Greece

Coordinates: 39°N 22°E / 39°N 22°E / 39; 22
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Hellenic Republic
Ελληνική Δημοκρατία (Greek)
Ellinikí Dimokratía
Motto: Ελευθερία ή Θάνατος
Elefthería í Thánatos
(English: "Freedom or Death")
Anthem: Ύμνος εις την Ελευθερίαν
Ímnos is tin Eleftherían
(English: "Hymn to Liberty")
Location of Greece (dark green)

– in Europe (light green & dark grey)
– in the European Union (light green)

Capital
and largest city
Athens
37°58′N 23°43′E / 37.967°N 23.717°E / 37.967; 23.717
Official language
and national language
Greek
Religion
(2017)
  • 4% no religion
  • 2% Islam
  • 1% other[3]
Demonym(s)
GovernmentUnitary parliamentary republic
• President
Konstantinos Tasoulas
Kyriakos Mitsotakis
Nikitas Kaklamanis
LegislatureHellenic Parliament
Establishment history
25 March 1821 (traditional starting date)
1 January 1822
3 February 1830
24 July 1974
11 June 1975
Area
• Total
131,957 km2 (50,949 sq mi)[5] (95th)
• Water (%)
1.51 (2015)[4]
Population
• 2024 estimate
Neutral decrease 10,400,720 (1 January 2024)[6] (91st)
• 2021 census
Neutral decrease 10,432,481[7]
• Density
78.9/km2 (204.4/sq mi) (136th)
GDP (PPP)2025 estimate
• Total
Increase $467.590 billion[8] (54th)
• Per capita
Increase $45,048[8] (47th)
GDP (nominal)2025 estimate
• Total
Increase $267.348 billion[8] (50th)
• Per capita
Increase $25,756[8] (45th)
Gini (2024)Steady 31.8[9]
medium inequality
HDI (2023)Increase 0.908[10]
very high (34th)
CurrencyEuro () (EUR)
Time zoneUTC+02:00 (EET)
• Summer (DST)
UTC+03:00 (EEST)
Calling code+30
ISO 3166 codeGR
Internet TLD

Greece,

Mediterranean Basin, spanning thousands of islands and nine traditional geographic regions. It has a population of over 10 million. Athens is the nation's capital and largest city, followed by Thessaloniki and Patras
.

Greece is considered the cradle of

Greek identity and transmitted Greek traditions to the wider Orthodox world. After the Fourth Crusade in 1204, parts of the Greek peninsula came under Latin rule, but most of the area fell under Ottoman
control by the mid-15th century.

Following a protracted

.

Having achieved

most-visited country
in the world in 2024.

Name

The native name of the country in Modern Greek is Ελλάδα (Elláda, pronounced [eˈlaða] ). The corresponding form in Ancient Greek and conservative formal Modern Greek (Katharevousa) is Ἑλλάς (Hellas, classical: [hel.lás], modern: [eˈlas]). This is the source of the English alternative name Hellas, which is mostly found in archaic or poetic contexts today. The Greek adjectival form ελληνικός (ellinikos, [eliniˈkos]) is sometimes also translated as Hellenic and is often rendered in this way in the formal names of Greek institutions, as in the official name of the Greek state, the Hellenic Republic (Ελληνική Δημοκρατία, [eliniˈci ðimokraˈti.a]).[12]

The English names Greece and Greek are derived, via the Latin Graecia and Graecus, from the name of the Graeci (Γραικοί, Graikoí), one of the first ancient Greek tribes to settle Magna Graecia in southern Italy.

History

Prehistory and Aegean civilisations

The entrance of the Treasury of Atreus (13th century BC) in Mycenae

The

archaic humans.[14] All three stages of the Stone Age are represented in Greece, for example in the Franchthi Cave.[15] Neolithic settlements in Greece, dating from the 7th millennium BC,[16] are the oldest in Europe, as Greece lies on the route by which farming spread from the Near East to Europe.[17]

