Greece

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For other uses, see Greece (disambiguation).
Hellenic Republic

Ellnik Dmokrata (Greek)

Flag

Coat of arms

Motto: (traditional)
"Freedom or Death"
Anthem:
"Hymn to Liberty"
Location of Greece (dark green) in Europe (green & dark grey) in the
European Union (green) [Legend]
Location of Greece (dark green)
in Europe (green & dark grey)
in the European Union (green) [Legend]
Capital
and largest city

Athens

3758N 2343E
Official language
and national language
Religion

Greek

Eastern Orthodoxy (prevailing faith)

Demonym
Greek
Government Unitary parliamentary
constitutional republic

President

Prokopis Pavlopoulos

Prime Minister

Speaker of the Parliament

Alexis Tsipras
Nikos Voutsis

Legislature Hellenic Parliament

Formation of the Republic

Independence declared from the Ottoman Empire 25 March 1821

(traditional starting date of the Greek War of Independence), 15 January 1822
(official declaration in the First National Assembly at Epidaurus)

Recognized 3 February 1830

Current constitution

11 June 1975

Area

Total 131,957 km2[1] (97th)

50,949 sq mi

Water (%)

0.8669

Population

2015 estimate

10,955,000[2]

2011 census 10,815,197[3] (80th)

Density

82[4]/km2 (120th)

212/sq mi
GDP (PPP)

2016 estimate

Total $287.114 billion[5] (51st)

Per capita

GDP (nominal)

$26,606[5] (44th)
2016 estimate

Total $194.594 billion[5] (44th)

Per capita

Gini (2015)

$18,035[5] (38th)

34.2[6]

medium
HDI (2014) Increase 0.865[7]

very high 29th

Currency

Euro () (EUR)

Time zone

EET (UTC+2)

Summer (DST)

EEST (UTC+3)

Date format dd/mm/yyyy (AD)

Drives on the

right

Calling code +30

ISO 3166 code

GR

Internet TLD .gra

.
a.
The .eu domain is also used, as in other European Union member
states.
Greece (Greek: , About this sound Ellda [elaa]), officially the
Hellenic Republic (Greek: Ellnik Dmokrata [elinici
imokrati.a]), also known since ancient times as Hellas (Ancient Greek:
Hells [hls]),[8][9][10][11] is a transcontinental country located in
southeastern Europe. Greece's population is approximately 10.9 million as of
2015. Athens is the nation's capital and largest city, followed by Thessaloniki.

Greece is strategically located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa.

Situated on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula, it shares land borders
with Albania to the northwest, the Republic of Macedonia and Bulgaria to the
north, and Turkey to the northeast. Greece consists of nine geographic
regions: Macedonia, Central Greece, the Peloponnese, Thessaly, Epirus, the
Aegean Islands (including the Dodecanese and Cyclades), Thrace, Crete, and
the Ionian Islands. The Aegean Sea lies to the east of the mainland, the Ionian
Sea to the west, the Cretan Sea and the Mediterranean Sea to the south.
Greece has the longest coastline on the Mediterranean Basin and the 11th
longest coastline in the world at 13,676 km (8,498 mi) in length, featuring a
vast number of islands, of which 227 are inhabited. Eighty percent of Greece
is mountainous, with Mount Olympus being the highest peak at 2,918 metres
(9,573 ft).

The history of Greece is one of the longest of any country, having been
continuously inhabited since 270,000 BC. Considered the cradle of Western
civilization, Greece is the birthplace of democracy, Western philosophy, the

Olympic Games, Western literature, historiography, political science, major

scientific and mathematical principles, and Western drama, including both
tragedy and comedy.[12] The Greeks were first unified under Philip of
Macedon in the fourth century BC. His son Alexander the Great rapidly
conquered much of the ancient world, spreading Greek culture and science
from the eastern Mediterranean to the Indus River. Greece was annexed by
Rome in the second century BC, becoming an integral part of the Roman
Empire and its successor, the Byzantine Empire. The first century AD saw the
establishment of the Greek Orthodox Church, which shaped modern Greek
identity and transmitted Greek traditions to the wider Orthodox World.[13]
Falling under Ottoman dominion in the mid-15th century, the modern nation
state of Greece emerged in 1830 following a war of independence. Greece's
rich historical legacy is reflected by its 18 UNESCO World Heritage Sites,
among the most in Europe and the world.[14]

Greece is a democratic and developed country with an advanced high-income

economy, a high quality of life, and a very high standard of living. A founding
member of the United Nations, Greece was the tenth member to join the
European Communities (precursor to the European Union) and has been part
of the Eurozone since 2001. It is also a member of numerous other
international institutions, including the Council of Europe, the North Atlantic
Treaty Organization (NATO), the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and
Development (OECD), the World Trade Organization (WTO), the Organization
for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), and the Organisation
internationale de la Francophonie (OIF). Greece's unique cultural heritage,
subsequently large tourism industry, prominent shipping sector and
geostrategic importance,[15][16][17] classify it as a middle power. It is the
largest economy in the Balkans, where it is an important regional investor.

Contents [hide]
1

Etymology

History

2.1

Ancient and Classical periods

2.2

Hellenistic and Roman periods (323 BC 4th century AD)

2.3

Medieval period (4th century 1453)

2.4
Early modern period: Venetian possessions and Ottoman rule (15th
century 1821)
2.5

Modern period

2.5.1 Greek War of Independence (18211832)

2.5.2 Kingdom of Greece
2.5.3 Expansion, disaster, and reconstruction
2.5.4 World War II, reconstruction, and authoritarian rule
2.5.5 Third Hellenic Republic
3

Geography and climate

3.1

Islands

3.2

Climate

3.3

Ecology

Politics

4.1

Political parties

4.2

Law and justice

4.3

Foreign relations

4.4

Military

4.5

Administrative divisions

Economy

5.1

Introduction

5.2

Financial crisis (2010present)

5.3

Energy

5.4

Agriculture

5.5

Maritime industry

5.6

Tourism

5.7

Transport

5.8

Telecommunications

5.9

Medical sector

5.10

Science and technology

Demographics

6.1

Cities

6.2

Functional urban areas

6.3

Religion

6.4

Languages

6.5

Migration

6.6

Education

6.7

Healthcare system

Culture

7.1

Arts

7.2

Theatre

7.3

Philosophy

7.4

Literature

7.5

Music and dances

7.6

Cuisine

7.7

Cinema

7.8

Sports

7.9

Mythology

7.10

Public holidays and festivals

See also

Notes

10

References

10.1

Specific

10.2

Bibliography

11

External links

11.1

Government

11.2

General information

Etymology[edit]

Main article: Name of Greece

The names for the nation of Greece and the Greek people differ from the
names used in other languages, locations and cultures. Although the Greeks
call the country Hellas or Ellada (Greek: or ) and its official
name is the Hellenic Republic, in English it is referred to as Greece, which
comes from the Latin term Graecia as used by the Romans, which literally
means 'the land of the Greeks', and derives from the Greek name .

History[edit]
Main article: History of Greece
Ancient and Classical periods[edit]
Main articles: Ancient Greece and Classical Greece

Fresco displaying the Minoan ritual of "bull leaping", found in Knossos, Crete.
The earliest evidence of the presence of human ancestors in the southern
Balkans, dated to 270,000 BC, is to be found in the Petralona cave, in the
Greek province of Macedonia.[18] All three stages of the stone age
(Paleolithic, Mesolithic, and Neolithic) are represented in Greece, for example
in the Franchthi Cave.[19] Neolithic settlements in Greece, dating from the
7th millennium BC,[18] are the oldest in Europe by several centuries, as
Greece lies on the route via which farming spread from the Near East to
Europe.[20]

Greek territories and colonies during the Archaic period (750-550 BC)

The Parthenon on the Acropolis of Athens is one of the best known symbols of
classical Greece.
Greece is home to the first advanced civilizations in Europe and is considered
the birthplace of Western civilization,[21][22][23][24] beginning with the
Cycladic civilization on the islands of the Aegean Sea at around 3200 BC,[25]
the Minoan civilization in Crete (27001500 BC),[24][26] and then the
Mycenaean civilization on the mainland (19001100 BC).[26] These
civilizations possessed writing, the Minoans writing in an undeciphered script
known as Linear A, and the Mycenaeans in Linear B, an early form of Greek.
The Mycenaeans gradually absorbed the Minoans, but collapsed violently

around 1200 BC, during a time of regional upheaval known as the Bronze Age
collapse.[27] This ushered in a period known as the Greek Dark Ages, from
which written records are absent.

The end of the Dark Ages is traditionally dated to 776 BC, the year of the first
Olympic Games.[28] The Iliad and the Odyssey, the foundational texts of
Western literature, are believed to have been composed by Homer in the 8th
or 7th centuries BC[29][30] With the end of the Dark Ages, there emerged
various kingdoms and city-states across the Greek peninsula, which spread to
the shores of the Black Sea, Southern Italy ("Magna Graecia") and Asia Minor.
These states and their colonies reached great levels of prosperity that
resulted in an unprecedented cultural boom, that of classical Greece,
expressed in architecture, drama, science, mathematics and philosophy. In
508 BC, Cleisthenes instituted the world's first democratic system of
government in Athens.[31][32]

By 500 BC, the Persian Empire controlled the Greek city states in Asia Minor
and Macedonia.[33] Attempts by some of the Greek city-states of Asia Minor
to overthrow Persian rule failed, and Persia invaded the states of mainland
Greece in 492 BC, but was forced to withdraw after a defeat at the Battle of
Marathon in 490 BC. A second invasion by the Persians followed in 480 BC.
Following decisive Greek victories in 480 and 479 BC at Salamis, Plataea, and
Mycale, the Persians were forced to withdraw for a second time, marking their
eventual withdrawal from all of their European territories. Led by Athens and
Sparta, the Greek victories in the Greco-Persian Wars are considered a pivotal
moment in world history,[34] as the 50 years of peace that followed are
known as the Golden Age of Athens, the seminal period of ancient Greek
development that laid many of the foundations of Western civilization.

Alexander the Great on his horse Bucephalus, whose conquests led to the
Hellenistic Age.
Lack of political unity within Greece resulted in frequent conflict between
Greek states. The most devastating intra-Greek war was the Peloponnesian
War (431404 BC), won by Sparta and marking the demise of the Athenian
Empire as the leading power in ancient Greece. Both Athens and Sparta were
later overshadowed by Thebes and eventually Macedon, with the latter
uniting the Greek world in the League of Corinth (also known as the Hellenic
League or Greek League) under the guidance of Phillip II, who was elected
leader of the first unified Greek state in history.

Map of what would become Alexander's empire.

Following the assassination of Phillip II, his son Alexander III ("The Great")
assumed the leadership of the League of Corinth and launched an invasion of
the Persian Empire with the combined forces of all Greek states in 334 BC.
Undefeated in battle, Alexander had conquered the Persian Empire in its
entirety by 330 BC. By the time of his death in 323 BC, he had created one of
the largest empires in history, stretching from Greece to India. His empire
split into several kingdoms upon his death, the most famous of which were
the Seleucid Empire, Ptolemaic Egypt, the Greco-Bactrian Kingdom, and the
Indo-Greek Kingdom. Many Greeks migrated to Alexandria, Antioch, Seleucia,
and the many other new Hellenistic cities in Asia and Africa.[35] Although the
political unity of Alexander's empire could not be maintained, it resulted in
the Hellenistic civilization and spread the Greek language and Greek culture
in the territories conquered by Alexander.[36] Greek science, technology, and
mathematics are generally considered to have reached their peak during the
Hellenistic period.[37]

Hellenistic and Roman periods (323 BC 4th century AD)[edit]

Main articles: Hellenistic Greece and Roman Greece
See also: Wars of Alexander the Great and Roman Empire

The Antikythera mechanism (c. 100 BC) is believed to be the earliest

mechanical analog computer (National Archaeological Museum, Athens).
After a period of confusion following Alexander's death, the Antigonid
dynasty, descended from one of Alexander's generals, established its control
over Macedon and most of the Greek city-states by 276 BC.[38] From about
200 BC the Roman Republic became increasingly involved in Greek affairs
and engaged in a series of wars with Macedon.[39] Macedon's defeat at the
Battle of Pydna in 168 BC signalled the end of Antigonid power in Greece.[40]
In 146 BC, Macedonia was annexed as a province by Rome, and the rest of
Greece became a Roman protectorate.[39][41]

The Odeon of Herodes Atticus in Athens

The process was completed in 27 BC when the Roman Emperor Augustus

annexed the rest of Greece and constituted it as the senatorial province of
Achaea.[41] Despite their military superiority, the Romans admired and
became heavily influenced by the achievements of Greek culture, hence
Horace's famous statement: Graecia capta ferum victorem cepit ("Greece,
although captured, took its wild conqueror captive").[42] The epics of Homer
inspired the Aeneid of Virgil, and authors such as Seneca the younger wrote
using Greek styles. Roman heroes such as Scipio Africanus, tended to study
philosophy and regarded Greek culture and science as an example to be
followed. Similarly, most Roman emperors maintained an admiration for
things Greek in nature. The Roman Emperor Nero visited Greece in AD 66,
and performed at the Ancient Olympic Games, despite the rules against nonGreek participation. Hadrian was also particularly fond of the Greeks; before
he became emperor, he served as an eponymous archon of Athens.

