History of modern Greece

History of Greece



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The history of modern Greece covers the history of Greece from the recognition of its
autonomy from the Ottoman Empire by the Great Powers (the United Kingdom, France, and
Russia) in 1828, after the Greek War of Independence, to its present day status as a sovereign
country.



Contents

1 Background
2 Administration of Ioannis Kapodistrias
3 Assassination and creation of the Kingdom of Greece
4 Reign of King Otto, 18331863
5 Reign of King George I, 18641913
6 Wars and crises, 19121922
o 6.1 Balkan Wars
o 6.2 World War I
o 6.3 Greco-Turkish War (19191922)
7 Republic and Monarchy (19221940)
8 World War II
9 Civil War
10 Postwar Greece (19501973)
o 10.1 Greek military junta of 19671974
11 Transition to democracy (19732009)
12 Economic crisis of 2009-2012
o 12.1 Coalition Government
13 See also
14 References
15 Further reading







Background
Main articles: Frankokratia, Ottoman Greece and Greek War of Independence
The Byzantine Empire had ruled most of the Greek-speaking world since late Antiquity, but was
fatally weakened since the sacking of Constantinople by the Latin Crusaders in 1204. The
establishment of Catholic Latin states on Greek soil, and the struggles of the Orthodox Byzantine
Greeks against them, led to the emergence of a distinct "Greek" national identity. The Byzantine
Empire was restored by the Palaiologos dynasty in 1261, but it was a shadow of its former self,
and constant civil wars and foreign attacks in the 14th century brought about its terminal decline.
As a result, most of Greece gradually became part of the Ottoman Empire in the late 14th and
early 15th century, culminating in the Fall of Constantinople in 1453, the conquest of the Duchy
of Athens in 1458, and of the Despotate of the Morea in 1460.
Ottoman control was largely absent in the mountainous interior of Greece, and many fled there,
often becoming brigands. Otherwise, only the islands of the Aegean and a few coastal fortresses
on the mainland, under Venetian and Genoese rule, remained free from Ottoman rule, but by the
mid-16th century, the Ottomans had conquered most of them as well. Rhodes fell in 1522,
Cyprus in 1571, and the Venetians retained Crete until 1670. The Ionian Islands were only
briefly ruled by the Ottomans (Kefalonia from 1479 to 1481 and from 1485 to 1500), and
remained primarily under the rule of Venice.
The first large-scale insurrection against Ottoman rule was the Orlov Revolt of the early 1770s,
but it was brutally repressed. The same time, however, also marks the start of the Modern Greek
Enlightenment, as Greeks who studied in Western Europe brought knowledge and ideas back to
their homeland, and as Greek merchants and shipowners increased their wealth. As a result,
especially in the aftermath of the French Revolution, liberal and nationalist ideas began to spread
across the Greek lands.
In 1821, the Greeks rose up against the Ottoman Empire. Initial successes were followed by
infighting, which had almost seen the Greek struggle collapse; nevertheless, the prolongation of
the fight forced the Great Powers (Britain, Russia and France) to recognize the claims of the
Greek rebels to separate statehood (Treaty of London) and intervene against the Ottomans at the
Battle of Navarino. Greece was initially to be an autonomous state under Ottoman suzerainty, but
by 1832, in the Treaty of Constantinople, it was recognized as a fully independent kingdom. In
the meantime, in 1827 the 3rd National Assembly of the Greek insurgents called upon Ioannis
Kapodistrias, a former foreign minister of Russia, to take over the governance of the fledgling
state.



Administration of Ioannis Kapodistrias


Ioannis Kapodistrias.
On his arrival, Kapodistrias launched a major reform and modernisation programme that covered
all areas. He re-established military unity, bringing an end to the second phase of the civil war;
re-organised the military, which was then able to reconquer territory lost to the Ottoman military
during the civil wars, and introduced the first modern quarantine system in Greece, which
brought epidemics like typhoid fever, cholera and dysentery under control for the first time since
the start of the War of Independence;
Kapodistrias negotiated with the Great Powers and the Ottoman Empire the borders and the
degree of independence of the Greek state and signed the peace treaty that ended the War of
Independence with the Ottomans; introduced the phoenix, the first modern Greek currency;
organised local administration; and, in an effort to raise the living standards of the population,
introduced the cultivation of the potato into Greece.

Face and Obverse of a Phoenix coin.
Furthermore, as part of his programme he tried to undermine the authority of the traditional clans
or dynasties which he considered the useless legacy of a bygone and obsolete era.
[2]
However, he
underestimated the political and military strength of the capetanei ( commanders)
who had led the revolt against Ottoman Empire in 1821, and who had expected a leadership role
in the post-revolution Government. When a dispute between the capetanei of Laconia and the
appointed governor of the province escalated into an armed conflict, he called in Russian troops
to restore order, because much of the army was controlled by capetanei who were part of the
rebellion.
George Finlay's 1861 History of Greek Revolution records that by 1831 Kapodistrias's
government had become hated, chiefly by the independent Maniates, but also by the Roumeliotes
and the rich and influential merchant families of Hydra, Spetses and Psara. The Hydriots'
customs dues were the chief source of the municipalities' revenue, so they refused to hand these
over to Kapodistrias. It appears that Kapodistrias had refused to convene the National Assembly
and was ruling as a despot, possibly influenced by his Russian experiences. The municipality of
Hydra instructed Admiral Miaoulis and Mavrocordatos to go to Poros and to seize the Hellenic
Navy's fleet there. This Miaoulis did, the intention being to prevent a blockade of the islands, so
for a time it seemed as if the National Assembly would be called.
Kapodistrias called on the British and French residents to support him in putting down the
rebellion, but this they refused to do, but Admiral Richord (or Ricord) took his ships north to
Poros. Colonel (later General) Kallergis took a half-trained force of Greek Army regulars and a
force of irregulars in support. With less than 200 men, Miaoulis was unable to make much of a
fight; Fort Heidek on Bourtzi Island was overrun by the regulars and the brig Spetses (once
Laskarina Bouboulina's Agamemnon) sunk by Richord's force. Encircled by the Russians in the
harbor and Kallergis's force on land, Poros surrendered. Miaoulis was forced to set charges in the
flagship Hellas and the corvette Hydra, blowing them up when he and his handful of followers
returned to Hydra. Kallergis's men were enraged by the loss of the ships and sacked Poros,
carrying off plunder to Nauplion.
The loss of the best ships in the fleet crippled the Hellenic Navy for many years, but it also
weakened Kapodistrias's position. He did finally call the National Assembly but his other actions
triggered more opposition and that led to his downfall.










Assassination and creation of the Kingdom of Greece
Further information: Kingdom of Greece


Assassination of Ioannis Kapodistrias by Dionysios Tsokos.


The Entry of King Otto in Athens by Peter von Hess.
In 1831, Kapodistrias ordered the imprisonment of Petrobey Mavromichalis, the Bey of the Mani
Peninsula, one of the wildest and most rebellious parts of Greece. This was a mortal offence to
the Mavromichalis family, and on 9 October 1831 (27 September in the Julian Calendar)
Kapodistrias was assassinated by Petrobey's brother Konstantis and son Georgios on the steps of
the church of Saint Spyridon in Nafplio.
Kapodistrias woke up early in the morning and decided to go to church despite the urges of his
servants and bodyguards to stay at home. When he reached the church he saw his assassins
waiting for him. When he reached the church steps, Konstantis and Georgios came close as if to
greet him. Suddenly Konstantis drew his pistol and fired, missing, the bullet sticking in the
church wall where it is still visible today. He then drew his dagger and stabbed Kapodistrias in
the stomach while Georgios shot Kapodistrias in the head.
Konstantis was shot by General Fotomaras, who watched the murder scene from his own
window. Georgios managed to escape and hide in the French Embassy; after a few days he
surrendered to the Greek authorities. He was sentenced to death by a court-martial and was
executed by firing squad. His last wish was that the firing squad not shoot his face, and his last
words were "Peace Brothers!"
Ioannis Kapodistrias was succeeded as Governor by his younger brother, Augustinos
Kapodistrias. Augustinos ruled only for six months, during which the country was very much
plunged into chaos. Under the protocol signed on 7 May 1832 between Bavaria and the
protecting Powers, and basically dealing with the way in which the Regency was to be managed
until Otto reached his majority (while also concluding the second Greek loan, for a sum of
2,400,000 sterling), Greece was defined as an independent kingdom, with the Arta-Volos line
as its northern frontier.
The Ottoman Empire was indemnified in the sum of 40,000,000 piastres for the loss of the
territory. The borders of the Kingdom were reiterated in the London Protocol of 30 August 1832
signed by the Great Powers, which ratified the terms of the Constantinople Arrangement in
connection with the border between Greece and the Ottoman Empire and marked the end of the
Greek War of Independence creating modern Greece as an independent state free of the Ottoman
Empire.
Reign of King Otto, 18331863
Main article: Otto of Greece


Otto, the first King of modern Greece.
Otto's reign would prove troubled, but managed to last for 30 years before he and his wife,
Queen Amalia, left the way they came, aboard a British warship. During the early years of his
reign a group of Bavarian Regents ruled in his name, and made themselves very unpopular by
trying to impose German ideas of rigid hierarchical government on the Greeks, while keeping
most significant state offices away from them. Nevertheless they laid the foundations of a Greek
administration, army, justice system and education system. Otto was sincere in his desire to give
Greece good government, but he suffered from two great handicaps, his Roman Catholic faith,
and the fact that his marriage to Queen Amalia remained childless. This meant he could neither
be crowned as King of Greece under the Orthodox rite nor establish a dynasty.

The Bavarian Regents ruled until 1837, when at the insistence of Britain and France, they were
recalled and Otto thereafter appointed Greek ministers, although Bavarian officials still ran most
of the administration and the army. But Greece still had no legislature and no constitution. Greek
discontent grew until a revolt broke out in Athens in September 1843. Otto agreed to grant a
constitution, and convened a National Assembly which met in November. The new constitution
created a bicameral parliament, consisting of an Assembly (Vouli) and a Senate (Gerousia).
Power then passed into the hands of a group of politicians, most of whom who had been
commanders in the War of Independence against the Ottomans.
Greek politics in the 19th century was dominated by the national question. The majority of
Greeks continued to live under Ottoman rule, and Greeks dreamed of liberating them all and
reconstituting a state embracing all the Greek lands, with Constantinople as its capital. This was
called the Great Idea (Megali Idea), and it was sustained by almost continuous rebellions against
Ottoman rule in Greek-speaking territories, particularly Crete, Thessaly and Macedonia. During
the Crimean War the British occupied Piraeus to prevent Greece declaring war on the Ottomans
as a Russian ally.
A new generation of Greek politicians was growing increasingly intolerant of King Otto's
continuing interference in government. In 1862, the King dismissed his Prime Minister, the
former admiral Constantine Kanaris, the most prominent politician of the period. This provoked
a military rebellion, forcing Otto to accept the inevitable and leave the country.
The Greeks then asked Britain to send Queen Victoria's son Prince Alfred as their new king, but
this was vetoed by the other Powers. Instead a young Danish Prince became King George I.
George was a very popular choice as a constitutional monarch, and he agreed that his sons would
be raised in the Greek Orthodox faith. As a reward to the Greeks for adopting a pro-British King,
Britain ceded the Ionian Islands to Greece.
Reign of King George I, 18641913


King George I of the Hellenes in Hellenic Navy uniform.
At the urging of Britain and King George, Greece adopted a much more democratic constitution
in 1864. The powers of the King were reduced and the Senate was abolished, and the franchise
was extended to all adult males. Nevertheless Greek politics remained heavily dynastic, as it has
always been. Family names such as Zaimis, Rallis and Trikoupis occurred repeatedly as Prime
Ministers.
Although parties were centered around the individual leaders, often bearing their names, two
broad political tendencies existed: the liberals, led first by Charilaos Trikoupis and later by
Eleftherios Venizelos, and the conservatives, led initially by Theodoros Deligiannis and later by
Thrasivoulos Zaimis. Trikoupis and Deligiannis dominated Greek politics in the later 19th
century, alternating in office. Trikoupis favoured co-operation with Great Britain in foreign
affairs, the creation of infrastructure and an indigenous industry, raising protective tariffs and
progressive social legislation, while the more populist Deligiannis depended on the promotion of
Greek nationalism and the Megali Idea.
Greece remained a very poor country throughout the 19th century. The country lacked raw
materials, infrastructure and capital. Agriculture was mostly at the subsistence level, and the only
important export commodities were currants, raisins and tobacco. Some Greeks grew rich as
merchants and shipowners, and Piraeus became a major port, but little of this wealth found its
way to the Greek peasantry. Greece remained hopelessly in debt to London finance houses.
By the 1890s Greece was virtually bankrupt, and public insolvency was declared in 1893.
Poverty was rife in the rural areas and the islands, and was eased only by large-scale emigration
to the United States. There was little education in the rural areas. Nevertheless there was
progress in building communications and infrastructure, and fine public buildings were erected
in Athens. Despite the bad financial situation, Athens staged the revival of the Olympic Games
in 1896, which proved a great success.


