A clarification request on a line from the letters

[KnightFluttershy]

"The Greece that was worth saving from Persia perished anyway; and became a kind of Vichy-Hellas, or Fighting-Hellas (which did not fight), talking about Hellenic honour and culture and thriving on the sale of the early equivalent of dirty postcards." -Letter 52

I find this really interesting, can someone who knows about this subject give a basic rundown on what he means? I get the general point he's making but I would like specific historical references to this perishing of the "Greece that was worth saving".