Greek-speaking communities of the Hellenized East were instrumental in the

spread of early Christianity in the 2nd and 3rd centuries,[43] and
Christianity's early leaders and writers (notably St Paul) were mostly Greekspeaking, though generally not from Greece itself.[44] The New Testament
was written in Greek, and some of its sections (Corinthians, Thessalonians,
Philippians, Revelation of St. John of Patmos) attest to the importance of
churches in Greece in early Christianity. Nevertheless, much of Greece clung
tenaciously to paganism, and ancient Greek religious practices were still in
vogue in the late 4th century AD,[45] when they were outlawed by the
Roman emperor Theodosius I in 391392.[46] The last recorded Olympic
games were held in 393,[47] and many temples were destroyed or damaged
in the century that followed.[48] In Athens and rural areas, paganism is
attested well into the sixth century AD[48] and even later.[49] The closure of
the Neoplatonic Academy of Athens by the emperor Justinian in 529 is
considered by many to mark the end of antiquity, although there is evidence
that the Academy continued its activities for some time after that.[48] Some
remote areas such as the southeastern Peloponnese remained pagan until
well into the 10th century AD.[50]

Medieval period (4th century 1453)[edit]

Main articles: Byzantine Greece and Frankokratia
See also: Byzantine Empire and Fourth Crusade

The Byzantine Empire at the death of Basil II in 1025

The Byzantine church of Hagia Sophia, Thessaloniki (8th century), an

UNESCO's World Heritage Site.
The Roman Empire in the east, following the fall of the Empire in the west in
the 5th century, is conventionally known as the Byzantine Empire (but was
simply called "Roman Empire" in its own time) and lasted until 1453. With its
capital in Constantinople, its language and literary culture was Greek and its
religion was predominantly Eastern Orthodox Christian.[51]

From the 4th century, the Empire's Balkan territories, including Greece,
suffered from the dislocation of the Barbarian Invasions. The raids and
devastation of the Goths and Huns in the 4th and 5th centuries and the Slavic
invasion of Greece in the 7th century resulted in a dramatic collapse in
imperial authority in the Greek peninsula.[52] Following the Slavic invasion,
the imperial government retained formal control of only the islands and
coastal areas, particularly the densely populated walled cities such as Athens,
Corinth and Thessalonica, while some mountainous areas in the interior held
out on their own and continued to recognize imperial authority.[52] Outside of
these areas, a limited amount of Slavic settlement is generally thought to
have occurred, although on a much smaller scale than previously thought.
[53][54]

The Byzantine recovery of lost provinces began toward the end of the 8th
century and most of the Greek peninsula came under imperial control again,
in stages, during the 9th century.[55][56] This process was facilitated by a
large influx of Greeks from Sicily and Asia Minor to the Greek peninsula, while
at the same time many Slavs were captured and re-settled in Asia Minor and
those that remained were assimilated.[53] During the 11th and 12th
centuries the return of stability resulted in the Greek peninsula benefiting
from strong economic growth much stronger than that of the Anatolian
territories of the Empire.[55]

The Palace of the Grand Master of the Knights of Rhodes, administrative

centre of the Knights Hospitaller
Following the Fourth Crusade and the fall of Constantinople to the "Latins" in
1204 mainland Greece was split between the Greek Despotate of Epirus (a
Byzantine successor state) and Frankish rule[57] (known as the Frankokratia),
while some islands came under Venetian rule.[58] The re-establishment of
the Byzantine imperial capital in Constantinople in 1261 was accompanied by
the empire's recovery of much of the Greek peninsula, although the Frankish

Principality of Achaea in the Peloponnese and the rival Greek Despotate of

Epirus in the north both remained important regional powers into the 14th
century, while the islands remained largely under Genoese and Venetian
control.[57]

In the 14th century, much of the Greek peninsula was lost by the Byzantine
Empire at first to the Serbs and then to the Ottomans.[59] By the beginning
of the 15th century, the Ottoman advance meant that Byzantine territory in
Greece was limited mainly to its then-largest city, Thessaloniki, and the
Peloponnese (Despotate of the Morea).[59] After the fall of Constantinople to
the Ottomans in 1453, the Morea was the last remnant of the Byzantine
Empire to hold out against the Ottomans. However, this, too, fell to the
Ottomans in 1460, completing the Ottoman conquest of mainland Greece.
[60] With the Turkish conquest, many Byzantine Greek scholars, who up until
then were largely responsible for preserving Classical Greek knowledge, fled
to the West, taking with them a large body of literature and thereby
significantly contributing to the Renaissance.[61]

Early modern period: Venetian possessions and Ottoman rule (15th century
1821)[edit]
Main articles: Ottoman Greece and Stato da Mar
Further information: Phanariotes and Ecumenical Patriarchate of
Constantinople
See also: Kingdom of Candia and Ionian Islands under Venetian rule

The Byzantine castle of Angelokastro successfully repulsed the Ottomans

during the First Great Siege of Corfu in 1537, the siege of 1571, and the
Second Great Siege of Corfu in 1716, causing them to abandon their plans to
conquer Corfu.[62]
While most of mainland Greece and the Aegean islands was under Ottoman
control by the end of the 15th century, Cyprus and Crete remained Venetian
territory and did not fall to the Ottomans until 1571 and 1670 respectively.
The only part of the Greek-speaking world that escaped long-term Ottoman
rule was the Ionian Islands, which remained Venetian until their capture by
the First French Republic in 1797, then passed to the United Kingdom in 1809
until their unification with Greece in 1864.[63][page needed]

While Greeks in the Ionian Islands and Constantinople lived in prosperity, and

Greeks living in Constantinople achieved positions of power within the

Ottoman administration,[63][page needed] much of the population of
mainland Greece suffered the economic consequences of the Ottoman
conquest. Heavy taxes were enforced, and in later years the Ottoman Empire
enacted a policy of creation of hereditary estates, effectively turning the rural
Greek populations into serfs.[64]

The Greek Orthodox Church and the Ecumenical Patriarchate of

Constantinople were considered by the Ottoman governments as the ruling
authorities of the entire Orthodox Christian population of the Ottoman
Empire, whether ethnically Greek or not. Although the Ottoman state did not
force non-Muslims to convert to Islam, Christians faced several types of
discrimination intended to highlight their inferior status in the Ottoman
Empire. Discrimination against Christians, particularly when combined with
harsh treatment by local Ottoman authorities, led to conversions to Islam, if
only superficially. In the 19th century, many "crypto-Christians" returned to
their old religious allegiance.[63][page needed]

The "Battle of Lepanto" (1571) prevented the Ottomans from expanding

further
The nature of Ottoman administration of Greece varied, though it was
invariably arbitrary and often harsh.[63][page needed] Some cities had
governors appointed by the Sultan, while others (like Athens) were selfgoverned municipalities. Mountains regions in the interior and many islands
remained effectively autonomous from the central Ottoman state for many
centuries.[63][page needed]

The White Tower of Thessaloniki, one of the best-known Ottoman structures

remaining in Greece.
When military conflicts broke out between the Ottoman Empire and other
states, Greeks usually took arms against the Empire, with few exceptions.
Prior to the Greek revolution, there had been a number of wars which saw
Greeks fight against the Ottomans, such as the Greek participation in the
Battle of Lepanto in 1571, the Epirus peasants' revolts of 16001601, the
Morean War of 16841699, and the Russian-instigated Orlov Revolt in 1770,
which aimed at breaking up the Ottoman Empire in favor of Russian interests.
[63][page needed] These uprisings were put down by the Ottomans with

great bloodshed.[65][66]

The 16th and 17th centuries are regarded as something of a "dark age" in
Greek history, with the prospect of overthrowing Ottoman rule appearing
remote with only the Ionian islands remaining free of Turkish domination.
Corfu withstood three major sieges in 1537, 1571 and 1716 all of which
resulted in the repulsion of the Ottomans. However, in the 18th century,
there arose through shipping a wealthy and dispersed Greek merchant class.
These merchants came to dominate trade within the Ottoman Empire,
establishing communities throughout the Mediterranean, the Balkans, and
Western Europe. Though the Ottoman conquest had cut Greece off from
significant European intellectual movements such as the Reformation and the
Enlightenment, these ideas together with the ideals of the French Revolution
and romantic nationalism began to penetrate the Greek world via the
mercantile diaspora.[63][page needed] In the late 18th century, Rigas
Feraios, the first revolutionary to envision an independent Greek state,
published a series of documents relating to Greek independence, including
but not limited to a national anthem and the first detailed map of Greece, in
Vienna, and was murdered by Ottoman agents in 1798.[63][page needed]
[67]

Modern period[edit]
Main article: History of modern Greece
Greek War of Independence (18211832)[edit]
Main article: Greek War of Independence
See also: Modern Greek Enlightenment, Greek Declaration of Independence,
and First Hellenic Republic

The sortie (exodus) of Messolonghi, during the Greek War of Independence

(18211830), by Theodoros Vryzakis.
In the late eighteenth century, an increase in secular learning during the
Modern Greek Enlightenment led to the revival among Greeks of the diaspora
of the notion of a Greek nation tracing its existence to ancient Greece,
distinct from the other Orthodox peoples, and having a right to political
autonomy. One of the organizations formed in this intellectual milieu was the
Filiki Eteria, a secret organization formed by merchants in Odessa in 1814.
[68] Appropriating a long-standing tradition of Orthodox messianic prophecy
aspiring to the resurrection of the eastern Roman empire and creating the

impression they had the backing of Tsarist Russia, they managed amidst a
crisis of Ottoman trade, from 1815 onwards, to engage traditional strata of
the Greek Orthodox world in their liberal nationalist cause.[69] The Filiki
Eteria planned to launch revolution in the Peloponnese, the Danubian
Principalities and Constantinople. The first of these revolts began on 6 March
1821 in the Danubian Principalities under the leadership of Alexandros
Ypsilantis, but it was soon put down by the Ottomans. The events in the north
spurred the Greeks of the Peloponnese into action and on 17 March 1821 the
Maniots declared war on the Ottomans.[70]

By the end of the month, the Peloponnese was in open revolt against the
Ottomans and by October 1821 the Greeks under Theodoros Kolokotronis had
captured Tripolitsa. The Peloponnesian revolt was quickly followed by revolts
in Crete, Macedonia and Central Greece, which would soon be suppressed.
Meanwhile, the makeshift Greek navy was achieving success against the
Ottoman navy in the Aegean Sea and prevented Ottoman reinforcements
from arriving by sea. In 1822 and 1824 the Turks and Egyptians ravaged the
islands, including Chios and Psara, committing wholesale massacres of the
population.[70] This had the effect of galvanizing public opinion in western
Europe in favor of the Greek rebels.[63][page needed]

Tensions soon developed among different Greek factions, leading to two

consecutive civil wars. Meanwhile, the Ottoman Sultan negotiated with
Mehmet Ali of Egypt, who agreed to send his son Ibrahim Pasha to Greece
with an army to suppress the revolt in return for territorial gain. Ibrahim
landed in the Peloponnese in February 1825 and had immediate success: by
the end of 1825, most of the Peloponnese was under Egyptian control, and
the city of Missolonghiput under siege by the Turks since April 1825fell in
April 1826. Although Ibrahim was defeated in Mani, he had succeeded in
suppressing most of the revolt in the Peloponnese and Athens had been
retaken.

After years of negotiation, three Great Powers, Russia, the United Kingdom,
and France, decided to intervene in the conflict and each nation sent a navy
to Greece. Following news that combined OttomanEgyptian fleets were
going to attack the Greek island of Hydra, the allied fleet intercepted the
OttomanEgyptian fleet at Navarino. After a week-long standoff, a battle
began which resulted in the destruction of the OttomanEgyptian fleet. A
French expeditionary force was dispatched to supervise the evacuation of the
Egyptian army from the Peloponnese, while the Greeks proceeded to the
captured part of Central Greece by 1828. As a result of years of negotiation,
the nascent Greek state was finally recognized under the London Protocol in

1830.

Kingdom of Greece[edit]
Main article: Kingdom of Greece

The Entry of King Otto in Athens, Peter von Hess, 1839.

The territorial evolution of Kingdom of Greece until 1947.

In 1827, Ioannis Kapodistrias, from Corfu, was chosen as the first governor of
the First Hellenic Republic. Following his assassination in 1831 and the
subsequent conference a year later, the Great Powers of Britain, France and
Russia installed Bavarian Prince Otto von Wittelsbach as monarch.[71] In
1843 an uprising forced the king to grant a constitution and a representative
assembly.

Due to his authoritarian rule, he was eventually dethroned in 1862 and a year
later replaced by Prince Wilhelm (William) of Denmark, who took the name
George I and brought with him the Ionian Islands as a coronation gift from
Britain. In 1877 Charilaos Trikoupis, who is credited with significant
improvement of the country's infrastructure, curbed the power of the
monarchy to interfere in the assembly by issuing the rule of vote of
confidence to any potential prime minister.

Corruption and Trikoupis' increased spending to create necessary

infrastructure like the Corinth Canal overtaxed the weak Greek economy,
forcing the declaration of public insolvency in 1893 and to accept the
imposition of an International Financial Control authority to pay off the
country's debtors. Another political issue in 19th-century Greece was
uniquely Greek: the language question. The Greek people spoke a form of
Greek called Demotic. Many of the educated elite saw this as a peasant
dialect and were determined to restore the glories of Ancient Greek.

Government documents and newspapers were consequently published in

Katharevousa (purified) Greek, a form which few ordinary Greeks could read.
Liberals favoured recognising Demotic as the national language, but
conservatives and the Orthodox Church resisted all such efforts, to the extent

that, when the New Testament was translated into Demotic in 1901, riots
erupted in Athens and the government fell (the Evangeliaka). This issue
would continue to plague Greek politics until the 1970s.

All Greeks were united, however, in their determination to liberate the Greekspeaking provinces of the Ottoman Empire, regardless of the dialect they
spoke. Especially in Crete, a prolonged revolt in 18661869 had raised
nationalist fervour. When war broke out between Russia and the Ottomans in
1877, Greek popular sentiment rallied to Russia's side, but Greece was too
poor, and too concerned of British intervention, to officially enter the war.
Nevertheless, in 1881, Thessaly and small parts of Epirus were ceded to
Greece as part of the Treaty of Berlin, while frustrating Greek hopes of
receiving Crete.

Greeks in Crete continued to stage regular revolts, and in 1897, the Greek
government under Theodoros Deligiannis, bowing to popular pressure,
declared war on the Ottomans. In the ensuing Greco-Turkish War of 1897, the
badly trained and equipped Greek army was defeated by the Ottomans.
Through the intervention of the Great Powers, however, Greece lost only a
little territory along the border to Turkey, while Crete was established as an
autonomous state under Prince George of Greece. With state coffers empty,
fiscal policy came under International Financial Control. In the next decade,
Greek efforts were focused on the Macedonian Struggle, a state-sponsored
guerilla campaign against pro-Bulgarian rebel gangs in Ottoman-ruled
Macedonia, which ended inconclusively with the Young Turk Revolution in
1908.

