near authentic. An artisinal cheese maker who runs a farm on the island of Evia, however, has managed to produce several chevres of distinction. His name is Lazaros Maltezos, his dairy is in the town of Stira, and his soft, goat's milk cheeses are available widely in the better markets around Athens.