The Hellenic Parliament in the 1880s, with PM Charilaos Trikoupis standing at the podium.
The parliamentary process developed greatly in Greece during the reign of George I. Initially, the
royal prerogative in choosing his prime minister remained and contributed to governmental
instability, until the introduction of the dedilomeni principle of parliamentary confidence in 1875
by the reformist Charilaos Trikoupis. Clientelism and frequent electoral upheavals however
remained the norm in Greek politics, and frustrated the country's development.


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 creditors.
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.


Map of the Kingdom of Greece, the Cretan State and the Principality of Samos in 1903, before
the Balkan Wars.
All Greeks were united, however, in their determination to liberate the Greek-speaking provinces
of the Ottoman Empire. 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.


Popular lithograph celebrating the success of the Goudi pronunciamiento of 1909 as a national
rebirth.
Nationalist sentiment among Greeks in the Ottoman Empire continued to grow, and by the 1890s
there were constant disturbances in Macedonia. Here the Greeks were in competition not only
with the Ottomans but also with the Bulgarians, engaged in an armed propaganda struggle for the
hearts and minds of the ethnically mixed local population, the so-called "Macedonian Struggle".
In July 1908, the Young Turk Revolution broke out in the Ottoman Empire.
Taking advantage of the Ottoman internal turmoil, Austria-Hungary annexed Bosnia and
Herzegovina, and Bulgaria declared its independence from the Ottoman Empire. On Crete, the
local population, led by a young politician named Eleftherios Venizelos, declared Enosis, Union
with Greece, provoking another crisis. The fact that the Greek government, led by Dimitrios
Rallis, proved unable to likewise take advantage of the situation and bring Crete into the fold,
rankled with many Greeks, especially with young officers. These formed a secret society, the
"Military League", with the purpose of emulating their Ottoman colleagues and seek reforms.
The resulting Goudi coup on 15 August 1909 marked a watershed in modern Greek history: as
the military conspirators were inexperienced in politics, they asked Venizelos, who had
impeccable liberal credentials, to come to Greece as their political adviser. Venizelos quickly
established himself as a powerful political figure, and his allies won the August 1910 elections.
Venizelos became Prime Minister in October 1910, ushering a period of 25 years where his
personality would dominate Greek politics.




Wars and crises, 19121922
Main articles: Balkan Wars, Greece during World War I, National Schism, Greek genocide and
Asia Minor Campaign


The two protagonists of the fateful decade 19121922: King Constantine I and PM Eleftherios
Venizelos in the days of their close cooperation during the Second Balkan War, before the deep
political and personal rift between the two materialized and led to the National Schism.
Venizelos initiated a major reform program, including a new and more liberal constitution and
reforms in the spheres of public administration, education and economy. French and British
military missions were invited for the army and navy respectively, and arms purchases were
made. In the meantime, the Ottoman Empire's weaknesses were revealed by the ongoing Italo-
Turkish War in Libya.
Balkan Wars
Through spring 1912, a series of bilateral agreements between the Christian Balkan states
(Greece, Bulgaria, Montenegro and Serbia) formed the Balkan League, which in October 1912
declared war on the Ottoman Empire. In the First Balkan War, the Ottomans were defeated on all
fronts, and the four allies rushed to grab as much territory as they could. The Greeks occupied
Thessaloniki just ahead of the Bulgarians, and also took much of Epirus with Ioannina, as well as
Crete and the Aegean Islands.
The Treaty of London ended the war, but no one was left satisfied, and soon, the four allies fell
out over the partition of Macedonia. In June 1913, Bulgaria attacked Greece and Serbia,
beginning the Second Balkan War, but was beaten back. The Treaty of Bucharest, which
concluded the war, left Greece with southern Epirus, the southern half of Macedonia, Crete and
the Aegean islands, except for the Dodecanese, which had been occupied by Italy in 1911. These
gains nearly doubled Greece's area and population.



In March 1913, an anarchist, Alexandros Schinas, assassinated King George in Thessaloniki, and
his son came to the throne as Constantine I. Constantine was the first Greek king born in Greece
and the first to be Greek Orthodox. His very name had been chosen in the spirit of romantic
Greek nationalism (the Megali Idea), evoking the Byzantine emperors of that name. In addition,
as the Commander-in-chief of the Greek Army during the Balkan Wars, his popularity was
enormous, rivalled only by that of Venizelos, his Prime Minister.
World War I
When World War I broke out in 1914, despite Greece's treaty of alliance with Serbia, both
leaders preferred to maintain a neutral stance. But when, in early 1915, the Allies asked for
Greek help in the Dardanelles campaign, offering Cyprus in exchange, their diverging views
became apparent: Constantine had been educated in Germany, was married to Sophia of Prussia,
sister of Kaiser Wilhelm, and was convinced of the Central Powers' victory. Venizelos on the
other hand was an ardent anglophile, and believed in an Allied victory.
Since Greece, a maritime country, could not oppose the mighty British navy, and citing the need
for a respite after two wars, King Constantine favored continued neutrality, while Venizelos
actively sought Greek entry in the war on the Allied side. Venizelos resigned, but won the next
elections, and again formed the government. When Bulgaria entered the war as a German ally in
October 1915, Venizelos invited Entente forces into Greece (the Salonika Front), for which he
was again dismissed by Constantine.


Venizelos reviews a section of the Greek army on the Macedonian front during the First World
War, 1917. He is accompanied by Admiral Pavlos Koundouriotis (left) and General Maurice
Sarrail (right).




In August 1916, after several incidents where both combatants encroached upon the still
theoretically neutral Greek territory, Venizelist officers rose up in Allied-controlled
Thessaloniki, and Venizelos established a separate government there. Constantine was now
ruling only in what was Greece before the Balkan Wars ("Old Greece"), and his government was
subject to repeated humiliations from the Allies. In November 1916 the French occupied Piraeus,
bombarded Athens and forced the Greek fleet to surrender. The royalist troops fired at them,
leading to a battle between French and Greek royalist troops. There were also riots against
supporters of Venizelos in Athens (the Noemvriana).
Following the February Revolution in Russia, the Tsar's support for his cousin was removed, and
Constantine was forced to leave the country, without actually abdicating, in June 1917. His
second son Alexander became King, while the remaining royal family and the most prominent
royalists followed into exile. Venizelos now led a superficially united Greece into the war on the
Allied side, but underneath the surface, the division of Greek society into Venizelists and anti-
Venizelists, the so-called National Schism, became more entrenched.















Greco-Turkish War (19191922)
Main article: Greco-Turkish War (19191922)


The Greek Kingdom and the Greek diaspora in the Balkans and western Asia Minor, according
to a 1919 map submitted to the Paris Peace Conference.
With the end of the war in November 1918, the moribund Ottoman Empire was ready to be
carved up amongst the victors, and Greece now expected the Allies to deliver on their promises.
In no small measure through the diplomatic efforts of Venizelos, Greece secured Western Thrace
in the Treaty of Neuilly in November 1919 and Eastern Thrace and a zone around Smyrna in
western Anatolia (already under Greek administration since May 1919) in the Treaty of Svres of
August 1920. The future of Constantinople was left to be determined. But at the same time, a
nationalist movement had arisen in Turkey, led by Mustafa Kemal (later Kemal Atatrk), who
set up a rival government in Ankara and was engaged in fighting the Greek army.


Map of the military developments during the Greco-Turkish War (19191922).



At this point, nevertheless, the fulfillment of the Megali Idea seemed near. Yet so deep was the
rift in Greek society, that on his return to Greece, an assassination attempt was made on
Venizelos by two royalist former officers. Even more surprisingly, Venizelos' Liberal Party lost
the elections called in November 1920, and in a referendum shortly after, the Greek people voted
for the return of King Constantine from exile, following the sudden death of Alexander.
The United Opposition, which had campaigned on the slogan of an end to the war in Anatolia,
instead intensified it. But the royalist restoration had dire consequences: many veteran Venizelist
officers were dismissed or left the army, while Italy and France found the return of the hated
Constantine a useful pretext for switching their support to Kemal. Finally, in August 1922, the
Turkish army shattered the Greek front, and took Smyrna.
The Greek army evacuated not only Anatolia, but also Eastern Thrace and the islands of Imbros
and Tenedos (Treaty of Lausanne). A compulsory population exchange was agreed between the
two countries, with over 1.5 million Christians and almost half a million Muslims being
uprooted. This catastrophe marked the end of the Megali Idea, and left Greece financially
exhausted, demoralized, and having to house and feed a proportionately huge number of
refugees.
Republic and Monarchy (19221940)
Main articles: Second Hellenic Republic and 4th of August Regime


Crowds celebrating in Athens the proclamation of the Republic, 1924, with placards of
republican leaders Papanastasiou, Hatzikyriakos and Kondylis.
The catastrophe deepened the political crisis, with the returning army rising up under Venizelist
officers and forcing King Constantine to abdicate again, in September 1922, in favour of his
firstborn son, George II. The "Revolutionary Committee", headed by Colonels Stylianos Gonatas
(soon to become Prime Minister) and Nikolaos Plastiras engaged in a witch-hunt against the
royalists, culminating in the "Trial of the Six".