Expansion, disaster, and reconstruction[edit]

See also: Balkan Wars, National Schism, Asia Minor Campaign, and Second
Hellenic Republic
Amidst general dissatisfaction with the state of the nation, a group of military
officers organized a coup in August 1909 and shortly thereafter called to
power Cretan politician Eleftherios Venizelos. After winning two elections and
becoming Prime Minister, Venizelos initiated wide-ranging fiscal, social, and
constitutional reforms, reorganized the military, made Greece a member of
the Balkan League, and led the country through the Balkan Wars. By 1913,
Greece's territory and population had almost doubled, annexing Crete, Epirus,
and Macedonia. In the following years, the struggle between King Constantine
I and charismatic Venizelos over the country's foreign policy on the eve of
World War I dominated the country's political scene, and divided the country
into two opposing groups. During parts of World War I, Greece had two

governments; a royalist pro-German government in Athens and a Venizelist

pro-Entente one in Thessaloniki. The two governments were united in 1917,
when Greece officially entered the war on the side of the Entente.

Map of Greater Greece after the Treaty of Svres, when the Megali Idea
seemed close to fulfillment, featuring Eleftherios Venizelos.
In the aftermath of World War I, Greece attempted further expansion into Asia
Minor, a region with a large native Greek population at the time, but was
defeated in the Greco-Turkish War of 19191922, contributing to a massive
flight of Asia Minor Greeks.[72][73] These events overlapped, with both
happening during the Greek genocide (19141922),[74][75][76][77] a period
during which, according to various sources,[78] Ottoman and Turkish officials
contributed to the death of several hundred thousand Asia Minor Greeks. The
resultant Greek exodus from Asia Minor was made permanent, and expanded,
in an official Population exchange between Greece and Turkey. The exchange
was part of the terms of the Treaty of Lausanne which ended the war.[79]

The following era was marked by instability, as over 1.5 million propertyless
Greek refugees from Turkey had to be integrated into Greek society. Because
the term "Greeks" in the exchange was based on religion, Cappadocian
Greeks, Pontian Greeks, and non-Greek followers of Greek Orthodoxy were all
subject to the exchange as well. Some of the refugees could not speak the
language, and were from what had been unfamiliar environments to mainland
Greeks, such as in the case of the Cappadocians and non-Greeks. The
refugees also made a dramatic post-war population boost, as the amount of
refugees was more than a quarter of Greece's prior population.[80] The task
was undertaken by settling the Pontians and Cappadocians in the Macedonian
mountains, where they would adapt better, and settling the Demotic
speakers and non-Greeks in the Greek Isles and cities, where they were
already adapted to.

Following the catastrophic events in Asia Minor, the monarchy was abolished
via a referendum in 1924 and the Second Hellenic Republic was declared. In
1935, a royalist general-turned-politician Georgios Kondylis took power after a
coup d'tat and abolished the republic, holding a rigged referendum, after
which King George II returned to Greece and was restored to the throne.

World War II, reconstruction, and authoritarian rule[edit]

See also: 4th of August Regime, Greco-Italian War, Battle of Greece, Axis
occupation of Greece, Greek Civil War, and Greek military junta of 196774
A coup d'tat followed in 1936 and installed Ioannis Metaxas as the head of a
dictatorial regime known as the 4th of August Regime, inaugurating a period
of authoritarian rule that would last, with short breaks, until 1974.[81]
Although a dictatorship, Greece remained on good terms with Britain and was
not allied with the Axis.

Greek troops during the Italian Spring Offensive (1941) in the Greco-Italian
War. Greece's victory against Fascist Italy, gave the Allies their first victory
over Axis forces on land in World War II.
On 28 October 1940, Fascist Italy demanded the surrender of Greece, but the
Greek administration refused, and, in the following Greco-Italian War, Greece
repelled Italian forces into Albania, giving the Allies their first victory over
Axis forces on land. The Greek struggle and victory against the Italians
received exuberant praise at the time.[82][83] Most prominent is the quote of
Winston Churchill: "Hence we will not say that Greeks fight like heroes, but
we will say that heroes fight like Greeks."[82] French general Charles de
Gaulle was among those who praised the fierceness of the Greek resistance.
In an official notice released to coincide with the Greek national celebration of
the Day of Independence, De Gaulle expressed his admiration for the Greek
resistance:

In the name of the captured yet still alive French people, France wants to
send her greetings to the Greek people who are fighting for their freedom.
The 25 March 1941 finds Greece in the peak of their heroic struggle and in
the top of their glory. Since the Battle of Salamis, Greece had not achieved
the greatness and the glory which today holds.[83]

The country would eventually fall to urgently dispatched German forces

during the Battle of Greece, despite the fierce Greek resistance particularly in
the Battle of the Metaxas Line. Adolf Hitler himself recognised the bravery
and the courage of the Greek army, stating in his address to the Reichstag on
11 December 1941, that: "Historical justice obliges me to state that of the
enemies who took up positions against us, the Greek soldier particularly
fought with the highest courage. He capitulated only when further resistance
had become impossible and useless."[84]

Guerillas of ELAS
The Nazis proceeded to administer Athens and Thessaloniki, while other
regions of the country were given to Nazi Germany's partners, Fascist Italy
and Bulgaria. The occupation brought about terrible hardships for the Greek
civilian population. Over 100,000 civilians died of starvation during the winter
of 19411942, tens of thousands more died because of reprisals by Nazis and
collaborators, the country's economy was ruined, and the great majority of
Greek Jews were deported and murdered in Nazi concentration camps.[85]
[86] The Greek Resistance, one of the most effective resistance movements
in Europe, fought vehemently against the Nazis and their collaborators. The
German occupiers committed numerous atrocities, mass executions, and
wholesale slaughter of civilians and destruction of towns and villages in
reprisals. In the course of the concerted anti-guerrilla campaign, hundreds of
villages were systematically torched and almost 1,000,000 Greeks left
homeless.[86] In total, the Germans executed some 21,000 Greeks, the
Bulgarians 40,000, and the Italians 9,000.[87]

After liberation, Greece experienced a polarising civil war between

communist and anticommunist forces until 1949, which led to economic
devastation and severe social tensions between rightists and largely
communist leftists for the next thirty years.[88] The next twenty years were
characterized by marginalisation of the left in the political and social spheres
but also by rapid economic growth, propelled in part by the Marshall Plan.

Greece's highest development visibility during the twentieth century, is also

seen by its HDI component-numeracy, which increased rapidly during this
period, respectively since low levels of human capital level persisted even
sometime after Ottoman rule ended.[clarification needed][89]

King Constantine II's dismissal of George Papandreou's centrist government in

July 1965 prompted a prolonged period of political turbulence which
culminated in a coup d'tat on 21 April 1967 by the Regime of the Colonels.
The brutal suppression of the Athens Polytechnic uprising on 17 November
1973 is claimed to have sent shockwaves through the regime, and a countercoup established Brigadier Dimitrios Ioannidis as leader. On 20 July 1974, as
Turkey invaded the island of Cyprus, the regime collapsed.

Third Hellenic Republic[edit]

Main article: Third Hellenic Republic

Signing at Zappeion of the documents for the accession of Greece to the

European Communities in 1979.
The former prime minister Konstantinos Karamanlis was invited back from
Paris where he had lived in self-exile since 1963, marking the beginning of
the Metapolitefsi era, which started the march to decadence.[citation needed]
The first multiparty elections since 1964 were held on the first anniversary of
the Polytechnic uprising. A democratic and republican constitution was
promulgated on 11 June 1975 following a referendum which chose to not
restore the monarchy.

Meanwhile, Andreas Papandreou, George Papandreou's son, founded the

Panhellenic Socialist Movement (PASOK) in response to Karamanlis's
conservative New Democracy party, with the two political formations
alternating in government since then. Greece rejoined NATO in 1980.[a][90]
Greece became the tenth member of the European Communities
(subsequently subsumed by the European Union) on 1 January 1981, ushering
in a period of sustained growth. Widespread investments in industrial
enterprises and heavy infrastructure, as well as funds from the European
Union and growing revenues from tourism, shipping, and a fast-growing
service sector raised the country's standard of living to unprecedented levels.
Traditionally strained relations with neighbouring Turkey improved when
successive earthquakes hit both nations in 1999, leading to the lifting of the
Greek veto against Turkey's bid for EU membership.

The country adopted the euro in 2001 and successfully hosted the 2004
Summer Olympic Games in Athens.[91] More recently, Greece has suffered
greatly from the late-2000s recession and has been central to the related
European sovereign debt crisis. Due to the adoption of the euro, when Greece
experienced financial crisis, it could no longer devalue its currency to regain
competitiveness. Youth unemployment was especially high during the 2000s.
[92] The Greek government-debt crisis, subsequent austerity policies, and
resultant protests have agitated domestic politics and have regularly
threatened European and global financial markets since the crisis began in
2010.

Geography and climate[edit]

Main article: Geography of Greece

000 Greqia harta.PNG

Flag of Albania.svgAlbaniaFlag of Macedonia.svgRep. MacedoniaFlag of
Bulgaria.svgBulgariaFlag of Turkey.svgTurkeyFlag of
Greece.svgGreeceATHENSThessalonikiKavalaThasosAlexandroupoliSamothrac
eCorfuIgoumenitsaLarissaVolosLamiaIoanninaChalcisPatrasCorinthNafplionSp
artaKalamataAreopoliPiraeusEleusinaLauriumHeraklionMacedoniaThraceEpiru
sThessalyEuboeaCentral GreecePeloponneseMt.
OlympusLefkadaKefaloniaZakynthosLemnosLesbosChiosSamosAndrosTinosMy
konosIcariaPatmosNaxosMilosSantoriniKosRhodesKarpathosKassosKythiraGav
dosAegeanSeaSea of
CreteMyrtoanSeaIonianSeaMediterraneanSeaCreteAegeanIslandsCycladesDo
decaneseIonianIslands

Navagio (shipwreck) bay, Zakynthos island

Located in Southern Europe,[93] Greece is a transcontinental country that
consists of a mountainous, peninsular mainland jutting out into the sea at the
southern end of the Balkans, ending at the Peloponnese peninsula (separated
from the mainland by the canal of the Isthmus of Corinth) and strategically
located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa.[94][95][96] Due to its
highly indented coastline and numerous islands, Greece has the 11th longest
coastline in the world with 13,676 km (8,498 mi);[97] its land boundary is
1,160 km (721 mi). The country lies approximately between latitudes 34 and
42 N, and longitudes 19 and 30 E, with the extreme points being:[98]

North: Ormenio village

South: Gavdos island
East: Strongyli(Kastelorizo, Megisti) island
West: Othonoi island
Eighty percent of Greece consists of mountains or hills, making the country
one of the most mountainous in Europe. Mount Olympus, the mythical abode
of the Greek Gods, culminates at Mytikas peak 2,918 metres (9,573 ft),[99]
the highest in the country. Western Greece contains a number of lakes and
wetlands and is dominated by the Pindus mountain range. The Pindus, a
continuation of the Dinaric Alps, reaches a maximum elevation of 2,637 m
(8,652 ft) at Mt. Smolikas (the second-highest in Greece) and historically has
been a significant barrier to east-west travel.

The Pindus range continues through the central Peloponnese, crosses the

islands of Kythera and Antikythera and finds its way into southwestern
Aegean, in the island of Crete where it eventually ends. The islands of the
Aegean are peaks of underwater mountains that once constituted an
extension of the mainland. Pindus is characterized by its high, steep peaks,
often dissected by numerous canyons and a variety of other karstic
landscapes. The spectacular Vikos Gorge, part of the Vikos-Aoos National Park
in the Pindus range, is listed by the Guinness book of World Records as the
deepest gorge in the world.[100] Another notable formation are the Meteora
rock pillars, atop which have been built medieval Greek Orthodox
monasteries.

Northeastern Greece features another high-altitude mountain range, the

Rhodope range, spreading across the region of East Macedonia and Thrace;
this area is covered with vast, thick, ancient forests, including the famous
Dadia forest in the Evros regional unit, in the far northeast of the country.

Extensive plains are primarily located in the regions of Thessaly, Central

Macedonia and Thrace. They constitute key economic regions as they are
among the few arable places in the country. Rare marine species such as the
pinniped seals and the loggerhead sea turtle live in the seas surrounding
mainland Greece, while its dense forests are home to the endangered brown
bear, the Eurasian lynx, the roe deer and the wild goat.

Islands[edit]
Main article: List of islands of Greece
Greece features a vast number of islands, between 1,200 and 6,000,
depending on the definition,[101] 227 of which are inhabited. Crete is the
largest and most populous island; Euboea, separated from the mainland by
the 60m-wide Euripus Strait, is the second largest, followed by Lesbos and
Rhodes.

The Greek islands are traditionally grouped into the following clusters: The
Argo-Saronic Islands in the Saronic gulf near Athens, the Cyclades, a large but
dense collection occupying the central part of the Aegean Sea, the North
Aegean islands, a loose grouping off the west coast of Turkey, the
Dodecanese, another loose collection in the southeast between Crete and
Turkey, the Sporades, a small tight group off the coast of northeast Euboea,
and the Ionian Islands, located to the west of the mainland in the Ionian Sea.

Climate[edit]
Further information: Climate of Greece

A view of Mount Olympus, the highest mountain in Greece and mythical

abode of the Gods of Olympus
The climate of Greece is primarily Mediterranean, featuring mild, wet winters
and hot, dry summers. This climate occurs at all coastal locations, including
Athens, the Cyclades, the Dodecanese, Crete, the Peloponnese, the Ionian
Islands and parts of the Central Continental Greece region. The Pindus
mountain range strongly affects the climate of the country, as areas to the
west of the range are considerably wetter on average (due to greater
exposure to south-westerly systems bringing in moisture) than the areas lying
to the east of the range (due to a rain shadow effect).

The mountainous areas of Northwestern Greece (parts of Epirus, Central

Greece, Thessaly, Western Macedonia) as well as in the mountainous central
parts of Peloponnese including parts of the regional units of Achaea, Arcadia
and Laconia feature an Alpine climate with heavy snowfalls. The inland
parts of northern Greece, in Central Macedonia and East Macedonia and
Thrace feature a temperate climate with cold, damp winters and hot, dry
summers with frequent thunderstorms. Snowfalls occur every year in the
mountains and northern areas, and brief snowfalls are not unknown even in
low-lying southern areas, such as Athens.

