{{short description|Country in Southeastern Europe}} {{About|the country}} {{Redirect|Hellenic Republic}} {{protection padlock|small=yes}} {{Use dmy dates|date=March 2024}} {{Use British English|date=December 2024}} {{Infobox country | coordinates = {{Coord|37|58|N|23|43|E|type:city}} | languages_type = Official language | leader_name2 = [[Kyriakos Mitsotakis]] | leader_name3 = [[Nikitas Kaklamanis]] | leader_name4 = | conventional_long_name = Hellenic Republic | native_name = {{lang|el|Ελληνική Δημοκρατία|italics=off}}
{{transliteration|el|Ellinikí Dimokratía}} | image_flag = Flag of Greece.svg | image_coat = Coat of arms of Greece.svg | coa_size = 90 | common_name = Greece | national_motto = {{lang|el|Ελευθερία ή Θάνατος}}
{{transliteration|el|Elefthería í Thánatos}}
(English: "[[Eleftheria i thanatos|Freedom or Death]]") | national_anthem = {{lang|el|Ύμνος εις την Ελευθερίαν}}
{{transliteration|el|Ýmnos eis tin Eleftherían}}
(English: "[[Hymn to Liberty]]")
{{center|[[File:Greece national anthem.ogg]]}}
| image_map = {{switcher|[[File:EU-Greece (orthographic projection).svg|upright=1.0|frameless]]|Show globe|[[File:EU-Greece.svg|upright=1.0|frameless]]|Show map of Europe|default=1}} | map_caption = {{map caption | location_color = dark green | region = Europe | region_color = dark grey | subregion = the [[European Union]] | subregion_color = light green }} | capital = [[Athens]] | largest_city = capital | languages = [[Greek language|Greek]] | ethnic_groups = | ethnic_groups_year = | ethnic_groups_ref = | religion = {{unbulleted list |{{Tree list}} * 93% [[Christianity]] ** 90% [[Greek Orthodoxy]] ([[State religion|official]]){{efn|Eastern Orthodoxy is recognised by the Greek Constitution as the prevailing religion in Greece,{{cite web |title=The Constitution of Greece: Section II Relations of Church and State: Article 3 |url=http://www.hri.org/docs/syntagma/artcl25.html#A3 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171002214338/http://www.hri.org/docs/syntagma/artcl25.html#A3 |archive-date=2 October 2017 }} [http://www.hri.org/ Hellenic Resources network] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170801193832/http://www.hri.org/docs/syntagma/artcl25.html |date=1 August 2017 }} the only country in the world where Eastern Orthodoxy is clearly recognised as a state religion.{{cite book |last1=Enyedi|first1=Zsolt|last2=Madeley|first2=John T.S. |title=Church and State in Contemporary Europe|date=2 August 2004 |publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-1-135-76141-7|page=228|quote=Both as a state church and as a national church, the Orthodox Church of Greece has a lot in common with Protestant state churches, and even with Catholicism in some countries.}}}} **3% other [[List of Christian denominations|Christian]] {{Tree list/end}} |4% [[Irreligion in Greece|no religion]] |2% [[Islam in Greece|Islam]] |1% other}} | religion_year = 2017 | religion_ref = {{cite web|url=http://www.pewforum.org/2017/05/10/religious-affiliation/|title=Religious Belief and National Belonging in Central and Eastern Europe|date=10 May 2017|publisher=Pew Research Center|access-date=9 September 2017|archive-date=24 February 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180224200050/http://www.pewforum.org/2017/05/10/religious-affiliation/|url-status=live}} | demonym = {{hlist|[[Greeks|Greek]]|Hellene}} | government_type = [[Parliamentary republic]] | leader_title1 = [[President of Greece|President]] | leader_name1 = [[Konstantinos Tasoulas]] | leader_title2 = [[Prime Minister of Greece|Prime Minister]] | leader_title3 = [[President of the Hellenic Parliament|President of the Parliament]] | legislature = [[Hellenic Parliament]] | sovereignty_type = [[History of Greece|Establishment history]] | established_event1 = [[Greek War of Independence]] against the [[Ottoman Empire]] | established_date1 = {{nowrap|25 March 1821}} (traditional starting date) | established_event2 = [[First National Assembly at Epidaurus|Official declaration]] | established_date2 = {{nowrap|1 January 1822}} | established_event3 = [[London Protocol (1830)|Recognition]] | established_date3 = {{nowrap|3 February 1830}} | established_event8 = [[Third Hellenic Republic]] | established_date8 = {{nowrap|24 July 1974}} | established_event9 = [[Constitution of Greece|Current constitution]] | established_date9 = {{nowrap|11 June 1975}} | area_km2 = 131,957 | area_footnote = {{cite web |url= https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/rankorder/2147rank.html?countryName=Greece&countryCode=gr®ionCode=eur&rank=97#gr |title= Country Comparison: Area |website= [[The World Factbook]] |publisher= [[Central Intelligence Agency]] |access-date= 7 January 2013 |archive-date= 13 November 2020 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20201113204336/https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/rankorder/2147rank.html?countryName=Greece&countryCode=gr®ionCode=eur&rank=97#gr |url-status=dead}} | area_rank = 95th | area_sq_mi = 50,949 | percent_water = 1.51 (2015){{cite web|title=Surface water and surface water change|access-date=11 October 2020|publisher=[[Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development]] (OECD)|url=https://stats.oecd.org/Index.aspx?DataSetCode=SURFACE_WATER|archive-date=24 March 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210324133453/https://stats.oecd.org/Index.aspx?DataSetCode=SURFACE_WATER|url-status=live}} | population_estimate = {{decreaseNeutral}} 10,372,335 (1 January 2025){{cite web |title=Estimated Population and Migration Flows, 2025 |url=https://www.statistics.gr/documents/20181/d8439ad7-d043-2235-f4b4-8466c3c9cd56 |publisher=[[Hellenic Statistical Authority]] |access-date=18 December 2025 |location=Piraeus |date=18 December 2025}} | population_estimate_year = 2025 | population_estimate_rank = 90th | population_census = {{decreaseNeutral}} 10,432,481{{cite web |script-title=el:Αποτελέσματα Απογραφής Πληθυσμού - Κατοικιών 2021 |trans-title=Results of Population-Housing Census 2021 |url=https://www.statistics.gr/news-announcements/-/asset_publisher/oj6VK3PQ0oCe/content/nws_census_results_booklet_19072022_gr |publisher=Hellenic Statistical Authority |access-date=8 January 2024 |location=Piraeus |language=el |date=19 July 2022 |archive-date=6 June 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230606071435/https://www.statistics.gr/news-announcements/-/asset_publisher/oj6VK3PQ0oCe/content/nws_census_results_booklet_19072022_gr |url-status=live }} | population_census_year = 2021 | population_census_rank = | population_density_km2 = 78.9 | population_density_rank = 136th | population_density_sq_mi = 204.4 | GDP_PPP = {{increase}} $488.577 billion{{cite web |url=https://data.imf.org/en/Data-Explorer?datasetUrn=IMF.RES:WEO(9.0.0) |title=World Economic Outlook Database (April 2026 Edition) |publisher=[[International Monetary Fund]] |website=www.imf.org |date=14 April 2026}} | GDP_PPP_year = 2026 | GDP_PPP_rank = 54th | GDP_PPP_per_capita = {{increase}} $47,175 | GDP_PPP_per_capita_rank = 49th | GDP_nominal = {{increase}} $307.554 billion | GDP_nominal_year = 2026 | GDP_nominal_rank = 50th | GDP_nominal_per_capita = {{increase}} $29,696 | GDP_nominal_per_capita_rank = 45th | Gini = 31.6 | Gini_year = 2025 | Gini_change = decrease | Gini_ref = {{cite web |title=Income inequality, 2025 |url=https://www.statistics.gr/documents/20181/1a15bbfa-74f9-1101-7381-56a83db53ad9 |publisher=Hellenic Statistical Authority |access-date=24 March 2026 |location=Piraeus |date=19 March 2026}} | Gini_rank = | HDI = 0.908 | HDI_year = 2023 | HDI_change = increase | HDI_ref = {{Cite web |date=6 May 2025 |title=Human Development Report 2025 |url=https://hdr.undp.org/system/files/documents/global-report-document/hdr2025reporten.pdf|url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250506051232/https://hdr.undp.org/system/files/documents/global-report-document/hdr2025reporten.pdf |archive-date=6 May 2025 |access-date=6 May 2025 |publisher=[[United Nations Development Programme]] |language=en}} | HDI_rank = 34th | currency = [[Euro]] ([[Euro sign|€]]) | currency_code = EUR | time_zone = [[Eastern European Time|EET]] | utc_offset = +02:00 | utc_offset_DST = +03:00 | time_zone_DST = [[Eastern European Summer Time|EEST]] | calling_code = [[Telephone numbers in Greece|+30]] | cctld = {{hlist|[[.gr]]|[[.gr#Alternative top domain|.ελ]]{{efn|The [[.eu]] domain is also used, shared with other European Union member states.}}}} }} '''Greece''',{{efn|{{langx|el|Ελλάδα|Elláda|engvar=gb}}, {{IPA|el|eˈlaða|IPA}}, or {{langx|el|Ελλάς|Ellás|label=none}}, {{IPA|el|eˈlas|IPA}}.}} officially the '''Hellenic Republic''',{{efn|{{Langx|el|Ελληνική Δημοκρατία|translit=Ellinikí Dimokratía|links=no|engvar=gb}}, {{IPA|el|eliniˈci ðimokraˈti.a|IPA}}.}} is a country in [[Southeastern Europe]]. It occupies the southern tip of the [[Balkans|Balkan peninsula]], with a population of around 10 million. With [[Geographic regions of Greece|nine regions]] and [[List of islands of Greece|thousands of islands]], it has the longest coastline on the [[Mediterranean basin|Mediterranean]]. The [[Ionian Sea]] is west of [[Geography of Greece|the mainland]], [[Albania]] northwest, and [[North Macedonia]] and [[Bulgaria]] north. [[Turkey]] is east both by land and the [[Aegean Sea]]. The capital, [[Athens]], is the largest [[List of cities and towns in Greece|Greek city]], followed by [[Thessaloniki]] and [[Patras]]. Greece is considered the cradle of [[Western culture|Western civilisation]] and the birthplace of [[Athenian democracy|democracy]], [[Western philosophy]], [[Western literature]], [[historiography]], [[political science]], major [[History of science in classical antiquity|scientific]] and [[Greek mathematics|mathematical]] principles, [[History of theatre|theatre]], and the [[Olympic Games]]. The [[Ancient Greece|Ancient Greeks]] were organised into independent [[city-state]]s, or ''poleis'' (singular ''[[polis]]''), that spanned the [[Mediterranean Basin|Mediterranean]] and [[Black Sea|Black]] seas. [[Philip II of Macedon]] united [[League of Corinth|most of present-day Greece]] in the fourth century BC, with his son [[Alexander the Great]] conquering [[Empire of Alexander the Great|much of the known ancient world]] from the [[Near East]] to northwestern India. The subsequent [[Hellenistic period]] saw the height of [[Greek culture]] and influence in antiquity. Greece was annexed by [[Roman Republic|Rome]] in the second century BC and became an integral part of the [[Roman Empire]] and its continuation, the [[Byzantine Empire]], where Greek culture and [[Medieval Greek|language]] were dominant. The [[Greek Orthodox Church]] helped shape modern [[Greek identity]] and transmitted Greek traditions to the wider [[Eastern Orthodox Church|Orthodox world]]. After the [[Fourth Crusade]] in 1204, Greece and the rest of the Byzantine empire were fragmented into several [[Frankokratia|Latin]] and [[Byzantine Greeks|Byzantine]] successor polities, with most Greek lands finally coming under [[Ottoman Greece|Ottoman control]] by the mid-15th century. Following a protracted [[Greek War of Independence|war of independence]] in 1821, Greece emerged as a modern [[First Hellenic Republic|nation state]] in 1830. The [[Kingdom of Greece]] pursued [[Megali Idea|territorial expansion]] during the [[Balkan Wars]] (1912–1913) and [[Greece during World War I|World War I]] (1914–1918), until its defeat in the [[Asia Minor Campaign|Greco-Turkish War]] in 1922. A [[Second Hellenic Republic|short-lived republic]] was established in 1924 but faced [[National Schism|civil strife]] and the challenge of resettling [[Greek refugees|refugees from Turkey]], culminating in a [[4th of August Regime|royalist dictatorship]] in 1936. Greece endured [[Axis occupation of Greece|military occupation during World War II]], the subsequent [[Greek Civil War]], and prolonged [[Iouliana|political instability]], leading to a [[Greek junta|military dictatorship]] in 1967. The country began [[Metapolitefsi|transitioning to democracy]] in 1974, leading to the current [[Third Hellenic Republic|parliamentary republic]]. Owing to [[Greek economic miracle|record economic growth from 1950 to 1973]], Greece is a [[developed country]] with an advanced [[World Bank high-income economy|high-income economy]] and a high [[standard of living]]. [[Greek shipping|Shipping]] and [[Tourism in Greece|tourism]] are major [[Economy of Greece|economic sectors]], with Greece being the ninth [[World Tourism Rankings|most-visited country]] in 2024. Greece is part of [[Outline of Greece#International organization membership|multiple international organisations and forums]], being the [[1981 enlargement of the European Communities|tenth member to join]] what is today the [[European Union]] in 1981. The country's rich historical legacy is reflected partly by its 21 [[List of World Heritage Sites in Greece|UNESCO World Heritage Sites]]. == Name == {{Main|Name of Greece}} The native name of the country in Modern Greek is {{lang|el|Ελλάδα}} (''{{transliteration|el|ISO|{{Audio|Ellada.ogg|Elláda|help=no}}}}'', pronounced {{IPA|el|eˈlaða||audio=Ellada.ogg}}). The corresponding form in Ancient Greek and conservative formal Modern Greek ([[Katharevousa]]) is {{lang|el|Ἑλλάς}} ({{Lang|grc-Latn|Hellas}}, classical: {{IPA|grc|hel.lás|}}, modern: {{IPA|el|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 {{lang|el|ελληνικός}} ({{Lang|el-Latn|ellinikos}}, {{IPA|el|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'' ({{lang|el|Ελληνική Δημοκρατία}}, {{IPA|el|eliniˈci ðimokraˈti.a|}}).{{cite web|title=Government and Politics|url=https://www.mfa.gr/usa/en/about-greece/government-and-politics/|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191227041444/https://www.mfa.gr/usa/en/about-greece/government-and-politics/|archive-date=27 December 2019|access-date=28 April 2020|website=Ministry of Foreign Affairs}} The English names ''Greece'' and ''Greek'' are derived, via the Latin ''{{lang|la|Graecia}}'' and ''{{lang|la|Graecus}}'', from the name of the [[Graecians|Graeci]] ({{lang|grc|Γραικοί}}, {{Lang|grc-Latn|Graikoí}}), one of the first [[List of ancient Greek tribes|ancient Greek tribes]] to settle [[Magna Graecia]] in [[southern Italy]]. == History == {{Main|History of Greece}} === Prehistory and Aegean civilisations === {{Main|Neolithic Greece|Pelasgians|Cycladic culture|Minoan civilisation|Mycenaean Greece}} [[File:Entrance to the treasure of Atreus.jpg|thumb|upright|The entrance of the "[[Treasury of Atreus]]" (13th century BC) in [[Mycenae]]|left]] The [[Apidima Cave]] in [[Mani Peninsula|Mani]], in southern Greece, has been suggested to contain the oldest remains of [[early modern humans]] outside of Africa, dated to 200,000 years ago.{{cite journal |last=Harvati |first=Katerina |display-authors=etal |title=Apidima Cave fossils provide earliest evidence of Homo sapiens in Eurasia |date=10 July 2019 |journal=[[Nature (journal)|Nature]] |volume=571 |issue=7766 |pages=500–504 |doi=10.1038/s41586-019-1376-z |pmid=31292546 |bibcode=2019Natur.571..500H |hdl=10072/397334 |hdl-access=free }} However others suggest the remains represent [[archaic humans]].{{cite journal |last1=de Lumley |first1=Marie-Antoinette |last2=Guipert |first2=Gaspard |last3=de Lumley |first3=Henry |last4=Protopapa |first4=Natassa |last5=Pitsios |first5=Théodoros |title=Apidima 1 and Apidima 2: Two anteneandertal skulls in the Peloponnese, Greece |journal=L'Anthropologie |date=January 2020 |volume=124 |issue=1 |article-number=102743 |doi=10.1016/j.anthro.2019.102743 }} All three stages of the [[Stone Age]] are represented in Greece, for example in the [[Franchthi Cave]].{{Cite journal |last1=Douka |first1=K. |last2=Perles |first2=C. |last3=Valladas |first3=H. |last4=Vanhaeren |first4=M. |last5=Hedges |first5=R.E.M. |title=Franchthi Cave revisited: the age of the Aurignacian in south-eastern Europe |journal=Antiquity Magazine |page=1133 |year=2011 |url=https://www.academia.edu/1129937 |access-date=20 December 2017 |archive-date=22 December 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231222140445/https://www.academia.edu/1129937 |url-status=live}} [[Neolithic]] settlements in Greece, dating from the 7th millennium BC,{{cite book|author=Eugene N. Borza|title=In the Shadow of Olympus: The Emergence of Macedon |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=614pd07OtfQC&pg=PA58|year=1992|publisher=Princeton University Press|isbn=978-0-691-00880-6|page=58 |access-date=11 October 2015 |archive-date=10 June 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240610015721/https://books.google.com/books?id=614pd07OtfQC&pg=PA58#v=onepage&q&f=false|url-status=live}} are the oldest in Europe, as Greece lies on the route by which farming spread from the [[Near East]] to Europe.{{cite book |last=Perlès |first=Catherine |title=The Early Neolithic in Greece: The First Farming Communities in Europe |page=1 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |year=2001 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=LQQ3tx5_t7QC |access-date=11 November 2020 |archive-date=10 June 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240610015728/https://books.google.com/books?id=LQQ3tx5_t7QC&q=sesklo |url-status=live |isbn=978-0-521-00027-7}} Greece is home to the first advanced civilisations in Europe and is often considered the birthplace of Western civilisation.{{Sfn|Duchesne|2011|p=297: "The list of books which have celebrated Greece as the "cradle" of the West is endless; two more examples are Charles Freeman's The Greek Achievement: The Foundation of the Western World (1999) and Bruce Thornton's Greek Ways: How the Greeks Created Western Civilization (2000)"}}{{Sfn|Bottici|Challand|2013|p=88: "The reason why even such a sophisticated historian as Pagden can do it is that the idea that Greece is the cradle of civilisation is so much rooted in western minds and school curricula as to be taken for granted."}} 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 [[Cycladic art|marble figurines]].{{harvnb|Sansone|2004|pp=xviii-xix}}; {{harvnb|Neer|2019|pp=25–26}}; {{harvnb|Renfrew|2012|pp=83–92}} From {{circa|3100}} BC to 1100 BC, [[Crete]], a major cultural and economic centre, was home to the [[Minoan civilization|Minoan civilisation]] known for its [[Minoan art|colourful art]], [[Minoan religion|religious figurines]], and [[Minoan palaces|monumental palaces]].{{harvnb|Neer|2019|pp=27–38}}; {{harvnb|Tomkins|Schoep|2012|pp=66–76}}{{harvnb|Watrous|2021}}; {{harvnb|McEnroe|2010}} The Minoans wrote [[Minoan language|their undeciphered language]] using scripts known as [[Linear A]] and [[Cretan hieroglyphs]].{{Sfn|Tomas|2012|pp=340-351}}{{Sfn|Salgarella|2022}} On the mainland, the [[Mycenaean Greece|Mycenaean civilisation]] developed around 1750 BC and lasted until {{circa|1100}} BC.{{Sfn|Knodell|2021|p=7}} The Mycenaeans possessed an [[Military of Mycenaean Greece|advanced military]] and built [[Cyclopean masonry|large fortifications]].{{harvnb|Sansone|2004|pp=10–11}}; {{harvnb|Neer|2019|pp=48–70}} They [[Mycenaean religion|worshipped]] [[List of Mycenaean deities|many gods]]{{Sfn|Neer|2019|pp=65-66}} and used [[Linear B]] to write the earliest [[Attested language|attested]] form of [[Greek language|Greek]] known as [[Mycenaean Greek]].{{harvnb|Sansone|2004|pp=3–4}}; {{harvnb|Neer|2019|p=58}}{{Sfn|Chadwick|1990}} ===Ancient Greece=== {{Main|Ancient Greece}} {{see also|Greek Dark Ages|Archaic Greece|Classical Greece|Hellenistic Greece}} [[File:Greek Colonization Archaic Period.svg|thumb|upright=1.0|Approximate location of Greek territories and colonies during the [[Archaic Greece|Archaic period]] (750–550 BC)]] The collapse of the [[Mycenaean Greece|Mycenaean civilisation]] ushered in the [[Greek Dark Ages]], from which written records are absent. The end of the Dark Ages is traditionally dated to 776 BC, the year of the first [[Ancient Olympic Games|Olympic Games]].{{Cite book |first=John R. |last=Short |title=An Introduction to Urban Geography |page=10 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=uGE9AAAAIAAJ&q=greek%20dark%20ages%20776%20BC&pg=PA10 |publisher=Routledge |year=1987 |isbn=978-0-7102-0372-4 |access-date=11 November 2020 |archive-date=10 June 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240610020158/https://books.google.com/books?id=uGE9AAAAIAAJ&q=greek%20dark%20ages%20776%20BC&pg=PA10 |url-status=live}} The ''[[Iliad]]'' and the ''[[Odyssey]]'', the foundational texts of [[Western literature]], are believed to have been composed by [[Homer]] in the 7th or 8th centuries BC.Vidal-Naquet, Pierre. ''Le monde d'Homère'' (The World of Homer), Perrin (2000), p. 19.[[D.C.H. Rieu]]'s introduction to ''The Odyssey'' (Penguin, 2003), p. xi. [[Ancient Greek literature|Poetry]] shaped beliefs to the [[Greek mythology|Olympian gods]], but [[ancient Greek religion]] had no priestly class or systematic dogmas and encompassed other currents, such as popular cults, like [[Cult of Dionysus|that of Dionysus]], [[Greco-Roman mysteries|mysteries]] and [[Magic in the Greco-Roman world|magic]].{{harvnb|Schuller|2008|pp=27, 88–89}} At this time, many kingdoms and [[city-state]]s emerged across the Greek peninsula, some of which went on to establish [[Greek colonisation|a number of colonies]] in [[Anatolia|Asia Minor]], the shores of the [[Black Sea]], and [[southern Italy]] (also known as [[Magna Grecia]]). The Greek city-states reached great prosperity that resulted in an unprecedented cultural boom, that of [[classical Greece]], expressed in [[Architecture of ancient Greece|architecture]], [[Theatre of ancient Greece|drama]], [[Ancient Greek science|science]], [[Greek mathematics|mathematics]] and [[Ancient Greek philosophy|philosophy]]. In 508 BC, [[Cleisthenes]] instituted the world's first [[Athenian democracy|democratic]] system of government in [[Athens]].