In October 1923, elections were called for December, which would form a National Assembly
with powers to draft a new constitution. Following a failed royalist coup, the monarchist parties
abstained, leading to a landslide for the Liberals and their allies. King George II was asked to
leave the country, and on 25 March 1924, Alexandros Papanastasiou proclaimed the Second
Hellenic Republic, ratified by plebiscite a month later.
However, the new Republic was built on unstable foundations. The National Schism lived on, as
the monarchists, with the exception of Ioannis Metaxas, did not acknowledge the Venizelist-
sponsored Republican regime. The army, which had tasted power and provided many of the
leading proponents of both sides, became a factor to be reckoned with, prone to intervene in
politics.
Greece was diplomatically isolated and vulnerable, as the Corfu incident of 1923 showed, and
the economical foundations of the state were in ruins, after a decade of war and the sudden
increase of the country's population by a quarter. The refugees, however, also brought a new air
into Greece. They were impoverished now, but before 1922 many had been entrepreneurs and
well-educated. Staunch supporters of Venizelos and the Republic, many would also radicalize
and play a leading role in the nascent Communist Party of Greece.
In June 1925, General Theodoros Pangalos launched a coup, and ruled as a dictator for a year
until a counter-coup by another General, Georgios Kondylis, unseated him and restored the
Republic. In the meantime, he had managed to embroil Greece in a short-lived war with Bulgaria
and make unacceptable concessions in Thessaloniki and its hinterland to Yugoslavia, in an effort
to gain its support for his revanchist policies against Turkey.
In 1928, Venizelos returned from exile and after a landslide victory formed a government. This
was the only cabinet of the Second Republic to run its full four-year term, and the work it left
behind was considerable. Alongside domestic reforms, Venizelos restored Greece's frayed
international relations, even initiating the Greco-Turkish reconciliation with a visit to Ankara and
the signing of a Friendship Agreement in 1930.
The Great Depression however hit Greece, as a poor country dependent on agricultural exports,
particularly hard. Matters were made worse by the closing off of emigration to the United States,
the traditional safety-valve of rural poverty. High unemployment and consequent social unrest
resulted, and the Communist Party of Greece made rapid advances. Venizelos was forced to
default on Greece's national debt in 1932, and he fell from office after the 1932 elections, being
succeeded by a monarchist coalition government led by Panagis Tsaldaris of the People's Party.



Two failed Venizelist military coups followed in an effort to preserve the Republic in 1933 and
1935, but they had the opposite effect. On 10 October 1935, a few months after he suppressed
the second attempt in March 1935, Georgios Kondylis, the former Venizelist stalwart, abolished
the Republic in another coup, and declared the monarchy restored. A rigged plebiscite confirmed
the regime change (with an unsurprising 97.88% of votes), and King George II returned.


The conservative regime of Ioannis Metaxas (4th of August Regime) adopted many of the ideas
and symbolism of Italian Fascism. Here members of the National Organisation of Youth give the
Roman salute to Metaxas.
King George II immediately dismissed Kondylis and appointed Professor Konstantinos
Demertzis as interim Prime Minister. Venizelos meanwhile, in exile, urged an end to the conflict
over the monarchy in view of the threat to Greece from the rise of Fascist Italy. His successors as
Liberal leader, Themistoklis Sophoulis and Georgios Papandreou, agreed, and the restoration of
the monarchy was accepted. The 1936 elections resulted in a hung parliament, with the
Communists holding the balance. As no government could be formed, Demertzis continued on.
At the same time, a series of deaths left the Greek political scene in disarray: Kondylis died in
February, Venizelos in March, Demertzis in April and Tsaldaris in May. The road was now clear
for Ioannis Metaxas, who had succeeded Demertzis as interim Prime Minister.
Metaxas, a retired royalist general, believed that an authoritarian government was necessary to
prevent social conflict and, especially, quell the rising power of the Communists. On 4 August
1936, with the King's support, he suspended parliament and established the 4th of August
Regime. The Communists were suppressed and the Liberal leaders went into internal exile.
Patterning itself after Benito Mussolini's Fascist Italy,
[citation needed]
Metaxas' regime promoted
various concepts such as the "Third Hellenic Civilization", the Roman salute, a national youth
organization, and introduced measures to gain popular support, such as the Greek Social
Insurance Institute (IKA), still the biggest social security institution in Greece.
Despite these efforts the regime lacked a broad popular base or a mass movement supporting it.
The Greek people were generally apathetic, without actively opposing Metaxas. Metaxas also
improved the country's defenses in preparation for the forthcoming European war, constructing,
among other defensive measures, the "Metaxas Line". Despite his aping of Fascism, and the
strong economic ties with resurgent Nazi Germany, Metaxas followed a policy of neutrality,
given Greece's traditionally strong ties to Britain, reinforced by King George II's personal
anglophilia. In April 1939, the Italian threat suddenly loomed closer, as Italy annexed Albania,
whereupon Britain publicly guaranteed Greece's borders. Thus, when World War II broke out in
September 1939, Greece remained neutral.
World War II
Main articles: Military history of Greece during World War II, Axis Occupation of Greece and
Greek Resistance


The symbolic start of the Occupation: German soldiers raising the German War Flag over the
Acropolis. It would be taken down in one of the first acts of the Greek Resistance.
Despite this declared neutrality, Greece became a target for Mussolini's expansionist policies.
Provocations against Greece included the sinking of the light cruiser Elli on 15 August 1940.
Italian troops crossed the border on 28 October 1940, beginning the Greco-Italian War, but were
stopped by determined Greek defence, and ultimately driven back into Albania.
Metaxas died suddenly in January 1941. His death raised hopes of a liberalization of his regime
and the restoration of parliamentary rule, but King George quashed these hopes when he retained
the regime's machinery in place. In the meantime, Adolf Hitler was reluctantly forced to divert
German troops to rescue Mussolini from defeat, and attacked Greece through Yugoslavia and
Bulgaria on 6 April 1941. Despite British assistance, by the end of May, the Germans had
overrun most of the country. The King and the government escaped to Crete, where they stayed
until the end of the Battle of Crete. They then transferred to Egypt, where a government in exile
was established.


The three occupation zones. Blue indicates the Italian, red the German and green the territory
annexed by Bulgaria. The Italian zone was taken over by the Germans in September 1943.
The occupied country was divided in three zones (German, Italian and Bulgarian) and in Athens,
a puppet regime was established. The members were either conservatives or nationalists with
fascist leanings. The three quisling prime ministers were Georgios Tsolakoglou, the general who
had signed the armistice with the Wehrmacht, Konstantinos Logothetopoulos, and Ioannis Rallis,
who took office when the German defeat was inevitable, and aimed primarily at combating the
left-wing Resistance movement. To this end, he created the collaborationist Security Battalions.
Greece suffered terrible privations during World War II, as the Germans appropriated most of
the country's agricultural production and prevented its fishing fleets from operating. As a result,
and because a British blockade initially hindered foreign relief efforts, a wide-scale famine
resulted, when hundreds of thousands perished, especially in the winter of 19411942. In the
mountains of the Greek mainland, in the meantime, several resistance movements sprang up, and
by mid-1943, the Axis forces controlled only the main towns and the connecting roads, while a
"Free Greece" was set up in the mountains.
The largest resistance group, the National Liberation Front (EAM), was controlled by the
Communists, as was (Elas) led by Aris Velouchiotis and a civil war soon broke out between it
and non-Communist groups such as the National Republican Greek League (EDES) in those
areas liberated from the Germans. The exiled government in Cairo was only intermittently in
touch with the resistance movement, and exercised virtually no influence in the occupied
country. Part of this was due to the unpopularity of the King George II in Greece itself, but
despite efforts by Greek politicians, British support ensured his retention at the head of the Cairo
government.
As the German defeat drew nearer, the various Greek political factions convened in Lebanon in
May 1944, under British auspices, and formed a government of national unity, under George
Papandreou, in which EAM was represented by six ministers.


Civil War
Main article: Greek civil war
German forces withdrew on 12 October 1944, and the government in exile returned to Athens.
After the German withdrawal, the EAM-ELAS guerrilla army effectively controlled most of
Greece, but its leaders were reluctant to take control of the country, as they knew that Soviet
premier Joseph Stalin had agreed that Greece would be in the British sphere of influence after the
war. Tensions between the British-backed Papandreou and EAM, especially over the issue of
disarmament of the various armed groups, led to the resignation of the latter's ministers from the
government.
A few days later, on 3 December 1944, a large-scale pro-EAM demonstration in Athens ended in
violence and ushered an intense, house-to-house struggle with British and monarchist forces (the
Dekemvriana). After three weeks, the Communists were defeated: the Varkiza agreement ended
the conflict and disarmed ELAS, and an unstable coalition government was formed. The anti-
EAM backlash grew into a full-scale "White Terror", which exacerbated tensions.


Organization and military bases of the "Demogratic Army", as well as entry routes to Greece.
The Communists boycotted the March 1946 elections, and on the same day, fighting broke out
again. By the end of 1946, the Communist Democratic Army of Greece had been formed, pitted
against the governmental National Army, which was backed first by Britain and after 1947 by
the United States.
Communist successes in 19471948 enabled them to move freely over much of mainland
Greece, but with extensive reorganization, the deportation of rural populations and American
material support, the National Army was slowly able to regain control over most of the
countryside. In 1949, the insurgents suffered a major blow, as Yugoslavia closed its borders
following the split between Marshal Josip Broz Tito with the Soviet Union. Finally, in August
1949, the National Army under Marshal Alexander Papagos launched an offensive that forced
the remaining insurgents to surrender or flee across the northern border into the territory of
Greece's northern Communist neighbors.


The civil war resulted in 100,000 killed and caused catastrophic economic disruption. In
addition, at least 25,000 Greeks and an unspecified number of Macedonian Slavs were either
voluntarily or forcibly evacuated to Eastern bloc countries, while 700,000 became displaced
persons inside the country. Many more emigrated to Australia and other countries.
The postwar settlement ended Greece's territorial expansion, which had begun in 1832. The 1947
Treaty of Paris required Italy to hand over the Dodecanese islands to Greece. These were the last
majority-Greek-speaking areas to be united with the Greek state, apart from Cyprus which was a
British possession until it became independent in 1960. Greece's ethnic homogeneity was
increased by the postwar expulsion of 25,000 Albanians from Epirus (see Cham Albanians). The
only significant remaining minorities are the Muslims in Western Thrace (about 100,000) and a
small Slavic-speaking minority in the north. Greek nationalists continued to claim southern
Albania (which they called Northern Epirus), home of a significant Greek population (about 3%-
12% in the whole of Albania), and the Turkish-held islands of Imvros and Tenedos, where there
were smaller Greek minorities.
Postwar Greece (19501973)
After the civil war, Greece sought to join the Western democracies and became a member of the
North Atlantic Treaty Organization in 1952.
Since the Civil war (194649) but even more after that, the parties in the parliament were
divided in three political concentrations. The political formation Right-Centre-Left, given the
exacerbation of political animosity that had preceded dividing the country in the 40s, tended to
turn the concurrence of parties into ideological positions.
Workmen grade the street in front of new housing constructed with the help of Marshall Plan
funds in Greece.
In the beginning of the 1950s, the forces of the Centre (EPEK) succeeded in gaining the power
and under the leadership of the aged general N. Plastiras they governed for about half a four-year
term. These were a series of governments having limited manoeuvre ability and inadequate
influence in the political arena. This government, as well as those that followed, was constantly
under the American auspices. The defeat of EPEK in the elections of 1952, apart from increasing
the repressive measures that concerned the defeated of the Civil war, also marked the end of the
general political position that it represented, namely political consensus and social reconciliation.
The Left, which had been ostracized from the political life of the country, found a way of
expression through the constitution of EDA (United Democratic Left) in 1951, which turned out
to be a significant pole, yet steadily excluded from the decision making centres. After the
disbandment of the Centre as an autonomous political institution, EDA practically expanded its
electoral influence to a significant part of the EAM-based Centre-Left.


