getting a taxi in Greece

Please be aware of taxis in Greece, particularly Athens. There seems to be a Taxi Stand everywhere you look but unless you have your hotel call one for you, you can never seem to get one to stop and pick you up from one. On a very hot July day in Athens my family and I needed a cab we hadn't stayed in a hotel it was just a stop over from Rhodes to Zakynthos. We arrived early that morning from Rhodes, had breakfast at Syntagma Square - lovely service.
Then it all goes terribly wrong- we ask for directions on where to catch a taxi. The woman at the cafe shows us the taxi stand which is only 50 meters away. (easy, Right?) We go to get a cab. We wait and wait, fifteen min. and after 10 cabs that drive straight past us we start to worry. We ask the woman again, she tells us to try another stand on the other side of the square, so we do that, 1/2 HR and 10 kilos of perspiration later still not one cab stops. One hour later one stops but is only willing to take us if he can take us all the way to Zakynthos!
(Island Off the west coast of mainland Greece) We were so desperate by this stage we would have agreed but we already had tickets booked and paid for with the Bus and Ferry.
THREE HOURS later we find a local bus that goes to the bus depot - we had 5 min. to spare according to our booking information but the bus left the depot 1/2 HR. later and after lots of Arguing between drivers and admin. we arrive in Kilini just in time to get the last Ferry to Zakynthos. (the Ferry had to wait for the bus) We finally arrive in Zakynthos at 11:30 that night! Avoid taxis in Athens. I still don't know why they wouldn't stop - was it the luggage, or the sweat? I still don't think it was either, we had three medium sized soft bags they fit in the boot of a cab and the sweat was on every ATHENIAN that day. We were there during their big bush fires.
PS. I was born in Greece and speak the language!