{{Cite book | first = John | last = Dunn | title = Democracy: the unfinished journey 508 BC – 1993 AD | publisher = Oxford University Press | year = 1994 | isbn = 978-0-19-827934-1}}{{Cite book | first1 = Kurt A | last1 = Raaflaub | first2 = Josiah | last2 = Ober | first3 = Robert W | last3 = Wallace | title = Origin of Democracy in Ancient Greece | publisher = University of California Press | year = 2007 | isbn = 978-0-520-24562-4 | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=6qaSHHMaGVkC}} [[File:The Parthenon in Athens.jpg|thumb|left|The [[Parthenon]] on the [[Acropolis of Athens]], icon of classical Greece]] By 500 BC, the [[Achaemenid Empire|Persian Empire]] controlled the Greek city states in Asia Minor and Macedonia.Joseph Roisman, Ian Worthington. [https://books.google.com/books?id=QsJ183uUDkMC&q=Achaemenid+Persians+ruled+balkans&pg=PA345 "A companion to Ancient Macedonia"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240330042424/https://books.google.com/books?id=QsJ183uUDkMC&q=Achaemenid+Persians+ruled+balkans&pg=PA345#v=snippet&q=Achaemenid%20Persians%20ruled%20balkans&f=false |date=30 March 2024 }} John Wiley & Sons, 2011. {{ISBN|144435163X}} pp 135–138, p 343 Attempts by Greek city-states of Asia Minor to overthrow Persian rule [[Ionian Revolt|failed]], and Persia [[First Persian invasion of Greece|invaded the states of mainland Greece]] in 492 BC, but was forced to withdraw after defeat by [[Classical Athens|Athens]] at the [[Battle of Marathon]] in 490 BC. In response, a number of Greek city-states formed the Hellenic League in 481 BC, led by [[Sparta]], which was the first recorded union of Greek states since the mythical union of the [[Trojan War]].{{cite book|author=Robin Waterfield|title=Creators, Conquerors, and Citizens: A History of Ancient Greece |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=lLNSDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA148 |date=19 April 2018|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=978-0-19-872788-0|page=148|quote=They formed an alliance, which we call the Hellenic League, and bound themselves not just to repel the Persians, but to help one another whatever particular enemy threatened the freedom of the Greek cities. This was a real acknowledgment of a shared Greekness, and a first attempt to unify the Greek states under such a banner.|access-date=1 September 2018|archive-date=10 June 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240610020158/https://books.google.com/books?id=lLNSDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA148#v=onepage&q&f=false|url-status=live}}{{cite book|author=John Van Antwerp Fine|title=The Ancient Greeks: A Critical History |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=NjeM0kcp8swC&pg=PA297 |year=1983|publisher=Harvard University Press|isbn=978-0-674-03314-6|page=297 |quote=This Hellenic League – the first union of Greek states since the mythical times of the Trojan War – was the instrument through which the Greeks organised their successful resistance to Persia.|access-date=1 September 2018|archive-date=10 June 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240610020202/https://books.google.com/books?id=NjeM0kcp8swC&pg=PA297#v=onepage&q&f=false|url-status=live}} After the death of [[Leonidas]] at the [[battle of Thermopylae]], during the [[second Persian invasion of Greece]], the [[Achaemenid navy]] was decisively defeated in 480 BC at [[Battle of Salamis|Salamis]] by an allied Greek navy led by [[Themistocles]], and the [[Achaemenid army]] was finally defeated at [[Battle of Plataea|Plataea]] in 479 BC, marking the eventual withdrawal of the Persians from all their European territories. The Greek victories in the [[Greco-Persian Wars]] are a pivotal moment in history,{{cite book|author=Barry Strauss|title=The Battle of Salamis: The Naval Encounter That Saved Greece – and Western Civilization|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=nQFtMcD5dOsC|date=16 August 2005|publisher=Simon and Schuster|isbn=978-0-7432-7453-1|pages=1–11|access-date=29 October 2015|archive-date=29 April 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240429045458/https://books.google.com/books?id=nQFtMcD5dOsC|url-status=live}} as the 50 years of peace afterwards are known as the [[Fifth-century Athens|Golden Age of Athens]], a seminal period that laid many foundations of Western civilisation. Lack of political unity resulted in frequent conflict between Greek states. The most devastating intra-Greek war was the [[Peloponnesian War]] (431–404 BC), which marked the demise of the [[Delian League|Athenian Empire]] and the emergence of [[Spartan hegemony|Spartan]] and later [[Theban hegemony]].{{Sfn|Worthington|2015|pp=42–43}} Weakened by constant wars among them during the 4th century BC, the Greek ''poleis'' were subjugated to the [[Rise of Macedon|rising power]] of the [[Argead]] [[kingdom of Macedon]] under king [[Philip II of Macedon|Philip II]] into an alliance known as the [[League of Corinth|Hellenic League]].{{harvnb|Walbank|1993|pp=13–14, 29–30}}, {{harvnb|Schuller|2008|pp=49–51, 52–53}}, {{harvnb|Hornblower|2011|pp=268–270, 285–9}}. {{multiple images | image1 = Napoli BW 2013-05-16 16-24-01.jpg | image2 = MacedonEmpire.jpg | footer = [[Alexander the Great]], born in [[Pella]], whose conquests led to the [[Hellenistic period]] | align = right | total_width = 400 }} After Philip's assassination at [[Aegae (Macedonia)|Aigai]] in 336 BC, his son [[Alexander the Great|Alexander]] became [[king of Macedon]], established himself as leader of a [[Panhellenism|Panhellenic]] [[Wars of Alexander the Great|campaign]] against the [[Persian Empire]], and conquered it. Undefeated in battle, he marched to the banks of the [[battle of Hydaspes|Hydaspes]], until his untimely death in 323 BC in Babylon.{{harvnb|Walbank|1993|pp=31–2, 34–5, 36–7}}, {{harvnb|Gehrke|1995|pp=10–3, 16–7, 21, 24–5, 28–9}} Alexander's empire fragmented, inaugurating the [[Hellenistic period]]. After [[Wars of the Diadochi|fierce conflict]] amongst themselves, the [[Diadochi|generals that succeeded Alexander and their successors]] founded large personal kingdoms, such as that of the [[Ptolemies]] in [[Ptolemaic Kingdom|Egypt]], the [[Seleucids]] in [[Syria (region)|Syria]], [[Mesopotamia]], [[Anatolia]] and [[Iranian plateau|Iran]], [[Lysimachus]] in [[Thrace]] and [[Anatolia]], [[Antigonids]] and [[Pyrrhus of Epirus]] in [[Hellenistic Greece|Greece]].{{harvnb|Walbank|1993|pp=46–48, 59, 74–75}}, {{harvnb|Gehrke|1995|pp=30, 32, 45–48, 54–55}} The newly founded ''poleis'' of these kingdoms, such as [[Alexandria]] and [[Antioch]], were settled by Greeks as members of a ruling minority. As a result, during the centuries that followed a vernacular form of [[Ancient Greek language|Greek]], known as ''[[Koine Greek|koine]]'', and Greek culture was [[Hellenization|spread]], while the Greeks [[Hellenistic religion|adopted Eastern deities and cults]].{{harvnb|Walbank|1993|pp=62–3, 133–9}}, {{harvnb|Gehrke|1995|pp=63–65, 73, 75–6}}. In India, the [[Indo-Greek Kingdom|Indo-Greeks]] [[Greco-Buddhism|blended Greek and Buddhist religious practices]] and brought about an artistic renaissance that led to the creation of [[Greco-Buddhist art]].Ghose, Sanujit (2011). [https://www.worldhistory.org/article/208/ "Cultural links between India and the Greco-Roman world"]. Ancient History Encyclopedia Greek science, technology, and mathematics reached their peak during the Hellenistic period.{{Cite book | first1 = Cynthia | last1 = Kosso | first2 = Anne | last2 = Scott | title = The Nature and Function of Water, Baths, Bathing, and Hygiene from Antiquity Through the Renaissance | publisher = Brill | year = 2009 | page = 51 | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=UTkXFLfmLTkC&q=hellenistic%20mathematics%20science%20technology&pg=PA51 | isbn = 978-90-04-17357-6 | access-date = 11 November 2020 | archive-date = 18 March 2024 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20240318020442/https://books.google.com/books?id=UTkXFLfmLTkC&q=hellenistic%20mathematics%20science%20technology&pg=PA51#v=snippet&q=hellenistic%20mathematics%20science%20technology&f=false | url-status = live }} Aspiring to maintain their autonomy and independence from the [[Ancient Macedonians|Macedonian Greek]] [[Antigonid dynasty|Antigonid kings]] and other Hellenistic kingdoms, many ''poleis'' of Greece united in ''koina'' or ''[[sympoliteia]]i'' i.e. federations, like the [[Aetolian League|Aetolian]] and [[Achaean League]], while after the establishment of economic relations with the East, a stratum of wealthy ''[[Euergetism|euergetai]]'' dominated their internal life.{{harvnb|Walbank|1993|pp=79–80, 91–2, 141–2, 151–2}}, {{harvnb|Gehrke|1995|pp=68–70}}. === Roman province (146 BC – 4th century AD) === {{Main|Greece in the Roman era}} {{See also|Roman Empire}} [[File:Athen Odeon Herodes Atticus BW 2017-10-09 13-12-44.jpg|thumb|upright=1.15|The [[Odeon of Herodes Atticus]] in Athens, built in 161 AD]] In 280 BC [[Pyrrhus of Epirus|Pyrrhus]] of [[Epirus (ancient state)|Epirus]] campaigned in Italy against the Romans in order to help [[Taranto#History|Tarentum]]. From about 200 BC the [[Ancient Rome|Roman Republic]] became increasingly involved in Greek affairs and engaged in a [[Macedonian Wars|series of wars with Macedon]].{{cite book |title=The Roman Republic |editor-last=Flower |editor-first=Harriet |year=2004 |isbn=978-0-521-00390-2 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/cambridgecompani0000unse_s0h2/page/248 248, 258] |publisher=Cambridge University Press |url=https://archive.org/details/cambridgecompani0000unse_s0h2}} Macedon's defeat at the [[Battle of Pydna]] in 168 BC signalled the end of [[Antigonid dynasty|Antigonid]] power.{{Cite book |title=Britannica |contribution=Antigonid dynasty |year=2008 |edition=online}} In 146 BC, Macedonia was annexed as a province by Rome, and the rest of Greece became a Roman protectorate.{{cite book |title=A history of the Roman people |last1=Ward |first1=Allen Mason |year=2003 |isbn=978-0-13-038480-5 |page=[https://archive.org/details/historyofromanpe00alle/page/276 276] |publisher=Prentice Hall |display-authors=etal |url=https://archive.org/details/historyofromanpe00alle}} The process was completed in 27 BC, when emperor [[Augustus]] annexed the rest of Greece and constituted it as the [[senatorial province]] of [[Achaea (Roman province)|Achaea]]. Despite their military superiority, the Romans admired and became [[Greco-Roman world|heavily influenced]] by Greek culture.{{cite book |title=Ancient Rome: An Introductory History |last=Zoch |first=Paul |year=2000 |isbn=978-0-8061-3287-7 |page=136 |publisher=University of Oklahoma Press |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=95bu0O3LLlsC&q=Graecia%20capta%20ferum%20victorem%20cepit&pg=PA136 |access-date=29 April 2012 |archive-date=10 June 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240610020159/https://books.google.com/books?id=95bu0O3LLlsC&q=Graecia%20capta%20ferum%20victorem%20cepit&pg=PA136#v=snippet&q=Graecia%20capta%20ferum%20victorem%20cepit&f=false |url-status=live}} Greek-speaking communities of the Hellenised East were instrumental in the spread of Christianity in the 2nd and 3rd centuries,{{cite book | title = Backgrounds of Early Christianity | last = Ferguson | first = Everett | year = 2003 | isbn = 978-0-8028-2221-5 | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=3tuKkxU4-ncC&pg=PA617 | pages = 617–18 | publisher = Wm. B. Eerdmans | access-date = 18 May 2022 | archive-date = 10 June 2024 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20240610020200/https://books.google.com/books?id=3tuKkxU4-ncC&pg=PA617#v=onepage&q&f=false | url-status = live }} and Christianity's early leaders and writers were mostly Greek-speaking, though not from Greece itself.{{cite book | title = Ancient Rome | last = Dunstan | first = William | year = 2011 | isbn = 978-0-7425-6834-1 | page = 500 | publisher = Rowman & Littlefield Publishers | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=xkOhwFzz1AkC&q=early%20christian%20leaders%20speak%20greek&pg=PA500 | access-date = 29 April 2012 | archive-date = 10 June 2024 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20240610020200/https://books.google.com/books?id=xkOhwFzz1AkC&q=early%20christian%20leaders%20speak%20greek&pg=PA500#v=snippet&q=early%20christian%20leaders%20speak%20greek&f=false | url-status = live }} 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,{{cite book |title=Early Christian Art and Architecture |last=Milburn |first=Robert |year=1992 |page=158 |publisher=University of California Press |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=OcRTwsDq_Z4C&q=early%20christianity%20greece&pg=PA158 |access-date=29 April 2012 |isbn=978-0-520-07412-5 |archive-date=10 June 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240610020204/https://books.google.com/books?id=OcRTwsDq_Z4C&q=early%20christianity%20greece&pg=PA158#v=snippet&q=early%20christianity%20greece&f=false |url-status=live }} when they were outlawed by the Roman emperor [[Theodosius I]] in 391–392.{{cite book|author1=Gerard Friell|author2=Peabody Professor of North American Archaeology and Ethnography Emeritus Stephen Williams|author3=Stephen Williams|title=Theodosius: The Empire at Bay|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=I8KRAgAAQBAJ|date=8 August 2005|publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-1-135-78262-7|page=105|access-date=19 October 2015|archive-date=29 April 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240429045345/https://books.google.com/books?id=I8KRAgAAQBAJ|url-status=live}} The last recorded Olympic games were held in 393,{{cite book|author=Tony Perrottet|title=The Naked Olympics: The True Story of the Ancient Games|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=B2VPMUBAxUUC&pg=PA190|access-date=1 April 2013|date=8 June 2004|publisher=Random House Digital, Inc.|isbn=978-1-58836-382-4|pages=190–}} and many temples were destroyed or damaged in the century that followed.{{cite book|author=James Allan Stewart Evans|title=The Emperor Justinian and the Byzantine Empire|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=xDNv6qZ_I-IC|date=January 2005|publisher=Greenwood Publishing Group|isbn=978-0-313-32582-3|pages=65–70}}{{cite book|author=J. F. Haldon|title=Byzantium in the Seventh Century: The Transformation of a Culture|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=pSHmT1G_5T0C|year=1990|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=978-0-521-31917-1|page=329|access-date=19 October 2015|archive-date=27 September 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230927210555/https://books.google.com/books?id=pSHmT1G_5T0C|url-status=live}} The closure of the [[Neoplatonism|Neoplatonic]] Academy of Athens by Emperor Justinian in 529 is considered the end of antiquity, although there is evidence that the academy continued.{{cite book |title=Hellenic Temples and Christian Churches: A Concise History of the Religious Cultures of Greece from Antiquity to the Present |last=Makrides |first=Nikolaos |year=2009 |publisher=NYU Press |isbn=978-0-8147-9568-2 |page=206 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=kKOY5NsekfkC&q=10th%20century&pg=PA17 |access-date=29 April 2012 |archive-date=10 June 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240610020750/https://books.google.com/books?id=kKOY5NsekfkC&q=10th%20century&pg=PA17#v=onepage&q=10th%20century&f=false |url-status=live }} === Medieval period (4th–15th centuries) === {{Main|Byzantine Greece|Frankokratia}} [[File:Map Byzantine Empire 1025-en.svg|thumb|upright=1.25|The Byzantine (Eastern Roman) Empire after the death of [[Basil II]] in 1025]] [[File:Καστροπολιτεια μονεμβασιας.jpg|thumb|upright=1|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 Church|Eastern Orthodox Christian]]. [[Byzantine Greeks]] self-identified as ''Rhōmaîoi'' ({{lang|grc|Ῥωμαῖοι}}, "Romans", a term which in the Greek language had become synonymous with Christian Greeks).{{cite book |last=Harrison |first=Thomas |date=2002 |title=Greeks and Barbarians |location=New York |publisher=Routledge |page=268 |isbn=978-0-415-93958-4 |url=https://books.google.gr/books?id=VrfHQgAACAAJ&redir_esc=y |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230927210541/https://books.google.com/books?id=VrfHQgAACAAJ |archive-date=27 September 2023 |url-status=live |access-date=7 May 2016 |quote=Roman, Greek (if not used in its sense of 'pagan') and Christian became synonymous terms, counterposed to 'foreigner', 'barbarian', 'infidel'. The citizens of the Empire, now predominantly of Greek ethnicity and language, were often called simply ό χριστώνυμος λαός ['the people who bear Christ's name'].}}{{cite book |title=The Oxford Handbook of Byzantine Studies |editor-last=Jeffreys |editor-first=Elizabeth |year=2008 |isbn=978-0-19-925246-6 |page=4 |publisher=Oxford University Press |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=liFKua_cWL8C&pg=PA4 |access-date=11 October 2015 |archive-date=10 June 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240610020703/https://books.google.com/books?id=liFKua_cWL8C&pg=PA4#v=onepage&q&f=false |url-status=live }} The Empire's Balkan territories, including Greece, suffered from the dislocation of [[Migration Period|barbarian invasions]];{{cite book |last=Halsall |first=Guy |title=Barbarian Migrations and the Roman West |pages=376–568 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |year=2007}} raids by [[Goths]] and [[Huns]] in the 4th and 5th centuries and the [[South Slavs|Slavic]] invasion in the 7th century resulted in a collapse in imperial authority in the Greek [[peninsula]].{{Sfn | Fine | 1991 | pp = 35–36}} The imperial government retained control of only the islands and coastal areas, particularly the populated walled cities such as Athens, Corinth and Thessalonica.{{Sfn | Fine | 1991 | pp = 35–36}}{{Sfn | Fine | 1991 | pp = 63–66}}{{Cite book | first = T. E. | last = Gregory | title = A History of Byzantium | publisher = Wiley-Blackwell | year = 2010 | page = 169 | quote = It is now generally agreed that the people who lived in the Balkans after the Slavic "invasions" were probably for the most part the same as those who had lived there earlier, although the creation of new political groups and arrival of small immigrants caused people to look at themselves as distinct from their neighbors, including the Byzantines.}} 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 [[Synecdemus|Synekdemos]] chronicle, and the 4th to the 7th century is considered one of high prosperity.{{cite book|first=Richard M. |last=Rothaus|title=Corinth, the First City of Greece: An Urban History of Late Antique Cult and Religion|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=dbAhrDO1XQIC|year=2000|publisher=BRILL|isbn=978-90-04-10922-3|page=10|access-date=7 September 2018|archive-date=10 June 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240610020704/https://books.google.com/books?id=dbAhrDO1XQIC|url-status=live}} Until the 8th century, almost all of modern Greece was under the jurisdiction of the [[Holy See]] of [[Rome]]. Byzantine [[Emperor Leo III]] moved the border of the [[Patriarchate of Constantinople]] westward and northward in the 8th century.{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2rayUr0j28wC&pg=PA203|title=Byzantium: Church, Society, and Civilization Seen Through Contemporary Eyes|first=Deno John|last=Geanakoplos|date=1984|publisher=University of Chicago Press|isbn=978-0-226-28460-6|access-date=19 October 2018|archive-date=10 June 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240610020720/https://books.google.com/books?id=2rayUr0j28wC&pg=PA203|url-status=live}} The Byzantine recovery of lost provinces during the [[Arab–Byzantine wars]] began in the 8th century. Most of the Greek peninsula also came under imperial control again.{{cite encyclopedia |url=https://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/244154/Greece/26387/Byzantine-recovery |title=Greece During the Byzantine Period: Byzantine recovery |encyclopedia=Encyclopædia Britannica |access-date=28 April 2012 |archive-date=9 March 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120309102515/http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/244154/Greece/26387/Byzantine-recovery |url-status=live }}{{Sfn|Fine|1991|pp=79–83}} 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 resettled in Asia Minor.{{Sfn|Fine|1991|pp=63–66}} During the late 9th, 10th, and early 11th centuries, under the [[Macedonian dynasty]], the empire recovered lost territories and experienced a [[Macedonian Renaissance|cultural revival]] in spheres such as philosophy and the arts. This period has been dubbed the "[[Golden age (metaphor)|Golden Age]]" of Byzantium.{{Cite book |last=Browning |first=Robert |url=https://archive.org/details/byzantineempire0000brow |title=The Byzantine Empire |publisher=The Catholic University of America Press |date=1992 |isbn=978-0-8132-0754-4 |location=Washington, DC |url-access=registration|page=95}} During the 11th and 12th centuries, under the [[Komnenos]] dynasty, the return of stability resulted in the Greek peninsula benefiting from economic growth. The [[Greek Orthodox Church]] was instrumental in the spread of Greek ideas to the wider [[Orthodoxy|Orthodox world]].{{cite encyclopedia |year=2008 |title=Greece during the Byzantine period (c. AD 300 – c. 1453), Population and languages, Emerging Greek identity |encyclopedia=Encyclopædia Britannica |id=Online Edition}}{{cite book|last = Obolensky|first = Dimitri|author-link = Dimitri Obolensky|title = The Byzantine Commonwealth: Eastern Europe, 500–1453|publisher = Praeger Publishers|location = New York|year = 1971}} [[Sack of Constantinople|Constantinople was captured]] by the [[Fourth Crusade]] in 1204, becoming the capital of the [[Latin Empire]], which briefly ruled much of the former Byzantine lands. Three Greek rump states–the [[Despotate of Epirus]], the [[Empire of Nicaea]], and the [[Empire of Trebizond]]–were established by fleeing Byzantine aristocrats who resisted the [[Frankokratia|Latin rule]].{{Cite book |last=Angold |first=Michael |title=The Cambridge History of the Byzantine Empire c.500–1492 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |year=2019 |isbn=978-1-107-68587-1 |editor-last=Shepard |editor-first=Jonathan |edition=2nd |pages=731–758 |chapter=After the Fourth Crusade: The Greek rump states and the recovery of Byzantium |doi=10.1017/9781139055994 }} The [[Reconquest of Constantinople|recapture of Constantinople]] as the imperial capital in 1261 by the Empire of Nicaea was accompanied by the empire's recovery of much of the Greek peninsula, while the islands remained under Genoese and Venetian control.{{cite encyclopedia |title=Greece During the Byzantine Period: Results of the Fourth Crusade |encyclopedia=Encyclopædia Britannica |url=https://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/244154/Greece/26389/Results-of-the-Fourth-Crusade |access-date=28 April 2012 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120422103358/http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/244154/Greece/26389/Results-of-the-Fourth-Crusade |archive-date=22 April 2012}} During the [[Byzantine Empire under the Palaiologos dynasty|Paleologi dynasty]] (1261–1453), a new era of Greek patriotism emerged accompanied by a deliberate embrace of ancient Greek culture.