The 1960s are part of the period 1953-72, during which Greek economy developed rapidly and
was structured within the scope of European and worldwide economic developments. One of the
main characteristics of that period was the major political event - as we have come to accept it -
of the countrys accession in the EEC, in an attempt to create a common market. The relevant
treaty was contracted in 1962.
The developmental strategy adopted by the country was embodied in centrally organized five-
year plans; yet their orientation was indistinct. The average annual emigration, which absorbed
the excess workforce and contributed to extremely high growth rates, exceeded the annual
natural increase in population. The influx of large amounts of foreign private capital was being
facilitated and consumption was expanded. These, associated with the rise of tourism, the
expansion of shipping activity and with the migrant remittances, had a positive effect on the
balance of payments.
The peak of development was registered principally in manufacture, mainly in the textile and
chemical industry and in the sector of metallurgy, the growth rate of which tended to reach 11%
during 1965-70. The other large branch where obvious economic and social consequences were
brought about, was that of construction. Consideration, a Greek invention, favoured the creation
of a class of small-medium contractors on one hand and settled the housing system and property
status on the other.
During that decade, youth came forth in society as a distinct social power with autonomous
presence (creation of a new culture in music, fashion etc.) and displaying dynamism in the
assertion of their social rights. The independence granted to Cyprus, which was mined from the
very beginning, constituted the main focus of young activist mobilizations, along with struggles
aiming at reforms in education, which were provisionally realized to a certain extent through the
educational reform of 1964. The country reckoned on and was influenced by Europe - usually
behind time - and by the current trends like never before. Thus, in a sense, the imposition of the
military junta conflicted with the social and cultural occurrences.
Greek military junta of 19671974
Main article: Greek military junta of 19671974


A Greek army tank on the streets of Athens on 21 April 1967.
The country descended into a prolonged political crisis, and elections were scheduled for late
April 1967. On 21 April 1967 a group of right-wing colonels led by Colonel George
Papadopoulos seized power in a coup d'tat establishing the Regime of the Colonels. Civil
liberties were suppressed, special military courts were established, and political parties were
dissolved.
Several thousand suspected communists and political opponents were imprisoned or exiled to
remote Greek islands. Alleged US support for the junta is claimed to be the cause of rising anti-
Americanism in Greece during and following the junta's harsh rule. The junta's early years also
saw a marked upturn in the economy, with increased foreign investment and large-scale
infrastructure works. The junta was widely condemned abroad, but inside the country, discontent
began to increase only after 1970, when the economy slowed down.
Even the armed forces, the regime's foundation, were not immune: In May 1973, a planned coup
by the Hellenic Navy was narrowly suppressed, but led to the mutiny of the HNS Velos, whose
officers sought political asylum in Italy. In response, junta leader Papadopoulos attempted to
steer the regime towards a controlled democratization, abolishing the monarchy and declaring
himself President of the Republic.
Transition to democracy (19732009)
Main article: Metapolitefsi


Greek territorial changes between 1821 and 1947, showing territories awarded to Greece in 1919
and those lost in 1923.


Signing at Zappeion of the documents for the accession of Greece to the European Communities
in 1979.
On 25 November 1973, following the bloody suppression of Athens Polytechnic uprising on the
17th, the hardliner Brigadier Dimitrios Ioannides overthrew Papadopoulos and tried to continue
the dictatorship despite the popular unrest the uprising had triggered. Ioannides' attempt in July
1974 to overthrow Archbishop Makarios, the President of Cyprus, brought Greece to the brink of
war with Turkey, which invaded Cyprus and occupied part of the island.
Senior Greek military officers then withdrew their support from the junta, which collapsed.
Constantine Karamanlis returned from exile in France to establish a government of national unity
until elections could be held. Karamanlis worked to defuse the risk of war with Turkey and also
legalised the Communist Party, which had been illegal since 1947. His newly organized party,
New Democracy (ND), won the elections held in November 1974 by a wide margin, and he
became prime minister.
Following the 1974 referendum which resulted in the abolition of the monarchy, a new
constitution was approved by parliament on 19 June 1975. Parliament elected Constantine
Tsatsos as President of the Republic. In the parliamentary elections of 1977, New Democracy
again won a majority of seats. In May 1980, Prime Minister Karamanlis was elected to succeed
Tsatsos as President. George Rallis succeeded Karamanlis as Prime Minister.
On 1 January 1981, Greece became the tenth member of the European Community (now the
European Union). In parliamentary elections held on 18 October 1981, Greece elected its first
socialist government when the Panhellenic Socialist Movement (PASOK), led by Andreas
Papandreou, won 172 of 300 seats. On 29 March 1985, after Prime Minister Papandreou
declined to support President Karamanlis for a second term, Supreme Court Justice Christos
Sartzetakis was elected president by the Greek parliament.
Greece had two rounds of parliamentary elections in 1989; both produced weak coalition
governments with limited mandates. Party leaders withdrew their support in February 1990, and
elections were held on 8 April. New Democracy, led by Constantine Mitsotakis, won 150 seats in
that election and subsequently gained two others. However, a split between Mitsotakis and his
first Foreign Minister, Antonis Samaras, in 1992, led to Samaras' dismissal and the eventual
collapse of the ND government. In new elections in September 1993, Papandreou returned to
power.
On 17 January 1996, following a protracted illness, Papandreou resigned and was replaced as
Prime Minister by former Minister of Trade and Industry Costas Simitis. Within days, the new
prime minister had to handle a major Greek-Turkish crisis over the Imia/Kardak islands. Simitis
subsequently won re-election in the 1996 and 2000 elections. In 2004, Simitis retired and George
Papandreou succeeded him as PASOK leader.
In the March 2004 elections, PASOK was defeated by New Democracy, led by Kostas
Karamanlis, the nephew of the former President. The government called early elections in
September 2007 (normally, elections would have been held in March 2008), and New
Democracy again was the majority party in the Parliament. As a result of that defeat, PASOK
undertook a party election for a new leader. In that contest, George Papandreou was reelected as
the head of the socialist party in Greece. In the 2009 elections however, PASOK became the
majority party in the Parliament and George Papandreou became Prime Minister of Greece. After
PASOK lost its majority in the Parliament, ND and PASOK 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.
Economic crisis of 2009-2012
Main article: Greek government-debt crisis
From late 2009, fears of a sovereign debt crisis developed among investors concerning Greece's
ability to meet its debt obligations due to strong increase in government debt levels. This led to a
crisis of confidence, indicated by a widening of bond yield spreads and risk insurance on credit
default swaps compared to other countries, most importantly Germany. Downgrading of Greek
government debt to junk bonds created alarm in financial markets.
On 2 May 2010, the Eurozone countries and the International Monetary Fund agreed on a 110
billion loan for Greece, conditional on the implementation of harsh austerity measures. In
October 2011, Eurozone leaders also agreed on a proposal to write off 50% of Greek debt owed
to private creditors, increasing the EFSF to about 1 trillion and requiring European banks to
achieve 9% capitalization to reduce the risk of contagion to other countries. These austerity
measures have proved extremely unpopular with the Greek public, precipitating demonstrations
and civil unrest.
There are widespread fears that a Greek default on its debt would have global repercussions,
endangering the economies of many other countries in the European Union, threatening the
stability of the European currency, the euro, and possibly plunging the world into another
recession. It has been speculated that the crisis may force Greece to abandon the euro and bring
back its former currency, the drachma.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%.
According to the IMF, Greece will have real GDP growth of 0.6% in 2014 after 5 years of
decline.

Coalition Government
Main article: Antonis Samaras
Following the May 2012 legislative election where the New Democracy party became the largest
party in the Hellenic Parliament, Samaras, leader of ND, was asked by Greek President Karolos
Papoulias to try to form a government.
[11]
However, after a day of hard negotiations with the
other parties in Parliament, Samaras officially announced he was giving up the mandate to form
a government. The task passed to Alexis Tsipras, leader of the SYRIZA (the second largest
party) who was also unable to form a government. After PASOK also failed to negotiate a
successful agreement to form a government, emergency talks with the President ended with a
new election being called while Panagiotis Pikrammenos was appointed as Prime Minister in a
caretaker government.
Voters once again took to the polls in the widely-watched June 2012 election. New Democracy
came out on top in a stronger position with 129 seats, compared to 108 in the May election. On
20 June 2012, Samaras successfully formed a coalition with PASOK (now lead by former
Finance Minister Evangelos Venizelos) and DIMAR. The new government would have a
majority of 58, with SYRIZA, Independent Greeks (ANEL), Golden Dawn (XA) and the
Communist Party (KKE) comprising the opposition. PASOK and DIMAR chose to take a limited
role in Samaras' Cabinet, being represented by party officials and independent technocrats
instead of MPs.













Kingdom of Greece
Kingdom of Greece






18321924
19351941
19441973

State flag (since
1863)
Royal Coat of arms
(since 1936)

Motto
Eleftheria i Thanatos

"Freedom or Death"
Anthem
mnos is tin Eleftheran

"Hymn to Freedom"

The Kingdom of Greece in 1973.
Capital
Nafplio (18321834)
Athens (18341974)
Languages
Greek (Katharevousa
officially, Demotic
Greek popularly)
Religion Greek Orthodox
Government
Absolute monarchy
183243
Parliamentary
democracy and
constitutional
monarchy 18431924,
194467
4th of August Regime
193641
Military Junta 196774
King

-

18321862 Otto
-
19641974 Constantine II

Historical era Modern
-

London Protocol
30 August 1832
-

Constitution
granted 3 September 1843
-

Second Republic
25 March 1924
-

Monarchy restored
3 November 1935
-

Axis occupation
April 1941 October
1944
-

Military Junta
April 21, 1967 July
23, 1974
-

Third Republic
8 December 1973
Area
-

1920
173,779 km (67,096
sq mi)
-

1973
131,990 km (50,962
sq mi)
Population
-

1920 est. 7,156,000
-

1971 est. 8,768,372
Currency Greek drachma ()
The Kingdom of Greece (Greek: , Vaslion tis Elldos) was a state
established in 1832 at the Convention of London by the Great Powers (the United Kingdom,
France and the Russian Empire). It was internationally recognized by the Treaty of
Constantinople, where it also secured full independence from the Ottoman Empire. This event
also marked the birth of the first, fully independent, Greek state since the fall of the Byzantine
Empire to the Ottomans in the mid-15th century.
The Kingdom succeeded from the Greek provisional governments after the Greek War of
Independence, and lasted until 1924. In 1924 the monarchy was abolished, and the Second
Hellenic Republic was established. The restored Kingdom of Greece lasted from 1935 to 1974.
The Kingdom was again dissolved in the aftermath of the seven-year military dictatorship, and
the Third Republic, the current Greek government, came to be.
Background
Most of Greece gradually became part of the Ottoman Empire in the 15th century. The Eastern
Roman or Byzantine Empire, the direct continuation to the ancient Roman Empire who ruled
most of the Greek-speaking world for over 1100 years, had been fatally weakened since the
sacking of Constantinople by the Latin Crusaders in 1204.
The Ottoman advance into Greece was preceded by victory over the Serbs to its north. First the
Ottomans won at 1371 on the Maritsa River where the Serb forces were led by the King
Vukasin Mrnjavcevic, the father of Prince Marko and the co-ruler of the last emperor from the
Serbian Nemanjic dynasty. This was followed by another Ottoman victory in the 1389 Battle of
Kosovo.
With no further threat by the Serbs and the subsequent Byzantine civil wars, the Ottomans
captured Constantinople in 1453 and advanced southwards into Greece, capturing Athens in
1458. The Greeks held out in the Peloponnese until 1460, and the Venetians and Genoese clung
to some of the islands, but by 1500 most of the plains and islands of Greece were in Ottoman
hands. The mountains of Greece were largely untouched, and were a refuge for Greeks to flee
foreign rule and engage in guerrilla warfare.
[1]

