The most dramatic sign of Greece's pain, however, is a surge in suicides.

Recorded suicides have roughly doubled since before the crisis to about six per 100,000 residents annually, according to the Greek health ministry and a charitable organization called Klimaka.

About 40% more Greeks killed themselves in the first five months of this year than in the same period last year, the health ministry says.

Others have attempted suicide. On Friday, Greek police said, a man in his 50s struggling with his debts was hospitalized after setting himself on fire outside a bank branch in the northern city of Thessaloniki