{{cite journal |last1=Moles |first1=Ian |title=Nationalism and Byzantine Greece |journal=Greek, Roman and Byzantine Studies |date=1969 |page=102 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=HJhOAAAAIAAJ |quote=Greek nationalism, in other words, was articulated as the boundaries of Byzantium shrank... the Palaeologian restoration that the two words are brought into definite and cognate relationship with 'nation' (Έθνος). |access-date=27 September 2020 |archive-date=10 June 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240610020724/https://books.google.com/books?id=HJhOAAAAIAAJ |url-status=live }}{{cite book|first=Steven |last=Runciman|title=The Great Church in Captivity: A Study of the Patriarchate of Constantinople from the Eve of the Turkish Conquest to the Greek War of Independence|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Vm5OGIBgoHMC&pg=PA120|date=24 October 1985|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=978-0-521-31310-0|page=120|quote=By the fifteenth century most Byzantine intellectuals alluded to themselves as Hellenes. John Argyropoulus even calls the Emperor 'Emperor of the Hellenes' and describes the last wars of Byzantium as a struggle for the freedom of Hellas.|access-date=9 September 2018|archive-date=10 June 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240610020725/https://books.google.com/books?id=Vm5OGIBgoHMC&pg=PA120|url-status=live}}{{cite book |last1=Vasilʹev |first1=Aleksandr Aleksandrovich |title=History of the Byzantine Empire, 324-1453, Volume 1 |date=1964 |publisher=University of Wisconsin Press |page=582 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=EXiWAwAAQBAJ}}{{cite book|first1=Jane Perry Clark |last1=Carey|first2=Andrew Galbraith |last2=Carey|title=The Web of Modern Greek Politics|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ltw7AAAAMAAJ|year=1968|publisher=Columbia University Press|page=33|isbn=978-0-231-03170-7|quote=By the end of the fourteenth century the Byzantine emperor was often called "Emperor of the Hellenes"|access-date=9 September 2018|archive-date=27 September 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230927205509/https://books.google.com/books?id=ltw7AAAAMAAJ|url-status=live}}{{cite book |last1=Hilsdale |first1=Cecily J. |title=Byzantine Art and Diplomacy in an Age of Decline |date=2014 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-1-107-72938-4 |pages=82–83 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=t7GkAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA8 |access-date=27 September 2020 |archive-date=10 June 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240610020749/https://books.google.com/books?id=t7GkAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA8#v=onepage&q&f=false |url-status=live }} In the 14th century much of the Greek peninsula was lost by the Byzantine Empire to the [[Serbs]] and then the [[Ottoman Empire|Ottomans]].{{cite encyclopedia|url=https://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/244154/Greece/26391/Thessaly-and-surrounding-regions|title=Greece During the Byzantine Period: Serbian and Ottoman advances|encyclopedia=Encyclopædia Britannica|access-date=28 April 2012|archive-date=24 February 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130224052621/http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/244154/Greece/26391/Thessaly-and-surrounding-regions|url-status=live}} [[Fall of Constantinople|Constantinople fell]] to the Ottomans in 1453 and by 1460, the Ottoman conquest of mainland Greece was complete.{{cite encyclopedia|url=https://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/244154/Greece/26391/Thessaly-and-surrounding-regions|title=Greece During the Byzantine Period: The Peloponnese advances|encyclopedia=Encyclopædia Britannica|access-date=28 April 2012|archive-date=24 February 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130224052621/http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/244154/Greece/26391/Thessaly-and-surrounding-regions|url-status=live}} === Venetian possessions and Ottoman rule (15th century – 1821) === {{Main|Ottoman Greece|Stato da Màr}} {{See also|Kingdom of Candia|Venetian rule in the Ionian Islands}} During the 15th to early 19th centuries, while much of [[Geography of Greece|mainland Greece]] and the [[Aegean Islands|Aegean islands]] fell under [[Ottoman Empire|Ottoman]] control, [[Venice]] retained several key territories. Notably, [[Crete]] remained under [[Venetian rule in the Ionian Islands|Venetian rule]] until 1669, and the [[Ionian Islands]] were governed by Venice until 1797. These islands were subsequently ceded to [[First French Empire|French]] and later [[British Empire|British]] control.{{sfn|Clogg|1992|p=10}} While some Greeks in the Ionian islands and [[Constantinople]] lived in prosperity, and Greeks of Constantinople ([[Phanariots]]) achieved power within the Ottoman administration,{{sfn|Clogg|1992|p=23}} 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 [[serfdom|serfs]],{{Cite book | last1 = Kourvetaris | first1 = George | last2 = Dobratz | first2 = Betty | title = A profile of modern Greece: in search of identity | page = 33 | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=ePwcAAAAYAAJ&q=Greece+chiflik+serfs | publisher = Clarendon Press | year = 1987 | isbn = 978-0-19-827551-0 | access-date = 11 October 2015 | archive-date = 10 June 2024 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20240610021207/https://books.google.com/books?id=ePwcAAAAYAAJ&q=Greece+chiflik+serfs | url-status = live }} while the Ottoman conquest had cut Greece off from European historical developments.{{Sfn|Clogg|1992|pages=3}} [[File:Angelokastro (Corfu).jpg|thumb|The [[Byzantine Empire|Byzantine]] castle of [[Angelokastro (Corfu)|Angelokastro]] successfully repulsed the [[Ottoman Empire|Ottomans]] during the [[Siege of Corfu (1537)|first great siege of Corfu in 1537]], the siege of 1571, and the [[Siege of Corfu (1716)|second great siege of Corfu in 1716]], causing them to abandon their plans to conquer [[Corfu]].{{cite book|author=Nondas Stamatopoulos|title=Old Corfu: history and culture|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6m0-AQAAIAAJ|access-date=6 April 2013|year=1993|publisher=N. Stamatopoulos|pages=164–165|isbn=9789608403000|quote=Again, during the first great siege of Corfu by the Turks in 1537, Angelocastro ... and After a siege lasting a year the invaders were finally driven away by the defenders of the fortress who were helped by the inhabitants of the neighbouring villages. In 1571, when they once more invaded Corfu, the Turks again unsuccessfully attacked, Angelocastro, where 4,000 people had taken refuge. During the second great siege of the city by the Turks in 1716, Angelokastro once again served}}]] The [[Greek Orthodox Church]] and the [[Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople]] were considered by the Ottoman governments as the ruling authorities of the entire [[Eastern Orthodox Church|Orthodox Christian]] population of the Ottoman Empire, whether ethnically Greek or not. Although the [[Ottoman Empire|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-Christianity|crypto-Christians]]" returned to their old religious allegiance.{{sfn|Clogg|1992|p=14}}{{Cite web |title=Venice and the Ottomans |url=https://www.metmuseum.org/learn/educators/curriculum-resources/art-of-the-islamic-world/unit-seven/chapter-two/venice-and-the-ottomans |access-date=2025-04-10 |website=The Metropolitan Museum of Art |archive-date=19 April 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250419093855/https://www.metmuseum.org/learn/educators/curriculum-resources/art-of-the-islamic-world/unit-seven/chapter-two/venice-and-the-ottomans |url-status=live }} The nature of Ottoman administration of Greece varied, though it was invariably arbitrary and often harsh.{{Sfn|Clogg|1992|p=14}} Some cities had governors appointed by the [[Ottoman Sultan|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.{{Cite web |title=The Ottoman-Venetian Border (15th-18th Centuries) |url=https://edizionicafoscari.unive.it/media/pdf/books/978-88-6969-138-6/978-88-6969-138-6.pdf}} The 16th and 17th centuries are regarded as a "dark age" in Greek history.{{Sfn|Clogg|1992|page=15}} 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,{{sfn|Clogg|1992|p=15}} the [[Morean War]] of 1684–1699, and the [[Russian Empire|Russian]]-instigated [[Orlov revolt]] in 1770.{{cite report |last1=Smilyanskaya |first1=Elena B. |date=2014 |title=Russian Warriors In The Land Of Miltiades And Themistocles: The Colonial Ambitions Of Catherine The Great In The Mediterranean |url=https://wp.hse.ru/data/2014/05/13/1321487431/55HUM2014.pdf |ssrn=2436332 |quote-page=4 |quote=The secret missions of Russian emissaries… for their liberation. |archive-date=12 January 2026 |access-date=11 January 2026 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20260112225533/https://wp.hse.ru/data/2014/05/13/1321487431/55HUM2014.pdf |url-status=live }} These uprisings were put down by the Ottomans with great bloodshed.{{Cite book |first=Lyn |last=Harrington |title=Greece and the Greeks |page=124 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=d7BAAAAAIAAJ&q=greece+revolts+ottoman+rule+bloodshed |publisher=T Nelson |year=1968 |access-date=11 October 2015 |archive-date=10 June 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240610021226/https://books.google.com/books?id=d7BAAAAAIAAJ&q=greece+revolts+ottoman+rule+bloodshed |url-status=live}} 221 pp.{{Cite book |first1=Jamie |last1=Stokes |first2=Anthony |last2=Gorman |title=Encyclopedia of the Peoples of Africa and the Middle East |page=256 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=stl97FdyRswC&q=greece%20ottoman%20rule%20revolts%20orlov&pg=PA256 |publisher=Infobase |year=2010 |isbn=978-1-4381-2676-0 |access-date=11 November 2020 |archive-date=10 June 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240610021208/https://books.google.com/books?id=stl97FdyRswC&q=greece%20ottoman%20rule%20revolts%20orlov&pg=PA256#v=snippet&q=greece%20ottoman%20rule%20revolts%20orlov&f=false |url-status=live}} 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=== {{Main|History of modern Greece}} ==== Greek War of Independence (1821–1832) ==== {{Main|Greek War of Independence}} [[File:The sortie of Messologhi by Theodore Vryzakis.jpg|thumb|upright=.85|''The sortie (exodus) of [[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,{{Sfn|Clogg|1992|pages=21, 23}} and used their wealth to fund educational activities that brought younger generations into contact with Western ideas.{{Sfn|Clogg|1992|page=25, 26, 27}} In the 18th century, an increase in learning during the [[Modern Greek Enlightenment]] led to the emergence among [[Westernization|Westernised]] Greek-speaking [[elite]]s of the [[Greek nationalism|notion of a Greek nation]]. A secret organisation formed in this milieu was the [[Filiki Eteria]], in 1814.{{harvnb|Hatzopoulos|2009|pp=81–3}}. They engaged [[traditional society|traditional strata]] of the Greek Orthodox world in their liberal nationalist cause.{{harvnb|Hatzopoulos|2009}}. For the crisis of maritime trade from 1815 onwards, see {{harvnb|Kremmydas|1977}} and {{harvnb|Kremmydas|2002}}. The first revolt began on 6 March 1821 in the [[Danubian Principalities]], but was put down by the Ottomans. This spurred the Greeks of the [[Peloponnese]] and on 17 March the [[Maniots]] declared war on the Ottomans.Brewer, D. ''The Greek War of Independence: The Struggle for Freedom from Ottoman Oppression and the Birth of the Modern Greek Nation.'' Overlook Press, 2001, {{ISBN|1-58567-172-X}}, pp. 235–36. By October 1821 the Greeks had captured [[Tripoli, Greece|Tripolitsa]]. There were revolts in Crete, [[Macedonia (Greece)|Macedonia]] and [[Central Greece (geographic region)|Central Greece]], which were suppressed. In 1822 and 1824 the Turks and Egyptians ravaged the islands, committing [[Massacres during the Greek Revolution|massacres]].{{cite book |last1=Tucker |first1=Spencer C. |title=A Global Chronology of Conflict: From the Ancient World to the Modern Middle East |date=2009 |publisher=ABC-CLIO |isbn=978-1-85109-672-5 |page=1140 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=h5_tSnygvbIC&pg=PA1140 |access-date=11 November 2018 |archive-date=10 June 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240610021209/https://books.google.com/books?id=h5_tSnygvbIC&pg=PA1140 |url-status=live }}{{cite web|title=The Chios Massacre Of 1822|work=Queens Gazette |url=http://www.qgazette.com/news/2007-11-28/features/016.html |access-date=11 November 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181111173817/http://www.qgazette.com/news/2007-11-28/features/016.html|archive-date=11 November 2018}} This galvanised opinion in western Europe in favour of the Greeks.{{cite book |last=Klose |first=Fabian |title=The Emergence of Humanitarian Intervention: Ideas and Practice... |date=2016 |publisher=Clays |isbn=978-1-107-07551-1 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=cMvZCgAAQBAJ&pg=PA175 |page=175 |access-date=6 August 2017 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240912210753/https://books.google.com/books?id=cMvZCgAAQBAJ&pg=PA175#v=onepage&q&f=false |archive-date=2024-09-12}} The [[Ottoman Sultan]] [[Mahmud II]] negotiated with [[Mehmet Ali of Egypt]], who agreed to send his son [[Ibrahim Pasha of Egypt|Ibrahim Pasha]] with an army, in return for territorial gain.{{Cite book|last=Willert |first=Trine Stauning |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=gB1tDwAAQBAJ&q=The+New+Ottoman+Greece+in+History+and+Fiction|title=The New Ottoman Greece in History and Fiction|date=4 September 2018 |publisher=Springer|isbn=978-3-319-93849-3|pages=71–100 |access-date=29 December 2020|archive-date=10 June 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240610021210/https://books.google.com/books?id=gB1tDwAAQBAJ&q=The+New+Ottoman+Greece+in+History+and+Fiction#v=snippet&q=The%20New%20Ottoman%20Greece%20in%20History%20and%20Fiction&f=false |url-status=live}} By the end of 1825, most of the Peloponnese was under Egyptian control.{{EB1911 |wstitle=Ibrahim Pasha |volume=14 |pages=223–224 |inline=1}} Three [[great powers]], [[Bourbon Restoration in France|France]], [[Russian Empire]], and the [[United Kingdom]], each sent a navy.{{cite book |last=Woodhouse |first=Christopher Montague |year=1965 |title=The Battle of Navarino |pages=117–18, 137, 139}} The allied fleet destroyed the Ottoman–Egyptian fleet at the [[Battle of Navarino]], and the Greeks captured Central Greece by 1828. The [[First Hellenic Republic|nascent Greek state]] was recognised under the [[London Protocol (1830)|London Protocol]] in 1830.{{cite book |title=Η αντιπολίτευση κατά του κυβερνήτη Ιωάννη Καποδίστρια |first=Χρήστος |last=Λούκος |publisher=Θεμέλιο |year=1988 |location=Αθήνα, Ελλάδα |page=187 |language=el}} ====Kingdom of Greece==== {{Main|Kingdom of Greece}} [[File:Peter von Hess - The Entry of King Othon of Greece in Athens - WGA11387.jpg|thumb|upright=1.1|left|''[[The Entry of King Otto of Greece into Athens]]'', painted by [[Peter von Hess]] in 1839]] In 1827, [[Ioannis Kapodistrias]] was chosen by the [[Third National Assembly at Troezen]] as the first governor of the [[First Hellenic Republic]]. Kapodistrias established state, economic and military institutions. Tensions appeared between him and local interests and, following his assassination in 1831 and the [[London Conference of 1832]], Britain, France and Russia installed Bavarian Prince [[Otto of Greece|Otto von Wittelsbach]] as [[Kingdom of Greece (Wittelsbach)|monarch]].{{Cite encyclopedia |title=Otto |encyclopedia=Encyclopedia Britannica |url=https://www.britannica.com/biography/Otto-king-of-Greece |language=en |access-date=1 September 2018 |archive-date=9 September 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180909190752/https://www.britannica.com/biography/Otto-king-of-Greece |url-status=live }} Otto's reign was [[despotism|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. Greece remained under the influence of its three protecting great powers.{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=fXfatJ1aQq0C&q=king%2520otto%2520german%2520language%2520administration%2520greece&pg=PA71 |title=The Theory and Practice of Institutional Transplantation: Experiences with the Transfer of Policy Institutions |last1=Jong |first1=M. de |last2=Lalenis |first2=K. |last3=Mamadouh |first3=V. D. |date=31 December 2002 |publisher=Springer Science & Business Media |isbn=978-1-4020-1108-5 |page=71 |access-date=11 November 2020 |archive-date=10 June 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240610021211/https://books.google.com/books?id=fXfatJ1aQq0C&q=king%2520otto%2520german%2520language%2520administration%2520greece&pg=PA71#v=onepage&q=king%2520otto%2520german%2520language%2520administration%2520greece&f=false |url-status=live }} In 1843 an [[3 September 1843 Revolution|uprising]] forced Otto to grant a [[Greek Constitution of 1844|constitution]] and [[Hellenic Parliament|representative assembly]]. Despite the [[absolute monarchy|absolutism]] of Otto's reign, it proved instrumental in developing institutions which are still the bedrock of Greek administration and education.{{Cite book |date=2008 |last=Hodge |first=Carl Cavanagh |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Y5zTkGKy4wEC&q=king%2520otto%2520german%2520language%2520administration%2520greece&pg=PA291 |title=Encyclopedia of the Age of Imperialism, 1800–1914 |publisher=Greenwood Publishing Group |page=291 |access-date=9 September 2018 |isbn=978-0-313-04341-3}} Reforms were taken in education, maritime and postal communications, effective civil administration and the [[legal code]].{{sfn|Great Greek Encyclopedia|page=50–51}} [[Historical revisionism]] took the form of de-[[Byzantine Empire|Byzantinification]] and de-[[Ottoman Empire|Ottomanisation]], in favour of promoting Ancient Greek heritage.{{sfn|Roudometof|2001|pp=101–113}} The capital was moved from [[Nafplio]], where it had been since 1829, to [[Athens]], then a smaller town.{{Cite book |last=Wynn |first=Martin |date=1984 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vb2xAAAAIAAJ&q=otto+move+capital+athens |title=Planning and Urban Growth in Southern Europe |publisher=Mansell |isbn=978-0-7201-1608-3 |page=6 |access-date=27 September 2020 |archive-date=10 June 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240610021731/https://books.google.com/books?id=vb2xAAAAIAAJ&q=otto+move+capital+athens |url-status=live }} 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]].{{sfn|Roudometof|2001|pp=101–113}} Otto [[23 October 1862 Revolution|was deposed]] in 1862 because of the Bavarian-dominated government, heavy taxation, and a failed attempt to annex Crete from the Ottomans. He was replaced by Prince Wilhelm of Denmark, who took the name [[George I of Greece|George I]] and brought with him the Ionian Islands as a coronation gift from Britain. A [[Greek Constitution of 1864|new Constitution in 1864]] changed Greece's form of government from [[constitutional monarchy]] to the more democratic [[crowned republic]].{{sfn|Great Greek Encyclopedia|page=239|loc="Διὰ τοῦ Συντάγματος τοῦ 1864 καθιερώθει ὡς πολίτευμα διὰ τὴν Ἑλλάδα ἡ κοινοβουλευτικὴ μοναρχία, ἣ, ὅπως ἄλλως ἐχαρακτηρίσθη, ἡ «βασιλευομένη δημοκρατία» ἣ «δημοκρατικὴ βασιλεία»" [Through the Constitution of 1864, constitutional monarchy, or, as it had been described, "crowned democracy", or "democratic monarchy", was consolidated as the form of government in Greece]}}{{cite web |url=https://www.hellenicparliament.gr/en/Vouli-ton-Ellinon/To-Politevma/Syntagmatiki-Istoria/ |title=Constitutional History |publisher=Hellenic Parliament |access-date=4 September 2018 |quote=The revolt marked the end of constitutional monarchy and the beginning of a crowned democracy with George-Christian-Wilhelm of the Schleswig-Holstein-Sønderburg-Glücksburg dynasty as monarch. |archive-date=26 May 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190526170714/https://www.hellenicparliament.gr/en/Vouli-ton-Ellinon/To-Politevma/Syntagmatiki-Istoria/ |url-status=live }}{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=RekVT4GnyYIC&q=crowned%2520republic%2520greece&pg=PA132 |title=Greece Country Study Guide: Strategic Information and Developments |publisher=International Business Publications, US |date=3 March 2012 |isbn=978-1-4387-7447-3 |page=131 |quote=In 1862, however, a revolt brought about important changes in the political system that led to the so-called "crowned democracy", i.e. a kingdom with a democratic government. }}{{Dead link|date=June 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }} In 1875 [[parliamentary majority]] as a requirement for government was introduced,{{cite web |url=https://www.hellenicparliament.gr/en/Vouli-ton-Ellinon/To-Politevma/Syntagmatiki-Istoria/ |title=Constitutional History |publisher=Hellenic Parliament |access-date=4 September 2018 |archive-date=26 May 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190526170714/https://www.hellenicparliament.gr/en/Vouli-ton-Ellinon/To-Politevma/Syntagmatiki-Istoria/ |url-status=live }} curbing the power of the monarchy to appoint [[minority government]]s. Corruption, coupled with increased spending to fund infrastructure like the [[Corinth Canal]],{{cite web |url=http://www.aedik.gr/frontend/articles.php?cid=44&scid=51 |title=Η αντίστροφη μέτρηση |trans-title=The Countdown |website=Διώρυγα Κορίνθου |access-date=18 May 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120328044804/http://www.aedik.gr/frontend/articles.php?cid=44&scid=51 |archive-date=28 March 2012 }} overtaxed the weak economy and forced the declaration of [[Sovereign default|public insolvency]] in 1893. [[File:Map Greece expansion 1832-1947-en.svg|thumb|upright=1.15 |The territorial evolution of the [[Kingdom of Greece]] from 1832 to 1947]] Greeks were united, however, in their determination to liberate the [[regions of ancient Greece|Hellenic lands]] under Ottoman rule; the [[Cretan Revolt (1866–1869)]] had raised nationalist fervour. When war broke out between [[Russo-Turkish War (1877–1878)|Russia and the Ottomans in 1877]], Greek sentiment rallied to Russia, but Greece was too poor and concerned about British intervention, to enter the war.