Cyprus fell in 1571, and the Venetians retained Crete until 1670. The Ionian Islands were only
briefly ruled by the Ottomans (Kefalonia from 1479 to 1481 and from 1485 to 1500), and
remained primarily under the rule of Venice.
In 1821, the Greeks rose up against the Ottoman Empire. Following a protracted struggle, the
autonomy of Greece was first recognized by the Great Powers (the United Kingdom, France, and
Russia) in 1829. Count Ioannis Kapodistrias became the head of the Greek government, but he
was assassinated in 1831. At the insistence of the Powers, the 1832 Treaty of London made
Greece a monarchy. Pedro of Braganza, Prince Royal of Portugal, Brazil, and the Algarves was
initially the first candidate for the Greek throne, however he turned down the offer.
[citation needed]

Otto of Wittelsbach, Prince of Bavaria was chosen as its first King. Otto arrived at the
provisional capital, Nafplion, in 1833 aboard a British warship.
History
Reign of King Otto (18331863)[edit]


Otto, the first King of modern Greece, in traditional Greek dress.
Otto's reign would prove troubled, but managed to last for 30 years before he and his wife,
Queen Amalia, left the way they came, aboard a British warship. During the early years of his
reign a group of Bavarian Regents ruled in his name, and made themselves very unpopular by
trying to impose German ideas of rigid hierarchical government on the Greeks, while keeping
most significant state offices away from them. Nevertheless they laid the foundations of a Greek
administration, army, justice system and education system. Otto was sincere in his desire to give
Greece good government, but he suffered from two great handicaps, his Roman Catholic faith,
and the fact that his marriage to Queen Amalia remained childless. In addition, the new Kingdom
tried to eliminate the traditional banditry, something that in many cases meant conflict with some
old revolutionary fighters (klephtes) who continued to exercise this practise.
The Bavarian Regents ruled until 1837, when at the insistence of Britain and France, they were
recalled and Otto thereafter appointed Greek ministers, although Bavarian officials still ran most
of the administration and the army. But Greece still had no legislature and no constitution. Greek
discontent grew until a revolt broke out in Athens in September 1843. Otto agreed to grant a
constitution, and convened a National Assembly which met in November. The new constitution
created a bicameral parliament, consisting of an Assembly (Vouli) and a Senate (Gerousia).
Power then passed into the hands of a group of politicians, most of whom had been commanders
in the War of Independence against the Ottomans.
Greek politics in the 19th century was dominated by the national question. Greeks dreamed of
liberating them all and reconstituting a state embracing all the Greek lands, with Constantinople
as its capital. This was called the Great Idea (Megali Idea), and it was sustained by almost
continuous rebellions against Ottoman rule in Greek-speaking territories, particularly Crete,
Thessaly and Macedonia. During the Crimean War the British occupied Piraeus to prevent
Greece declaring war on the Ottomans as a Russian ally.
A new generation of Greek politicians was growing increasingly intolerant of King Otto's
continuing interference in government. In 1862, the King dismissed his Prime Minister, the
former admiral Constantine Kanaris, the most prominent politician of the period. This provoked
a military rebellion, forcing Otto to accept the inevitable and leave the country. The Greeks then
asked Britain to send Queen Victoria's son Prince Alfred as their new king, but this was vetoed
by the other Powers.
[citation needed]
Instead a young Danish prince became King George I. George
was a very popular choice as a constitutional monarch, and he agreed that his sons would be
raised in the Greek Orthodox faith. As a reward to the Greeks for adopting a pro-British King,
Britain ceded the Ionian Islands to Greece.











Culture of Greece


The Parthenon is an enduring symbol of Ancient Greece and of Athenian democracy. It is
regarded as one of the world's greatest cultural monuments.
The culture of Greece has evolved over thousands of years, beginning in Mycenaean Greece,
continuing most notably into Classical Greece, through the influence of the Roman Empire and
its successor the Byzantine Empire. Other cultures and states such as the Persian Empire, Latin
and Frankish states, the Ottoman Empire, the Venetian Republic, Genoese Republic, and British
Empire have also left their influence on modern Greek culture, but historians credit the Greek
War of Independence with revitalising Greece and giving birth to a single entity of its multi-
faceted culture.
In ancient times, Greece was the birthplace of Western culture.
[1]
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,
[2]
philosophy, and physics. 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.




The arts
Architecture


Doric Temple of Athena Lindia in Lindos, Rhodes.


The Byzantine Hagia Sophia, Thessaloniki (8th century)


Traditional style houses in Nafplion


Cycladic architecture at Amorgos island
Ancient Greece
Main article: Ancient Greek architecture
Ancient Greek architecture is best known through its temples and theatres.
Byzantine Greece
Main article: Byzantine architecture
Byzantine architecture is the architecture of the Byzantine Empire. Byzantine architecture
emphasized a Greek cross layout, the Byzantine capitol style of column (a mixture of Ionic and
Corinthian capitols) and a central dome surrounded by several smaller domes.
Modern Greece
Main article: Modern Greek architecture
During the Ottoman conquest, the Greek architecture was concentrated mainly on the Greek
Orthodox churches of the Greek diaspora. These churches, such as other intellectual centres
(foundations, schools, etc.) built by Greeks in Diaspora, was heavily influenced by the western
European architecture. After the independence of Greece and during the nineteenth century, the
Neoclassical architecture was heavily used for both public and private building. The 19th-
century architecture of Athens and other cities of the Greek Kingdom is mostly influenced by the
Neoclassical architecture, with architects like Theophil Hansen, Ernst Ziller and Stamatios
Kleanthis. Regarding the churches, Greece also experienced the Neo-Byzantine revival.
In 1933 the Athens Charter, a manifesto of the modernist movement, was signed, and was
published later by Le Corbusier. Architects of this movement were among others: the Bauhaus-
architect Ioannis Despotopoulos, Dimitris Pikionis, Patroklos Karantinos and Takis Zenetos.
After World War II and the Greek civil war, the massive construction of condominiums in the
major Greek city centres, was a major contributory factor for the Greek economy and the post-
war recovery. The first skyscrapers were also constructed during the 1960s and 1970s, such as
the OTE Tower and the Athens Tower Complex.
During the 1960s and 1970s, Xenia was a nation-wide hotel construction program initiated by the
Hellenic Tourism Organisation ( , EOT) to improve the
country's tourism infrastructure. It constitutes one of the largest infrastructure projects in modern
Greek history. The first manager of the project was the architect Charalambos Sfaellos (from
1950 to 1958) and from 1957 the buildings were designed by a team under Aris Konstantinidis.
Cinema
Main article: Greek cinema


Press conference at the Thessaloniki International Film Festival.
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 begun. Golfo
(), a well known traditional love story, is the first Greek long movie, although there were
several minor productions such as newscasts before this. In 1931, Orestis Laskos directed
Daphnis and Chloe ( ), contained 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 as the Greek Golden age of Cinema.
Directors and actors of this era were recognized as important historical figures in Greece and
some gained international acclaim: Mihalis Kakogiannis, Alekos Sakellarios, Melina Mercouri,
Nikos Tsiforos, Iakovos Kambanelis, Katina Paxinou, Nikos Koundouros, Ellie Lambeti, Irene
Papas etc. 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 ,
, , 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-
American Elia Kazan.
Music and Dances
Main articles: Music of Greece, Greek dances and Greek musical instruments
Greece has a diverse and highly influential musical tradition, with ancient music influencing the
Roman Empire, and Byzantine liturgical chants and secular music influencing the Renaissance.
Modern Greek music combines these elements, as well as influences from the Middle East, to
carry Greeks' interpretation of a wide range of musical forms.
Ancient Greece
Main article: Music of ancient Greece


God Pan and a Maenad dancing. Ancient Greek red-figured olpe from Apulia, ca. 320310 BCE.
Pan's right hand fingers are in a snapping position.
The history of music in Greece begins once more, as one might expect, with the music of ancient
Greece, largely structured on the Lyre and other supporting string instruments of the era. Beyond
the well-known structural legacies of the Pythagorean scale, and the related mathematical
developments it upheld to define western classical music, relatively little is understood about the
precise character of music during this period; we do know, however, that it left, as so often, a
strong mark on the culture of Rome. What has been gleaned about the social role and character
of ancient Greek music comes largely from pottery and other forms of Greek art.
Ancient Greeks believed that dancing was invented by the Gods and therefore associated it with
religious ceremony. They believed that the gods offered this gift to select mortals only, who in
turn taught dancing to their fellow-men.
Periodic evidence in ancient texts indicates that dance was held in high regard, in particular for
its educational qualities. Dance, along with writing, music, and physical exercise, was
fundamental to the commenced in a circle and ended with the dancers facing one another. When
not dancing in a circle the dancers held their hands high or waved them to left and right. They
held cymbals (very like the zilia of today) or a kerchief in their hands, and their movements were
emphasized by their long sleeves. As they danced, they sang, either set songs or extemporized
ones, sometimes in unison, sometimes in refrain, repeating the verse sung by the lead dancer.
The onlookers joined in, clapping the rhythm or singing. Professional singers, often the
musicians themselves, composed lyrics to suit the occasion.
Byzantine Greece
Main article: Byzantine music


Earliest known depiction of lyra in a Byzantine ivory casket. The Byzantine Church music has a
strong influence on modern Greek music.
The Byzantine music is also of major significance to the history and development of European
music, as liturgical chants became the foundation and stepping stone for music of the
Renaissance (see: Renaissance Music). It is also certain that Byzantine music included an
extensive tradition of instrumental court music and dance; any other picture would be both
incongruous with the historically and archaeologically documented opulence of the Eastern
Roman Empire. There survive a few but explicit accounts of secular music. A characteristic
example is the accounts of pneumatic organs, whose construction was further advanced in the
eastern empire prior to their development in the west following the Renaissance.
Byzantine instruments included the guitar, single, double or multiple flute, sistrum, timpani
(drum), psaltirio, Sirigs, lyre, cymbals, keras and kanonaki.
Popular dances of this period included the Syrtos, Geranos, Mantilia, Saximos, Pyrichios, and
Kordakas . Some of these dances have their origins in the ancient period and are still enacted in
some form today.





Modern Greece
A range of domestically and internationally known composers and performers across the musical
spectrum have found success in modern Greece, while traditional Greek music is noted as a
mixture of influences from indigenous culture with those of west and east. A few Ottoman
elements can be heard in the traditional songs, dhimotik, as well as in the modern bluesy
rembtika music. A well-known Greek musical instrument is the bouzouki. "Bouzouki" is a
descriptive Turkish name, but the instrument itself is probably of Greek origin (from the ancient
Greek lute known as pandoura, a kind of guitar, clearly visible in ancient statues, especially
female figurines of the "Tanagraies" playing cord instruments).

Mikis Theodorakis, popular composer, tried to introduce the bouzouki into the mainstream
culture.
Famous Greek musicians and composers of modern era include the central figure of 20th-century
European modernism Iannis Xenakis, a composer, architect and theorist. Maria Callas, Nikos
Skalkottas, Mikis Theodorakis, Dimitris Mitropoulos, Manos Hadjidakis and Vangelis also lead
twentieth-century Greek contributions, alongside Demis Roussos, Nana Mouskouri, Yanni,
Georges Moustaki, Eleni Karaindrou and others.
The birth of the first School of modern Greek classical music (Heptanesean or Ionian School,
Greek: ) came through the Ionian Islands (notable composers include
Spyridon Samaras, Nikolaos Mantzaros and Pavlos Carrer), while Manolis Kalomiris is
considered the founder of the Greek National School.