Ecology[edit]
Phytogeographically, Greece belongs to the Boreal Kingdom and is shared
between the East Mediterranean province of the Mediterranean Region and
the Illyrian province of the Circumboreal Region. According to the World Wide
Fund for Nature and the European Environment Agency, the territory of
Greece can be subdivided into six ecoregions: the Illyrian deciduous forests,
Pindus Mountains mixed forests, Balkan mixed forests, Rhodope montane
mixed forests, Aegean and Western Turkey sclerophyllous and mixed forests
and Crete Mediterranean forests.

Politics[edit]
Main article: Politics of Greece

The Hellenic Parliament in central Athens.

Greece is a unitary parliamentary republic.[102] The nominal head of state is
the President of the Republic, who is elected by the Parliament for a five-year
term.[102] The current Constitution was drawn up and adopted by the Fifth
Revisionary Parliament of the Hellenes and entered into force in 1975 after
the fall of the military junta of 19671974. It has been revised three times
since, in 1986, 2001 and 2008. The Constitution, which consists of 120
articles, provides for a separation of powers into executive, legislative, and
judicial branches, and grants extensive specific guarantees (further
reinforced in 2001) of civil liberties and social rights.[103][104] Women's
suffrage was guaranteed with an amendment to the 1952 Constitution.

According to the Constitution, executive power is exercised by the President

of the Republic and the Government.[102] From the Constitutional
amendment of 1986 the President's duties were curtailed to a significant
extent, and they are now largely ceremonial; most political power thus lies in
the hands of the Prime Minister.[105] The position of Prime Minister, Greece's
head of government, belongs to the current leader of the political party that
can obtain a vote of confidence by the Parliament. The President of the
Republic formally appoints the Prime Minister and, on his recommendation,
appoints and dismisses the other members of the Cabinet.[102]

Legislative powers are exercised by a 300-member elective unicameral

Parliament.[102] Statutes passed by the Parliament are promulgated by the
President of the Republic.[102] Parliamentary elections are held every four
years, but the President of the Republic is obliged to dissolve the Parliament
earlier on the proposal of the Cabinet, in view of dealing with a national issue
of exceptional importance.[102] The President is also obliged to dissolve the
Parliament earlier, if the opposition manages to pass a motion of no
confidence.[102]

Political parties[edit]
Main articles: Political parties of Greece and List of political parties in Greece

Count Ioannis Kapodistrias, first governor and founder of the modern Greek
State

Alexis Tsipras, Prime Minister of Greece since 2015

Since the restoration of democracy, the Greek party system has been
dominated by the liberal-conservative New Democracy (ND) and the socialdemocratic Panhellenic Socialist Movement (PASOK).[b] Other significant
parties include the Communist Party of Greece (KKE), the Coalition of the
Radical Left (SYRIZA) the Popular Orthodox Rally (LAOS) and the Popular
Association Golden Dawn.

PASOK and ND largely alternated in power until the outbreak of the

government-debt crisis in 2009. Since then, the two major parties, New
Democracy and PASOK, have seen a sharp decline in popularity.[106][107]
[108][109][110] In November 2011, the two major parties joined the smaller
Popular Orthodox Rally in a grand coalition, pledging their parliamentary
support for a government of national unity headed by former European
Central Bank vice-president Lucas Papademos.[111] Panos Kammenos voted
against this government and he split off from ND forming the right-wing
populist Independent Greeks.

The coalition government led the country to the parliamentary elections of

May 2012. The power of the traditional Greek political parties, PASOK and
New Democracy, declined from 43% to 13% and from 33% to 18%,
respectively, due to their support for austerity measures. The leftist party
SYRIZA became the second major party, with an increase from 4% to 16%. No
party could form a sustainable government, which led to the parliamentary
elections of June 2012. The result of the second elections was the formation
of a coalition government composed of New Democracy (29%), PASOK (12%)
and Democratic Left (6%) parties.

Alexis Tsipras led Syriza to victory in the general election held on 25 January
2015, falling short of an outright majority in Parliament by just two seats. The
following morning, Tsipras reached an agreement with Independent Greeks
party to form a coalition, and he was sworn in as Prime Minister of Greece.
Tsipras called snap elections in August 2015, resigning from his post, which
led to a month-long caretaker administration headed by judge Vassiliki
Thanou-Christophilou, Greece's first female prime minister. In the September
2015 general election, Tsipras led Syriza to another victory, winning 145 out
of 300 seats and re-forming the coalition with the Independent Greeks.

Law and justice[edit]

Main articles: Judicial system of Greece and Law enforcement in Greece

The Judiciary is independent of the executive and the legislature and
comprises three Supreme Courts: the Court of Cassation ( ), the
Council of State ( ) and the Court of Auditors
( ). The Judiciary system is also composed of civil courts,
which judge civil and penal cases and administrative courts, which judge
disputes between the citizens and the Greek administrative authorities.

The Hellenic Police (Greek: ) is the national police force of

Greece. It is a very large agency with its responsibilities ranging from road
traffic control to counter-terrorism. It was established in 1984 under Law
1481/1-10-1984 (Government Gazette 152 A) as the result of the fusion of
the Gendarmerie (, Chorofylaki) and the Cities Police (
, Astynomia Poleon) forces.[112]

Foreign relations[edit]
Main article: Foreign relations of Greece

Representation through:[113]
general consulate

embassy

liaison office

embassy in another country

no representation

Greece

Greece's foreign policy is conducted through the Ministry for Foreign Affairs
and its head, the Minister for Foreign Affairs. The current minister is Nikos
Kotzias. According to the official website, the main aims of the Ministry for
Foreign Affairs are to represent Greece before other states and international
organizations;[114] safeguarding the interests of the Greek state and of its
citizens abroad;[114] the promotion of Greek culture;[114] the fostering of
closer relations with the Greek diaspora;[114] and the promotion of
international cooperation.[114] Additionally, due to its political and
geographical proximity to Europe, Asia, the Middle East and Africa, Greece is
a country of significant geostrategic importance and is considered to be a
middle power[115] and has developed a regional policy to help promote
peace and stability in the Balkans, the Mediterranean, and the Middle East.
[116]

The Ministry identifies three issues as of particular importance to the Greek

state: Turkish challenges to Greek sovereignty rights in the Aegean Sea and
corresponding airspace;[117] the legitimacy of the Turkish Republic of
Northern Cyprus on the island of Cyprus;[117] and the Macedonia naming

dispute[117] with the small Balkan country which shares a name with
Greece's largest and second-most-populous region, also called Macedonia.

Greece is a member of numerous international organizations, including the

Council of Europe, the European Union, the Union for the Mediterranean, the
North Atlantic Treaty Organization, the Organisation internationale de la
francophonie and the United Nations, of which it is a founding member.

Military[edit]
Main article: Military of Greece

A Greek frigate Spetsai (F-453) used by the Hellenic Navy

An F-16D used by the Hellenic Air Force

An Alenia C-27J Spartan used by the Hellenic Air Force

A Leopard 2 used by the Hellenic Army

The Hellenic Armed Forces are overseen by the Hellenic National Defense
General Staff (Greek: ), with civilian
authority vested in the Ministry of National Defence. It consists of three
branches:

Hellenic Army
Hellenic Navy
Hellenic Air Force
Moreover, Greece maintains the Hellenic Coast Guard for law enforcement at
sea, search and rescue, and port operations. Though it can support the navy
during wartime, it resides under the authority of the Ministry of Shipping.

Greece has universal compulsory military service for males, while females are

exempted from conscription but may otherwise serve in the military. As of

2009, mandatory military service is nine months for male citizens between
the ages of 19 and 45. Additionally, Greek males between the age of 18 and
60 who live in strategically sensitive areas may be required to serve part-time
in the National Guard. However, as the military has sought to become a
completely professional force, the government has promised to reduce
mandatory military service or abolish it completely.

As a member of NATO, the Greek military participates in exercises and

deployments under the auspices of the alliance.

Greece spends over 7 billion USD every year on its military, or 2.3% of GDP,
the 24th-highest in the world.

Administrative divisions[edit]
Main article: Administrative divisions of Greece
Since the Kallikratis programme reform entered into effect on 1 January 2011,
Greece has consisted of thirteen regions subdivided into a total of 325
municipalities. The 54 old prefectures and prefecture-level administrations
have been largely retained as sub-units of the regions. Seven decentralized
administrations group one to three regions for administrative purposes on a
regional basis. There is also one autonomous area, Mount Athos (Greek: Agio
Oros, "Holy Mountain"), which borders the region of Central Macedonia.

Peripheries of Greece numbered.svg

No.

Region
Capital
Area (km)
Population[118]
GDP (bn)[119]

Area (sq. mi.)

Attica Athens

3,808.10

Central Greece
12.530

Lamia 15,549.31

Central Macedonia Thessaloniki 18,810.52

34.458

7,262.78

Crete Heraklion

12.854

East Macedonia and Thrace

608,182
9.054

1,470.32

3,828,434

6,003.62

8,259 3,189 623,065

Komotini

103.334

547,390

14,157.76

1,882,108

5,466.34

Epirus Ioannina

9,203.22

3,553.38

Ionian Islands

Corfu 2,306.94

North Aegean
3.579

Mytilene

336,856

890.71

5.827

207,855

4.464

3,835.91

1,481.05

199,231

Peloponnese Tripoli 15,489.96

5,980.71

577,903

11.230

10

South Aegean
7.816

5,285.99

2,040.93

309,015

11

Thessaly
12.905

12

West Greece Patras 11,350.18

4,382.33

13

West Macedonia

9,451 3,649 283,689

No.

Autonomous state Capital

Population GDP (bn)

Area (km)

(14)

Mount Athos Karyes

151

Ermoupoli

Larissa

14,036.64

Kozani

390

5,419.58

732,762

679,796

12.122
5.564

Area (sq. mi.)

1,830 N/A

Economy[edit]
Main articles: Economy of Greece and List of Greek subdivisions by GDP
Introduction[edit]

The main building of the Bank of Greece in Athens.

Thessaloniki, the capital of Macedonia, important financial and industrial

center of Northern Greece.
According to World Bank statistics for the year 2013, the economy of Greece
is the 43rd largest by nominal gross domestic product at $242 billion[120]
and 52nd largest by purchasing power parity (PPP) at $284 billion.[121]
Additionally, Greece is the 15th largest economy in the 27-member European
Union.[122] In terms of per capita income, Greece is ranked 38th or 40th in
the world at $21,910 and $25,705 for nominal GDP and PPP respectively.

Greece is a developed country with high standards of living and high Human
Development Index.[123][124][125] Its economy mainly comprises the
service sector (85.0%) and industry (12.0%), while agriculture makes up 3.0%
of the national economic output.[126] Important Greek industries include

tourism (with 14.9 million[127] international tourists in 2009, it is ranked as

the 7th most visited country in the European Union[127] and 16th in the
world[127] by the United Nations World Tourism Organization) and merchant
shipping (at 16.2%[128] of the world's total capacity, the Greek merchant
marine is the largest in the world[128]), while the country is also a
considerable agricultural producer (including fisheries) within the union.

With an economy larger than all the Balkan economies combined, Greece is
the largest economy in the Balkans,[129][130][131] and an important
regional investor.[129][130] Greece is the number-two foreign investor of
capital in Albania, the number-three foreign investor in Bulgaria, at the topthree of foreign investors in Romania and Serbia and the most important
trading partner and largest foreign investor of the Republic of Macedonia.
Greek banks open a new branch somewhere in the Balkans on an almost
weekly basis.[132][133][134] The Greek telecommunications company OTE
has become a strong investor in Yugoslavia and other Balkan countries.[132]

The Greek economy is classified as advanced[135][136][137][138][139] and

high-income.[140][141] Greece was a founding member of the Organisation
for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and the Organization of
the Black Sea Economic Cooperation (BSEC). In 1979 the accession of the
country in the European Communities and the single market was signed, and
the process was completed in 1982. Greece was accepted into the Economic
and Monetary Union of the European Union on 19 June 2000, and in January
2001 adopted the Euro as its currency, replacing the Greek drachma at an
exchange rate of 340.75 drachma to the Euro.[142] Greece is also a member
of the International Monetary Fund and the World Trade Organization, and is
ranked 24th on the KOF Globalization Index for 2013.

Financial crisis (2010present)[edit]

See also: Greek government-debt crisis

Greek public debt 19992010 compared with Eurozone average

By the end of 2009, as a result of a combination of international and local
factors the Greek economy faced its most-severe crisis since the restoration
of democracy in 1974 as the Greek government revised its deficit from an
estimated 6% to 12.7% of gross domestic product (GDP).[143][144]

In early 2010, it was revealed that through the assistance of Goldman Sachs,
JPMorgan Chase and numerous other banks, financial products were
developed which enabled the governments of Greece, Italy and many other
European countries to hide their borrowing.[145][146] Dozens of similar
agreements were concluded across Europe whereby banks supplied cash in
advance in exchange for future payments by the governments involved; in
turn, the liabilities of the involved countries were "kept off the books".[146]
[147][148][149][150][151]

According to Der Spiegel credits given to European governments were

disguised as "swaps" and consequently did not get registered as debt. As
Eurostat at the time ignored statistics involving financial derivatives, a
German derivatives dealer had commented to Der Spiegel that "The
Maastricht rules can be circumvented quite legally through swaps," and "In
previous years, Italy used a similar trick to mask its true debt with the help of
a different US bank."[151] These conditions had enabled Greek as well as
many other European governments to spend beyond their means, while
meeting the deficit targets of the European Union.[146][152]

In May 2010, the Greek government deficit was again revised and estimated
to be 13.6%[153] which was the second highest in the world relative to GDP
with Iceland in first place at 15.7% and the United Kingdom third with 12.6%.
[154] Public debt was forecast, according to some estimates, to hit 120% of
GDP during 2010.[155]

As a consequence, there was a crisis in international confidence in Greece's

ability to repay its sovereign debt. To avert such a default, in May 2010 the
other Eurozone countries, and the IMF, agreed to a rescue package which
involved giving Greece an immediate 45 billion in loans, with more funds to
follow, totaling 110 billion.[156][157] To secure the funding, Greece was
required to adopt harsh austerity measures to bring its deficit under control.
[158]

On 15 November 2010, the EU's statistics body Eurostat revised the public
finance and debt figure for Greece following an excessive deficit procedure
methodological mission in Athens, and put Greece's 2009 government deficit
at 15.4% of GDP and public debt at 126.8% of GDP making it the biggest
deficit (as a percentage of GDP) among the EU member nations.[159]