{{cite journal |last1=Immig |first1=Nicole |title=The 'New' Muslim Minorities in Greece: Between Emigration and Political Participation, 1881–1886 |journal=Journal of Muslim Minority Affairs |date=December 2009 |volume=29 |issue=4 |pages=511–522 |doi=10.1080/13602000903411408 }} Greeks in Crete continued to stage revolts, and in 1897, the Greek government, bowing to popular pressure, declared war on the Ottomans. In the ensuing [[Greco-Turkish War (1897)|Greco-Turkish War of 1897]], the badly trained and equipped Greek army was defeated. Through the intervention of the Great Powers, however, Greece lost little territory, while Crete was established as an [[Cretan State|autonomous state]] under [[Prince George of Greece]]. With state coffers empty, fiscal policy came under [[International Financial Control]].{{cite web |author=[[Marie Charrel]] |date=16 July 2015 |title=Quand la France et l'Allemagne mirent la Grèce sous tutelle… en 1898 |url=http://www.lemonde.fr/economie/article/2015/07/16/quand-la-france-et-l-allemagne-mirent-la-grece-sous-tutelle-en-1898_4685561_3234.html |work=Le Monde |access-date=17 May 2022 |url-status=live |archive-date=17 May 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220517145442/https://www.lemonde.fr/economie/article/2015/07/16/quand-la-france-et-l-allemagne-mirent-la-grece-sous-tutelle-en-1898_4685561_3234.html}} The government, aiming to quell [[Komitadjis]] and detach the [[Slavic speakers in Ottoman Macedonia|Slavophone peasants of the region]] from [[Bulgarian Macedonians|Bulgarian]] influence, sponsored a [[guerrilla warfare|guerrilla]] campaign in Ottoman-ruled [[Macedonia (region)|Macedonia]], known as the [[Macedonian Struggle]], which ended with the [[Young Turk Revolution]] in 1908.{{harvnb|Livanios|1999|pp=195–196}}, {{harvnb|Koliopoulos|Veremis|2002|pp=280–281}}, {{harvnb|Kostopoulos|2011}}. ==== Expansion, disaster, and reconstruction ==== {{See also|Greece in the Balkan Wars|Greece during World War I|National Schism|Second Hellenic Republic}} Amidst dissatisfaction with the seeming inertia and unattainability of [[Megali Idea|national aspirations]], military officers organised a [[Goudi coup|coup]] in 1909 and called on [[Cretan State|Cretan]] politician [[Eleftherios Venizelos]], who conveyed a vision of national regeneration. After winning [[Greek legislative election, August 1910|two]] [[Greek legislative election, November 1910|elections]] and becoming prime minister in 1910,{{sfn|Mazower|1992|pp=886, 890–893, 895–900, 904}} Venizelos initiated fiscal, social, and [[Greek Constitution of 1911|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 (region)|Epirus]], and [[Macedonia (Greece)|Macedonia]]. The struggle between [[Constantine I of Greece|King Constantine I]] and charismatic Venizelos over foreign policy on the eve of the First World War dominated politics and divided the country into [[National Schism|two opposing groups]]. During parts of the war, Greece had two governments: a royalist [[Central Powers|pro-German]] one in [[Athens]] and a [[Venizelism|Venizelist]] pro-[[Triple Entente|Entente]] one in [[Thessaloniki]]. Greece was reunified in 1917 under Venizelos and entered the war on the side of the Entente. [[File:Smyrna-vict-families-1922.jpg|thumb|Greek civilians mourn their relatives killed in the [[Burning of Smyrna|Great Fire of Smyrna]] during the [[Greek genocide]] in 1922.]] After the war, Greece attempted expansion into [[Asia Minor]], a region with a large native Greek population, but was defeated in the [[Greco-Turkish War (1919–1922)]], contributing to a flight of [[Ottoman Greeks|Asia Minor Greeks]].{{cite book |author=Matthew J. Gibney, [[Randall Hansen]]. |title=Immigration and Asylum: from 1900 to the Present, Volume 3 |publisher=ABC-CLIO |year=2005 |page=[https://archive.org/details/immigrationasylu00matt/page/377 377] |isbn=978-1-57607-796-2 |quote=The total number of Christians who fled to Greece was probably in the region of I.2 million with the main wave occurring in 1922 before the signing of the convention. According to the official records of the Mixed Commission set up to monitor the movements, the Greeks who were transferred after 1923 numbered 189,916 and the number of Muslims expelled to Turkey was 355,635 (Ladas I932, 438–439), but using the same source Eddy 1931, 201 states that the post-1923 exchange involved 192,356 Greeks from Turkey and 354,647 Muslims from Greece. |url=https://archive.org/details/immigrationasylu00matt/page/377 }}{{cite book |last1=Sofos |first1=Spyros A. |last2=Özkirimli |first2=Umut |author2-link=Umut Özkirimli |title=Tormented by History: Nationalism in Greece and Turkey |publisher=C Hurst & Co Publishers Ltd |year=2008 |pages=116–117 |isbn=978-1-85065-899-3 }} These events overlapped with the [[Greek genocide]] (1914–22),{{cite journal |last1=Schaller |first1=Dominik J. |last2=Zimmerer |first2=Jürgen |title=Late Ottoman genocides: the dissolution of the Ottoman Empire and Young Turkish population and extermination policies—introduction |journal=Journal of Genocide Research |date=March 2008 |volume=10 |issue=1 |pages=7–14 |doi=10.1080/14623520801950820 }}{{Cite news | url = http://news.am/eng/news/16644.html | title = Genocide Resolution approved by Swedish Parliament | publisher = News.AM | access-date = 9 December 2014 | archive-date = 16 April 2019 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20190416235256/https://news.am/eng/news/16644.html | url-status = live }}, containing both the IAGS and the Swedish resolutions.Gaunt, David. ''[https://web.archive.org/web/20140102130735/http://books.google.com/books?id=4mug9LrpLKcC Massacres, Resistance, Protectors: Muslim-Christian Relations in Eastern Anatolia during World War I]''. Piscataway, [[New Jersey|NJ]]: Gorgias Press, 2006.{{cite news | author-link = Chris Hedges | last = Hedges | first = Chris | date = 17 September 2000 | url = https://www.nytimes.com/2000/09/17/nyregion/a-few-words-in-greek-tell-of-a-homeland-lost.html | title = A Few Words in Greek Tell of a Homeland Lost | newspaper = [[The New York Times]] | access-date = 19 February 2017 | archive-date = 25 November 2018 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20181125062332/https://www.nytimes.com/2000/09/17/nyregion/a-few-words-in-greek-tell-of-a-homeland-lost.html | url-status = live }}{{Cite journal | first = RJ | last = Rummel | author-link = R. J. Rummel | year = 1998 | title = The Holocaust in Comparative and Historical Perspective | journal = Idea Journal of Social Issues | volume = 3 | number = 2}} when Ottoman and Turkish officials contributed to the death of several hundred thousand Asia Minor Greeks, along with similar numbers of [[Assyrian genocide|Assyrians]] and a larger number of [[Armenian genocide|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.{{cite magazine|author=Annette Grossbongardt|url=http://www.spiegel.de/international/christians-in-turkey-the-diaspora-welcomes-the-pope-a-451140.html|title=Christians in Turkey: The Diaspora Welcomes the Pope|magazine=[[Der Spiegel]]|date=28 November 2006|access-date=3 September 2015|archive-date=24 September 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150924143609/http://www.spiegel.de/international/christians-in-turkey-the-diaspora-welcomes-the-pope-a-451140.html|url-status=live}} 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.Howland, Charles P. [http://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/68710/charles-p-howland/greece-and-her-refugees "Greece and Her Refugees"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150407210749/http://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/68710/charles-p-howland/greece-and-her-refugees |date=7 April 2015 }}, ''Foreign Affairs'', [[The Council on Foreign Relations]]. July 1926. Following the catastrophic events in Asia Minor, the monarchy was abolished [[Greek republic referendum, 1924|via a referendum]] in 1924 and the [[Second Hellenic Republic]] was declared.{{cite web |url=http://www.et.gr/idocs-nph/search/pdfViewerForm.html?args=5C7QrtC22wFDWqVnkvhsTndtvSoClrL8BI7vRxXKg8ztIl9LGdkF53UIxsx942CdyqxSQYNuqAGCF0IfB9HI6hq6ZkZV96FIfmAIHno4xZaiebsKTXkZGFzZyd4dunA0LfOa-Yg4kaY. |title=Newspaper of the Government – Issue 64 |date=25 March 1924 |work=Government Newspaper of the Hellenic State |access-date=18 May 2022 |archive-date=18 May 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220518194612/http://www.et.gr/idocs-nph/search/pdfViewerForm.html?args=5C7QrtC22wFDWqVnkvhsTndtvSoClrL8BI7vRxXKg8ztIl9LGdkF53UIxsx942CdyqxSQYNuqAGCF0IfB9HI6hq6ZkZV96FIfmAIHno4xZaiebsKTXkZGFzZyd4dunA0LfOa-Yg4kaY. |url-status=live }} In 1935, a royalist general-turned-politician [[Georgios Kondylis]] took power after a coup and abolished the republic, holding [[Greek monarchy referendum, 1935|a rigged referendum]], after which [[George II of Greece|King George II]] was restored to the throne. ==== Dictatorship, World War II, and reconstruction ==== {{Further|Greco-Italian War|Battle of Greece|Axis occupation of Greece|Greek Resistance|Greek Civil War}} 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 [[authoritarianism|authoritarian rule]] that would last until 1974.{{cite book|last=Hagen |first=Fleischer|title=Totalitarian and Authoritarian Regimes in Europe: Legacies and Lessons from the Twentieth Century|chapter=Authoritarian Rule in Greece (1936–1974) and Its Heritage|year=2006|location=New York/Oxford|publisher=Berghahn|page=237}} Greece remained on good terms with Britain and was not allied with the [[Axis powers|Axis]]. [[File:Αθηναίοι γιορτάζουν την απελευθέρωση της πόλης τους, Οκτώβριος 1944.jpg|thumb|right|People in [[Athens]] celebrate the liberation from the Axis powers, October 1944. Postwar Greece would soon experience the [[Greek Civil War]] and political polarisation]] In October 1940, [[Kingdom of Italy|Fascist Italy]] demanded the surrender of Greece, but it [[Ohi Day|refused]], and, in the [[Greco-Italian War]], Greece repelled Italian forces into Albania.{{sfn|Fafalios|Hadjipateras|1995|p=157}} French general [[Charles de Gaulle]] praised the fierceness of the Greek resistance, but the country fell to urgently dispatched [[Nazi Germany|German]] forces during the [[Battle of Greece]]. The Nazis proceeded to administer Athens and Thessaloniki, while other regions were given to Fascist Italy and Bulgaria. Over 100,000 civilians died of starvation during the winter of 1941–42, tens of thousands more died because of reprisals by Nazis and [[Collaboration with Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy#Greece|collaborators]], the economy was ruined, and most [[History of the Jews in Greece|Greek Jews]] (tens of thousands) were deported and murdered in Nazi concentration camps.{{Cite encyclopedia |title=Greek history since World War I |date=14 June 2023 |encyclopedia=[[Encyclopædia Britannica]] |url=https://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/244154/Greece/26430/Greek-history-since-World-War-IGreece |access-date=21 June 2022 |url-status=live |archive-date=10 June 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240610021739/https://gum.criteo.com/syncframe?origin=criteoPrebidAdapter&topUrl=www.britannica.com&us_privacy=1YNY&gpp=}}{{sfn|Mazower|2001|p=155}} The [[Greek Resistance]], mainly [[EAM (Greece)|EAM]]-[[ELAS]] (being the largest organisation) and [[EDES]], was one of the most effective resistance movements in Europe fighting against the Nazis. The German occupiers committed [[German war crimes#Greece|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.{{sfn|Mazower|2001|p=155}} The Germans executed around 21,000 Greeks, the Bulgarians 40,000, and the Italians 9,000.{{Cite book |title=Die Wehrmacht eine Bilanz |date=2009 |author1=Guido Knopp |author2=Mario Sporn |isbn=978-3-442-15561-3 |edition=1st |publisher=Goldmann |location=München |oclc=423851310}} Following liberation, Greece annexed the [[Dodecanese Islands]] from Italy and regained [[Western Thrace]] from Bulgaria. The country descended into a [[Greek Civil War|civil war]] between the [[KKE|communist]] [[Democratic Army of Greece|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]],{{cite book|last= Chomsky|first= Noam|title= ''World Orders, Old And New''|publisher= Pluto Press London|year= 1994}} resulted in further economic devastation, population displacement and political polarisation for the next thirty years.{{sfn|Mazower|2016|p={{page needed|date=September 2024}}}} Although the post-war period was characterised by social strife and marginalisation of the left, Greece experienced [[Greek economic miracle|rapid economic growth]] and recovery, propelled in part by the U.S. [[Marshall Plan]].{{cite book|last=Baten|first=Jörg |title=A History of the Global Economy. From 1500 to the Present |date=2016|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=978-1-107-50718-0|page=51, Figure 2.3 "Numeracy in selected Balkan and Caucasus countries", based on data from Crayen and Baten (2010)}} In 1952, Greece joined [[NATO]], reinforcing its membership in the [[Western Bloc]] of the Cold War.{{cite journal |last1=Chourchoulis |first1=Dionysios |last2=Kourkouvelas |first2=Lykourgos |title=Greek perceptions of NATO during the Cold War |journal=Southeast European and Black Sea Studies |date=December 2012 |volume=12 |issue=4 |pages=497–514 |doi=10.1080/14683857.2012.741848 }} The post-war period was dominated by [[Konstantinos Karamanlis]]. Following his appointment as Prime Minister in October 1955, Karamanlis oversaw a period of rapid and sustained economic growth. Alongside key policymakers such as [[Georgios Kartalis]] and [[Spyros Markezinis]], Karamanlis’s government pursued an activist state policy, investing heavily in public infrastructure and industrial development to propel Greece toward the status of a developed nation. Karamanlis advocated for Greece’s integration into the [[European Economic Community]] (EEC) and, in July 1961, Greece signed an agreement to join the bloc.{{cite web |title=Remembering Constantine Karamanlis: “The National Leader” |url=https://pappaspost.com/constantine-karamanlis-remembrance/ |publisher=The Pappas Post |access-date=12 June 2026}} The [[Centre Union]] won a minority vote in the [[1963 Greek parliamentary election|1963 elections]] and formed a government in the [[1964 Greek parliamentary election|1964 elections]]. Prime Minister [[George Papandreou (senior)|George Papandreou]]'s relationship with the new King, [[Constantine II of Greece|Constantine II]], deteriorated. Papandreou openly clashed with the King and resigned in July 1965. The latter lured in Centre Union members to form unelected coalition governments, resulting in [[Iouliana|prolonged political instability]] for the next two years that culminated in a coup in 1967 by [[Greek junta|a group of colonels]] led by [[Georgios Papadopoulos]].{{Cite book |last=Clogg |first= Richard | author-link=Richard Clogg | title= A Concise History of Greece | date = 2013 | publisher =Cambridge University Press |location = Cambridge |language=en | isbn = 978-1-107-65644-4| url=https://books.google.com/books?id=M492AgAAQBAJ | page = 158 }} 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, [[Turkish invasion of Cyprus|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]].{{Cite web |title=34. Cyprus (1960–present) |url=https://uca.edu/politicalscience/dadm-project/europerussiacentral-asia-region/cyprus-1960-present/ |access-date=2 June 2023 |website=uca.edu |language=en-US |archive-date=2 June 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230602195040/https://uca.edu/politicalscience/dadm-project/europerussiacentral-asia-region/cyprus-1960-present/ |url-status=live }} ==== Third Hellenic Republic ==== {{Main|Third Hellenic Republic}} [[File:Accession of Greece to the European Union.png|thumb|Signing at [[Zappeion]] by [[Constantine Karamanlis]] of the documents for the accession of Greece to the [[European Union|European Communities]] in 1979]] The former prime minister [[Konstantinos Karamanlis]] was invited back from self-exile and the [[Greek legislative election, 1974|first multiparty elections]] since 1964 were held on the first anniversary of the Polytechnic uprising. A democratic and republican [[Constitution of Greece|constitution]] was promulgated in 1975 following a [[Greek republic referendum, 1974|referendum]] which chose not to restore the monarchy. Meanwhile, [[Andreas Papandreou]], George Papandreou's son, founded the [[Panhellenic Socialist Movement]] (PASOK) in response to Karamanlis's conservative [[New Democracy (Greece)|New Democracy]] party, with the two political formations dominating government over the next four decades. Greece rejoined NATO in 1980.{{Refn | group = lower-alpha | name="integrated1974" | On 14 August 1974 Greek forces withdrew from the integrated military structure of [[NATO]] in protest at the Turkish occupation of northern Cyprus; Greece rejoined NATO in 1980.}}History, Editorial Consultant: Adam Hart-Davis. [[Dorling Kindersley]]. {{ISBN|978-1-85613-062-2}}. Greece became the tenth member of the [[European Communities]] in 1981, ushering in sustained growth. Investments in industrial enterprises and heavy infrastructure, as well as funds from the [[European Union]] and growing revenue from tourism, shipping, and a fast-growing service sector raised the [[standard of living]]. In 1981, [[Andreas Papandreou]] came to power and implemented an [[Social reforms of Andreas Papandreou|ambitious program of social reforms]]. He recognised civil marriage, the dowry was abolished, while expanding access to education and health care. However, he made controversial [[Foreign policy of Andreas Papandreou|foreign policy]] decisions that fueled the rise of [[terrorism in Greece]]. Papandreou's tenure has been associated with corruption (see [[Koskotas scandal|Koskotas]] and [[Yugoslav corn scandal]]s) and the [[1985 Greek constitutional crisis|first constitutional crisis of the new republic]], while [[Economic policies of Andreas Papandreou|his economic policies]] failed to address the persistent [[stagflation]] and chronic budget deficits that exacerbated Greece's economic problems.{{Cite web |date=5 February 2019 |title=The ideal Greek everyman: Andreas Papandreou at 100 |url=https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/europpblog/2019/02/05/the-ideal-greek-everyman-andreas-papandreou-at-100/ |access-date=9 May 2023 |website=EUROPP |archive-date=9 May 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230509192132/https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/europpblog/2019/02/05/the-ideal-greek-everyman-andreas-papandreou-at-100/ |url-status=live }} The country adopted the euro in 2001 and successfully hosted the [[2004 Summer Olympics|2004 Summer Olympic Games]] in Athens.{{cite web|url=https://europa.eu/about-eu/countries/member-countries/greece/index_en.htm|publisher=European Union|access-date=7 April 2007|title=Greece|archive-date=26 July 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160726074103/http://europa.eu/about-eu/countries/member-countries/greece/index_en.htm|url-status=live}} In 2010, Greece suffered from the [[Great Recession]] and related [[Eurozone crisis]]. Due to the adoption of the euro, Greece could no longer [[Devaluation|devalue]] its currency to regain competitiveness.{{cite book|last=Baten|first=Jörg|title=A History of the Global Economy: From 1500 to the Present|date=2016|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=978-1-107-50718-0|page=66}} In the 2012 elections, there was major political change, with new parties emerging from the collapse of the two main parties, PASOK and New Democracy.{{cite web |last=Konstantinidou |first=Diana |date=28 June 2012 |title=Elections 2012: the Greek political system in flux? |url=https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/greeceatlse/2012/06/28/elections-2012-the-greek-political-system-in-flux/ |website=Greece@LSE |access-date=9 May 2023 |archive-date=9 May 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230509192133/https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/greeceatlse/2012/06/28/elections-2012-the-greek-political-system-in-flux/ |url-status=live }} In 2015, [[Alexis Tsipras]] was elected as prime minister, the first outside the two main parties.{{cite news |title=Syriza's historic win puts Greece on collision course with Europe |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/jan/25/syriza-historic-win-greece-european-union-austerity |work=The Guardian |date=26 January 2015 |access-date=9 May 2023 |archive-date=10 June 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240610021731/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/jan/25/syriza-historic-win-greece-european-union-austerity |url-status=live }} The [[Greek government-debt crisis]], and subsequent austerity policies, resulted in social strife. The crisis ended around 2018, with the end of the bailout mechanisms and return of growth. Simultaneously, Tsipras, and the leader of North Macedonia, [[Zoran Zaev]], signed the [[Prespa Agreement]], solving the [[Macedonia naming dispute|naming dispute]] that had strained relations and eased the latter's path to EU and NATO membership.{{cite web |title=After the Prespa Agreement: Why North Macedonia's Accession to EU won't happen in the near future |url=https://www.iir.cz/after-the-prespa-agreement-why-north-macedonia-s-accession-to-eu-won-t-happen-in-the-near-future |website=Institute of International Relations Prague |access-date=9 May 2023 |archive-date=9 May 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230509193636/https://www.iir.cz/after-the-prespa-agreement-why-north-macedonia-s-accession-to-eu-won-t-happen-in-the-near-future |url-status=live }} In 2019, [[Kyriakos Mitsotakis]] became Greece's new prime minister, after his centre-right New Democracy won the [[2019 Greek legislative election|election]].{{cite news |title=New era as Mitsotakis is sworn in as Greece's new PM |url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2019/7/8/kyriakos-mitsotakis-sworn-in-as-greeces-new-prime-minister |work=Al Jazeera |language=en |access-date=12 May 2021 |archive-date=26 September 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220926231754/https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2019/7/8/kyriakos-mitsotakis-sworn-in-as-greeces-new-prime-minister |url-status=live }} In 2020, Greece's parliament elected a non-partisan candidate, [[Katerina Sakellaropoulou]], as the first female [[President of Greece]].{{cite news|title=Greece swears in first female president|url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2020/3/13/greeces-first-female-president-sworn-in|work=Al Jazeera|access-date=12 May 2021|archive-date=12 May 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210512110941/https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2020/3/13/greeces-first-female-president-sworn-in|url-status=live}} In February 2024, Greece became the first Orthodox Christian country to recognise same-sex marriage and adoption by same-sex couples.