Cretan dancers of traditional music

Greece is one of the few places in Europe where the day-to-day role of folk dance is sustained.
Rather than functioning as a museum piece preserved only for performances and special events,
it is a vivid expression of everyday life. Occasions for dance are usually weddings, family
celebrations, and paneyeria (Patron Saints' name days). Dance has its place in ceremonial
customs that are still preserved in Greek villages, such as dancing the bride during a wedding
and dancing the trousseau of the bride during the wedding preparations. The carnival and Easter
offer more opportunities for family gatherings and dancing. Greek taverns providing live
entertainment often include folk dances in their program.
Regional characteristics have developed over the years because of variances in climatic
conditions, land morphology and people's social lives. In later years, wars, international pacts
and consequent movement of populations, and even movements of civil servants around the
country, intermingled traditions. People learned new dances, adapted them to their environment,
and included them in their feasts. Kalamatianos and Syrtos are considered Pan-Hellenic dances
and are danced all over the world in diaspora communities. Others have also crossed boundaries
and are known beyond the regions where they originated; these include the Pentozali from Crete,
Hasapiko from Constantinople, Zonaradikos from Thrace, Pyrehios from Pontos and Balos from
the Aegean islands.
The avant-garde choreographer, director and dancer Dimitris Papaioannou was responsible for
the critically successful opening ceremony of the 2004 Olympic Games, with a conception that
reflected the classical influences on modern and experimental Greek dance forms.
Painting
Ancient Greece
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). Due to intensive weathering, polychromy on sculpture and architecture has
substantially or totally faded in most cases.
Byzantine Greece[edit]
Main articles: Byzantine Art and Macedonian art (Byzantine)


Mosaic from Daphni Monastery (ca. 1100)
Byzantine art is the term created for the Eastern Roman Empire from about the 5th century until
the fall of Constantinople in 1453. 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 and Modern Greece[edit]
Main articles: Cretan School, Heptanese School (painting) and Modern Greek art


Saint Eustace icon, an example of the Cretan School


Children's Concert by Georgios Jakobides

The term Cretan School describes an important school of icon painting, also known as Post-
Byzantine art, which flourished while Crete was under Venetian rule during the late Middle
Ages, reaching its climax after the Fall of Constantinople, becoming the central force in Greek
painting during the 15th, 16th and 17th centuries. The Cretan artists developed a particular style
of painting under the influence of both Eastern and Western artistic traditions and movements.
The most famous product of the school, El Greco, was the most successful of the many artists
who tried to build a career in Western Europe.
The Heptanese School of painting succeeded the Cretan school as the leading school of Greek
post-Byzantine painting after Crete fell to the Ottomans in 1669. Like the Cretan school it
combined Byzantine traditions with an increasing Western European artistic influence, and also
saw the first significant depiction of secular subjects. The school was based in the Ionian islands,
which were not part of Ottoman Greece, from the middle of the 17th century until the middle of
the 19th century.
Modern Greek painting, after the independence and the creation of the modern Greek state,
began to be developed around the time of Romanticism and the Greek artists absorbed many
elements from their European colleagues, resulting in the culmination of the distinctive style of
Greek Romantic art. Notable painters of the era include Nikolaos Gyzis, Georgios Jakobides,
Nikiphoros Lytras, Konstantinos Volanakis and Theodoros Vryzakis.
Sculpture
Ancient Greece
See also: Ancient Greek sculpture


Peplos Kore at the Acropolis Museum. Relics of the polychromy are visibile.



Ancient Greek monumental 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. Using high-intensity lamps,
ultraviolet light, specially designed cameras, plaster casts, and certain powdered minerals,
Brinkmann proved that the entire Parthenon, including the actual structure as well as the statues,
had been painted.
Byzantine Greece
The Byzantines inherited the early Christian distrust of monumental sculpture in religious art,
and produced only reliefs, of which very few survivals are anything like life-size, in sharp
contrast to the medieval art of the West, where monumental sculpture revived from Carolingian
art onwards. Small ivories were also mostly in relief.
The so-called minor arts were very important in Byzantine art and luxury items, including
ivories carved in relief as formal presentation Consular diptychs or caskets such as the Veroli
casket, hardstone carvings, enamels, jewelry, metalwork, and figured silks were produced in
large quantities throughout the Byzantine era. Many of these were religious in nature, although a
large number of objects with secular or non-representational decoration were produced: for
example, ivories representing themes from classical mythology. Byzantine ceramics were
relatively crude, as pottery was never used at the tables of the rich, who ate off silver.
Modern Greece


Equestrian statue of Theodoros Kolokotronis in Athens. Work by Lazaros Sochos

After the establishment of the Greek Kingdom and the western influence of Neoclassicism,
sculpture was re-discovered by the Greek artists. Main themes included the ancient Greek
antiquity, the War of Independence and important figures of the Greek history.
Notable sculptors of the new state were Leonidas Drosis (his major work was the extensive neo-
classical architectural ornament at the Academy of Athens, Lazaros Sochos, Georgios Vitalis,
Dimitrios Filippotis, Ioannis Kossos, Yannoulis Chalepas, Georgios Bonanos and Lazaros
Fytalis.
Theatre
Ancient Greece
Main article: Theatre of ancient Greece


The ancient theatre of Epidaurus continues to be used for staging ancient Greek plays.
Theatre was born in Greece. 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. Athens exported the festival to its numerous colonies and allies in order
to promote a common cultural identity.
The word (tragoidia), from which the word "tragedy" is derived, is a compound of two
Greek words: (tragos) or "goat" and (ode) meaning "song", from (aeidein),
"to sing". This etymology indicates a link with the practices of the ancient Dionysian cults. It is
impossible, however, to know with certainty how these fertility rituals became the basis for
tragedy and comedy.
Middle Ages
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. 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.
Modern Greece
Main article: Modern Greek theatre


Apollon Theatre (Patras)
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 Alexandros Rizos Rangavis, Gregorios Xenopoulos, Nikos Kazantzakis, Angelos
Terzakis, 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.
Cuisine
Main article: Greek cuisine
See also: Ancient Greek cuisine and Byzantine cuisine


Greek salad


Traditional Greek taverna, integral part of Greek culture and cuisine.
Greek cuisine has a long tradition and its flavors change with the season and its geography.
Greek cookery, historically a forerunner of Western cuisine, spread its culinary influence via
ancient Rome throughout Europe and beyond.
Ancient Greek cuisine was characterized by its frugality and was founded on the "Mediterranean
triad": wheat, olive oil, and wine, with meat being rarely eaten and fish being more common. It
was Archestratos in 320 B.C. who wrote the first cookbook in history. Greece has a culinary
tradition of some 4,000 years.
The Byzantine cuisine was similar to the classical cuisine including however new ingredients
that were not available before, like caviar, nutmeg and lemons, basil, with fish continuing to be
an integral part of the diet. Culinary advice was influenced by the theory of humors, first put
forth by the ancient Greek doctor Claudius Aelius Galenus.
The modern Greek cuisine has also influences from the Ottoman and Italian cuisine due to the
Ottoman and Venetian dominance through the centuries.
Wine production
Greece is one of the oldest wine-producing regions in the world. The earliest evidence of Greek
wine has been dated to 6,500 years ago
[11][12]
where wine was produced on a household or
communal basis. In ancient times, as trade in wine became extensive, it was transported from end
to end of the Mediterranean; Greek wine had especially high prestige in Italy under the Roman
Empire. In the medieval period, wines exported from Crete, Monemvasia and other Greek ports
fetched high prices in northern Europe.




Education
Main article: Education in Greece


The Academy of Athens is Greece's national academy and the highest research establishment in
the country.
Education in Greece is compulsory for all children 615 years old; namely, it includes Primary
(Dimotiko) and Lower Secondary (Gymnasio) Education. The school life of the students,
however, can start from the age of 2.5 years (pre-school education) in institutions (private and
public) called "Vrefonipiakoi Paidikoi Stathmi" (creches). In some Vrefonipiakoi Stathmoi there
are also Nipiaka Tmimata (nursery classes) which operate along with the Nipiagogeia
(kindergartens).
Post-compulsory Secondary Education, according to the reforms of 1997 and 2006, consists of
two main school types: Genika Lykeia (General Upper Secondary Schools) and the
Epaggelmatika Lykeia (Vocational Upper Secondary Schools), as well as the Epaggelmatikes
Sxoles (Vocational Schools). Musical, Ecclesiastical and Physical Education Gymnasia and
Lykeia are also in operation.
Post-compulsory Secondary Education also includes the Vocational Training Institutes (IEK),
which provide formal but unclassified level of education. These Institutes are not classified as an
educational level, because they accept both Gymnasio (lower secondary school) and Lykeio
(upper secondary school) graduates according to the relevant specializations they provide. Public
higher education is divided into Universities and Technological Education Institutes (TEI).
Students are admitted to these Institutes according to their performance at national level
examinations taking place at the second and third grade of Lykeio. Additionally, students are
admitted to the Hellenic Open University upon the completion of the 22 year of age by drawing
lots.



Nea Dimokratia (New Democracy), the Greek conservative right political party, has claimed that
it will change the law so that private universities gain recognition. Without official recognition,
students who have an EES degree are unable to work in the public sector. PASOK took some
action after EU intervention, namely the creation of a special government agency which certifies
the vocational status of certain EES degree holders. However, their academic status still remains
a problem. The issue of full recognition is still an issue of debate among Greek politicians.
Greek people[edit]
Main article: Greek people


Alexander the Great also known as Alexander III, king of Macedon, was one of the most
successful military commanders in history.
The origins of Western literature and of the main branches of Western learning may be traced to
the era of Greek greatness that began before 700 BC with the epics of Homer, the Iliad and the
Odyssey. Hesiod, the first didactic poet, put into epic verse his descriptions of pastoral life,
including practical advice on farming, and allegorical myths. The poets Alcaeus of Mytilene,
Sappho, Anacreon, and Bacchylides wrote of love, war, and death in lyrics of great feeling and
beauty. Pindar celebrated the Panhellenic athletic festivals in vivid odes. The fables of the slave
Aesop have been famous for more than 2,500 years. Three of the world's greatest dramatists
were Aeschylus, author of the Oresteia trilogy; Sophocles, author of the Theban plays; and
Euripides, author of Medea, The Trojan Women, and The Bacchae. Aristophanes, the greatest
author of comedies, satirized the mores of his day in a series of brilliant plays. Three great
historians were Herodotus, regarded as the father of history, known for The Persian Wars;
Thucydides, who generally avoided myth and legend and applied greater standards of historical
accuracy in his History of the Peloponnesian War; and Xenophon, best known for his account of
the Greek retreat from Persia, the Anabasis. Outstanding literary figures of the Hellenistic period
were Menander, the chief representative of a newer type of comedy; the poets Callimachus,
Theocritus, and Apollonius Rhodius, author of the Argonautica; and Polybius, who wrote a
detailed history of the Mediterranean world. Noteworthy in the Roman period were Strabo, a
writer on geography; Plutarch, the father of biography, whose Parallel Lives of famous Greeks
and Romans is a chief source of information about great figures of antiquity; Pausanias, a travel
writer; and Lucian, a satirist.
The leading philosophers of the period preceding Greece's golden age were Thales, Pythagoras,
Heraclitus, Protagoras, and Democritus. Socrates investigated ethics and politics. His greatest
pupil, Plato, used Socrates' question-and-answer method of investigating philosophical problems
in his famous dialogues. Plato's pupil Aristotle established the rules of deductive reasoning but
also used observation and inductive reasoning, applying himself to the systematic study of
almost every form of human endeavor. Outstanding in the Hellenistic period were Epicurus, the
philosopher of moderation; Zeno of Citium, the founder of Stoicism; and Diogenes of Sinope,
the famous Cynic. The oath of Hippocrates, the father of medicine, is still recited by newly
graduating physicians. Euclid evolved the system of geometry that bears his name. Archimedes
discovered the principles of mechanics and hydrostatics. Eratosthenes calculated the earth's
circumference with remarkable accuracy, and Hipparchus Founded scientific astronomy. Galen
was an outstanding physician of ancient times.