In 2011, it became apparent that the bail-out would be insufficient and a

second bail-out amounting to 130 billion ($173 billion) was agreed in 2012,
subject to strict conditions, including financial reforms and further austerity
measures.[160] As part of the deal, there was to be a 53% reduction in the
Greek debt burden to private creditors and any profits made by Eurozone
central banks on their holdings of Greek debt are to be repatriated back to
Greece.[160] Greece achieved a primary government budget surplus in 2013.
In April 2014, Greece returned to the global bond market as it successfully
sold 3 billion worth of five-year government bonds at a yield of 4.95%.
Greece returned to growth after six years of economic decline in the second
quarter of 2014,[161] and was the Eurozone's fastest-growing economy in the
third quarter.[162]

Energy[edit]
Main article: Energy in Greece

Solar-power generation potential in Greece

Electric energy production in Greece is dominated by the state owned Public
Power Corporation (known mostly by its acronym , or in English DEI). In
2009 DEI supplied for 85.6% of all electric energy demand in Greece,[163]
while the number fell to 77.3% in 2010.[163] Almost half (48%) of DEI's
power output is generated using lignite, a drop from the 51.6% in 2009.[163]

Twelve percent of Greece's electricity comes from Hydroelectric power

plants[164] and another 20% from natural gas.[164] Between 2009 and
2010, independent companies' energy production increased by 56%,[163]
from 2,709 Gigawatt hour in 2009 to 4,232 GWh in 2010.[163]

In 2012, renewable energy accounted for 13.8% of the country's total energy
consumption,[165] a rise from the 10.6% it accounted for in 2011,[165] a
figure almost equal to the EU average of 14.1% in 2012.[165] 10% of the
country's renewable energy comes from solar power,[166] while most comes
from biomass and waste recycling.[166] In line with the European
Commission's Directive on Renewable Energy, Greece aims to get 18% of its
energy from renewable sources by 2020.[167]

In 2013, according to the independent power transmission operator in Greece

() more than 20% of the electricity in Greece has been produced from

renewable energy sources and hydroelectric powerplants. This percentage in

April reached 42%. Greece currently does not have any nuclear power plants
in operation, however in 2009 the Academy of Athens suggested that
research in the possibility of Greek nuclear power plants begin.[168]

Agriculture[edit]
Main article: Agriculture in Greece

Sun-drying of Zante currant on Zakynthos

In 2010, Greece was the European Union's largest producer of cotton
(183,800 tons) and pistachios (8,000 tons)[169] and ranked second in the
production of rice (229,500 tons)[169] and olives (147,500 tons),[170] third in
the production of figs (11,000 tons) and [170] almonds (44,000 tons),[170]
tomatoes (1,400,000 tons),[170] and watermelons (578,400 tons)[170] and
fourth in the production of tobacco (22,000 tons).[169] Agriculture
contributes 3.8% of the country's GDP and employs 12.4% of the country's
labor force.

Greece is a major beneficiary of the Common Agricultural Policy of the

European Union. As a result of the country's entry to the European
Community, much of its agricultural infrastructure has been upgraded and
agricultural output increased. Between 2000 and 2007 organic farming in
Greece increased by 885%, the highest change percentage in the EU.

Maritime industry[edit]
Main articles: Greek shipping and List of ports in Greece
See also: Economy of Greece Maritime industry

Greece controls 16.2% of the world's total merchant fleet, making it the
largest in the world. Greece is ranked in the top 5 for all kinds of ships,
including first for tankers and bulk carriers.
The shipping industry is a key element of Greek economic activity dating
back to ancient times.[171] Today, shipping is one of the country's most
important industries. It accounts for 4.5% of GDP, employs about 160,000
people (4% of the workforce), and represents of the country's trade deficit.
[172]

According to a United Nations Conference on Trade and Development report

in 2011, the Greek merchant navy is the largest in the world at 16.2% of the
world's total capacity,[128] up from 15.96% in 2010.[173] This is a drop from
the equivalent number in 2006, which was 18.2%.[174] The total tonnage of
the country's merchant fleet is 202 million dwt, ranked 1st in the world.[128]

During the 1960s, the size of the Greek fleet nearly doubled, primarily
through the investment undertaken by the shipping magnates, Aristotle
Onassis and Stavros Niarchos.[175] The basis of the modern Greek maritime
industry was formed after World War II when Greek shipping businessmen
were able to amass surplus ships sold to them by the U.S. government
through the Ship Sales Act of the 1940s.[175]

In terms of total number of ships, the Greek Merchant Navy stands at 4th
worldwide, with 3,150 ships (741 of which are registered in Greece whereas
the rest 2,409 in other ports).[173] In terms of ship categories, Greece ranks
first in both tankers and dry bulk carriers, fourth in the number of containers,
and fifth in other ships.[176] However, today's fleet roster is smaller than an
all-time high of 5,000 ships in the late 1970s.[171] Additionally, the total
number of ships flying a Greek flag (includes non-Greek fleets) is 1,517, or
5.3% of the world's dwt (ranked 5th).[173]

Tourism[edit]
Main article: Tourism in Greece

Panoramic view of parts of old Corfu City, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, as
seen from Palaio Frourio. The Bay of Garitsa is to the left and the port of Corfu
is just visible on the top right of the picture. Spianada is in the foreground.

Panorama of Santorini
An important percentage of Greece's national income comes from tourism.
Tourism funds 16% of the gross domestic products which also includes the
Tourism Council and the London-Based World Travel.[177] According to
Eurostat statistics, Greece welcomed over 19.5 million tourists in 2009,[178]
which is an increase from the 17.7 million tourists it welcomed in 2007.[179]

The vast majority of visitors in Greece in 2007 came from the European
continent, numbering 12.7 million,[180] while the most visitors from a single
nationality were those from the United Kingdom, (2.6 million), followed
closely by those from Germany (2.3 million).[180] In 2010, the most visited
region of Greece was that of Central Macedonia, with 18% of the country's
total tourist flow (amounting to 3.6 million tourists), followed by Attica with
2.6 million and the Peloponnese with 1.8 million.[178] Northern Greece is the
country's most-visited geographical region, with 6.5 million tourists, while
Central Greece is second with 6.3 million.[178]

In 2010, Lonely Planet ranked Greece's northern and second-largest city of

Thessaloniki as the world's fifth-best party town worldwide, comparable to
other cities such as Dubai and Montreal.[181] In 2011, Santorini was voted as
"The World's Best Island" in Travel + Leisure.[182] Its neighboring island
Mykonos, came in fifth in the European category.[182]

Greece has attracted 26 million visitors in 2015 and is projected to attract 28

million visitors in 2016.[183][184][185]

Transport[edit]
Main article: Transport in Greece

The RioAntirrio bridge (Charilaos Trikoupis) connects mainland Greece to the

Peloponnese.
Since the 1980s, the road and rail network of Greece has been significantly
modernized. Important works include the A2 (Egnatia Odos) motorway, that
connects northwestern Greece (Igoumenitsa) with northern and northeastern
Greece (Kipoi); and the RioAntirrio bridge, the longest suspension cable
bridge in Europe (2,250 m (7,382 ft) long), connecting the Peloponnese from
Rio (7 km (4 mi) from Patras) with Antirrio in Central Greece.

Important projects that are currently underway include, the conversion of the
GR-8A, connecting Athens with Patras and further towards Pyrgos in the
western Peloponnese, into a modernised motorway throughout its length
(scheduled to be completed by 2014); upgrading unfinished sections of
motorway on the A1, connecting Athens to Thessaloniki; and the construction

of the Thessaloniki Metro.

The Athens Metropolitan Area in particular is served by some of the most

modern and efficient transport infrastructure in Europe, such as the Athens
International Airport, the privately run Attiki Odos motorway network and the
expanded Athens Metro system.

Most of the Greek islands and many main cities of Greece are connected by
air mainly from the two major Greek airlines, Olympic Air and Aegean Airlines.
Maritime connections have been improved with modern high-speed craft,
including hydrofoils and catamarans.

Railway connections play a somewhat lesser role in Greece than in many

other European countries, but they too have also been expanded, with new
suburban/commuter rail connections, serviced by Proastiakos around Athens,
towards its airport, Kiato and Chalkida; around Thessaloniki, towards the
cities of Larissa and Edessa; and around Patras. A modern intercity rail
connection between Athens and Thessaloniki has also been established, while
an upgrade to double lines in many parts of the 2,500 km (1,600 mi) network
is underway. International railway lines connect Greek cities with the rest of
Europe, the Balkans and Turkey.

Telecommunications[edit]
Main article: Telecommunications in Greece

OTE headquarters in Athens

Modern digital information and communication networks reach all areas.
There are over 35,000 km (21,748 mi) of fiber optics and an extensive openwire network. Broadband internet availability is widespread in Greece: there
were a total of 2,252,653 broadband connections as of early 2011, translating
to 20% broadband penetration.[186] According to 2012 ELSTAT data, 53,6%
of the households used the internet regularly and of which 94,8% of them
had broadband connection[187]

Internet cafs that provide net access, office applications and multiplayer
gaming are also a common sight in the country, while mobile internet on 3G

and 4G- LTE cellphone networks and Wi-Fi connections can be found almost
everywhere.[188] 3G/4G mobile internet usage has been on a sharp increase
in recent years, with a 340% increase between August 2011 and August
2012.[189] The United Nations International Telecommunication Union ranks
Greece among the top 30 countries with a highly developed information and
communications infrastructure.[190]

Medical sector[edit]
The ancient Greek physician Hippocrates is considered the "father of western
medicine",[191][192] laid the foundation for a rational approach to medicine.
Hippocrates introduced the Hippocratic Oath for physicians, which is still
relevant and in use today, and was the first to categorize illnesses as acute,
chronic, endemic and epidemic, and use terms such as, "exacerbation,
relapse, resolution, crisis, paroxysm, peak, and convalescence".[193][194]
After the fall of the Western Roman Empire and the onset of the Early Middle
Ages, the Greek tradition of medicine went into decline in Western Europe,
although it continued uninterrupted in the Eastern Roman (Byzantine)
Empire.

Notable modern Greek physicians include Andreas Anagnostakis, Panayotis

Potagos, Constantin von Economo, Georg N. Koskinas, Grigoris Lambrakis,
Amalia Fleming, Benediktos Adamantiades, Petros Kokkalis, Dimitrios
Trichopoulos, while the most known worldwide is Georgios Papanikolaou,
inventor also of the "Pap test".

Today the country is a medical services centre and an evolving destination of

medical tourism.[195][196]

Science and technology[edit]

Main article: List of Greek inventions and discoveries

Thessaloniki Science Center and Technology Museum

The General Secretariat for Research and Technology of the Ministry of
Development is responsible for designing, implementing and supervising
national research and technological policy. In 2003, public spending on
research and development (R&D) was 456.37 million euros (12.6% increase
from 2002). Total R&D spending (both public and private) as a percentage of

GDP had increased considerably since the beginning of the past decade, from
0.38% in 1989, to 0.65% in 2001.

R&D spending in Greece remained lower than the EU average of 1.93%, but,
according to Research DC, based on OECD and Eurostat data, between 1990
and 1998, total R&D expenditure in Greece enjoyed the third-highest increase
in Europe, after Finland and Ireland. Because of its strategic location, qualified
workforce and political and economic stability, many multinational companies
such as Ericsson, Siemens, Motorola and Coca-Cola have their regional
research and development headquarters in Greece.

Greece's technology parks with incubator facilities include the Science and
Technology Park of Crete (Heraklion), the Thessaloniki Technology Park, the
Lavrio Technology Park and the Patras Science Park, the Science and
Technology Park of Epirus (Ioannina). Greece has been a member of the
European Space Agency (ESA) since 2005.[197] Cooperation between ESA
and the Hellenic National Space Committee began in the early 1990s. In 1994
Greece and ESA signed their first cooperation agreement. Having formally
applied for full membership in 2003, Greece became the ESA's sixteenth
member on 16 March 2005. As member of the ESA, Greece participates in the
agency's telecommunication and technology activities, and the Global
Monitoring for Environment and Security Initiative.

As of 2007, Greece had the eighth highest percentage of tertiary enrollment

in the world (with the percentages for female students being higher than for
male) while Greeks of the Diaspora are equally active in the field of
education. Hundreds of thousands of Greek students attend western
universities every year while the faculty lists of leading Western universities
contain a striking number of Greek names.[198]

Notable Greek scientists of modern times include Georgios Papanikolaou

(inventor of the Pap test), mathematician Constantin Carathodory (known
for the Carathodory theorems and Carathodory conjecture), astronomer E.
M. Antoniadi, archaeologists Ioannis Svoronos, Spyridon Marinatos, Manolis
Andronikos (discovered the tomb of Philip II of Macedon in Vergina), Indologist
Dimitrios Galanos, such as Michael Dertouzos, Nicholas Negroponte, John
Argyris, John Iliopoulos (2007 Dirac Prize for his contributions on the physics
of the charm quark, a major contribution to the birth of the Standard Model,
the modern theory of Elementary Particles), Joseph Sifakis (2007 Turing
Award, the "Nobel Prize" of Computer Science), Christos Papadimitriou (2002
Knuth Prize, 2012 Gdel Prize), Mihalis Yannakakis (2005 Knuth Prize) and

physicist Dimitri Nanopoulos.

Demographics[edit]
Main article: Demographics of Greece

Hermoupolis, on the island of Syros, is the capital of the Cyclades.

According to the official statistical body of Greece, the Hellenic Statistical
Authority (ELSTAT), the country's total population in 2011 was 10,815,197.
[199] The birth rate in 2003 stood at 9.5 per 1,000 inhabitants, significantly
lower than the rate of 14.5 per 1,000 in 1981. At the same time, the mortality
rate increased slightly from 8.9 per 1,000 inhabitants in 1981 to 9.6 per
1,000 inhabitants in 2003.

Greek society has changed rapidly over the last several decades. Its declining
fertility rate has led to an increase in the median age, which coincides with
the overall aging of Europe. In 2001, 16.71 percent of the population were 65
years old and older, 68.12 percent between the ages of 15 and 64 years old,
and 15.18 percent were 14 years old and younger.[200]

Marriage rates began declining from almost 71 per 1,000 inhabitants in 1981
until 2002, only to increase slightly in 2003 to 61 per 1,000 and then fall
again to 51 in 2004.[200] Moreover, divorce rates have seen an increase from
191.2 per 1,000 marriages in 1991 to 239.5 per 1,000 marriages in 2004.
[200] As a result of these trends, the average Greek family is smaller and
older than in previous generations.