{{cite news |last=Smith |first=Helena |title=Greece becomes first Orthodox Christian country to legalise same-sex marriage |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/feb/15/greece-becomes-first-orthodox-christian-country-to-legalise-same-sex-marriage |work=The Guardian |date=15 February 2024 |access-date=16 February 2024 |archive-date=10 June 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240610021731/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/feb/15/greece-becomes-first-orthodox-christian-country-to-legalise-same-sex-marriage |url-status=live }} In 2023, Greece became a member of the Three Seas Initiative.{{cite book |last1=Wójcik |first1=Piotr |title=Analyzing Global Responses to Contemporary Regional Conflicts |chapter=New in and for the Three Seas Initiative |series=Advances in Human Services and Public Health |date=2023 |pages=163–187 |doi=10.4018/979-8-3693-2837-8.ch008 |isbn=979-8-3693-2837-8 }} == Geography == {{Main|Geography of Greece}} [[File:Greece topo.jpg|thumb|right|Topographic map of Greece]] Located in [[Southern Europe|Southern]]{{cite web |url=https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/greece/ |title=The World Factbook – Greece |publisher=Central Intelligence Agency|website=cia.gov|access-date=10 November 2017|archive-date=9 January 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210109063832/https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/greece/|url-status=dead}} and Southeast Europe,{{cite web|publisher=UN|url=http://unstats.un.org/unsd/geoinfo/ungegn/docs/23-gegn/wp/gegn23wp48.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110514112519/http://unstats.un.org/unsd/geoinfo/UNGEGN/docs/23-gegn/wp/gegn23wp48.pdf |archive-date=14 May 2011 |url-status=live|title=UNITED NATIONS GROUP OF EXPERTS ON GEOGRAPHICAL NAMES: Working Paper No. 48|date=2006|access-date=2 September 2015}} Greece has the longest coastline on the [[Mediterranean basin]], spanning thousands of islands and nine [[Geographic regions of Greece|traditional geographic regions]]: [[Macedonia (Greece)|Macedonia]], [[Central Greece (geographic region)|Central Greece]], [[Peloponnese]], [[Thessaly]], [[Epirus (region)|Epirus]], [[Aegean Islands]], [[Western Thrace|Thrace]], [[Crete]] and [[Ionian Islands]]. Greece consists of a mountainous, peninsular mainland jutting out into the sea at the southern end of the [[Balkans]], ending at the [[Peloponnese]] peninsula (separated from the mainland by the [[Corinth Canal|canal]] of the [[Isthmus of Corinth]]) and strategically located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa.{{efn|See:{{cite book|author1=Chrēstos G. Kollias |author2=Gülay Günlük-Şenesen|author3=Gülden Ayman|title=Greece and Turkey in the 21st Century: Conflict Or Cooperation: a Political Economy Perspective|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=E_e4CT57tZYC&pg=PA10|access-date=12 April 2013|year=2003|publisher=Nova Publishers|isbn=978-1-59033-753-0|page=10|quote=Greece's Strategic Position in the Balkans And Eastern Mediterranean Greece is located at the crossroads of three continents (Europe, Asia and Africa). It is an integral part of the Balkans (where it is the only country that is a member of the ...)}}{{cite book|author1=Christina Bratt Paulston|author2=Scott F. Kiesling|author3=Elizabeth S. Rangel|title=The Handbook of Intercultural Discourse and Communication|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=L2_JtZV7ZIYC&pg=PA292|access-date=12 April 2013 |date=13 February 2012|publisher=John Wiley & Sons|isbn=978-1-4051-6272-2|page=292|quote=Introduction Greece and Turkey are situated at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, the Middle East and Africa, and their inhabitants have had a long history of cultural interaction even though their languages are neither genetically nor typologically ...}}{{cite book|author=Caralampo Focas|title=Transport Issues And Problems in Southeastern Europe|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=MO33_NB5sWcC&pg=PA114|access-date=12 April 2013|year=2004 |publisher=Ashgate Publishing, Ltd.|isbn=978-0-7546-1970-3|page=114|quote=Greece itself shows a special geopolitical importance as it is situated at the crossroads of three continents – Europe, Asia and Africa – and can be therefore considered as a natural bridge between Europe and the Middle East}}{{cite book |last1=Glytsos |first1=Nicholas P. |last2=Katseli |first2=Louka T.|editor-last=Zimmermann |editor-first=Klaus F. |chapter=10. Greek Migration: The Two Faces of Janus |title=European Migration: What Do We Know?|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0droTivyVUgC&pg=PA337|year=2005|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=978-0-19-925735-5 |page=337 |quote=Introduction Migration movements from and to, or via Greece, are an age-old phenomenon. Situated at the crossroads of three continents (Europe, Asia, and Africa), Greece has been, at different historical times, both a labour...}}{{cite book|author1=Sladjana Petkovic|author2=Howard Williamson|title=Youth policy in Greece: Council of Europe international review |isbn=978-92-871-8181-7 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=4HTpCgAAQBAJ&pg=PT48 |date=21 July 2015|publisher=Council of Europe|page=48 |quote=As reports from the GSY (2007) show, young people have the opportunity to become acquainted with many diverse civilisations and cultures, through Greece's strategic location at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Accordingly, many ...}}}} Its highly indented coastline and numerous islands give Greece the [[List of countries by length of coastline|11th longest national coastline]] in the world, with {{convert|13676|km|mi|0|abbr=on}};{{cite web|url=https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/fields/2060.html?countryName=Greece&countryCode=gr®ionCode=eu&#gr |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090613164558/https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/fields/2060.html?countryName=Greece&countryCode=GR®ionCode=eu&#gr |archive-date=13 June 2009 |title=The World Fact Book – Field Listing :: Coastline |access-date=17 March 2011 |publisher=[[Central Intelligence Agency]]|url-status=dead}} its land boundary is {{convert|1160|km|mi|0|abbr=on}}. The country lies approximately between latitudes [[35th parallel north|34°]] and [[42nd parallel north|42° N]], and longitudes [[19th meridian east|19°]] and [[30th meridian east|30° E]], with the extreme points being:{{cite web |url=http://dlib.statistics.gr/Book/GRESYE_01_0002_00061.pdf |title=Statistical Yearbook of Greece 2009 & 2010 |page=27 |publisher=[[Hellenic Statistical Authority]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131213192314/http://dlib.statistics.gr/Book/GRESYE_01_0002_00061.pdf |archive-date=13 December 2013}} the village [[Ormenio]] in the North and the islands [[Gavdos]] (South), [[Strongyli Megistis|Strongyli]] near [[Kastellorizo]] (East), and [[Othonoi]] (West). Gavdos is considered the southernmost point of Europe.{{Cite book |last=Sansone |first=David |year=2011 |title=Ancient Greek civilization |publisher=Wiley |page=5 |isbn=978-1-4443-5877-3 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=YJONdN0dNYQC&q=cycladic%20civilization&pg=PT27 |access-date=11 November 2020 |url-status=live |archive-date=10 June 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240610015654/https://books.google.com/books?id=YJONdN0dNYQC&q=cycladic%20civilization&pg=PT27#v=snippet&q=cycladic%20civilization&f=false}}{{Cite book |last=Drews |first=Robert |author-link=Robert Drews |year=1995 |title=The End of the Bronze Age: Changes in Warfare and the Catastrophe Ca. 1200 BC |page=3 |publisher=Princeton University Press |isbn=0-691-02591-6 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=bFpK6aXEWN8C&q=greece%20bronze%20age%20collapse |access-date=11 November 2020 |url-status=live |archive-date=10 June 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240610015656/https://books.google.com/books?id=bFpK6aXEWN8C&q=greece%20bronze%20age%20collapse#v=snippet&q=greece%20bronze%20age%20collapse&f=false}} [[File:Olympus National Park 30.jpg|thumb|[[Mount Olympus]] is the highest mountain in Greece and mythical abode of the [[Gods of Olympus]].]] Approximately 80% of Greece consists of mountains or hills, making the country one of the most mountainous in Europe. [[Mount Olympus]], the mythical abode of the [[Twelve Olympians|Greek Gods]], culminates at Mytikas peak {{convert|2918|m|ft}},{{cite web |url=http://www.olympusfd.gr/us/infos.asp |title=Olympus the First National Park |author= |date=2008 |publisher=Management Agency of Olympus National Park |access-date=5 December 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170114094456/http://www.olympusfd.gr/us/Infos.asp |archive-date=14 January 2017 }} the highest in the country. Western Greece contains a number of lakes and wetlands and is dominated by the [[Pindus]] mountain range. The Pindus, a continuation of the [[Dinaric Alps]], reaches a maximum elevation of {{convert|2637|m|ft|0|abbr=on}} at [[Smolikas|Mt. Smolikas]] (the second-highest in Greece) and historically has been a significant barrier to east–west travel. Its extensions cross through the Peloponnese, ending in the island of Crete. The [[Vikos Gorge]], part of the [[Vikos-Aoos National Park]] in the Pindus range, is listed by the Guinness book of World Records as the deepest gorge in the world relative to its width.{{cite book | title=Guinness World Records 2005: Special 50th Anniversary Edition | publisher=Guinness World Records | year=2004 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=D4wYAAAAIAAJ | isbn=978-1-892051-22-6 | page=52 | access-date=27 September 2020 | archive-date=10 June 2024 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240610022245/https://books.google.com/books?id=D4wYAAAAIAAJ | url-status=live }} Another notable formation are the [[Meteora]] rock pillars, atop which have been built medieval Greek Orthodox monasteries.Sofianos, D.Z.: "Metéora". Holy Monastery of Great Meteoro, 1991. Northeastern Greece features another high-altitude mountain range, the [[Rhodope Mountains|Rhodope]] range, spreading across the region of [[Eastern Macedonia and Thrace]]; this area is covered with vast, thick, ancient forests, including the famous [[Dadia Forest]] in the [[Evros (regional unit)|Evros regional unit]], in the far northeast of the country. Extensive plains are primarily located in the regions of [[Thessaly]], [[Central Macedonia]], and [[Western Thrace|Thrace]]. They constitute key economic regions as they are among the few arable places in the country. === Islands === {{Main|List of islands of Greece}} [[File:Navagio beach Zakynthos 3.jpg|thumb|[[Navagio]] (''[[MV Panagiotis|shipwreck]]'') bay, [[Zakynthos]] island]] Greece features a [[List of islands of Greece|vast number of islands]]—between 1,200 and 6,000, depending on the definition,{{cite book |author1=Marker, Sherry |author2=Bowman, John |author3=Kerasiotis, Peter |author4=Sarna, Heidi |title=Frommer's Greek Islands |publisher=[[John Wiley & Sons]] |year=2010 |page=12 |isbn=978-0-470-52664-4 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=wvlP7D9C_7gC&pg=PA12 |access-date=27 September 2020 |archive-date=10 June 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240610022305/https://books.google.com/books?id=wvlP7D9C_7gC&pg=PA12 |url-status=live }} 227 of which are inhabited. [[Crete]] is the largest and most populous island; [[Euboea]], separated from the mainland by the 60 m-wide [[Euripus Strait]], is the second largest, followed by [[Lesbos]] and [[Rhodes]]. The Greek islands are traditionally grouped into the following clusters: the [[Argo-Saronic Islands]] in the Saronic gulf near Athens; the Cyclades, a large but dense collection occupying the central part of the Aegean Sea; the [[North Aegean islands]], a loose grouping off the west coast of Turkey; the Dodecanese, another loose collection in the southeast between Crete and Turkey; the [[Sporades]], a small tight group off the coast of northeast Euboea; and the Ionian Islands, located to the west of the mainland in the Ionian Sea. === Climate === {{Further|Climate of Greece}} [[File:Greece Köppen.svg|thumb|Greece's Köppen Climate Types]] The [[climate of Greece]] is primarily [[Mediterranean climate|Mediterranean]] ([[Köppen climate classification|Köppen]]: ''Csa''),{{cite web |title=The Climate of Greece |url=http://www.hnms.gr/emy/en/climatology/climatology |website=Hellenic National Meteorological Service |access-date=3 December 2019 |archive-date=3 December 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191203232232/http://www.hnms.gr/emy/en/climatology/climatology |url-status=live }} featuring mild to cool, wet winters and hot, dry summers.{{cite web|title=Climate Atlas of Greece|url=http://www.hnms.gr:80/hnms/greek/pdf/Climate_Atlas_Of_Greece.pdf|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170921184739/http://www.hnms.gr/hnms/greek/pdf/Climate_Atlas_Of_Greece.pdf|archive-date=21 September 2017|access-date=30 December 2019|publisher=Hellenic National Meteorological Service}} This climate occurs at most of the coastal locations, including [[Athens]], the [[Cyclades]], the [[Dodecanese]], [[Crete]], the [[Peloponnese]], the [[Ionian Islands]], and parts of [[mainland Greece]]. The [[Pindus]] mountain range strongly affects the climate of the country, as areas to the west of the range are considerably wetter on average (due to greater exposure to south-westerly systems bringing in moisture) than the areas lying to the east of the range (due to a [[rain shadow]] effect),{{Cite web |title=Mountain Weather in Greece : Articles: SummitPost |url=https://www.summitpost.org/mountain-weather-in-greece/1002640 |access-date=19 June 2023 |website=www.summitpost.org |archive-date=13 June 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230613210103/https://www.summitpost.org/mountain-weather-in-greece/1002640 |url-status=live }} resulting to some coastal areas in the south falling to the hot [[semi-arid climate]] ([[Köppen climate classification|Köppen]]: ''BSh'') category, such as parts of the [[Athens Riviera]] and some of the [[Cyclades]], as well as some areas in the north featuring a cold equivalent climate ([[Köppen climate classification|Köppen]]: ''BSk''), such as the cities of [[Thessaloniki]] and [[Larissa]]. The mountainous areas and the higher elevations of northwestern Greece (parts of [[Epirus (region)|Epirus]], [[Central Greece (geographic region)|Central Greece]], [[Thessaly]], [[Western Macedonia]]) as well as in the mountainous central parts of Peloponnese – including parts of the regional units of [[Achaea]], [[Arcadia (regional unit)|Arcadia]], and [[Laconia]] – feature an [[Alpine climate]] ([[Köppen climate classification|Köppen]]: ''D'', ''E'') with heavy snowfalls during the winter. Most of the inland parts of northern Greece, in [[Central Macedonia]], the lower elevations of [[Western Macedonia]] and [[Eastern Macedonia and Thrace]] feature a [[humid subtropical climate]] ([[Köppen climate classification|Köppen]]: ''Cfa'') with cold, damp winters and hot, moderately dry summers with occasional thunderstorms. Snowfalls occur every year in the mountains and northern areas, and brief periods of snowy weather are possible even in low-lying southern areas, such as [[Athens]].{{cite web|title=Greece – Climate|url=https://www.britannica.com/place/Greece|access-date=21 June 2020|website=Encyclopedia Britannica|language=en|archive-date=22 October 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141022045313/http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/244154/Greece/26389/Results-of-the-Fourth-Crusade/|url-status=live}} === Biodiversity === {{Main|Wildlife of Greece}} [[Phytogeography|Phytogeographically]], Greece belongs to the [[Boreal Kingdom]] and is shared between the East Mediterranean province of the [[Mediterranean Region]] and the Illyrian province of the [[Circumboreal Region]]. According to the [[World Wide Fund for Nature]] and the [[European Environment Agency]], the territory of Greece can be subdivided into six [[ecoregion]]s: the [[Illyrian deciduous forests]], [[Pindus Mountains mixed forests]], [[Balkan mixed forests]], [[Rhodope montane mixed forests]], [[Aegean and Western Turkey sclerophyllous and mixed forests]], and [[Crete Mediterranean forests]].{{cite journal|last1=Dinerstein|first1=Eric|last2=Olson|first2=David|last3=Joshi|first3=Anup|last4=Vynne|first4=Carly|last5=Burgess|first5=Neil D.|last6=Wikramanayake|first6=Eric|last7=Hahn|first7=Nathan|last8=Palminteri|first8=Suzanne|last9=Hedao|first9=Prashant|last10=Noss|first10=Reed|last11=Hansen|first11=Matt|last12=Locke|first12=Harvey|last13=Ellis|first13=Erle C|last14=Jones|first14=Benjamin|last15=Barber|first15=Charles Victor|last16=Hayes|first16=Randy|last17=Kormos|first17=Cyril|last18=Martin|first18=Vance|last19=Crist|first19=Eileen|last20=Sechrest|first20=Wes|last21=Price|first21=Lori|last22=Baillie|first22=Jonathan E. M.|last23=Weeden|first23=Don|last24=Suckling|first24=Kierán|last25=Davis|first25=Crystal|last26=Sizer|first26=Nigel|last27=Moore|first27=Rebecca|last28=Thau|first28=David|last29=Birch|first29=Tanya|last30=Potapov|first30=Peter|last31=Turubanova|first31=Svetlana|last32=Tyukavina|first32=Alexandra|last33=de Souza|first33=Nadia|last34=Pintea|first34=Lilian|last35=Brito|first35=José C.|last36=Llewellyn|first36=Othman A.|last37=Miller|first37=Anthony G.|last38=Patzelt|first38=Annette|last39=Ghazanfar|first39=Shahina A.|last40=Timberlake|first40=Jonathan|last41=Klöser|first41=Heinz|last42=Shennan-Farpón|first42=Yara|last43=Kindt|first43=Roeland|last44=Lillesø|first44=Jens-Peter Barnekow|last45=van Breugel|first45=Paulo|last46=Graudal|first46=Lars|last47=Voge|first47=Maianna|last48=Al-Shammari|first48=Khalaf F.|last49=Saleem|first49=Muhammad|title=An Ecoregion-Based Approach to Protecting Half the Terrestrial Realm|journal=BioScience|volume=67|issue=6|year=2017|pages=534–545|issn=0006-3568|doi=10.1093/biosci/bix014|pmid=28608869|pmc=5451287}} It had a 2018 [[Forest Landscape Integrity Index]] mean score of 6.6/10, ranking it 70th globally out of 172 countries.{{cite journal|last1=Grantham|first1=H. S.|last2=Duncan|first2=A.|last3=Evans|first3=T. D.|last4=Jones|first4=K. R.|last5=Beyer|first5=H. L.|last6=Schuster|first6=R.|last7=Walston|first7=J.|last8=Ray|first8=J. C.|last9=Robinson|first9=J. G.|last10=Callow|first10=M.|last11=Clements|first11=T.|last12=Costa|first12=H. M.|last13=DeGemmis|first13=A.|last14=Elsen|first14=P. R.|last15=Ervin|first15=J.|last16=Franco|first16=P.|last17=Goldman|first17=E.|last18=Goetz|first18=S.|last19=Hansen|first19=A.|last20=Hofsvang|first20=E.|last21=Jantz|first21=P.|last22=Jupiter|first22=S.|last23=Kang|first23=A.|last24=Langhammer|first24=P.|last25=Laurance|first25=W. F.|last26=Lieberman|first26=S.|last27=Linkie|first27=M.|last28=Malhi|first28=Y.|last29=Maxwell|first29=S.|last30=Mendez|first30=M.|last31=Mittermeier|first31=R.|last32=Murray|first32=N. J.|last33=Possingham|first33=H.|last34=Radachowsky|first34=J.|last35=Saatchi|first35=S.|last36=Samper|first36=C.|last37=Silverman|first37=J.|last38=Shapiro|first38=A.|last39=Strassburg|first39=B.|last40=Stevens|first40=T.|last41=Stokes|first41=E.|last42=Taylor|first42=R.|last43=Tear|first43=T.|last44=Tizard|first44=R.|last45=Venter|first45=O.|last46=Visconti|first46=P.|last47=Wang|first47=S.|last48=Watson|first48=J. E. M.|title=Anthropogenic modification of forests means only 40% of remaining forests have high ecosystem integrity – Supplementary Material|journal=Nature Communications|volume=11|issue=1|year=2020|page=5978|issn=2041-1723|doi=10.1038/s41467-020-19493-3|doi-access=free|pmid=33293507|pmc=7723057|bibcode=2020NatCo..11.5978G }} In 2024, Greece became the first country in the [[European Union]] to ban [[bottom trawling]] in [[marine protected area]]s to protect its [[Marine Biodiversity|marine biodiversity]].{{cite news |last1=Frost |first1=Rosie |title=Greece becomes the first country in Europe to ban bottom trawling in marine protected areas |url=https://www.euronews.com/green/2024/04/16/greece-to-become-first-in-europe-to-ban-bottom-trawling-in-all-marine-protected-areas |access-date=21 April 2024 |agency=Euronews |date=16 April 2024 |archive-date=21 April 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240421084508/https://www.euronews.com/green/2024/04/16/greece-to-become-first-in-europe-to-ban-bottom-trawling-in-all-marine-protected-areas |url-status=live }} Rare marine species such as the [[Mediterranean monk seal]] and the [[loggerhead sea turtle]] live in the seas surrounding mainland Greece, while its dense forests are home to the endangered [[brown bear]], the [[Eurasian lynx]], the [[roe deer]], and more. Numerous species have been extirpated from the nation due to human activities such as [[lions]], [[alpine ibex]] and [[European bison]]. == Government and politics == {{Main|Politics of Greece}} {{multiple image | align = right | total_width = 300 | image1 = KonstantinosTasoulas (cropped).jpg | caption1 = [[Konstantinos Tasoulas]]
[[President of Greece|President]] | image2 = EPP Summit, Brussels, 23 October 2025, 071.jpg | caption2 = [[Kyriakos Mitsotakis]]