Greece is home to the first advanced civilisations in Europe and is often considered the birthplace of Western civilisation.[18][19] The earliest of them was the Cycladic culture which flourished on the islands of the Aegean Sea, starting around 3200 BC, and produced an abundance of folded-arm and other marble figurines.[20] From c. 3100 BC to 1100 BC, Crete, a major cultural and economic centre, was home to the Minoan civilisation known for its colourful art, religious figurines, and monumental palaces.[21][22] The Minoans wrote their undeciphered language using scripts known as Linear A and Cretan hieroglyphs.[23][24] On the mainland, the Mycenaean civilisation developed around 1750 BC and lasted until c. 1100 BC.[25] The Mycenaeans possessed advanced military and built large fortifications.[26] They worshiped many gods[27] and used Linear B to write the earliest attested form of Greek known as Mycenaean Greek.[28][29]

Ancient Greece

The collapse of the

mathematics and philosophy. In 508 BC, Cleisthenes instituted the world's first democratic system of government in Athens.[34][35]

The Parthenon on the Acropolis of Athens, icon of classical Greece

By 500 BC, the

kingdom of Macedon under king Philip II into an alliance known as the Hellenic League.[41]

Alexander the Great, whose conquests led to the Hellenistic period

After Philip's assassination in 336 BC, his son and

Greek, known as koine, and Greek culture was spread, while the Greeks adopted Eastern deities and cults.[44] Greek science, technology, and mathematics reached their peak during the Hellenistic period.[45] Aspiring to maintain their autonomy and independence from the Antigonid kings of the Macedonians, many poleis of Greece united in koina or sympoliteiai i.e. federations, while after the establishment of economic relations with the East, a stratum of wealthy euergetai dominated their internal life.[46]

Roman province (146 BC – 4th century AD)

The Odeon of Herodes Atticus in Athens, built in 161 AD

From about 200 BC the

Achaea.[49] Despite their military superiority, the Romans admired and became heavily influenced by Greek culture.[50]

Greek-speaking communities of the Hellenised East were instrumental in the spread of Christianity in the 2nd and 3rd centuries,[51] and Christianity's early leaders and writers were mostly Greek-speaking, though not from Greece itself.[52] The New Testament was written in Greek, and some sections attest to the importance of churches in Greece in early Christianity. Nevertheless, much of Greece clung to paganism, and ancient Greek religious practices were still in vogue in the late 4th century AD,[53] when they were outlawed by the Roman emperor Theodosius I in 391–392.[54] The last recorded Olympic games were held in 393,[55] and many temples were destroyed or damaged in the century that followed.[56][57] The closure of the Neoplatonic Academy of Athens by Emperor Justinian in 529 is considered the end of antiquity, although there is evidence that the academy continued.[56][58]

Medieval period (4th–15th centuries)

The Byzantine (Eastern Roman) Empire after the death of Basil II in 1025
View of the medieval fortress city of Monemvasia

The Roman Empire in the east, following the fall of the Western Roman Empire in the 5th century, is known as the Byzantine Empire, but called "Kingdom of the Romans" in its own time. With its capital in Constantinople, its language and culture were Greek and its religion was predominantly Eastern Orthodox Christian.[59]

The Empire's Balkan territories, including Greece, suffered from the dislocation of barbarian invasions;[60] raids by Goths and Huns in the 4th and 5th centuries and the Slavic invasion in the 7th century resulted in a collapse in imperial authority in the Greek peninsula.[61] The imperial government retained control of only the islands and coastal areas, particularly the populated walled cities such as Athens, Corinth and Thessalonica.[61][62][63] However, the view that Greece underwent decline, fragmentation and depopulation is considered outdated, as cities show institutional continuity and prosperity between the 4th and 6th centuries. In the early 6th century, Greece had approximately 80 cities according to the Synekdemos chronicle, and the 4th to the 7th century is considered one of high prosperity.[64]

Until the 8th century almost all of modern Greece was under the jurisdiction of the

Patriarchate of Constantinople westward and northward in the 8th century.[65] The Byzantine recovery of lost provinces during the Arab–Byzantine wars began in the 8th century and most of the Greek peninsula came under imperial control again.[66][67] This process was facilitated by a large influx of Greeks from Sicily and Asia Minor to the Greek peninsula, while many Slavs were captured and re-settled in Asia Minor.[62] During the 11th and 12th centuries the return of stability resulted in the Greek peninsula benefiting from economic growth.[66] The Greek Orthodox Church was instrumental in the spread of Greek ideas to the wider Orthodox world.[68][full citation needed
]