Cities[edit]
See also: List of cities in Greece
Almost two-thirds of the Greek people live in urban areas. Greece's largest
and most influential metropolitan centres are those of Athens and
Thessaloniki, which is commonly referred to in Greek as the
"" (lit. "co-capital"[201]), with metropolitan populations of
approximately 4 million and 1 million inhabitants respectively. Other
prominent cities with urban populations above 100,000 inhabitants include
those of Patras, Heraklion, Larissa, Volos, Rhodes, Ioannina, Chania, and
Chalcis.[202]

The table below lists the largest cities in Greece, by population contained in
their respective contiguous built up urban areas; which are either made up of
many municipalities, evident in the cases of Athens and Thessaloniki, or are
contained within a larger single municipality, case evident in most of the
smaller cities of the country. The results come from the preliminary figures of
the population census that took place in Greece in May 2011.

vte
Largest cities or towns in Greece
Hellenic Statistical Authority 2011 census[203]
Rank Name Region

Pop.

Rank Name Region

Pop.

Athens
Athens
Thessaloniki
Thessaloniki 1
Athens
Attica 3,090,508
Greece
102,223
Patras

11

Chalcis

Central

2
Thessaloniki Central Macedonia 788,952
Macedonia 85,851

12

Katerini

Central

Patras Western Greece

TrikalaThessaly

Heraklion

Crete 173,993

Larissa
75,315

Thessaly

Patras
Heraklion
Heraklion

6
Volos Thessaly
Macedonia and Thrace
7

Rhodes

213,984
14

162,591

144,449
72,959

South Aegean

16

13

81,355

SerresCentral Macedonia 76,816

15

Lamia Central Greece

Alexandroupoli

115,490

17

Eastern

Kozani

Western Macedonia

71,388

8
Ioannina
Epirus 112,486
and Thrace 70,501

18

Kavala

Eastern Macedonia

19

Kalamata

Peloponnese 69,849

Chania

Crete 108,310

10
Agrinio
Western Greece
Macedonia 66,547

106,053

20

Veria Central

Functional urban areas[edit]

Functional urban areas[204]

Population

2011
Athens

3,828,000

Thessaloniki 974,000
Patras 260,000
Irakleio

211,000

Larisa 195,000
Religion[edit]
Main articles: Church of Greece, Orthodoxy in Greece, and Religion in Greece
See also: Hellenismos, Supreme Council of Ethnikoi Hellenes, and Ancient
Greek religion

Stavronikita monastery, a Greek Orthodox monastery in Athos peninsula,

Chalkidiki

Our Lady of Tinos

The Greek Constitution recognizes Eastern Orthodoxy as the "prevailing" faith
of the country, while guaranteeing freedom of religious belief for all.[102]
[205] The Greek government does not keep statistics on religious groups and
censuses do not ask for religious affiliation. According to the U.S. State
Department, an estimated 97% of Greek citizens identify themselves as
Eastern Orthodox, belonging to the Greek Orthodox Church.[206]

In a Eurostat Eurobarometer 2010 poll, 79% of Greek citizens responded

that they "believe there is a God".[207] According to other sources, 15.8% of
Greeks describe themselves as "very religious", which is the highest among
all European countries. The survey also found that just 3.5% never attend a
church, compared to 4.9% in Poland and 59.1% in the Czech Republic.[208]

Estimates of the recognized Greek Muslim minority, which is mostly located in

Thrace, range from 98,000 to 140,000,[206][209] (about 1%) while the
immigrant Muslim community numbers between 200,000 and 300,000.
Albanian immigrants to Greece are usually associated with the Muslim
religion, although most are secular in orientation.[210] Following the 1919
1922 Greco- and the 1923 Treaty of Lausanne, Greece and Turkey agreed to a
population transfer based on cultural and religious identity. About 500,000
Muslims from Greece, predominantly those defined as Turks, but also Greek
Muslims like the Vallahades of western Macedonia, were exchanged with
approximately 1,500,000 Greeks from Turkey. However, many refugees who
settled in former Ottoman Muslim villages in Central Macedonia and were
defined as Christian Orthodox Caucasus Greeks arrived from the former
Russian Transcaucasus province of Kars Oblast after it had been retroceded to
Turkey but in the few years before the official population exchange.[211]

Greece religiosity (2001)[212][c]

Orthodoxy

98%
Islam

1.3%
Others

0.7%
Judaism has been present in Greece for more than 2,000 years. Sephardi Jews
were once a prominent community in the city of Thessaloniki, numbering
some 80,000, or more than half of the population, by 1900.[213] However,
after the German occupation of Greece and the Holocaust during World War

II, is estimated to number around 5,500 people.[206][209]

Ritual performed by Supreme Council of Ethnikoi Hellenes, an organization

preserving Hellenic Paganism, the Ancient Greek Religion.
The Roman Catholic community is estimated to be around 250,000[206][209]
of which 50,000 are Greek citizens.[206] Old Calendarists account for
500,000 followers.[209] Protestants, including the Greek Evangelical Church
and Free Evangelical Churches, stand at about 30,000.[206][209] Other
Christian minorities, such as Assemblies of God, International Church of the
Foursquare Gospel and various Pentecostal churches of the Greek Synod of
Apostolic Church total about 12,000 members.[214] The independent Free
Apostolic Church of Pentecost is the biggest Protestant denomination in
Greece with 120 churches.[215] There are no official statistics about Free
Apostolic Church of Pentecost, but the Orthodox Church estimates the
followers as 20,000.[216] The Jehovah's Witnesses report having 28,874
active members.[217]

In recent years there has been a small-scale revival of the ancient Greek
religion, with estimates of 2,000 active practitioners and an additional
100,000 "sympathisers".[218][219][220]

Languages[edit]
Main articles: Greek language, Languages of Greece, and Minorities in Greece

Distribution of major modern Greek dialect areas.

The first textual evidence of the Greek language dates back to 15th century
BC and the Linear B script which is associated with the Mycenaean
Civilization. Greek was a widely spoken lingua franca in the Mediterranean
world and beyond during Classical Antiquity, and would eventually become
the official parlance of the Byzantine Empire.

During the 19th and 20th centuries there was a major dispute known as the
Greek language question, on whether the official language of Greece should
be the archaic Katharevousa, created in the 19th century and used as the
state and scholarly language, or the Dimotiki, the form of the Greek language

which evolved naturally from Byzantine Greek and was the language of the
people. The dispute was finally resolved in 1976, when Dimotiki was made
the only official variation of the Greek language, and Katharevousa fell to
disuse.

Greece is today relatively homogeneous in linguistic terms, with a large

majority of the native population using Greek as their first or only language.
Among the Greek-speaking population, speakers of the distinctive Pontic
dialect came to Greece from Asia Minor after the Greek genocide and
constitute a sizable group. The Cappadocian dialect came to Greece due to
the genocide as well, but is endangered and is barely spoken now. Indigenous
Greek dialects include the archaic Greek spoken by the Sarakatsani,
traditionally transhument mountain shepherds of Greek Macedonia and other
parts of Northern Greece. The Tsakonian language, a distinct Greek language
deriving from Doric Greek instead of Koine Greek, is still spoken in some
villages in the southeastern Peloponnese.

Regions with a traditional presence of languages other than Greek. Today,

Greek is the dominant language throughout the country.[221][222][223][224]
[225][226]
The Muslim minority in Thrace, which amounts to approximately 0.95% of the
total population, consists of speakers of Turkish, Bulgarian (Pomaks)[226] and
Romani. Romani is also spoken by Christian Roma in other parts of the
country. Further minority languages have traditionally been spoken by
regional population groups in various parts of the country. Their use has
decreased radically in the course of the 20th century through assimilation
with the Greek-speaking majority. Today they are only maintained by the
older generations and are on the verge of extinction. This goes for the
Arvanites, an Albanian-speaking group mostly located in the rural areas
around the capital Athens, and for the Aromanians and Moglenites, also
known as Vlachs, whose language is closely related to Romanian and who
used to live scattered across several areas of mountainous central Greece.
Members of these groups ethnically identify as Greeks[227] and are today all
at least bilingual in Greek.

Near the northern Greek borders there are also some Slavicspeaking groups,
locally known as Slavomacedonian-speaking, most of whose members
identify ethnically as Greeks. It is estimated that after the population
exchanges of 1923, Macedonia had 200,000 to 400,000 Slavic speakers.[228]
The Jewish community in Greece traditionally spoke Ladino (Judeo-Spanish),

today maintained only by a few thousand speakers. Other notable minority

languages include Armenian, Georgian, and the Greco-Turkic dialect spoken
by the Urums, a community of Caucasus Greeks from the Tsalka region of
central Georgia and ethnic Greeks from southeastern Ukraine who arrived in
mainly Northern Greece as economic migrants in the 1990s.

Migration[edit]
Main articles: Greek Diaspora and Immigration to Greece

A map of the fifty countries with the largest Greek diaspora communities.
Throughout the 20th century, millions of Greeks migrated to the United
States, United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, and Germany, creating a large
Greek diaspora. Net migration started to show positive numbers from the
1970s, but until the beginning of the 1990s, the main influx was that of
returning Greek migrants or of Pontic Greeks and others from Russia, Georgia,
Turkey the Czech Republic, and elsewhere in the former Soviet Bloc.[229]

A study from the Mediterranean Migration Observatory maintains that the

2001 census recorded 762,191 persons residing in Greece without Greek
citizenship, constituting around 7% of total population. Of the non-citizen
residents, 48,560 were EU or European Free Trade Association nationals and
17,426 were Cypriots with privileged status. The majority come from Eastern
European countries: Albania (56%), Bulgaria (5%) and Romania (3%), while
migrants from the former Soviet Union (Georgia, Russia, Ukraine, Moldova,
etc.) comprise 10% of the total.[230] Some of the immigrants from Albania
are from the Greek minority in Albania centred on the region of Northern
Epirus. In addition the total Albanian national population which includes
temporary migrants and undocumented persons is around 600,000.[231]

The 2011 census recorded 9,903,268 Greek citizens (91,56%), 480,824

Albanian citizens (4,44%), 75,915 Bulgarian citizens (0,7%), 46,523 Romanian
citizenship (0,43%), 34,177 Pakistani citizens (0,32%), 27,400 Georgian
citizens (0,25%) and 247,090 people had other or unidentified citizenship
(2,3%).[232] 189,000 people of the total population of Albanian citizens were
reported in 2008 as ethnic Greeks from Southern Albania, in the historical
region of Northern Epirus.[229]

The greatest cluster of non-EU immigrant population are the larger urban

centers, especially the Municipality of Athens, with 132,000 immigrants

comprising 17% of the local population, and then Thessaloniki, with 27,000
immigrants reaching 7% of the local population. There is also a considerable
number of co-ethnics that came from the Greek communities of Albania and
the former Soviet Union.[229]

Greece, together with Italy and Spain, is a major entry point for illegal
immigrants trying to enter the EU. Illegal immigrants entering Greece mostly
do so from the border with Turkey at the Evros River and the islands of the
eastern Aegean across from Turkey (mainly Lesbos, Chios, Kos, and Samos).
In 2012, the majority of illegal immigrants entering Greece came from
Afghanistan, followed by Pakistanis and Bangladeshis.[233] In 2015, arrivals
of refugees by sea have increased dramatically mainly due to the ongoing
Syrian civil war. There were 856,723 arrivals by sea in Greece, an almost
fivefold increase to the same period of 2014, of which the Syrians represent
almost 45%.[234] An estimated 8% of the arrivals applied for asylum in
Greece.[235]

Education[edit]
Main article: Education in Greece

The Academy of Athens is Greece's national academy and the highest

research establishment in the country.

The Ionian Academy in Corfu, the first academic institution of modern Greece.
Greeks have a long tradition of valuing and investing in paideia (education).
Paideia was one of the highest societal values in the Greek and Hellenistic
world while the first European institution described as a university was
founded in 5th century Constantinople and operated in various incarnations
until the city's fall to the Ottomans in 1453.[236] The University of
Constantinople was Christian Europe's first secular institution of higher
learning since no theological subjects were taught,[237] and considering the
original meaning of the world university as a corporation of students, the
worlds first university as well.[236]

Compulsory education in Greece comprises primary schools (

, Dimotik Scholeio) and gymnasium (). Nursery schools
( , Paidiks Stathms) are popular but not compulsory.

Kindergartens (, Nipiagogeo) are now compulsory for any child

above 4 years of age. Children start primary school aged 6 and remain there
for six years. Attendance at gymnasia starts at age 12 and lasts for three
years.

Greece's post-compulsory secondary education consists of two school types:

unified upper secondary schools ( , Genik Lykei) and
technicalvocational educational schools (
, "TEE"). Post-compulsory secondary education also includes
vocational training institutes ( , "IEK")
which provide a formal but unclassified level of education. As they can accept
both Gymnasio (lower secondary school) and Lykeio (upper secondary school)
graduates, these institutes are not classified as offering a particular level of
education.

According to the Framework Law (3549/2007), Public higher education

"Highest Educational Institutions" ( , Antata
Ekpaideytik Idrmata, "") consists of two parallel sectors:the University
sector (Universities, Polytechnics, Fine Arts Schools, the Open University) and
the Technological sector (Technological Education Institutions (TEI) and the
School of Pedagogic and Technological Education). There are also State NonUniversity Tertiary Institutes offering vocationally oriented courses of shorter
duration (2 to 3 years) which operate under the authority of other Ministries.
Students are admitted to these Institutes according to their performance at
national level examinations taking place after completion of the third grade of
Lykeio. Additionally, students over twenty-two years old may be admitted to
the Hellenic Open University through a form of lottery. The Capodistrian
University of Athens is the oldest university in the eastern Mediterranean.

The Greek education system also provides special kindergartens, primary and
secondary schools for people with special needs or difficulties in learning.
Specialist gymnasia and high schools offering musical, theological and
physical education also exist.