[[Prime Minister of Greece|Prime Minister]] | caption_align = center }} The current [[Constitution of Greece|Constitution]], establishing Greece as a [[parliamentary republic]],{{cite web|url=http://www.parliament.gr/english/politeuma/syntagma.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070925181747/http://www.parliament.gr/english/politeuma/syntagma.pdf |archive-date=25 September 2007 |title=Syntagma |language=el |access-date=2 August 2009 }} was enacted in 1975, after the fall of the [[Greek military junta of 1967–1974|military dictatorship of 1967–1974]], and has been amended four times since. It consists of 120 articles, provides for a [[separation of powers]] into [[executive branch|executive]], [[legislative branch|legislative]], and [[judicial branch]]es, and grants extensive specific guarantees (further reinforced in [[Greek Constitutional amendment of 2001|2001]]) of [[civil liberties]] and [[social rights]].{{Sfn | Dagtoglou | 1991 | p = 21}}{{Sfn | Venizelos | 2002 | pp = 131–32, 165–72}} Legislative powers are exercised by a 300-member [[unicameralism|unicameral Parliament]]. According to the Constitution, executive power is exercised by the [[Government of Greece|Government]] and the [[President of Greece|President of the Republic]], who is the nominal head of state, is elected by the [[Hellenic Parliament|Parliament]] for a five-year term and promulgates statutes passed by Parliament. However, the [[Greek Constitutional amendment of 1986|Constitutional amendment of 1986]] rendered the President's office largely ceremonial; the most powerful officeholder is thus the [[Prime Minister of Greece|prime minister]], Greece's head of government.{{Harvnb | Mavrias | 2002 | pp = 477–78, 486–87}} The position is filled by the [[List of Prime Ministers of Greece|current leader]] of the [[List of political parties in Greece|political party]] that can obtain a vote of confidence by the Parliament. The president of the republic formally appoints the prime minister and, on their recommendation, appoints and dismisses the other members of the Cabinet. [[File:Hellenic Parliament from high above.jpg|thumb|upright=1.1|right|The building of the [[Hellenic Parliament]] ([[Old Royal Palace]]) in central [[Athens]]]] Members of Parliament are elected in [[direct elections]], which [[Apportionment in the Hellenic Parliament|are conducted with a system]] of [[semi-proportional representation]] with a [[majority bonus system]], usually leading to the formation of single-party governments.{{Cite web|url=http://www.ekathimerini.com/248820/article/ekathimerini/news/parliament-votes-to-change-election-law|title=Parliament votes to change election law {{!}} Kathimerini|website=www.ekathimerini.com|language=English|access-date=2020-01-25|archive-date=25 January 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200125025345/http://www.ekathimerini.com/248820/article/ekathimerini/news/parliament-votes-to-change-election-law|url-status=live}} [[Elections in Greece#Election of the legislature|Parliamentary elections]] are held every four years, but early elections are proclaimed by the President on the cabinet's proposal or if a [[motion of no confidence]] passes in Parliament. The [[voting age]] is 17.{{Citation |url=http://www.et.gr/idocs-nph/search/pdfViewerForm.html?args=5C7QrtC22wFHp_31M9ESQXdtvSoClrL8NXGWS3cU8Kt5MXD0LzQTLWPU9yLzB8V68knBzLCmTXKaO6fpVZ6Lx9hLslJUqeiQT0KQWhles74cYXM24iMng4dV6SZbxmK4oRQd575yNXQ. |script-title=el:Εφημερίδα της Κυβερνήσεως τη Ελληνικής Δημοκρατίας |volume=A |issue=133 |date=27 July 2016 |publisher=National Publishing House |location=Athens |language=el |trans-title=[[Government Gazette (Greece)|Government Gazette of the Hellenic Republic]] |access-date=12 February 2019 |archive-date=8 August 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190808002137/http://www.et.gr/idocs-nph/search/pdfViewerForm.html?args=5C7QrtC22wFHp_31M9ESQXdtvSoClrL8NXGWS3cU8Kt5MXD0LzQTLWPU9yLzB8V68knBzLCmTXKaO6fpVZ6Lx9hLslJUqeiQT0KQWhles74cYXM24iMng4dV6SZbxmK4oRQd575yNXQ. |url-status=live }} [[Women's suffrage]] was legislated in [[Greek Constitution of 1952|1952]]. According to [[International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance|International IDEA]]'s Global State of Democracy (GSoD) Indices and Democracy Tracker, Greece performs in the mid-range on overall democratic measures, with particular strengths in elected government and freedom of movement.{{Cite web |title=Greece {{!}} The Global State of Democracy |url=https://www.idea.int/democracytracker/country/greece |access-date=2025-10-16 |website=www.idea.int |language=en |archive-date=10 October 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20251010212932/https://www.idea.int/democracytracker/country/greece |url-status=live }} Moreover, according to an OECD report, Greeks display a moderate level of civic participation compared to most other developed countries; voter turnout was 58% during recent elections, lower than the OECD average of 69%.{{cite web|title=OECD Better Life Index – Greece |url=http://www.oecdbetterlifeindex.org/countries/greece/ |website=www.oecdbetterlifeindex.org|publisher=OECD|access-date=20 February 2018 |archive-date=13 August 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220813012619/https://www.oecdbetterlifeindex.org/countries/greece/|url-status=live}} === Administrative divisions === {{Main|Administrative divisions of Greece|Regions of Greece}} Since the [[Kallikratis Programme]] reform entered into effect in January 2011, Greece has consisted of 13 [[modern regions of Greece|regions]], subdivided into [[Municipalities of Greece|municipalities]], of which there are now 332 (there were 325 before the [[Kleisthenis I Programme]] came into effect in 2019). The 54 old [[Prefectures of Greece|prefectures and prefecture-level administrations]] have been largely retained as ''[[regional units of Greece|sub-units]]'' of the regions. Seven [[Decentralized administrations of Greece|decentralised administrations]] group one to three regions for administrative purposes on a regional basis. There is one [[autonomous area]], [[Monastic community of Mount Athos|Mount Athos]] ({{langx|el|Agio Oros}}, "Holy Mountain"),{{cite web |website=Hellenicparliament.gr |url=http://www.hellenicparliament.gr/UserFiles/f3c70a23-7696-49db-9148-f24dce6a27c8/syn15.pdf |access-date=21 May 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110705000112/http://www.hellenicparliament.gr/UserFiles/f3c70a23-7696-49db-9148-f24dce6a27c8/syn15.pdf |archive-date=5 July 2011 |url-status=live |title=Σύνταγμα της Ελληνικής Δημοκρατίας |year=1927}} which borders the region of [[Central Macedonia]].{{cite magazine |first=Robert |last=Draper |url=http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2009/12/athos/draper-text |access-date=21 May 2022 |title=Mount Athos |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110811023226/http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2009/12/athos/draper-text |archive-date=11 August 2011 |magazine=[[National Geographic]] |date=December 2009}} {| class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:left;" |- style="font-size:100%; text-align:center;" !Map !!No.!! [[Regions of Greece|Region]]!! Capital!! Area
(km2)!! Area
(sq mi)!!Population
{{cite press release|title=Census 2021 GR|url=https://elstat-outsourcers.statistics.gr/Census2022_GR.pdf|publisher=[[Hellenic Statistical Authority]]|date=19 July 2022|access-date=12 September 2022|archive-date=9 October 2022|archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221009/https://elstat-outsourcers.statistics.gr/Census2022_GR.pdf|url-status=live}} !! colspan="2" |Governor ({{nowrap|1 January 2024}} – {{nowrap|31 December 2028}}) !! GDP ([[1000000000 (number)|bn]])
{{cite web |url=https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/documents/2995521/8700651/1-28022018-BP-EN/15f5fd90-ce8b-4927-9a3b-07dc255dc42a |title=Regional GDP per capita ranged from 29% to 611% of the EU average in 2016 |year=2016 |publisher=[[Eurostat]] |access-date=5 October 2018 |archive-date=2 October 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181002080605/https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/documents/2995521/8700651/1-28022018-BP-EN/15f5fd90-ce8b-4927-9a3b-07dc255dc42a |url-status=live}} |- |rowspan="14"|[[File:Peripheries of Greece numbered.svg|400px|center]] | style="text-align:center;"| 1 || [[Attica (region)|Attica]] || [[Athens]] || style="text-align:right"|3,808|| style="text-align:right"|1,470|| style="text-align:right"|3,814,064 || style="background:{{party color|New Democracy (Greece)}};" | || {{interlanguage link|Nikos Hardalias|el|Νίκος Χαρδαλιάς}}
([[New Democracy (Greece)|ND]]) || style="text-align:right" |€84 |- | style="text-align:center;"| 2 || [[Central Greece (administrative region)|Central Greece]]|| [[Lamia (city)|Lamia]] ||style="text-align:right"|15,549|| style="text-align:right"|6,004||style="text-align:right"|508,254 || style="background:{{party color|New Democracy (Greece)}};" | || [[Fanis Spanos]]
(ND) || style="text-align:right" |€8 |- | style="text-align:center;"| 3 || [[Central Macedonia]] || [[Thessaloniki]] ||style="text-align:right"|18,811|| style="text-align:right"|7,263|| style="text-align:right"|1,795,669 || style="background:{{party color|New Democracy (Greece)}};" | || [[Nana Aidona]]
(ND) || style="text-align:right" |€24 |- | style="text-align:center;"| 4 || [[Crete#Administration|Crete]] || [[Heraklion]] || style="text-align:right"|8,259||style="text-align:right"|3,189|| style="text-align:right"|624,408 || style="background:{{party color|PASOK – Movement for Change}};" | || [[Stavros Arnaoutakis]]
([[PASOK – Movement for Change|PASOK–KINAL]]) || style="text-align:right" |€9 |- | style="text-align:center;"| 5 || [[Eastern Macedonia and Thrace]] || [[Komotini]] || style="text-align:right"|14,158||style="text-align:right"|5,466|| style="text-align:right"|562,201 || style="background:{{party color|Independent}};" | || {{interlanguage link|Christodoulos Topsidis|el|Χριστόδουλος Τοψίδης}}
([[Independent politician|Independent]]) || style="text-align:right" |€7 |- | style="text-align:center;"| 6 || [[Epirus (region)|Epirus]] || [[Ioannina]] ||style="text-align:right"|9,203||style="text-align:right"|3,553|| style="text-align:right"|319,991 || style="background:{{party color|New Democracy (Greece)}};" | || {{interlanguage link|Alexandros Kahrimanis|el|Αλέξανδρος Καχριμάνης}}
(ND) || style="text-align:right" |€4 |- | style="text-align:center;"| 7 || [[Ionian Islands (region)|Ionian Islands]] || [[Corfu (city)|Corfu]] ||style="text-align:right"|2,307|| style="text-align:right"|891||style="text-align:right"|204,532 || style="background:{{party color|Independent}};" | || {{interlanguage link|Giannis Trepeklis|el|Γιάννης Τρεπεκλής}}
(Independent) || style="text-align:right" |€3 |- | style="text-align:center;"| 8 || [[North Aegean]] || [[Mytilene]] || style="text-align:right"|3,836||style="text-align:right"|1,481|| style="text-align:right"|194,943 || style="background:{{party color|Independent}};" | || {{interlanguage link|Kostas Moutzouris|el|Κώστας Μουτζούρης}}
(Independent) || style="text-align:right" |€2 |- | style="text-align:center;"| 9 || [[Peloponnese (region)|Peloponnese]] || [[Tripoli, Greece|Tripoli]] ||style="text-align:right"|15,490|| style="text-align:right"|5,981||style="text-align:right"|539,535 || style="background:{{party color|New Democracy (Greece)}};" | || {{interlanguage link|Dimitris Ptochos|el|Δημήτρης Πτωχός}}
(ND) || style="text-align:right" |€8 |- | style="text-align:center;"| 10 || [[South Aegean]] || [[Ermoupoli]] || style="text-align:right"|5,286||style="text-align:right"|2,041|| style="text-align:right"|327,820 || style="background:{{party color|New Democracy (Greece)}};" | || {{interlanguage link|George Hatzimarkos|el|Γιώργος Χατζημάρκος}}
(ND) || style="text-align:right" |€6 |- | style="text-align:center;"| 11 || [[Thessaly]] || [[Larissa]] || style="text-align:right"|14,034||style="text-align:right"|5,420|| style="text-align:right"|688,255 || style="background:{{party color|PASOK – Movement for Change}};" | || {{interlanguage link|Dimitris Kouretas|el|Δημήτρης Κουρέτας}}
(PASOK–KINAL) || style="text-align:right" |€9 |- | style="text-align:center;"| 12 || [[Western Greece]] || [[Patras]] || style="text-align:right"|11,350||style="text-align:right"|4,382|| style="text-align:right"|648,220 || style="background:{{party color|New Democracy (Greece)}};" | || {{interlanguage link|Nektarios Farmakis|el|Νεκτάριος Φαρμάκης}}
(ND) || style="text-align:right" |€8 |- | style="text-align:center;"| 13 || [[Western Macedonia]] || [[Kozani]] || style="text-align:right"|9,451||style="text-align:right"|3,649|| style="text-align:right"|254,595 || style="background:{{party color|New Democracy (Greece)}};" | || {{interlanguage link|Giorgos Amanatidis|el|Γιώργος Αμανατίδης (πολιτικός)}}
(ND) || style="text-align:right" |€4 |- | style="text-align:center;"| (14) || [[Monastic community of Mount Athos|Mount Athos]] || [[Karyes, Mount Athos|Karyes]] || style="text-align:right"|390||style="text-align:right"|151|| style="text-align:right"|1,746 || || [[Alkiviadis Stefanis]] || {{NA}} |} === Political parties === {{Main|List of political parties in Greece}} After the [[Metapolitefsi|restoration of democracy]] in 1974–1975, the Greek party system was dominated by the liberal-conservative [[New Democracy (Greece)|New Democracy]] (ND) and the social-democratic [[PASOK|Panhellenic Socialist Movement]] (PASOK).{{Refn | group = lower-alpha | For a diachronic analysis of the Greek party system, see {{Harvnb|Pappas|2003}}, who distinguishes three distinct types of party system which developed in consecutive order, namely, a predominant-party system (from 1952 to 1963), a system of polarised pluralism (between 1963 and 1981), and a two-party system (since 1981).}} PASOK and New Democracy largely alternated in power until the outbreak of the [[Greek government-debt crisis|government-debt crisis]] in 2009, whenceforth they experienced a sharp decline in popularity,{{cite news |url=http://www.vprc.gr/uplds/File/teleytaia%20nea/Epikaira/Political%20Climate%20and%20Governance_December2011.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120425150133/http://www.vprc.gr/uplds/File/teleytaia%20nea/Epikaira/Political%20Climate%20and%20Governance_December2011.pdf |archive-date=25 April 2012 |place=GR |title=Πολιτική Συγκυρία & Διακυβέρνηση |trans-title=Political climate & governance |date=22 December 2011 |publisher=VPRC |access-date=22 December 2011}}{{cite news |url=http://www.eklogika.gr/uploads/files/Dimoskopiseis/Political_Conjuncture_and_Governance_Jan2012.pdf |title=Πολιτική Συγκυρία & Διακυβέρνηση |trans-title=Political conjuncture & governance |place=GR |date=26 January 2012 |work=VPRC |access-date=26 January 2012 |archive-date=23 September 2015 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20150923235341/http://www.eklogika.gr/uploads/files/Dimoskopiseis/Political_Conjuncture_and_Governance_Jan2012.pdf}}{{cite news |url=http://www.eklogika.gr/uploads/files/Dimoskopiseis/ToThePoint-Ert3_30-1-12.pdf |title=Πανελλαδικη Ερευνα για την ET3 |date=29 January 2012 |work=To The Point |access-date=29 January 2012 |place=GR |archive-date=24 September 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150924010522/http://www.eklogika.gr/uploads/files/Dimoskopiseis/ToThePoint-Ert3_30-1-12.pdf}}{{cite news |via=Ek logika |place=GR |url=http://www.eklogika.gr/uploads/files/Dimoskopiseis/PulseRC-ToPontiki_2-2-2012.pdf |title=Ερευνα της Pulse RC για το Ποντικι |date=2 February 2012 |publisher=Pulse RC |access-date=2 February 2012 |archive-date=23 September 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150923235437/http://www.eklogika.gr/uploads/files/Dimoskopiseis/PulseRC-ToPontiki_2-2-2012.pdf}}{{cite news |url=http://www.eklogika.gr/uploads/files/Dimoskopiseis/varometro_2_12.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120226224630/http://www.eklogika.gr/uploads/files/Dimoskopiseis/varometro_2_12.pdf |archive-date=26 February 2012 |url-status=live |title=Πολιτικό Βαρόμετρο 99 |trans-title=Political barometer |date=7 February 2012 |work=Public Issue |publisher=Ek logika |access-date=7 February 2011}} manifested in the [[Greek legislative election, May 2012|parliamentary elections of May 2012]], when the left-wing [[SYRIZA]] became the second major party,{{cite web|url=http://www1.ypes.gr/UserFiles/f0ff9297-f516-40ff-a70e-eca84e2ec9b9/egk42_19062012.pdf |title=June 2012 Greek legislative election |access-date=19 May 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150628235938/http://www.ypes.gr/UserFiles/f0ff9297-f516-40ff-a70e-eca84e2ec9b9/egk42_19062012.pdf |archive-date=28 June 2015 }} overtaking PASOK as the main party of the centre-left.{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=EYQgDQAAQBAJ&q=syriza%2520pasok%2520centre-left&pg=PA94 |title=Radical Left Parties in Government: The Cases of SYRIZA and AKEL |last=Katsourides |first=Yiannos |date=22 September 2016 |publisher=Springer |isbn=978-1-137-58841-8 |page=94 |language=en |access-date=11 November 2020 |archive-date=10 June 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240610022247/https://books.google.com/books?id=EYQgDQAAQBAJ&q=syriza%2520pasok%2520centre-left&pg=PA94#v=onepage&q=syriza%2520pasok%2520centre-left&f=false |url-status=live }} After a [[June 2023 Greek legislative election|repeat election in June 2023]], New Democracy gained almost 41% of the popular vote and a parliamentary majority of 158 and its leader, [[Kyriakos Mitsotakis]], who [[First Cabinet of Kyriakos Mitsotakis|had been Prime Minister]] from [[2019 Greek legislative election|2019]] until the [[May 2023 Greek legislative election|inconclusive election of May 2023]], was sworn in for a [[Second Cabinet of Kyriakos Mitsotakis|second four-year term]].{{cite news |title=Mitsotakis sworn in as Greek PM, promises more jobs and 'big changes' |publisher=Reuters |date=2023-06-26 |url=https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/mitsotakis-be-sworn-greek-pm-after-landslide-victory-2023-06-26/ |access-date=2024-05-19 |url-status=live |archive-date=2 July 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230702205724/https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/mitsotakis-be-sworn-greek-pm-after-landslide-victory-2023-06-26/}} Other parties represented in the [[Hellenic Parliament]] are the [[Communist Party of Greece]] (KKE), [[Greek Solution]], [[New Left (Greece)|New Left]], [[Spartans (Greek political party)|Spartans]], [[Victory (Greek political party)|Victory]] and [[Course of Freedom]]. === Foreign relations === {{Main|Foreign relations of Greece}} [[File:Foreign relations of Greece.svg|thumb|right|upright=1.5 |Representation through:{{cite web |script-title=el:Αρχές του Εξωτερικού |trans-title=Missions Abroad |publisher=Hellenic Republic Ministry of Foreign Affairs |language=el |access-date=2 July 2011 |url=http://www.mfa.gr/www.mfa.gr/el-GR/Services/Directory/GreekAuthoritiesAbroad/#Β |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110521050219/http://www.mfa.gr/www.mfa.gr/el-GR/Services/Directory/GreekAuthoritiesAbroad/ |archive-date=21 May 2011}}
{{Color box|#3771c8|border=darkgray}} embassy
{{Color box|#aaccff|border=darkgray}} embassy in another country
{{Color box|#37c837|border=darkgray}} general consulate
{{Color box|#cccccc|border=darkgray}} no representation
{{Color box|black|border=darkgray}} Greece]] Foreign policy is conducted through the [[Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Greece)|Ministry of Foreign Affairs]] and its head, the [[Minister for Foreign Affairs (Greece)|Minister for Foreign Affairs]], currently [[Giorgos Gerapetritis]]. The aims of the Ministry are to represent Greece before other states and international organisations; safeguard the interests of the state and its citizens abroad; promote Greek culture; foster closer relations with the [[Greek diaspora]]; and encourage international cooperation.{{cite web |url=http://www.mfa.gr/en/the-ministry/structure/mission-and-competences.html |title=Mission and Competences |publisher=[[Ministry for Foreign Affairs (Greece)|Ministry for Foreign Affairs]] |access-date=23 February 2012 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120213162204/http://www1.mfa.gr/en/the-ministry/structure/mission-and-competences.html |archive-date=13 February 2012}} Greece is described as having a special relationship with [[Cyprus]], Italy, France, Armenia, Australia, Israel, the US and the UK.{{cite web |title=Greece hails 'special relationship' with France on Hollande visit|work=France 24|date=22 October 2015 |url=http://www.france24.com/en/20151022-greece-hails-special-relationship-france-hollande-visit |access-date=1 January 2023 |archive-date=8 July 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190708170236/https://www.france24.com/en/20151022-greece-hails-special-relationship-france-hollande-visit|url-status=live}}{{cite web |trans-title=Pavlopoulos and Mattarella confirm the longstanding Greek-Italian friendship |title=Παυλόπουλος και Ματαρέλα επιβεβαίωσαν τη μακρόχρονη ελληνοϊταλική φιλία |language=el |website=Documento |url=http://www.documentonews.gr/article/paylopoylos-kai-matarela-epibebaiwsan-th-makroxronh-ellhnoitalikh-filia |access-date=5 March 2017 |archive-date=11 December 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191211132954/https://www.documentonews.gr/article/paylopoylos-kai-matarela-epibebaiwsan-th-makroxronh-ellhnoitalikh-filia |url-status=live }}{{cite web |trans-title=Pavlopoulos – Mattarella: Strong friendship and a common vision between Greece and Italy |title=Παυλόπουλος – Ματαρέλα: Δυνατή φιλία και κοινή οπτική μεταξύ Ελλάδας και Ιταλίας |language=el |date=17 January 2017 |url=http://news247.gr/eidiseis/politiki/paylopoylos-matarela-dynath-filia-kai-koinh-optikh-metaksu-elladas-kai-italias.4482614.html |website=news247 |access-date=2 January 2023 |archive-date=6 March 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170306131743/http://news247.gr/eidiseis/politiki/paylopoylos-matarela-dynath-filia-kai-koinh-optikh-metaksu-elladas-kai-italias.4482614.html}}{{cite web |title=Greece-Italy alliance (Ελλάδα-Ιταλία συμμαχία) |website=makthes.gr |url=http://makthes.gr/%CE%B5-%CE%B5-%CE%B5%CE%BB%CE%BB%CE%AC%CE%B4%CE%B1-%CE%B9%CF%84%CE%B1%CE%BB%CE%AF%CE%B1-%CF%83%CF%85%CE%BC%CE%BC%CE%B1%CF%87%CE%AF%CE%B1/ |access-date=2 January 2023|archive-date=6 March 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170306134643/http://makthes.gr/%CE%B5-%CE%B5-%CE%B5%CE%BB%CE%BB%CE%AC%CE%B4%CE%B1-%CE%B9%CF%84%CE%B1%CE%BB%CE%AF%CE%B1-%CF%83%CF%85%CE%BC%CE%BC%CE%B1%CF%87%CE%AF%CE%B1/}}{{cite web |title=A medal of honor for the Greek-Italian relations (Ενα παράσημο για τις ελληνοϊταλικές σχέσεις) |website=enet.gr |url=http://www.enet.gr/?i=news.el.article&id=400223 |access-date=2 January 2023 |archive-date=8 June 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210608110930/http://www.enet.gr/?i=news.el.article&id=400223 |url-status=live}}{{cite web |title=How Greece Became One of America's—and Israel's—Closest Allies |date=18 June 2019 |website=washingtonmonthly.com |url=https://washingtonmonthly.com/2019/06/18/how-greece-became-one-of-americas-and-israels-closest-allies/ |access-date=2 January 2023 |archive-date=18 June 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190618114221/https://washingtonmonthly.com/2019/06/18/how-greece-became-one-of-americas-and-israels-closest-allies/ |url-status=live}} Following the resolution of the [[Macedonia naming dispute]] with the [[Prespa Agreement]] in 2018, the Ministry identifies two remaining issues of particular importance to the Greek state: [[Aegean dispute|Turkish challenges to Greek sovereignty rights]] in the Aegean Sea and corresponding airspace, and the [[Cyprus problem]] involving the [[Turkish military forces in Northern Cyprus|Turkish occupation]] of [[Northern Cyprus]].