Following the Fourth Crusade and fall of Constantinople to the "Latins" in 1204, mainland Greece was split between the Greek Despotate of Epirus and French rule[69] (the Frankokratia).[70] The re-establishment of the imperial capital in Constantinople in 1261 was accompanied by the empire's recovery of much of the Greek peninsula, while the islands remained under Genoese and Venetian control.[69] During the Paleologi dynasty (1261–1453) a new era of Greek patriotism emerged accompanied by a turning back to ancient Greece.[71][72][73][74][75]

In the 14th century much of the Greek peninsula was lost by the Byzantine Empire to the Serbs and then the Ottomans.[76] Constantinople fell to the Ottomans in 1453 and by 1460, Ottoman conquest of mainland Greece was complete.[77]

Venetian possessions and Ottoman rule (15th century – 1821)

During the 15th to early 19th centuries, while much of mainland Greece and the Aegean islands fell under Ottoman control, Venice retained several key territories. Notably, Crete remained under Venetian rule until 1669, and the Ionian Islands were governed by Venice until 1797. These islands were subsequently ceded to French and later British control.[78] While some Greeks in the Ionian islands and Constantinople lived in prosperity, and Greeks of Constantinople (Phanariots) achieved power within the Ottoman administration,[79] much of Greece suffered the economic consequences of Ottoman conquest. Heavy taxes were enforced, and in later years the Ottoman Empire enacted a policy of creation of hereditary estates, effectively turning the rural Greek populations into serfs,[80] while the Ottoman conquest had cut Greece off from European historical developments.[81]

The Greek Orthodox Church and the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople were considered by the Ottoman governments as the ruling authorities of the entire Orthodox Christian population of the Ottoman Empire, whether ethnically Greek or not. Although the Ottoman state did not force non-Muslims to convert to Islam, Christians faced discrimination. Discrimination, particularly when combined with harsh treatment by local Ottoman authorities, led to conversions to Islam, if only superficially. In the 19th century, many "crypto-Christians" returned to their old religious allegiance.[82][83]

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

The nature of Ottoman administration of Greece varied, though it was invariably arbitrary and often harsh.

Sultan, while others, like Athens, were self-governed municipalities. Mountainous regions in the interior and many islands remained effectively autonomous from the central Ottoman state for centuries.[84] The 16th and 17th centuries are regarded as a "dark age" in Greek history,[85] with the prospect of overthrowing Ottoman rule appearing remote.[citation needed] However, prior to the Greek Revolution of 1821, there had been wars which saw Greeks fight against the Ottomans, such as the Greek participation in the Battle of Lepanto in 1571,[85] the Morean War of 1684–1699, and the Russian-instigated Orlov revolt in 1770.[citation needed] These uprisings were put down by the Ottomans with great bloodshed.[86][87]
Many Greeks were conscripted as Ottoman subjects to serve in the Ottoman army and especially the navy, while the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople, responsible for the Orthodox, remained in general loyal to the Empire.

Modern nation-state

Greek War of Independence (1821–1832)

Messolonghi, depicting the third siege of Missolonghi, painted by Theodoros Vryzakis

In the 18th century, Greek merchants came to dominate trade within the Ottoman Empire, established communities throughout the Mediterranean, the Balkans, and Europe,

The first revolt began on 6 March 1821 in the

great powers, France, Russian Empire, and the United Kingdom, each sent a navy.[98] The allied fleet destroyed the Ottoman–Egyptian fleet at the Battle of Navarino, and the Greeks captured Central Greece by 1828. The nascent Greek state was recognised under the London Protocol in 1830.[99]

Kingdom of Greece

The Entry of King Otto of Greece into Athens, painted by Peter von Hess in 1839

In 1827,

monarch.[100] Otto's reign was despotic, and in its first 11 years of independence Greece was ruled by a Bavarian oligarchy led by Josef Ludwig von Armansperg and, later, by Otto himself, as King and Premier.[100] Greece remained under the influence of its three protecting great powers.[101] In 1843 an uprising forced Otto to grant a constitution and representative assembly
.