Healthcare system[edit]
Main article: Health care in Greece

Athens Eye Hospital

Greece has universal health care. In a 2000 World Health Organization report,
its health care system ranked 14th in overall performance of 191 countries
surveyed.[238] In a 2013 Save the Children report, Greece was ranked the
19th best country (out of 176 countries surveyed) for the state of mothers
and newborn babies.[239] In 2010, there were 138 hospitals with 31,000
beds in the country, but on 1 July 2011, the Ministry for Health and Social
Solidarity announced its plans to decrease the number to 77 hospitals with
36,035 beds, as a necessary reform to reduce expenses and further enhance
healthcare standards.[240][disputed discuss] Greece's healthcare
expenditures as a percentage of GDP were 9.6% in 2007 according to a 2011
OECD report, just above the OECD average of 9.5%.[241] The country has the
largest number of doctors-to-population ratio of any OECD country.[241]

Life expectancy in Greece is 80.3 years, above the OECD average of 79.5,
[241] and among the highest in the world. The island of Icaria has the highest
percentage of 90-year-olds in the world; approximately 33% of the islanders
make it to 90 (and beyond).[242] Blue Zones author Dan Buettner wrote an
article in The New York Times about the longevity of Icarians under the title
"The Island Where People Forget to Die".[243]

The 2011 OECD report showed that Greece had the largest percentage of
adult daily smokers of any of the 34 OECD members.[241] The country's
obesity rate is 18.1%, which is above the OECD average of 15.1%, but
considerably lower than the American rate of 27.7%.[241] In 2008, Greece
had the highest rate of perceived good health in the OECD, at 98.5%.[244]
Infant mortality is one of the lowest in the developed world, with a rate of 3.1
deaths per 1,000 live births.[241]

Culture[edit]
Main articles: Culture of Greece, Greeks, and List of Greeks

The ancient theatre of Epidaurus, still used for theatrical plays.

The culture of Greece has evolved over thousands of years, beginning in
Mycenaean Greece and continuing most notably into Classical Greece,
through the influence of the Roman Empire and its Greek Eastern
continuation, the Eastern Roman or Byzantine Empire. Other cultures and
nations, such as the Latin and Frankish states, the Ottoman Empire, the
Venetian Republic, the Genoese Republic, and the British Empire have also
left their influence on modern Greek culture, although historians credit the

Greek War of Independence with revitalising Greece and giving birth to a

single, cohesive entity of its multi-faceted culture.

Adamantios Korais, key figure of the modern Greek Enlightenment and with
significant influence on the modern Greek language
In ancient times, Greece was the birthplace of Western culture.[245] Modern
democracies owe a debt to Greek beliefs in government by the people, trial
by jury, and equality under the law. The ancient Greeks pioneered in many
fields that rely on systematic thought, including biology, geometry, history,
[246] philosophy,[247] physics and mathematics.[248] They introduced such
important literary forms as epic and lyric poetry, history, tragedy, and
comedy. In their pursuit of order and proportion, the Greeks created an ideal
of beauty that strongly influenced Western art.[249]

Arts[edit]
See also: Greek art, Byzantine art, and Modern Greek art
Artistic production in Greece began in the prehistoric pre-Greek Cycladic and
the Minoan civilizations, both of which were influenced by local traditions and
the art of ancient Egypt.

There were several interconnected traditions of painting in ancient Greece.

Due to their technical differences, they underwent somewhat differentiated
developments. Not all painting techniques are equally well represented in the
archaeological record. The most respected form of art, according to authors
like Pliny or Pausanias, were individual, mobile paintings on wooden boards,
technically described as panel paintings. Also, the tradition of wall painting in
Greece goes back at least to the Minoan and Mycenaean Bronze Age, with
the lavish fresco decoration of sites like Knossos, Tiryns and Mycenae. Much
of the figural or architectural sculpture of ancient Greece was painted
colourfully. This aspect of Greek stonework is described as polychrome (from
Greek , = many and = colour).

Ancient Greek sculpture was composed almost entirely of marble or bronze;

with cast bronze becoming the favoured medium for major works by the early
5th century. Both marble and bronze are fortunately easy to form and very
durable. Chryselephantine sculptures, used for temple cult images and luxury
works, used gold, most often in leaf form and ivory for all or parts (faces and

hands) of the figure, and probably gems and other materials, but were much
less common, and only fragments have survived. By the early 19th century,
the systematic excavation of ancient Greek sites had brought forth a plethora
of sculptures with traces of notably multicolored surfaces. It was not until
published findings by German archaeologist Vinzenz Brinkmann in the late
20th and early 21st century that the painting of ancient Greek sculptures
became an established fact.

Statue of Andreas Miaoulis in Ermoupoli by Georgios Bonanos.

The art production continued also during the Byzantine era. The most salient
feature of this new aesthetic was its abstract, or anti-naturalistic character.
If classical art was marked by the attempt to create representations that
mimicked reality as closely as possible, Byzantine art seems to have
abandoned this attempt in favor of a more symbolic approach. The Byzantine
painting concentrated mainly on icons and hagiographies.

Post Byzantine art schools include the Cretan School and Heptanese School.

The firt artistic movement in the Greek Kingdom can be considered the Greek
academic art of the 19th century (Munich School). Notable modern Greek
painters include Nikolaos Gyzis, Georgios Jakobides, Theodoros Vryzakis,
Nikiforos Lytras, Konstantinos Volanakis, Nikos Engonopoulos and Yannis
Tsarouchis, while some notable sculptors are Pavlos Prosalentis, Ioannis
Kossos, Leonidas Drosis, Georgios Bonanos, Georgios Vitalis and Yannoulis
Chalepas.

Theatre[edit]
See also: Theatre of ancient Greece and Modern Greek theatre
Theatre was born in Greece.[250] The city-state of Classical Athens, which
became a significant cultural, political, and military power during this period,
was its centre, where it was institutionalised as part of a festival called the
Dionysia, which honoured the god Dionysus. Tragedy (late 6th century BC),
comedy (486 BC), and the satyr play were the three dramatic genres to
emerge there.

During the Byzantine period, the theatrical art was heavily declined.
According to Marios Ploritis, the only form survived was the folk theatre
(Mimos and Pantomimos), despite the hostility of the official state.[251] Later,
during the Ottoman period, the main theatrical folk art was the Karagiozis.
The renaissance which led to the modern Greek theatre, took place in the
Venetian Crete. Significal dramatists include Vitsentzos Kornaros and
Georgios Chortatzis.

Nobile Teatro di San Giacomo di Corf, the first theatre and opera house of
modern Greece and the place where the first Greek opera, Spyridon Xyndas'
"The Parliamentary Candidate" based on an exclusively Greek libretto was
performed.
The modern Greek theatre was born after the Greek independence, in the
early 19th century, and initially was influenced by the Heptanesean theatre
and melodrama, such as the Italian opera. The Nobile Teatro di San Giacomo
di Corf was the first theatre and opera house of modern Greece and the
place where the first Greek opera, Spyridon Xyndas' The Parliamentary
Candidate (based on an exclusively Greek libretto) was performed. During the
late 19th and early 20th century, the Athenian theatre scene was dominated
by revues, musical comedies, operettas and nocturnes and notable
playwrights included Spyridon Samaras, Dionysios Lavrangas, Theophrastos
Sakellaridis and others.

The National Theatre of Greece was founded in 1880. Notable playwrights of

the modern Greek theatre include Gregorios Xenopoulos, Nikos Kazantzakis,
Pantelis Horn, Alekos Sakellarios and Iakovos Kambanelis, while notable
actors include Cybele Andrianou, Marika Kotopouli, Aimilios Veakis, Orestis
Makris, Katina Paxinou, Manos Katrakis and Dimitris Horn. Significant
directors include Dimitris Rontiris, Alexis Minotis and Karolos Koun.

Philosophy[edit]
Main articles: Ancient Greek philosophy and Modern Greek Enlightenment

Statue of Plato, Athens. "The safest general characterisation of the European

philosophical tradition is that it consists of a series of footnotes to Plato."
(Alfred North Whitehead, Process and Reality, 1929).
Most western philosophical traditions began in Ancient Greece in the 6th

century BC. The first philosophers are called "Presocratics," which designates
that they came before Socrates, whose contributions mark a turning point in
western thought. The Presocratics were from the western or the eastern
colonies of Greece and only fragments of their original writings survive, in
some cases merely a single sentence.

A new period of philosophy started with Socrates. Like the Sophists, he

rejected entirely the physical speculations in which his predecessors had
indulged, and made the thoughts and opinions of people his starting-point.
Aspects of Socrates were first united from Plato, who also combined with
them many of the principles established by earlier philosophers, and
developed the whole of this material into the unity of a comprehensive
system.

Aristotle of Stagira, the most important disciple of Plato, shared with his
teacher the title of the greatest philosopher of antiquity. But while Plato had
sought to elucidate and explain things from the supra-sensual standpoint of
the forms, his pupil preferred to start from the facts given us by experience.
Except from these three most significant Greek philosophers other known
schools of Greek philosophy from other founders during ancient times were
Stoicism, Epicureanism, Skepticism and Neoplatonism.[252]

Byzantine philosophy refers to the distinctive philosophical ideas of the

philosophers and scholars of the Byzantine Empire, especially between the
8th and 15th centuries. It was characterised by a Christian world-view, but
one which could draw ideas directly from the Greek texts of Plato, Aristotle,
and the Neoplatonists.

In modern period, Diafotismos (Greek: , "enlightenment",

"illumination") was the Greek expression of the Age of Enlightenment and its
philosophical and political ideas. Some notable representatives were
Adamantios Korais, Rigas Feraios and Theophilos Kairis.

Other modern era Greek philosophers include Cornelius Castoriadis, Nicos

Poulantzas and Christos Yannaras.

Literature[edit]

Main articles: Greek literature and Modern Greek literature

Odysseas Elytis (left), and Giorgos Seferis (right), Nobel laureates in

Literature.
Greek literature can be divided into three main categories: Ancient, Byzantine
and modern Greek literature.

At the beginning of Greek literature stand the two monumental works of

Homer: the Iliad and the Odyssey. Though dates of composition vary, these
works were fixed around 800 BC or after. In the classical period many of the
genres of western literature became more prominent. Lyrical poetry, odes,
pastorals, elegies, epigrams; dramatic presentations of comedy and tragedy;
historiography, rhetorical treatises, philosophical dialectics, and philosophical
treatises all arose in this period. The two major lyrical poets were Sappho and
Pindar. The Classical era also saw the dawn of drama.

Of the hundreds of tragedies written and performed during the classical age,
only a limited number of plays by three authors have survived: those of
Aeschylus, Sophocles, and Euripides. The surviving plays by Aristophanes are
also a treasure trove of comic presentation, while Herodotus and Thucydides
are two of the most influential historians in this period. The greatest prose
achievement of the 4th century was in philosophy with the works of the three
great philosophers.

Byzantine literature refers to literature of the Byzantine Empire written in

Atticizing, Medieval and early Modern Greek, and it is the expression of the
intellectual life of the Byzantine Greeks during the Christian Middle Ages.

Modern Greek literature refers to literature written in common Modern Greek,

emerging from late Byzantine times in the 11th century. The Cretan
Renaissance poem Erotokritos is undoubtedly the masterpiece of this period
of Greek literature. It is a verse romance written around 1600 by Vitsentzos
Kornaros (15531613). Later, during the period of Greek enlightenment
(Diafotismos), writers such as Adamantios Korais and Rigas Feraios prepared
with their works the Greek Revolution (18211830).

Leading literary figures of modern Greece include Dionysios Solomos,

Andreas Kalvos, Angelos Sikelianos, Emmanuel Rhoides, Demetrius Vikelas,
Kostis Palamas, Penelope Delta, Yannis Ritsos, Alexandros Papadiamantis,
Nikos Kazantzakis, Andreas Embeirikos, Kostas Karyotakis, Gregorios
Xenopoulos, Constantine P. Cavafy, Nikos Kavvadias, Kostas Varnalis and Kiki
Dimoula. Two Greek authors have been awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature:
George Seferis in 1963 and Odysseas Elytis in 1979.

Music and dances[edit]

Main article: Music of Greece

Cretan dancers of traditional folk music

Rebetes in Karaiskaki, Piraeus (1933). Left Markos Vamvakaris with bouzouki.

Greek vocal music extends far back into ancient times where mixed-gender
choruses performed for entertainment, celebration and spiritual reasons.
Instruments during that period included the double-reed aulos and the
plucked string instrument, the lyre, especially the special kind called a
kithara. Music played an important role in the education system during
ancient times. Boys were taught music from the age of six. Later influences
from the Roman Empire, Middle East, and the Byzantine Empire also had
effect on Greek music.

While the new technique of polyphony was developing in the West, the
Eastern Orthodox Church resisted any type of change. Therefore, Byzantine
music remained monophonic and without any form of instrumental
accompaniment. As a result, and despite certain attempts by certain Greek
chanters (such as Manouel Gazis, Ioannis Plousiadinos or the Cypriot
Ieronimos o Tragoudistis), Byzantine music was deprived of elements of which
in the West encouraged an unimpeded development of art. However, this
method which kept music away from polyphony, along with centuries of
continuous culture, enabled monophonic music to develop to the greatest
heights of perfection. Byzantium presented the monophonic Byzantine chant;
a melodic treasury of inestimable value for its rhythmical variety and
expressive power.

Along with the Byzantine (Church) chant and music, the Greek people also
cultivated the Greek folk song which is divided into two cycles, the akritic and

klephtic. The akritic was created between the 9th and 10th centuries and
expressed the life and struggles of the akrites (frontier guards) of the
Byzantine empire, the most well known being the stories associated with
Digenes Akritas. The klephtic cycle came into being between the late
Byzantine period and the start of the Greek War of Independence. The
klephtic cycle, together with historical songs, paraloghes (narrative song or
ballad), love songs, mantinades, wedding songs, songs of exile and dirges
express the life of the Greeks. There is a unity between the Greek people's
struggles for freedom, their joys and sorrow and attitudes towards love and
death.

Manos Hatzidakis (left) and Mikis Theodorakis (right), two of the most popular
and significant Greek songwriters
The Heptanesean kantdhes ( 'serenades'; sing.: ) became
the forerunners of the Greek modern song, influencing its development to a
considerable degree. For the first part of the next century, several Greek
composers continued to borrow elements from the Heptanesean style. The
most successful songs during the period 18701930 were the so-called
Athenian serenades, and the songs performed on stage (
'theatrical revue songs') in revue, operettas and nocturnes that
were dominating Athens' theater scene.