{{cite web|url=http://www.mfa.gr/en/foreign-policy-issues/|title=Foreign Policy Issues|publisher=[[Ministry for Foreign Affairs (Greece)|Ministry for Foreign Affairs]]|access-date=23 February 2012|archive-date=6 February 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120206233103/http://www1.mfa.gr/en/foreign-policy-issues/|url-status=live}} There is a long-standing conflict between Turkey and Greece over natural resources in the eastern Mediterranean. Turkey does not recognise a legal [[continental shelf]] and [[exclusive economic zone]] around the Greek islands.{{cite news |title=Turkey threatens Greece over disputed Mediterranean territorial claims |url=https://www.dw.com/en/turkey-threatens-greece-over-disputed-mediterranean-territorial-claims/a-54828554 |work=Deutsche Welle |date=5 September 2020 |access-date=13 September 2020 |archive-date=7 April 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220407105520/https://www.dw.com/en/turkey-threatens-greece-over-disputed-mediterranean-territorial-claims/a-54828554 |url-status=live }} Due to its geographical proximity to Europe, Asia, the Middle East and Africa, Greece is of geostrategic importance, which it has leveraged to develop a regional policy to promote peace and stability in the [[Balkans]], Mediterranean and the Middle East.{{cite web | url= http://www.mfa.gr/en/foreign-policy/regional-policy/ | title= Regional Policy | work= Hellenic Republic - Ministry of Foreign Affairs | publisher= [[Ministry for Foreign Affairs (Greece)|Ministry for Foreign Affairs]] | access-date= 23 February 2012 | archive-date= 4 February 2012 | archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20120204082400/http://www1.mfa.gr/en/foreign-policy/regional-policy/ | url-status= live }} This has accorded the country [[middle power]] status.Thanos Veremēs (1997) [https://books.google.com/books?id=sn-yAAAAIAAJ The Military in Greek Politics] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230404065337/https://books.google.com/books?id=sn-yAAAAIAAJ |date=4 April 2023 }} "Black Rose Books" Greece is a member of numerous international organisations, including the [[Council of Europe]], the [[European Union]], the [[Union for the Mediterranean]], [[NATO]], the {{Lang|fr|[[Organisation internationale de la francophonie]]|italic=no}} and the UN, of which it is a founding member. === Military === {{Main|Hellenic Armed Forces}} {{multiple image | total_width = 380 | image1 = HAF F-16D Falcon.jpg | caption1 = An [[F-16 Fighting Falcon]], the main combat aircraft of the [[Hellenic Air Force]], during an airshow | image2 = Hellenic Army - LEO2A6HEL - 7231.jpg | caption2 = A [[Leopard 2]]A6 HEL of the [[Hellenic Army]] on parade in Athens }} The Hellenic Armed Forces are overseen by the [[Hellenic National Defence General Staff]] (Greek: Γενικό Επιτελείο Εθνικής Άμυνας – ΓΕΕΘΑ), with civilian authority vested in the [[Ministry of National Defence (Greece)|Ministry of National Defence]]. It consists of three branches:{{cite book |author=Central Intelligence Agency |title=The CIA World Factbook 2014 |publisher=Skyhorse |year=2013 |isbn=978-1-62873-451-5 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=aFuCDwAAQBAJ&pg=PT991 |access-date=14 February 2023 |page=991 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230404065342/https://books.google.com/books?id=aFuCDwAAQBAJ&pg=PT991 |archive-date=4 April 2023}} the [[Hellenic Army]] (Ellinikos Stratos, ES), the [[Hellenic Navy]] (Elliniko Polemiko Navtiko, EPN) and the [[Hellenic Air Force]] (Elliniki Polemiki Aeroporia, EPA). Moreover, Greece maintains the [[Hellenic Coast Guard]] for law enforcement at sea, search and rescue, and port operations. Though it can support the navy during wartime, it resides under the authority of the [[Ministry of Shipping (Greece)|Ministry of Shipping]]. Greek military personnel total 364,050, of whom 142,700 are active and 221,350 are reserve. Greece [[List of countries by number of military and paramilitary personnel|ranks 28th in the world]] in the number of citizens serving in the armed forces. [[Conscription in Greece|Mandatory military service]] is generally one year for 19 to 45 year olds. Additionally, Greek males between the ages of 18 and 60 who live in strategically sensitive areas may be required to serve part-time in the National Guard. As a member of [[NATO]], the Greek military participates in exercises and deployments under the auspices of the alliance, although its involvement in NATO missions is minimal.{{cite web|last1=Dempsey|first1=Judy|title=EU and NATO Look on at Greece's Pampered Armed Forces |publisher=Carnegie Europe |url=http://carnegieeurope.eu/strategiceurope/49185|access-date=19 July 2017|url-status=live|archive-date=24 July 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170724115105/http://carnegieeurope.eu/strategiceurope/49185}} Greece spends over US$7 billion annually on its military, or 2.3% of GDP, the [[List of countries by military expenditures|24th-highest in the world]] in absolute terms, the [[List of countries by military expenditure per capita|seventh-highest]] on a per capita basis, and the second-highest in NATO after the United States. Moreover, Greece is one of only five NATO countries to meet or surpass the minimum defence spending target of 2% of GDP. === Law and justice === {{Main|Judiciary of Greece|Hellenic Police}} The judiciary is independent of the executive and the legislature and comprises three Supreme Courts: the [[Supreme Civil and Criminal Court of Greece]], the [[Council of State (Greece)|Council of State]] and the [[Court of Audit (Greece)|Court of Audit]]. The judicial system is also composed of civil courts, which judge civil and penal cases and administrative courts, which judge disputes between citizens and the Greek administrative authorities. The Hellenic Police is the national police force. It is a large agency with its responsibilities ranging from [[road traffic control]] to [[counter-terrorism]]. It was established in 1984, after the merge of the [[Hellenic Gendarmerie]] and the [[Cities Police]] forces.Law 1481/1 October 1984, ''Official Journal of the Hellenic Republic'', A-152 == Economy == {{Main|Economy of Greece|List of Greek subdivisions by GDP}} [[File:GDP per capita development of Greece.svg|thumb|upright=1.3|GDP per capita development]] As of 2025, the economy was the [[List of countries by GDP (PPP)|54th]] largest by [[purchasing power parity]] (PPP) at $467.590 billion. In per person income, Greece is [[List of countries by GDP (PPP) per capita|47th]] in the world at $45,048.{{cite web |title=World Economic Outlook Database, April 2025 |url=https://www.imf.org/en/Publications/WEO/weo-database/2025/april/weo-report?c=174,&s=NGDP_RPCH,NGDPD,PPPGDP,NGDPDPC,PPPPC,&sy=2024&ey=2026&ssm=0&scsm=1&scc=0&ssd=1&ssc=0&sic=0&sort=country&ds=.&br=1 |publisher=[[International Monetary Fund]] |access-date=22 April 2025 |location=Washington, D.C. |date=22 April 2025 |archive-date=15 May 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250515033034/https://www.imf.org/en/Publications/WEO/weo-database/2025/april/weo-report?c=174,&s=NGDP_RPCH,NGDPD,PPPGDP,NGDPDPC,PPPPC,&sy=2024&ey=2026&ssm=0&scsm=1&scc=0&ssd=1&ssc=0&sic=0&sort=country&ds=.&br=1 |url-status=live }} Greece is the 15th largest economy in the 27‑member [[European Union]].{{cite web|title=Gross domestic product at market prices (tec00001) |publisher=[[Eurostat]] |url=http://epp.eurostat.ec.europa.eu/portal/page/portal/national_accounts/data/main_tables |access-date=22 February 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120814000208/http://epp.eurostat.ec.europa.eu/portal/page/portal/national_accounts/data/main_tables |archive-date=14 August 2012 }} The economy is advanced{{cite web| title= World Economic Outlook |publisher=[[International Monetary Fund]] |url=http://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/weo/2011/02/pdf/text.pdf |access-date=23 February 2012 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111018203844/http://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/weo/2011/02/pdf/text.pdf |archive-date=18 October 2011}}{{cite web |date=April 2013 |title=Groups and Aggregates Information |website=World Economic Outlook Database |url=http://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/weo/2013/01/weodata/groups.htm#ae |publisher=[[International Monetary Fund]] |access-date=10 September 2013 |archive-date=11 May 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130511003233/http://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/weo/2013/01/weodata/groups.htm#ae|url-status=live}}{{cite web|title=Appendix B: International Organizations and Groups|website=[[The World Factbook]]|publisher=[[Central Intelligence Agency]] |url=https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/appendix/appendix-b.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070613023714/https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/appendix/appendix-b.html |archive-date=13 June 2007|access-date=10 September 2013|url-status=dead}}{{cite web |title=Country and Lending Groups – Data |url=http://data.worldbank.org/about/country-classifications/country-and-lending-groups|publisher=World Bank |access-date=3 August 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110318125456/http://data.worldbank.org/about/country-classifications/country-and-lending-groups |archive-date=18 March 2011}}{{cite web|title=WEO Groups and Aggregates Information |date=8 April 2014 |url=http://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/weo/2014/01/weodata/groups.htm#ae|website=[[World Economic Outlook]] Database |publisher=[[International Monetary Fund]]|access-date=2 August 2014 |location=Washington, D.C.|archive-date=15 May 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210515145400/https://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/weo/2014/01/weodata/groups.htm#ae|url-status=live}} and [[high income economy|high-income]].{{cite web|title=Country and Lending Groups |url=http://data.worldbank.org/about/country-and-lending-groups#OECD_members|publisher=[[World Bank]]|access-date=2 August 2014|location=Washington, D.C.|archive-date=2 July 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140702131322/http://data.worldbank.org/about/country-and-lending-groups#OECD_members|url-status=live}} Greece is a [[developed country]] with a high [[standard of living]] and high ranking in the [[Human Development Index]].[http://www.newsweek.com/2010/08/15/interactive-infographic-of-the-worlds-best-countries.html The world's best countries: 2010 index] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110728092003/http://www.newsweek.com/2010/08/15/interactive-infographic-of-the-worlds-best-countries.html |date=28 July 2011 }}, ''Newsweek''. Accessed on line 15 August 2010.{{cite news|title=The lottery of life |url=https://www.economist.com/news/21566430-where-be-born-2013-lottery-life|newspaper=The Economist|access-date=2 August 2014|location=London |date=21 November 2012|archive-date=20 July 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140720232712/http://www.economist.com/news/21566430-where-be-born-2013-lottery-life|url-status=live}}{{cite web|title=Table 1: Human Development Index and its components|date=24 July 2014 |url=http://hdr.undp.org/en/content/table-1-human-development-index-and-its-components|website=Human Development Report 2014 |publisher=[[United Nations Development Programme]]|access-date=2 August 2014 |location=New York|archive-date=20 November 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151120074644/http://hdr.undp.org/en/content/table-1-human-development-index-and-its-components}} Its economy mainly comprises the [[service sector]] (85%) and [[industrial sector|industry]] (12%), while agriculture makes up 3%.{{cite web|title=Gross Added Value by Industry (A17; Years 2000–2011) |url=http://www.statistics.gr/portal/page/portal/ESYE/PAGE-themes?p_param=A0702&r_param=SEL12&y_param=2011_00&mytabs=0 |publisher=Hellenic Statistical Authority |access-date=22 March 2012 |location=Piraeus |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121113221602/http://www.statistics.gr/portal/page/portal/ESYE/PAGE-themes?p_param=A0702&r_param=SEL12&y_param=2011_00&mytabs=0 |archive-date=13 November 2012}} Important Greek industries include [[Tourism in Greece|tourism]] (with 33 million{{cite web |title=World Tourism Barometer |date=May 2024 |url=https://pre-webunwto.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/s3fs-public/2024-06/Barom_PPT_May_2024.pdf?VersionId=U7O62HatlG4eNAj.wcmuQG1PMCjK.Yss |publisher=[[World Tourism Organization]] |access-date=24 June 2024 |page=19 |archive-date=21 September 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250921214559/https://pre-webunwto.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/s3fs-public/2024-06/Barom_PPT_May_2024.pdf?VersionId=U7O62HatlG4eNAj.wcmuQG1PMCjK.Yss |url-status=live }} international tourists in 2023, it is the [[World Tourism rankings|9th most visited country in the world]]) and [[Greek Merchant Navy|merchant shipping]] (at 18% of the world's total capacity,{{Cite web |title=Handbook of Statistics 2022 - Fact sheet #14: Merchant Fleet |publisher=UN Trade and Development |url=https://unctad.org/system/files/official-document/tdstat47_FS14_en.pdf#:~:text=URL%3A%20https%3A%2F%2Functad.org%2Fsystem%2Ffiles%2Fofficial |access-date=15 April 2024 |url-status=live |archive-date=9 May 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240509172958/https://unctad.org/system/files/official-document/tdstat47_FS14_en.pdf#:~:text=URL%3A%20https%3A%2F%2Functad.org%2Fsystem%2Ffiles%2Fofficial}} the Greek merchant marine is the largest in the world), while the country is a considerable agricultural producer (including fisheries) within the union. In 2021 unemployment stood at 13% and [[youth unemployment]] at 33%, compared with respectively 7% and 16% in the EU and eurozone.{{cite web|title=Euro area unemployment at 7.3% |url=https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/documents/2995521/11563391/3-02122021-AP-EN.pdf/6ebfe4d6-d2e1-372b-1556-3bf4174422dc |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211202110106/https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/documents/2995521/11563391/3-02122021-AP-EN.pdf/6ebfe4d6-d2e1-372b-1556-3bf4174422dc |archive-date=2 December 2021 |url-status=live|publisher=[[Eurostat]]}} Greece has the largest economy in the Balkans,{{Cite news |url=http://www.balkaninsight.com/en/article/albania-businesses-seek-new-markets-as-greek-crisis-hits-home |newspaper=Balkan Insight |date=11 July 2012 |first1=Besar |last1=Likmeta |last2=Birn |first2=Gjirokastra |title=Albania Eyes New Markets as Greek Crisis Hits Home Businesses affected by the economic downturn in Greece are seeking new markets in the West, hoping that a cheap and qualified labour force will draw fresh clients |quote=Greece is the Balkan region's largest economy and has been an important investor in Southeast Europe over the past decade |access-date=18 April 2014 |archive-date=6 October 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181006205215/http://www.balkaninsight.com/en/article/albania-businesses-seek-new-markets-as-greek-crisis-hits-home |url-status=live}}{{cite web |title=Greece and the Balkans: From Stabilization to Growth |first=Dimitris |last=Keridis |url=http://users.uom.gr/~keridis/files/article/article10.doc |quote=Greece has a larger economy than all the Balkan countries combined. Greece is also an important regional investor |type=lecture |publisher=Hellenic Studies Unit at Concordia University |place=Montreal, QC, Canada |date=3 March 2006 |access-date=17 May 2014 |archive-date=17 May 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140517145243/http://users.uom.gr/~keridis/files/article/article10.doc |url-status=live}}{{cite web |title=The Greek and EU Crisis for non-economists |url=http://www.stern.nyu.edu/networks/Economides_Greek_and_EU_Crisis_Sacramento_04262013.pdf |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20130619151639/http://www.stern.nyu.edu/networks/Economides_Greek_and_EU_Crisis_Sacramento_04262013.pdf |archive-date=19 June 2013 |url-status=live|author=Nicholas Economides |quote=Largest economy than all rest of Balkans combined}} and an important regional investor. It has been the number-two foreign investor of capital in Albania and most important trading partner and largest foreign investor in North Macedonia.{{cite book|author1=Mustafa Aydin |author2=Kostas Ifantis|title=Turkish-Greek Relations: The Security Dilemma in the Aegean|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=NuyWdJfQf4kC&pg=PA267|access-date=27 May 2013|date=28 February 2004|publisher=Taylor & Francis|isbn=978-0-203-50191-7|pages=266–267 |quote=second largest investor of foreign capital in Albania, and the third largest foreign investor in Bulgaria. Greece is the most important trading partner of the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia.}}{{cite book |author=Wayne C. Thompson|title=Western Europe 2012 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=lKCMvYFQCCMC&pg=PA283 |access-date=27 May 2013|date=9 August 2012|isbn=978-1-61048-898-3 |page=283|publisher=Stryker Post |quote=Greeks are already among the three largest investors in Bulgaria, Romania and Serbia, and overall Greek investment in the ... Its banking sector represents 16% of banking activities in the region, and Greek banks open a new branch in a Balkan country almost weekly.}} The Greek telecommunications company [[OTE]] has become a strong investor in other Balkan countries.{{cite book|author=Imogen Bell|title=Central and South-Eastern Europe: 2003|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=4CrpzRJCbckC&pg=PA282 |access-date=27 May 2013 |year=2002 |publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-1-85743-136-0|page=282|quote=show that Greece has become the largest investor into Macedonia (FYRM), while Greek companies such as OTE have also developed strong presences in countries of the former Yugoslavia and other Balkan countries.}} Greece was a founding member of the [[OECD]] and the [[Organization of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation|Organisation of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation]] (BSEC). In 1979, its accession to the [[European Communities]] and the [[Internal Market (European Union)|single market]] was signed, and completed in 1982. Greece was accepted into the [[Economic and Monetary Union of the European Union]] in June 2000, and in January 2001 adopted the euro as its currency, replacing the [[Modern drachma|Greek drachma]].{{cite web|title=Fixed Euro conversion rates |url=http://www.ecb.int/euro/intro/html/index.en.html |publisher=European Central Bank|access-date=23 February 2012 |archive-date=10 July 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130710012301/http://www.ecb.int/euro/intro/html/index.en.html |url-status=live}} Greece is a member of the [[International Monetary Fund]] and the [[World Trade Organization|World Trade Organisation]]. === Debt crisis (2010–2018) === {{Main|Greek government-debt crisis}} [[File:Greek debt and EU average since 1977.png|upright=1.4|thumb|Greece's debt percentage since 1977, compared to the average of the [[eurozone]]]] Greek economy had fared well (with high growth rates and low public debt) during most of the 20th century; high growth rates were maintained up to the [[2008 financial crisis]], coupled, however, with high structural [[Government budget balance|deficit]]s.{{cite web |last=Skartsis|first=Labros |date=2018|title=2010–2018 Greek Debt Crisis and Greece's Past: Myths, Popular Notions and Implications |url=https://www.academia.edu/37583185 |website=Academia.edu |access-date=14 October 2018 |url-status=live |archive-date=4 May 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230504051355/https://www.academia.edu/37583185/2010_2018_Greek_Debt_Crisis_and_Greeces_Past_Myths_Popular_Notions_and_Implications}} In 2009, it was revealed deficits had been considerably higher than official figures. Banks had supplied cash in exchange for future payments by Greece and other Eurozone countries; in turn the liabilities of the countries were "kept off the books", hiding borrowing levels.{{cite news |author=Louise Story |author2=Landon Thomas Jr. |author3=Nelson D. Schwartz |date=13 February 2010 |title=Wall St. Helped to Mask Debt Fueling Europe's Crisis |newspaper=[[The New York Times]] |url-access=subscription |url= https://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/14/business/global/14debt.html |quote=In dozens of deals across the Continent, banks provided cash upfront in return for government payments in the future, with those liabilities then left off the books. Greece, for example, traded away the rights to airport fees and lottery proceeds in years to come. |access-date=19 February 2017 |url-status=live |archive-date=12 August 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210812074010/https://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/14/business/global/14debt.html}}{{cite news |author1=Nicholas Dunbar |author2=Elisa Martinuzzi |date=5 March 2012 |title=Goldman Secret Greece Loan Shows Two Sinners as Client Unravels |publisher=Bloomberg L.P. |url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-03-06/goldman-secret-greece-loan-shows-two-sinners-as-client-unravels.html |quote=Greece actually executed the swap transactions to reduce its debt-to-gross-domestic-product ratio because all member states were required by the Maastricht Treaty to show an improvement in their public finances," Laffan said in an e-mail. "The swaps were one of several techniques that many European governments used to meet the terms of the treaty." |access-date=7 March 2017 |archive-date=13 January 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150113111834/http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-03-06/goldman-secret-greece-loan-shows-two-sinners-as-client-unravels.html |url-status=live }}{{cite news |author=Elena Moya |date=16 February 2010 |title=Banks that inflated Greek debt should be investigated, EU urges |newspaper=[[The Guardian]] |url=https://www.theguardian.com/business/2010/feb/16/greek-debt-goldman-sachs |quote="These instruments were not invented by Greece, nor did investment banks discover them just for Greece," said Christophoros Sardelis, who was chief of Greece's debt management agency when the contracts were conducted with Goldman Sachs.Such contracts were also used by other European countries until Eurostat, the EU's statistic agency, stopped accepting them later in the decade. Eurostat has also asked Athens to clarify the contracts. |access-date=11 December 2016 |archive-date=10 June 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240610022249/https://www.theguardian.com/business/2010/feb/16/greek-debt-goldman-sachs |url-status=live }} This was one of the techniques that enabled Greece to reduce its recorded budget deficit.