The most famous artist born in Greece was probably Domnikos Theotokpoulos, better known
as El Greco (The Greek) in Spain. He did most of his painting there during the late 1500s and
early 1600s.
The sculptor Phidias created the statue of Athena and the figure of Zeus in the temple at Olympia
and supervised the construction and decoration of the Parthenon. Another renowned sculptor was
Praxiteles.
The legal reforms of Solon served as the basis of Athenian democracy. The Athenian general
Miltiades the Younger led the victory over the Persians at Marathon in 490 BC, and
Themistocles was chiefly responsible for the victory at Salamis 10 years later. Pericles, the
virtual ruler of Athens for more than 25 years, added to the political power of that city,
inaugurated the construction of the Parthenon and other noteworthy buildings, and encouraged
the arts of sculpture and painting. With the decline of Athens, first Sparta and then Thebes, under
the great military tactician Epaminondas, gained the ascendancy; but soon thereafter, two
military geniuses, Philip II of Macedon and his son Alexander the Great, gained control over all
of Greece and formed a vast empire stretching as far east as India. It was against Philip that
Demosthenes, the greatest Greek orator, directed his diatribes, the Philippics.


Constantine P. Cavafy
The most renowned Greek painter during the Renaissance was El Greco, born in Crete, whose
major works, painted in Spain, have influenced many 20th-century artists. An outstanding
modern literary figure is Nikos Kazantzakis, a novelist and poet who composed a vast sequel to
Homer's Odyssey. Leading modern poets are Kostis Palamas, and Constantine P. Cavafy, as well
as George Seferis, and Odysseus Elytis, winners of the Nobel Prize for literature in 1963 and
1979, respectively. The work of social theorist Cornelius Castoriadis is known for its
multidisciplinary breadth. Musicians of stature are the composers Nikos Skalkottas, Iannis
Xenakis, and Mikis Theodorakis; the conductor Dmitri Mitropoulos; and the soprano Maria
Callas. Filmmakers who have won international acclaim are Greek-Americans John Cassavetes
and Elia Kazan, and Greeks Michael Cacoyannis and Costa-Gavras. Actresses of note are Katina
Paxinou; Melina Mercouri, who was appointed minister of culture and science in the Socialist
cabinet in 1981; and Irene Papas.
Outstanding Greek public figures in the 20th century include Cretan-born Eleutherios Venizelos,
prominent statesman of the interwar period; Ioannis Metaxas, dictator from 1936 until his death;
Constantine Karamanlis, prime minister (195563, 197480) and president (198085) of Greece;
George Papandreou, head of the Center Union Party and prime minister (196365); and his son
Andreas Papandreou, the PASOK leader who became prime minister in 1981. Costas Simitis was
leader of PASOK and prime minister from 19962004. He was succeeded by Kostas Karamanlis.





Language
Main article: Greek language


Ancient Greek Ostracon bearing the name of Cimon. Museum of the Ancient Agora, Athens.


Areas speaking the modern Greek; with darker blue the areas where Greek is official.
The Greek language is the official language of the Hellenic Republic and has a total of 15
million speakers worldwide; it is an Indo-European language. It is particularly remarkable in the
depth of its continuity, beginning with the pre-historic Mycenaean Greek and the Linear B script,
and maybe the Linear A script associated with Minoan civilization, though Linear A is still
undeciphered. Greek language is clearly detected in the Mycenaean language and the Cypriot
syllabary, and eventually the dialects of Ancient Greek, of which Attic Greek bears the most
resemblance to Modern Greek. The history of the language spans over 3400 years of written
records.
Greek has had enormous impact on other languages both directly on the Romance languages, and
indirectly through its influence on the emerging Latin language during the early days of Rome.
Signs of this influence, and its many developments, can be seen throughout the family of
Western European languages.
Internet and "Greeklish"
More recently, the rise of internet-based communication services as well as cell phones have
caused a distinctive form of Greek written partially, and sometimes fully in Latin characters to
emerge; this is known as Greeklish, a form that has spread across the Greek diaspora and even to
the two countries with majority Greek population, Greece and Cyprus.


Katharevousa
Main article: Katharevousa
Katharvousa is a purified form of the Greek Language midway between modern and ancient
forms set in train during the early nineteenth century by Greek intellectual and revolutionary
leader Adamantios Korais, intended to return the Greek language closer to its ancient form. Its
influence, in recent years, evolved toward a more formal role, and it came to be used primarily
for official purposes such as diplomacy, politics, and other forms of official documentation. It
has nevertheless had significant effects on the Greek language as it is still written and spoken
today, and both vocabulary and grammatical and syntactical forms have re-entered Modern
Greek via Katharevousa.
Dialects
There are a variety of dialects of the Greek language; the most notable include Cappadocian,
Cretan Greek (which is closely related to most Aegean Islands' dialects), Cypriot Greek, Pontic
Greek, the Griko language spoken in Southern Italy, and Tsakonian, still spoken in the modern
prefecture of Arcadia and widely noted as a surviving regional dialect of Doric Greek.
Literature[edit]
Main article: Greek literature


Idealized portrait of Homer, British Museum



Greece has a remarkably rich and resilient literary tradition, extending over 2800 years and
through several eras. The Classical era is that most commonly associated with Greek Literature,
beginning in 800 BCE and maintaining its influence through to the beginnings of Byzantine
period, whereafter the influence of Christianity began to spawn a new development of the Greek
written word. The many elements of a millennia-old tradition are reflected in Modern Greek
literature, including the works of the Nobel laureates Odysseus Elytis and George Seferis.
Ancient Greece
The first recorded works in the western literary tradition are the epic poems of Homer and
Hesiod. Early Greek lyric poetry, as represented by poets such as Sappho and Pindar, was
responsible for defining the lyric genre as it is understood today in western literature. Aesop
wrote his Fables in the 6th century BC. These innovations were to have a profound influence not
only on Roman poets, most notably Virgil in his epic poem on the founding of Rome, The
Aeneid, but one that flourished throughout Europe.
Classical Greece is also judged the birthplace of theatre. Aeschylus introduced the ideas of
dialogue and interacting characters to playwriting and in doing so, he effectively invented
"drama": his Oresteia trilogy of plays is judged his crowning achievement. Other refiners of
playwriting were Sophocles and Euripides. Aristophanes, a comic playwright, defined and
shaped the idea of comedy as a theatrical form.
Herodotus and Thucydides are often attributed with developing the modern study of history into
a field worthy of philosophical, literary, and scientific pursuit. Polybius first introduced into
study the concept of military history.
Philosophy entered literature in the dialogues of Plato, while his pupil Aristotle, in his work the
Poetics, formulated the first set criteria for literary criticism. Both these literary figures, in the
context of the broader contributions of Greek philosophy in the Classical and Hellenistic eras,
were to give rise to idea of Political Science, the study of political evolution and the critique of
governmental systems.







Byzantine Greece
Main article: Byzantine literature


A page from a 16th-century edition of the 10th century Byzantine encyclopaedia of the ancient
Mediterranean world, the Suda.
The growth of Christianity throughout the Greco-Roman world in the 4th, 5th and 6th centuries,
together with the Hellenization of the Byzantine Empire of the period, would lead to the
formation of a unique literary form, combining Christian, Greek, Roman and Oriental (such as
the Persian Empire) influences. In its turn, this would promote developments such as Cretan
poetry, the growth of poetic satire in the Greek East and the several pre-eminent historians of the
period.
Modern Greece[edit]
Main article: Modern Greek literature


Adamantios Korais, major figure of the Modern Greek Enlightenment
Modern Greek literature refers to literature written in the Greek language from the 11th century,
with texts written in a language that is more familiar to the ears of Greeks today than is the
language of the early Byzantine times.


Nikos Kazantzakis, one of the most prominent modern Greek writers
The Cretan Renaissance poem Erotokritos is undoubtedly the masterpiece of this early period of
modern Greek literature, and represents one of its supreme achievements. It is a verse romance
written around 1600 by Vitsentzos Kornaros (15531613). The other major representative of the
Cretan literature was Georgios Chortatzis and his most notable work was Erofili. Other plays
include The Sacrifice of Abraham by Kornaros, Panoria and Katsourbos by Chortatzis, King
Rodolinos by Andreas Troilos, Stathis (comedy) and Voskopoula by unknown artists.
Much later, Diafotismos was an ideological, philological, linguistic and philosophical movement
among 18th century Greeks that translate the ideas and values of European Enlightenment into
the Greek world. Adamantios Korais and Rigas Feraios are two of the most notable figures. In
1819, Korakistika, written by Iakovakis Rizos Neroulos, was a lampoon against the Greek
intellectual Adamantios Korais and his linguistic views, who favoured the use of a more
conservative form of the Greek language, closer to the ancient.
The years before the Greek Independence, the Ionian islands became the center of the Heptanese
School (literature). Its main characteristics was the Italian influence, romanticism, nationalism
and use of Demotic Greek. Notable representatives were Andreas Laskaratos, Andreas Kalvos,
Aristotelis Valaoritis and Dionysios Solomos.
After the independence the intellectual center was transferred in Athens. A major figure of this
new era was Kostis Palamas, considered "national poet" of Greece. He was the central figure of
the Greek literary generation of the 1880s and one of the cofounders of the so-called New
Athenian School (or Palamian School). Its main characteristic was the use of Demotic Greek. He
was also the writer of the Olympic Hymn.