Rebetiko, initially a music associated with the lower classes, later (and
especially after the population exchange between Greece and Turkey)
reached greater general acceptance as the rough edges of its overt
subcultural character were softened and polished, sometimes to the point of
unrecognizability. It was the base of the later lak (song of the people). The
leading performers of the genre include Vassilis Tsitsanis, Grigoris Bithikotsis,
Stelios Kazantzidis, George Dalaras, Haris Alexiou and Glykeria.

Regarding the classical music, it was through the Ionian islands (which were
under western rule and influence) that all the major advances of the western
European classical music were introduced to mainland Greeks. The region is
notable for the birth of the first School of modern Greek classical music
(Heptanesean or Ionian School, Greek: ), established in
1815. Prominent representatives of this genre include Nikolaos Mantzaros,
Spyridon Xyndas, Spyridon Samaras and Pavlos Carrer. Manolis Kalomiris is
considered the founder of the Greek National School of Music.

Maria Callas, one of the most renowned and influential opera singers of the
20th century
In the 20th century, Greek composers have had a significant impact on the
development of avant garde and modern classical music, with figures such as
Iannis Xenakis, Nikos Skalkottas, and Dimitri Mitropoulos achieving
international prominence. At the same time, composers and musicians such
as Mikis Theodorakis, Manos Hatzidakis, Eleni Karaindrou, Vangelis and Demis
Roussos garnered an international following for their music, which include
famous film scores such as Zorba the Greek, Serpico, Never on Sunday,
America America, Eternity and a Day, Chariots of Fire, Blade Runner, among
others. Greek American composers known for their film scores include Yanni
and Basil Poledouris. Notable Greek opera singers and classical musicians of
the 20th and 21st century include Maria Callas, Nana Mouskouri, Mario
Frangoulis, Leonidas Kavakos, Dimitris Sgouros and others.

During the dictatorship of the Colonels, the music of Mikis Theodorakis was
banned by the junta and the composer was jailed, internally exiled, and put in
a concentration camp,[253] before finally being allowed to leave Greece due
to international reaction to his detention. Released during the junta years,
Anthrope Agapa, ti Fotia Stamata (Make Love, Stop the Gunfire), by the pop
group Poll is considered the first anti-war protest song in the history of Greek
rock.[254] The song was echoing the hippie slogan Make love, not war and
was inspired directly by the Vietnam War, becoming a "smash hit" in Greece.
[255]

Greece participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 35 times after its debut at
the 1974 Contest. In 2005, Greece won with the song "My Number One",
performed by Greek-Swedish singer Elena Paparizou. The song received 230
points with 10 sets of 12 points from Belgium, Bulgaria, Hungary, the United
Kingdom, Turkey, Albania, Cyprus, Serbia & Montenegro, Sweden and
Germany and also became a smash hit in different countries and especially in
Greece. The 51st Eurovision Song Contest was held in Athens at the Olympic
Indoor Hall of the Athens Olympic Sports Complex in Maroussi, with hosted by
Maria Menounos and Sakis Rouvas.

Cuisine[edit]
Main articles: Greek cuisine and Greek wine

Classic Greek salad

Greek cuisine is characteristic of the healthy Mediterranean diet, which is
epitomized by dishes of Crete.[256] Greek cuisine incorporates fresh
ingredients into a variety of local dishes such as moussaka, pastitsio, classic
Greek salad, fasolada, spanakopita and souvlaki. Some dishes can be traced
back to ancient Greece like skordalia (a thick pure of walnuts, almonds,
crushed garlic and olive oil), lentil soup, retsina (white or ros wine sealed
with pine resin) and pasteli (candy bar with sesame seeds baked with honey).
Throughout Greece people often enjoy eating from small dishes such as meze
with various dips such as tzatziki, grilled octopus and small fish, feta cheese,
dolmades (rice, currants and pine kernels wrapped in vine leaves), various
pulses, olives and cheese. Olive oil is added to almost every dish.

Some sweet desserts include melomakarona, diples and galaktoboureko, and

drinks such as ouzo, metaxa and a variety of wines including retsina. Greek
cuisine differs widely from different parts of the mainland and from island to
island. It uses some flavorings more often than other Mediterranean cuisines:
oregano, mint, garlic, onion, dill and bay laurel leaves. Other common herbs
and spices include basil, thyme and fennel seed. Many Greek recipes,
especially in the northern parts of the country, use "sweet" spices in
combination with meat, for example cinnamon and cloves in stews.

Greek taverna

Spanakopita

Metaxa

Ouzo

Frapp coffee

Assyrtiko grapes
Cinema[edit]
Main article: Greek cinema

Director Theodoros Angelopoulos, winner of the Palme d'Or in 1998

Cinema first appeared in Greece in 1896 but the first actual cine-theatre was
opened in 1907. In 1914 the Asty Films Company was founded and the
production of long films began. Golfo (), a well known traditional love
story, is considered the first Greek feature film, although there were several
minor productions such as newscasts before this. In 1931 Orestis Laskos
directed Daphnis and Chloe ( ), containing the first nude
scene in the history of European cinema; it was also the first Greek movie
which was played abroad. In 1944 Katina Paxinou was honoured with the Best
Supporting Actress Academy Award for For Whom the Bell Tolls.

The 1950s and early 1960s are considered by many to be a golden age of
Greek cinema. Directors and actors of this era were recognized as important
historical figures in Greece and some gained international acclaim:Nikos
Nikolaidis, Irene Papas, Melina Mercouri, Mihalis Kakogiannis, Alekos
Sakellarios, Nikos Tsiforos, Iakovos Kambanelis, Katina Paxinou, Nikos
Koundouros, Ellie Lambeti, and others. More than sixty films per year were
made, with the majority having film noir elements. Notable films were
(1955 directed by Giorgos Tzavellas), (1951,
directed by Grigoris Grigoriou), O Drakos (1956 directed by Nikos
Koundouros), Stella (1955 directed by Cacoyannis and written by
Kampanellis).

Cacoyannis also directed Zorba the Greek with Anthony Quinn which received
Best Director, Best Adapted Screenplay and Best Film nominations. Finos Film
also contributed to this period with movies such as ,
, Madalena, ,

 and many more. During the 1970s and 1980s Theo Angelopoulos
directed a series of notable and appreciated movies. His film Eternity and a
Day won the Palme d'Or and the Prize of the Ecumenical Jury at the 1998
Cannes Film Festival.

There were also internationally renowned filmmakers in the Greek diaspora,

such as the Greek-French Costa-Gavras and the Greek-Americans Elia Kazan,
John Cassavetes and Alexander Payne.

Sports[edit]
Main article: Sports in Greece

Spyridon Louis entering the Panathenaic Stadium at the end of the marathon;
1896 Summer Olympics.

Angelos Charisteas scoring Greece's winning goal in the UEFA Euro 2004 Final
Greece is the birthplace of the ancient Olympic Games, first recorded in 776
BC in Olympia, and hosted the modern Olympic Games twice, the inaugural
1896 Summer Olympics and the 2004 Summer Olympics. During the parade
of nations Greece is always called first, as the founding nation of the ancient
precursor of modern Olympics. The nation has competed at every Summer
Olympic Games, one of only four countries to have done so. Having won a
total of 110 medals (30 gold, 42 silver and 38 bronze), Greece is ranked 32nd
by gold medals in the all-time Summer Olympic medal count. Their best ever
performance was in the 1896 Summer Olympics, when Greece finished
second in the medal table with 10 gold medals.

Greece won the silver medal at the 2006 FIBA World Championship after their
memorable 10195 win against the USA.
The Greek national football team, ranking 12th in the world in 2014 (and
having reached a high of 8th in the world in 2008 and 2011),[257] were
crowned European Champions in Euro 2004 in one of the biggest upsets in
the history of the sport and became one of the most successful national
teams in European football, being one of only nine national teams to have
won the UEFA European Championship.[258] The Greek Super League is the

highest professional football league in the country comprising sixteen teams.

The most successful are Olympiacos, Panathinaikos, AEK Athens, PAOK and
Aris Thessaloniki.

The Greek national basketball team has a decades-long tradition of

excellence in the sport, being considered among the world's top basketball
powers. As of 2012, it ranked 4th in the world and 2nd in Europe.[259] They
have won the European Championship twice in 1987 and 2005,[260] and
have reached the final four in two of the last four FIBA World Championships,
taking the second place in the world in 2006 FIBA World Championship, after
a spectacular 10195 win against Team USA in the tournament's semifinal.
The domestic top basketball league, A1 Ethniki, is composed of fourteen
teams. The most successful Greek teams are Olympiacos, Panathinaikos, Aris
Thessaloniki, AEK Athens and P.A.O.K. Greek basketball teams are the most
successful in European basketball the last 25 years, having won as many as 9
Euroleagues since the establishment of the modern era Euroleague Final Four
format in 1988, while no other nation has won more than 4 Euroleague
championships in this period. Besides the 9 Euroleagues, Greek basketball
teams (Panathinaikos, Olympiacos, Aris Thessaloniki, AEK Athens, P.A.O.K,
Maroussi) have won 3 Triple Crowns, 5 Saporta Cups, 2 Kora Cups and 1 FIBA
Europe Champions Cup. After the 2005 European Championship triumph of
the Greek national basketball team, Greece became the reigning European
Champion in both football and basketball.

The Greece women's national water polo team have emerged as one of the
leading powers in the world, becoming World Champions after their gold
medal win against the hosts China at the 2011 World Championship. They
have also won the silver medal at the 2004 Summer Olympics, the gold
medal at the 2005 World League and the silver medals at the 2010 and 2012
European Championships. The Greece men's national water polo team
became the third best water polo team in the world in 2005, after their win
against Croatia in the bronze medal game at the 2005 World Aquatics
Championships in Canada. The domestic top water polo leagues, Greek Men's
Water Polo League and Greek Women's Water Polo League are considered
amongst the top national leagues in European water polo, as its clubs have
made significant success in European competitions. In men's European
competitions, Olympiacos has won the Champions League,[261] the
European Super Cup and the Triple Crown in 2002[262] becoming the first
club in Water polo history to win every title in which it has competed within a
single year (National championship, National cup, Champions League and
European Super Cup),[263] while NC Vouliagmeni has won the LEN Cup
Winners' Cup in 1997. In women's European competitions, Greek water polo
teams (NC Vouliagmeni, Glyfada NSC, Olympiacos, Ethnikos Piraeus) are
amongst the most successful in European water pol, having won as many as

4 LEN Champions Cups, 3 LEN Trophies and 2 European Supercups.

The Greek men's national volleyball team has won two bronze medals, one in
the European Volleyball Championship and another one in the European
Volleyball League, a 5th place in the Olympic Games and a 6th place in the
FIVB Volleyball Men's World Championship. The Greek league, the A1 Ethniki,
is considered one of the top volleyball leagues in Europe and the Greek clubs
have made significant success in European competitions. Olympiacos is the
most successful volleyball club in the country having won the most domestic
titles and being the only Greek club to have won European titles; they have
won two CEV Cups, they have been CEV Champions League runners-up twice
and they have played in as many as 12 Final Fours in the European
competitions, making them one of the most traditional volleyball clubs in
Europe. Iraklis have also seen significant success in European competitions,
having been three times runners-up of the CEV Champions League.

In other sports, cricket and handball are relatively popular in Corfu and Veria
respectively.

Mythology[edit]
Main article: Greek mythology

Zeus was the King of the ancient Greek dodekatheon.

The numerous gods of the ancient Greek religion as well as the mythical
heroes and events of the ancient Greek epics (The Odyssey and The Iliad)
and other pieces of art and literature from the time make up what is
nowadays colloquially referred to as Greek mythology. Apart from serving a
religious function, the mythology of the ancient Greek world also served a
cosmological role as it was meant to try to explain how the world was formed
and operated.

The principal gods of the ancient Greek religion were the Dodekatheon, or the
Twelve Gods, who lived on the top of Mount Olympus. The most important of
all ancient Greek gods was Zeus, the king of the gods, who was married to
Hera, who was also Zeus's sister. The other Greek gods that made up the
Twelve Olympians were Demeter, Ares, Poseidon, Athena, Dionysus, Apollo,
Artemis, Aphrodite, Hephaestus and Hermes. Apart from these twelve gods,
Greeks also had a variety of other mystical beliefs, such as nymphs and other

magical creatures.

Public holidays and festivals[edit]

Main article: Public holidays in Greece

Procession of the epitaphios, Holy Friday

According to Greek law, every Sunday of the year is a public holiday. In
addition, there are four mandatory official public holidays: 25 March (Greek
Independence Day), Easter Monday, 15 August (Assumption or Dormition of
the Holy Virgin), and 25 December (Christmas). 1 May (Labour Day) and 28
October (Ohi Day) are regulated by law as being optional but it is customary
for employees to be given the day off. There are, however, more public
holidays celebrated in Greece than are announced by the Ministry of Labour
each year as either obligatory or optional. The list of these non-fixed national
holidays rarely changes and has not changed in recent decades, giving a total
of eleven national holidays each year.

In addition to the national holidays, there are public holidays that are not
celebrated nationwide, but only by a specific professional group or a local
community. For example, many municipalities have a "Patron Saint" parallel
to "Name Days", or a "Liberation Day". On such days it is customary for
schools to take the day off.

Notable festivals include Patras Carnival, Athens Festival and various local
wine festivals. The city of Thessaloniki is also home of a number of festivals
and events. The Thessaloniki International Film Festival is one of the most
important film festivals in Southern Europe.[264]

See also[edit]
Greece portal
Mediterranean portal
Ancient Greece portal
icon

Geography portal
Europe portal

European Union portal

NATO portal
Civilization
Greek mythology
Index of Greece-related articles
International rankings of Greece
Macedonia naming dispute
Outline of Greece
Notes[edit]
Jump up ^ On 14 August 1974 Greek forces withdrew from the integrated
military structure of NATO in protest at the Turkish occupation of northern
Cyprus; Greece rejoined NATO in 1980.
Jump up ^ For a diachronic analysis of the Greek party system see Pappas
2003, pp. 90114, who distinguishes three distinct types of party system
which developed in consecutive order, namely, a predominant-party system
(from 1952 to 1963), a system of polarised pluralism (between 1963 and
1981), and a two-party system (since 1981).
Jump up ^ The newest polls show about 20% Greek citizens being irreligious
which is much more than 1%. Ultimately, the statistics are disputed until the
results of the new census.
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