Despite the

legal code.[103] Historical revisionism took the form of de-Byzantinification and de-Ottomanisation, in favour of promoting Ancient Greek heritage.[104] The capital was moved from Nafplio, where it had been since 1829, to Athens, then a smaller town.[105] The Church of Greece was established as Greece's national church and 25 March, the day of Annunciation, was chosen as the anniversary of the Greek War of Independence to reinforce the link between Greek identity and Orthodoxy.[104]

Otto

parliamentary majority as a requirement for government was introduced,[109] curbing the power of the monarchy to appoint minority governments. Corruption, coupled with increased spending to fund infrastructure like the Corinth Canal,[110] overtaxed the weak economy and forced the declaration of public insolvency
in 1893.

The territorial evolution of the Kingdom of Greece from 1832 to 1947

Greeks were united, however, in their determination to liberate the

Bulgarian influence, sponsored a guerrilla campaign in Ottoman-ruled Macedonia, known as the Macedonian Struggle, which ended with the Young Turk Revolution in 1908.[113]

Expansion, disaster, and reconstruction

Amidst dissatisfaction with the seeming inertia and unattainability of

elections and becoming prime minister in 1910,[114] Venizelos initiated fiscal, social, and constitutional reforms, reorganised the military, made Greece a member of the Balkan League, and led it through the Balkan Wars. By 1913, Greece's territory and population had doubled, annexing Crete, Epirus, and Macedonia. The struggle between King Constantine I and charismatic Venizelos over foreign policy on the eve of First World War dominated politics and divided the country into two opposing groups. During parts of the war, Greece had two governments: A royalist pro-German one in Athens and a Venizelist pro-Entente one in Thessaloniki
. They united in 1917, when Greece entered the war on the side of the Entente.

After the war, Greece attempted expansion into

Assyrians and a larger number of Armenians. The resultant Greek exodus from Asia Minor was made permanent, and expanded, in an official population exchange between Greece and Turkey, as part of the Treaty of Lausanne which ended the war.[122] The following era was marked by instability, as over 1.5 million propertyless Greek refugees from Turkey (some of whom could not speak Greek) had to be integrated into Greek society. The refugees made a dramatic population boost, as they were more than a quarter of Greece's prior population.[123]

Following the catastrophic events in Asia Minor, the monarchy was abolished

was restored to the throne.

Dictatorship, World War II, and reconstruction

An agreement between Prime Minister Ioannis Metaxas and George II followed in 1936, which installed Metaxas as head of a dictatorship known as the 4th of August Regime, inaugurating authoritarian rule that would last until 1974.[125] Greece remained on good terms with Britain and was not allied with the Axis.

civil war
and political polarisation

In October 1940,

Greek Resistance, one of the most effective resistance movements, fought against the Nazis. The German occupiers committed atrocities, mass executions, and wholesale slaughter of civilians and destruction of towns and villages in reprisals. Hundreds of villages were systematically torched and almost 1 million Greeks left homeless.[128] The Germans executed around 21,000 Greeks, the Bulgarians 40,000, and the Italians 9,000.[129]

Following liberation, Greece annexed the

Dodecanese Islands from Italy and regained Western Thrace from Bulgaria. The country descended into a civil war between communist forces and the anti-communist Greek government, which lasted until 1949, with the latter's victory. The conflict, one of the earliest struggles of the Cold War,[130] resulted in further economic devastation, population displacement and political polarisation for the next thirty years.[131]

Although post-war was characterised by social strife and marginalisation of the left, Greece experienced rapid economic growth and recovery, propelled in part by the U.S. Marshall Plan.[132] In 1952, Greece joined NATO, reinforcing its membership in the Western Bloc of the Cold War.[133]

George Papandreou's centrist government in 1965 prompted political turbulence, which culminated in a coup in 1967 by the Greek junta, led by Georgios Papadopoulos. Civil rights were suspended, political repression intensified, and human rights abuses, including torture, were rampant. Economic growth remained rapid before plateauing in 1972. The brutal suppression of the Athens Polytechnic uprising in 1973 set in motion the fall of the regime, resulting in a counter-coup that established brigadier Dimitrios Ioannidis as the new junta strongman. On 20 July 1974, Turkey invaded the island of Cyprus in response to a Greek-backed Cypriot coup, triggering a crisis in Greece that led to the regime's collapse and restoration of democracy through Metapolitefsi.[134]

Third Hellenic Republic

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