Moving into the twentieth century, the modern Greek literary tradition spans the work of
Constantine P. Cavafy, considered a key figure of twentieth-century poetry, Giorgos Seferis
(whose works and poems aimed to fuse the literature of Ancient and Modern Greece) and
Odysseas Elytis, both of whom won the Nobel Prize for Literature. Nikos Kazantzakis is also
considered a dominant figure, with works such as The Last Temptation of Christ and The Greek
Passion receiving international recognition.
Philosophy, science and mathematics[edit]
The Greek world is widely regarded as having given birth to scientific thought by means of
observation, thought, and development of a theory without the intervention of a supernatural
force. Thales, Anaximander and Democritus were amongst those contributing significantly to the
establishment of this tradition. It is also, and perhaps more commonly in the western
imagination, identified with the dawn of Western Philosophy, as well as a mapping out of the
Natural Sciences. Greek developments of mathematics continued well up until the decline of the
Byzantine Empire. In the modern era Greeks continue to contribute to the fields of Science,
Mathematics and Philosophy.
Ancient Greece
See also: Greek mathematics, Greek philosophy and Ancient Greek medicine


Aristarchus of Samos was the first known individual to propose a heliocentric system, in the 3rd
century BC
The tradition of philosophy in Ancient Greece accompanied its literary development. Greek
learning had a profound influence on Western and Middle Eastern civilizations. The works of
Socrates, Plato, Aristotle, and other Greek philosophers profoundly influenced Classical thought,
the Islamic Golden Age, and the Renaissance.
In medicine, doctors still refer to the Hippocratic oath, instituted by Hippocrates, regarded as
foremost in laying the foundations of medicine as a science. Galen built on Hippocrates' theory
of the four humours, and his writings became the foundation of medicine in Europe and the
Middle East for centuries. The physicians Herophilos and Paulus Aegineta were pioneers in the
study of anatomy, while Pedanius Dioscorides wrote an extensive treatise on the practice of
pharmacology.
The period of Classical Greece (from 800BC until the rise of Macedon, a Greek state in the
north) is that most often associated with Greek advances in science. Thales of Miletus is
regarded by many as the father of science; he was the first of the ancient philosophers to seek to
explain the physical world in terms of natural rather than supernatural causes. Pythagoras was a
mathematician often described as the "father of numbers"; it is believed that he had the
pioneering insight into the numerical ratios that determine the musical scale, and the Pythagorean
theorem is commonly attributed to him. Diophantus of Alexandria, in turn, was the "father of
algebra". Many parts of modern geometry are based on the work of Euclid, while Eratosthenes
was one of the first scientific geographers, calculating the circumference of the earth and
conceiving the first maps based on scientific principles.
The Hellenistic period, following Alexander's conquests, continued and built upon this
knowledge. Hipparchus is considered the pre-eminent astronomical observer of the ancient
world, and was probably the first to develop an accurate method for the prediction of solar
eclipse, while Aristarchus of Samos was the first known astronomer to propose a heliocentric
model of the solar system, though the geocentric model of Ptolemy was more commonly
accepted until the seventeenth century. Ptolemy also contributed substantially to cartography and
to the science of optics. For his part Archimedes was the first to calculate the value of and a
geometric series, and also the earliest known mathematical physicist discovering the law of
buoyancy, as well as conceiving the irrigation device known as Archimedes' screw.
Byzantine Greece[edit]
See also: Byzantine science and Greek scholars in the Renaissance


Manuel Chrysoloras, Greek scholar in the Renaissance


Gemistus Pletho
The Byzantine period remained largely a period of preservation in terms of classical Greco-
Roman texts; there were, however, significant advances made in the fields of medicine and
historical scholarship. Theological philosophy also remained an area of study, and there was,
while not matching the achievements of preceding ages, a certain increase in the professionalism
of study of these subjects, epitomized by the founding of the University of Constantinople.
Isidore of Miletus and Anthemius of Tralles, the architects of the famous Hagia Sophia in
Constantinople, also contributed towards mathematical theories concerning architectural form,
and the perceived mathematical harmony needed to create a multi-domed structure. These ideas
were to prove a heavy influence on the Ottoman architect Mimar Sinan in his creation of the
Blue Mosque, also in Constantinople. Tralles in particular produced several treatises on the
Natural Sciences, as well as his other forays into mathematics such as Conic Sections.
The gradual migration of Greeks from Byzantium to the Italian city states following the decline
of the Byzantine Empire, and the texts they brought with them combined with the academic
positions they held, was a major factor in lighting the first sparks of the Italian Renaissance.
Modern Greece


Constantin Carathodory
Greeks continue to contribute to science and technology in the modern world. John Argyris, a
Greek mathematician and engineer, was among the creators of the finite element analysis and the
direct stiffness method, relative to physics. Mathematician Constantin Carathodory worked in
the fields of real analysis, the calculus of variations, and measure theory in the early 20th
century. Biologist Fotis Kafatos pioneers in the field of molecular cloning and genomics. In
medicine, Georgios Papanikolaou contributed heavily to the development of cancer screening
with his Pap smear. The Greek car designer Alec Issigonis created the iconic Mini automobile,
while the computer scientist Michael Dertouzos was amongst the pioneers of the internet.
Nicholas Negroponte, chairman of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Media Lab, is one
of the founders of the program One Laptop Per Child, a non-profit organisation aiming to extend
Internet access in developing countries.
Politics
Main article: Politics of Greece


The building of the Hellenic Parliament was designed as a Royal Palace for Otto of Greece.

Greece is a Parliamentary Republic with a president assuming a more ceremonial role than in
some other republics, and the Prime Minister chosen from the leader of the majority party in the
parliament. Greece has a codified constitution and a written Bill of Rights embedded within it.
The current Prime Minister is Antonis Samaras.
The politics of the third Hellenic Republic have been dominated by two main political parties,
the self-proclaimed socialists of PASOK and the conservative New Democracy. Until
recently
[when?]
PASOK had dominated the political scene, presiding over favourable growth rates
economically but in the eyes of critics failing to deliver where unemployment and structural
issues such as market liberalization were concerned.
New Democracy's election to government in 2004 has led to various initiatives to modernize the
country, such as the education university scheme above as well as labour market liberalization.
Politically there has been massive opposition to some of these moves owing to a large, well
organized workers' movement in Greece, which distrusts the right wing administration and neo-
liberal ideas. The population in general appears to accept many of the initiatives, reflected in
governmental support; on the economic front many are so far warming to the reforms made by
the administration, which have been largely rewarded with above average Eurozone growth
rates. New Democracy were re-elected in September 2007.
A number of other smaller political parties exist. They include the third largest party (the
Communist Party), which still commands large support from many rural working areas as well as
some of the immigrant population in Greece, as well as the far-right Popular Orthodox Rally,
with the latter, while commanding a mere three and a half per cent of votes, seeking to capitalise
on opposition in some quarters regarding Turkey's EU accession and any tension in the Aegean.
There is also a relatively small, but well organized anarchist movement, though its status in
Greece has been somewhat exaggerated by media overseas.
The political process is energetically and openly participated in by the people of Greece, while
public demonstrations are a continual feature of Athenian life; however, there have been
criticisms of a governmental failure to sufficiently involve minorities in political debate and
hence a sidelining of their opinions. In general, politics is regarded as an acceptable subject to
broach on almost every social occasion, and Greeks are often very vocal about their support (or
lack of it) for certain policy proposals, or political parties themselves this is perhaps reflected
in what many consider the rather sensationalist media on both sides of the political spectrum;
although this is a feature of most European tabloids.



Public holidays and festivals
Main article: Public holidays in Greece


View of the Easter rouketopolemos (rocket war) in Vrontados of Chios island
According to Greek Law every Sunday of the year is a public holiday. In addition, there are four
obligatory, official public holidays: March 25 (Greek Independence Day), Easter Monday,
August 15 (Assumption or Dormition of the Holy Virgin) and December 25 (Christmas). Two
more days, May 1 (Labour Day) and October 28 (Ohi Day), are regulated by law as 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 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", also called "Name Day", or a "Liberation Day", and at this
day is customary for schools to have a 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,
[13]







Religion
Main articles: Religion in Greece and Eastern Orthodox Church
Ancient Greece


The Temple of Hephaestus in Athens is the best-preserved of all ancient Greek temples.
Classical Athens may be suggested to have heralded some of the same religious ideas that would
later be promoted by Christianity, such as Aristotle's invocation of a perfect God, and Heraclitus'
Logos. Plato considered there were rewards for the virtuous in the heavens and punishment for
the wicked under the earth; the soul was valued more highly than the material body, and the
material world was understood to be imperfect and not fully real (illustrated in Socrates's
allegory of the cave).
Hellenistic Greece
Alexander's conquests spread classical concepts about the divine, the afterlife, and much else
across the eastern Mediterranean area. Jews and early Christians alike adopted the name "hades"
when writing about "sheol" in Greek. Greco-Buddhism was the cultural syncretism between
Hellenistic culture and Buddhism, which developed in the Indo-Greek Kingdoms. By the advent
of Christianity, the four original patriarchates beyond Rome used Greek as their church
language.
Byzantine and Modern Greece


Our Lady of Tinos


Shards of pottery vases on the street, after being thrown from the windows of nearby houses. A
Holy Saturday tradition in Corfu.
The Greek Orthodox Church, largely because of the importance of Byzantium in Greek history,
as well as its role in the revolution, is a major institution in modern Greece. Its roles in society
and larger role in overarching Greek culture are very important; a number of Greeks attend
Church at least once a month or more and the Orthodox Easter holiday holds special
significance.
The Church of Greece also retains limited political influence through the fact the Greek
constitution does not have an explicit separation of Church and State; a debate suggested by
more conservative elements of the church in the early 2000s about identification cards and
whether religious affiliation might be added to them highlights the friction between state and
church on some issues; the proposal unsurprisingly was not accepted. A widely publicised set of
corruption scandals in 2004 implicating a small group of senior churchmen also increased
national debate on introducing a greater transparency to the church-state relationship.
Greek Orthodox Churches dot both the villages and towns of Greece and come in a variety of
architectural forms, from older Byzantine churches, to more modern white brick churches, to
newer cathedral-like structures with evident Byzantine influence. Greece (as well as Cyprus),
also polled as, ostensibly, one of the most religious countries in Europe, according to Eurostat;
however, while the church has wide respect as a moral and cultural institution, a contrast in
religious belief with Protestant northern Europe is more obvious than one with Catholic
Mediterranean Europe.
Greece also has a significant minority of Muslims in Eastern Thrace (numbering around 100-
150,000), with their places of worship guaranteed since the 1923 Treaty of Lausanne. The Greek
state has fully approved the construction a main mosque for the more recent Muslim community
of Athens under the freedom of religion provisions of the Greek constitution.
Other religious communities living in Greece include Roman Catholics, Protestants, Armenians,
followers of the ancient Greek religion (see Hellenism (religion)), Jews and others.
Sports


Archery matches in Panathenaic Stadium during the 2004 Olympics.
Greece has risen to prominence in a number of sporting areas in recent decades. Football in
particular has seen a rapid transformation, with the Greek national football team winning the
2004 UEFA European Football Championship. Many Greek athletes have also achieved
significant success and have won world and olympic titles in numerous sports during the years,
such as basketball, wrestling, water polo, athletics, weightlifting, with many of them becoming
international stars inside their sports. The successful organisation of the Athens 2004 Olympic
and Paralympic Games led also to the further development of many sports and has led to the
creation of many World class sport venues all over Greece and especially in Athens. Greek
athletes have won a total 146 medals for Greece in 15 different Olympic sports at the Summer
Olympic Games, including the Intercalated Games, an achievement which makes Greece one of
the top nations globally, in the world's rankings of medals per capita.
Symbols


Traditional flag used from 1769 to the War of Independence
The national colours of Greece are blue and white. The coat of arms of Greece consists of a
white cross on a blue escutcheon which is surrounded by two laurel branches.
[14]
The Flag of
Greece is also blue and white, as defined by Law 851/1978 Regarding the National Flag.
[15]
It
specifies the colour of "cyan" (Greek: , kyano), meaning "blue", so the shade of blue is
ambiguous.
The Order of the Redeemer and military decoration Cross of Valour both have ribbons in the
national colours.
[16]

Since it was first established, the national emblem has undergone many changes in shape and in
design. The original Greek national emblem depicted the goddess Athena and an owl. At the
time of Ioannis Kapodistrias, the phoenix, the symbol of rebirth, was added.
Other recognizable symbols include the (throughout the Byzantine empire) double-headed eagle
and the Vergina Sun.