{{cite news |author=Beat Balzli |date=8 February 2010 |title=Greek Debt Crisis: How Goldman Sachs Helped Greece to Mask its True Debt |newspaper=[[Der Spiegel]] |url=http://www.spiegel.de/international/europe/greek-debt-crisis-how-goldman-sachs-helped-greece-to-mask-its-true-debt-a-676634.html |access-date=29 October 2013 |quote=This credit disguised as a swap didn't show up in the Greek debt statistics. Eurostat's reporting rules don't comprehensively record transactions involving financial derivatives. "The Maastricht rules can be circumvented quite legally through swaps," says a German derivatives dealer. In previous years, Italy used a similar trick to mask its true debt with the help of a different US bank. |archive-date=26 October 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131026152948/http://www.spiegel.de/international/europe/greek-debt-crisis-how-goldman-sachs-helped-greece-to-mask-its-true-debt-a-676634.html |url-status=live }} The crisis was triggered by the [[Great Recession]], which caused Greece's GDP to contract 2.5% in 2009.{{Cite book |url=https://www.oecd.org/gov/budgeting/47840787.pdf |title=Restoring public finances |publisher=[[OECD]] |year=2011 |page=119 |language=en |chapter=Country notes: Greece |access-date=26 December 2022 |archive-date=29 January 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230129165822/https://www.oecd.org/gov/budgeting/47840787.pdf |url-status=live }} Simultaneously, deficits were revealed to have been allowed to reach 10% and 15% in 2008 and 2009. This caused Greece's debt-to-GDP ratio to increase to 127%.{{cite web|title=Eurostat (Government debt data)|work=Eurostat |url=https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/tgm/refreshTableAction.do?tab=table&plugin=1&pcode=teina225&language=en|access-date=5 September 2018|archive-date=6 September 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180906195452/https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/tgm/refreshTableAction.do?tab=table&plugin=1&pcode=teina225&language=en|url-status=live}} As a [[eurozone]] member, Greece had no autonomous [[Economic and Monetary Union of the European Union#Monetary policy inflexibility|monetary policy flexibility]]. Greece's borrowing rates increased, causing a crisis of confidence in Greece's ability to pay back loans in early 2010.{{cite news|title=Papandreou Faces Bond Rout as Budget Worsens, Workers Strike |url=https://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=newsarchive&sid=aUi3XLUwIIVA |publisher=Bloomberg L.P. |date=22 April 2010 |access-date=2 May 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110623231800/http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=newsarchive&sid=aUi3XLUwIIVA |archive-date=23 June 2011 }}{{cite news |author=Staff |title=Britain's Deficit Third Worst in the World, Table |date=19 February 2010 |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/financialcrisis/7269629/Britains-deficit-third-worst-in-the-world-table.html |access-date=5 August 2011 |work=The Daily Telegraph |location=London |archive-date=22 February 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100222082519/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/financetopics/financialcrisis/7269629/Britains-deficit-third-worst-in-the-world-table.html|url-status=live}} To avert a [[sovereign default]], Greece, other eurozone members, and the [[International Monetary Fund]] agreed on a €110 billion rescue package in May 2010.{{cite news |author1=Thesing, Gabi |author2=Krause-Jackson, Flavia |title=Greece Faces 'Unprecedented' Cuts as $159B Rescue Nears |url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/2010-05-02/greece-faces-unprecedented-cuts-as-159b-rescue-nears.html |publisher=Bloomberg |date=3 May 2010 |access-date=6 May 2010 |archive-date=14 September 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100914072159/http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2010-05-02/greece-faces-unprecedented-cuts-as-159b-rescue-nears.html |url-status=live }}{{cite news |author=Kerin Hope |title=EU Puts Positive Spin on Greek Rescue |url=https://www.ft.com/content/08a87e4e-55c4-11df-b835-00144feab49a |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221210201220/https://www.ft.com/content/08a87e4e-55c4-11df-b835-00144feab49a |archive-date=10 December 2022 |url-access=subscription |work=Financial Times |date=2 May 2010 |access-date=6 May 2010 |url-status=live }} Greece was required to adopt harsh [[austerity]] measures to bring its deficit down.{{cite news|last=Newman |first=Rick |date=3 November 2011 |title=Lessons for Congress From the Chaos in Greece |newspaper=US News |url=https://www.usnews.com/news/blogs/rick-newman/2011/11/03/lessons-for-congress-from-the-chaos-in-greece |access-date=3 November 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111104005053/http://www.usnews.com/news/blogs/rick-newman/2011/11/03/lessons-for-congress-from-the-chaos-in-greece |archive-date=4 November 2011}} A second bail-out of €130 billion was agreed in 2012, subject to financial reforms and further austerity.{{cite news |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-13798000 |title=Q&A: Greek debt |work=BBC News Online |access-date=14 May 2012 |url-status=live |archive-date=10 May 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190510095859/https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-13798000}} A [[Debt relief|debt haircut]] was agreed. Greece achieved a [[balanced budget|budget surplus]] in 2013 and returned to growth in 2014.{{cite news|last1=Bensasson |first1=Marcus|date=4 November 2014|title=Greece exited recession in second quarter, says EU Commission |work=[[Kathimerini]] |url=http://www.ekathimerini.com/4dcgi/_w_articles_wsite2_1_04/11/2014_544283|access-date=4 November 2014|url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150107102634/http://www.ekathimerini.com/4dcgi/_w_articles_wsite2_1_04/11/2014_544283|archive-date=7 January 2015 }}{{cite news |title=Greek growth rates put Germany, eurozone to shame |url=http://www.marketwatch.com/story/greek-growth-rates-put-germany-eurozone-to-shame-2014-11-14|access-date=16 November 2014 |work=[[MarketWatch]]|date=14 November 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141116115422/http://www.marketwatch.com/story/greek-growth-rates-put-germany-eurozone-to-shame-2014-11-14 |archive-date=16 November 2014|url-status=live}} Partly due to the imposed austerity,{{Cite news |title=Is the Greek financial crisis over at last? |language=en |newspaper=The Economist |url=https://www.economist.com/the-economist-explains/2018/08/21/is-the-greek-financial-crisis-over-at-last |access-date=26 December 2022 |archive-date=26 December 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221226194006/https://www.economist.com/the-economist-explains/2018/08/21/is-the-greek-financial-crisis-over-at-last |url-status=live }} Greece experienced a 25% drop in GDP between 2009 and 2015.{{Cite news |date=10 July 2015 |title=The Greek debt crisis story in numbers |language=en-GB |work=BBC News |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-33407742 |access-date=26 December 2022 |archive-date=26 December 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221226195105/https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-33407742 |url-status=live }} The debt ratio, jumped from 127% to about 170%, due to the shrinking economy.{{cite news |url=https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/documents/2995521/8824854/2-24042018-AP-EN.pdf/2e4cce59-7d36-4894-b21e-9f2c14b81630 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180428162026/http://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/documents/2995521/8824854/2-24042018-AP-EN.pdf/2e4cce59-7d36-4894-b21e-9f2c14b81630 |archive-date=28 April 2018 |url-status=live|title= Eurostat (2017 Government debt data)|work= Eurostat |date=24 April 2018 |access-date=5 September 2018}} In 2013, the IMF admitted it had underestimated the effects of tax hikes and budget cuts and issued an informal apology.{{cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/business/2013/jun/05/imf-admit-mistakes-greek-crisis-austerity |title=IMF 'to admit mistakes' in handling Greek debt crisis and bailout (The Guardian) |date=5 June 2013 |access-date=22 June 2018 |archive-date=10 June 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240610022237/https://www.theguardian.com/business/2013/jun/05/imf-admit-mistakes-greek-crisis-austerity |url-status=live }}{{cite news | url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-imf-greece/for-hard-hit-greeks-imf-mea-culpa-comes-too-late-idUSBRE9550M320130606 | title=For hard-hit Greeks, IMF mea culpa comes too late (Reuters) | date=6 June 2013 | access-date=22 June 2018 | archive-date=23 June 2018 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180623113056/https://www.reuters.com/article/us-imf-greece/for-hard-hit-greeks-imf-mea-culpa-comes-too-late-idUSBRE9550M320130606 | url-status=live }}{{cite news |url=http://bruegel.org/2015/02/should-other-eurozone-programme-countries-worry-about-a-reduced-greek-primary-surplus-target/ |title=Should other Eurozone programme countries worry about a reduced Greek primary surplus target? |date=25 February 2015 |access-date=28 May 2017 |archive-date=12 September 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180912204358/http://bruegel.org/2015/02/should-other-eurozone-programme-countries-worry-about-a-reduced-greek-primary-surplus-target/ |url-status=live }} The policies have been blamed for worsening the crisis,{{cite news |url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-06-18/why-three-rescues-didn-t-solve-greece-s-debt-problem-quicktake |title=Why Three Rescues Didn't Solve Greece's Debt Problem (Bloomberg) |date=18 June 2018 |access-date=22 June 2018 |archive-date=23 June 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180623141119/https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-06-18/why-three-rescues-didn-t-solve-greece-s-debt-problem-quicktake |url-status=live }}{{cite news |url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/will-the-imf-apologize-to-greece-1402863715 |title=Will the IMF Apologize to Greece ? (WSJ) |date=15 June 2014 |access-date=22 June 2018 |archive-date=23 June 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180623113418/https://www.wsj.com/articles/will-the-imf-apologize-to-greece-1402863715 |url-status=live }} while others stressed the creditors' share in responsibility.{{cite news |url= http://www.kathimerini.gr/972843/gallery/epikairothta/politikh/paylopoylos-se-moskovisi-na-mhn-epanalhf8oyn-la8h-poy-odhghsan-se-odynhres-8ysies-ton-lao |title= Pavlopoulos to Moscovici: the mistakes that led to painful sacrifices for the Greek people should not be repeated (Kathimerini, in Greek)) |date= 3 July 2018 |access-date= 30 July 2018 |archive-date= 1 August 2018 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20180801004156/http://www.kathimerini.gr/972843/gallery/epikairothta/politikh/paylopoylos-se-moskovisi-na-mhn-epanalhf8oyn-la8h-poy-odhghsan-se-odynhres-8ysies-ton-lao |url-status= live }}{{cite news |date=27 June 2018 |title=Tsipras says Greece won't go back to old spending ways |url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/videos/2018-06-27/tsipras-says-greece-won-t-go-back-to-old-spending-ways-video |access-date=30 July 2018 |archive-date=1 August 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180801034439/https://www.bloomberg.com/news/videos/2018-06-27/tsipras-says-greece-won-t-go-back-to-old-spending-ways-video |url-status=live }} The bailouts ended in 2018.{{cite news |url= https://www.reuters.com/article/us-eurozone-greece-bailout/greece-exits-final-bailout-successfully-esm-idUSKCN1L40OG |title= Greece exits final bailout successfully: ESM |work= Reuters |date= 20 August 2018 |access-date= 31 August 2018 |archive-date= 31 August 2018 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20180831081000/https://www.reuters.com/article/us-eurozone-greece-bailout/greece-exits-final-bailout-successfully-esm-idUSKCN1L40OG |url-status= live }} In 2024, the Greek economy was forecast to grow by nearly 3%, approaching its pre-crisis size of 2009 and far outpacing the eurozone's average economic growth of 0.8%.{{cite web |title=Greek economy surges after decade of pain |url=https://www.reuters.com/markets/europe/greek-economy-surges-after-decade-pain-2024-04-18/ |website=reuters.com |date=18 April 2024 |access-date=23 April 2024 |last1=Papadimas |first1=Lefteris |archive-date=7 December 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241207114956/https://www.reuters.com/markets/europe/greek-economy-surges-after-decade-pain-2024-04-18/ |url-status=live }} In March 2026, it was reported that Greece would repay a further €7 billion from its first bailout package ahead of schedule as part of a broader effort to improve its financial standing and reduce debt.{{Cite web |date=2026 |title=Greece to Repay €7 Billion in Bailout Loans Ahead of Schedule, Debt Management Chief Says |url=https://www.binance.com/en/square/post/03-17-2026-greece-to-repay-7-billion-in-bailout-loans-ahead-of-schedule-debt-management-chief-says-302519060161905 |access-date=2026-03-18 |website=www.binance.com}} This follows previous earlier repayments to EU creditors, as well as completion of repayment of Greece's loans to the International Monetary Fund two years ahead of schedule in 2022.{{Cite web |date=16 December 2025 |title=Greece pays EU creditors ahead of schedule to boost market confidence |url=https://www.euronews.com/business/2025/12/16/greece-pays-eu-creditors-ahead-of-schedule-to-boost-market-confidence |access-date=31 March 2026 |website=Euronews.com}}{{Cite web |date= 2 December 2025 |title=Greece to repay €5.29 billion early under first memorandum loans |url=https://www.ekathimerini.com/economy/1288541/greece-to-repay-e5-29bln-early-under-first-memorandum-loans/ |access-date=2026-03-31 |website=ekathimerini.com}} The early debt repayments were seen as part of the country's remarkable recovery following the end of the crisis in 2018.{{Cite web |date= 30 June 2025 |title=Greece's Remarkable Recovery |url=https://www.imf.org/en/publications/fandd/issues/2025/06/greeces-remarkable-recovery-konstantinos-hatzidakis |access-date=29 April 2026 |website=IMF}}{{Cite web |date= 10 October 2025 |title=Greece's success 'an example' for Germany - Interview with Kathimerini |url=https://www.bundesbank.de/en/press/interviews/greece-s-success-an-example-for-germany-967544 |access-date=29 April 2026 |website=Bundesbank}}{{Cite web |date= 10 July 2025 |title=How Greece came back from the brink |url=https://www.ft.com/content/47dca85c-89f8-42f9-8e67-5ca237f970ef?syn-25a6b1a6=1 |access-date=29 April 2026 |website=Financial Times}} === Industry === Industrial activity was evident in Greece, since at least the second half of the 19th century (including heavy industry such as shipbuilding), mainly centered in [[Ermoupolis]] and [[Piraeus]].{{cite book |author=L.S. Skartsis |title= Modern Greece's Machines: A Comprehensive Guide to Greek Vehicle & Machine Manufacturers (1700 to Present)(open access eBook)|url=https://www.academia.edu/166113877/Modern_Greeces_Machines_A_Comprehensive_Guide_to_Greek_Vehicle_and_Machine_Manufacturers_1700_to_Present_|year= 2026}} Manufacturing output increased significantly during the [[Greek economic miracle | period of Greece's rapid economic growth]] (1950-1973), followed by a sharp decline after 1980 when services, as in other parts of the world, rapidly replaced manufacturing.{{cite web|url=https://www.elibrary.imf.org/display/book/9781557756435/C01.xml/|title=Deindustrialization—Its Causes and Implications|work=International Monetary Fund|access-date=2 May 2026|date=29 September 1997|archive-date=18 June 2025|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250618030605/https://www.elibrary.imf.org/display/book/9781557756435/C01.xml|url-status=dead}} The value added by the manufacturing sector as a percentage of GDP in Greece has remained lower than in most European countries (see Table). {| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;float:right;margin:1em;" |+ Value added by the manufacturing sector as % of GDP (Greece vs main European economies, 2023){{cite web|url=https://www.theglobaleconomy.com/rankings/Share_of_manufacturing/Europe/|title= Share of manufacturing - Country rankings|work=The Global Economy.com|access-date=2 May 2026|date=}} |- ! Country ! Value added by manufacturing (% of GDP) |- | Germany | style="padding-left: 2em" | 18.36 |- | Italy | style="padding-left: 2em" |15.26 |- | Spain | style="padding-left: 2em" |10.89 |- | Netherlands | style="padding-left: 2em" |10.84 |- | France | style="padding-left: 2em" | 9.73 |- | Greece | style="padding-left: 2em" | 8.73 |- | United Kingdom | style="padding-left: 2em" | 8.28 |} In 2025 Greece's main exports were refined petroleum products (26.2%), food products (18.6%), manufactured goods (15.5%), chemicals (13%), and machinery and transport equipment (9.9%). {{cite web|url=https://www.greeceinfigures.com/eisagoges-exagoges/|title= Εισαγωγές & Εξαγωγές (Imports & Exports)work=Greece in Figures|access-date=2 May 2026|date=26 September 2025}} === Agriculture === {{Main|Agriculture in Greece}} [[File:Zante currant drying in Tsilivi.jpg|thumb|Sun-drying of [[Zante currant]] on [[Zakynthos]]]] Greece is the European Union's largest producer of [[cotton]]{{cite web | url=https://agriculture.ec.europa.eu/farming/crop-productions-and-plant-based-products/cotton_en#:~:text=Although%20cotton%20represents%20less%20than,1%25%20of%20world%20cotton%20production | title=Cotton - European Commission | access-date=18 April 2024 | archive-date=2 April 2024 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240402085211/https://agriculture.ec.europa.eu/farming/crop-productions-and-plant-based-products/cotton_en#:~:text=Although%20cotton%20represents%20less%20than,1%25%20of%20world%20cotton%20production | url-status=live }} and [[pistachios]] (7,200 tons in 2021),{{cite web | url=https://nazari-pistachio.com/articles/top-pistachio-producers/#:~:text=Pistachio%20Production%20Worldwide%20Market%20Share&text=The%20remaining%205%25%20belongs%20to,of%20the%20global%20market%20share | title=3 Top pistachio producing countries | date=13 July 2022 | access-date=18 April 2024 | archive-date=18 April 2024 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240418121855/https://nazari-pistachio.com/articles/top-pistachio-producers/#:~:text=Pistachio%20Production%20Worldwide%20Market%20Share&text=The%20remaining%205%25%20belongs%20to,of%20the%20global%20market%20share | url-status=live }} second in [[olive]]s (3m tons in 2021), third in [[fig]]s (8,400 tons in 2022) and [[watermelon]]s (440,000 tons in 2022) and fourth in [[almond]]s (40,000 tons in 2022).{{Cite web|url=https://www.fao.org/faostat/en/#data/QCL|title=FAOSTAT|website=www.fao.org|access-date=18 April 2024|archive-date=12 November 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161112130804/https://www.fao.org/faostat/en/#data/QCL|url-status=live}} Agriculture contributes 3.8% of GDP and employs 12% of the labour force. Greece is a major beneficiary of the EU's [[Common Agricultural Policy]]. As a result of entry to the European Community, much of its agricultural infrastructure has been upgraded and output increased. === Energy === {{Main|Energy in Greece}} [[File:Greece electricity generation by source.png|thumb|Electricity generation in Greece - percentage share]] Electricity production is dominated by the state-owned [[Public Power Corporation]] (known by its acronym ΔΕΗ, transliterated as DEI), which supplied 75% of electricity in 2021.{{Cite web|url=http://energypress.gr/news/eftasan-15-ekat-oi-pelates-ton-enallaktikon-promitheyton-reymatos-ti-deihnoyn-ta-stoiheia-toy|title=Έφτασαν το 1,5 εκατ. οι πελάτες των εναλλακτικών προμηθευτών ρεύματος - Τι δείχνουν τα στοιχεία του ΔΕΔΔΗΕ για την μετακίνηση πελατών|date=18 August 2021|website=energypress.gr|access-date=19 April 2024|archive-date=25 April 2025|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250425184729/https://energypress.gr/news/eftasan-15-ekat-oi-pelates-ton-enallaktikon-promitheyton-reymatos-ti-deihnoyn-ta-stoiheia-toy|url-status=live}} Some of DEI's output is generated using [[lignite]].{{cite web |url=http://www.dei.gr/Images/ENG%20REPORT%202010%20FINAL.pdf |title=Public Power Corporation S.A. Financial Report (January 1, 2010 – December 31, 2010) |year=2010 |publisher=[[Public Power Corporation of Greece]] |access-date=24 October 2011 |archive-date=27 September 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110927180029/http://www.dei.gr/Images/ENG%20REPORT%202010%20FINAL.pdf }} [[Renewable energy in Greece]] accounted for 46% of Greece's electricity in 2022,{{Cite web|url=https://www.iea.org/countries/greece/renewables|title=Greece - Countries & Regions|website=IEA|access-date=18 April 2024|archive-date=18 April 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240418141550/https://www.iea.org/countries/greece/renewables|url-status=live}} a rise from the 11% in 2011.{{cite web |url=http://epp.eurostat.ec.europa.eu/tgm/table.do?tab=table&init=1&language=en&pcode=tsdcc110&plugin=0 |title=Share of renewable energy in gross final energy consumption % |year=2008 |publisher=[[Eurostat]] |access-date=24 October 2011 |archive-date=22 April 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120422003015/http://epp.eurostat.ec.europa.eu/tgm/table.do?tab=table&init=1&language=en&pcode=tsdcc110&plugin=0 |url-status=live }} [[Wind power]] accounts for 22%, [[solar power]] 14%, [[hydropower]] 9%, and natural gas 38%.{{Cite web|url=https://www.iea.org/countries/greece/electricity|title=Greece - Countries & Regions|website=IEA|access-date=18 April 2024|archive-date=18 April 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240418141550/https://www.iea.org/countries/greece/electricity|url-status=live}} Independent companies' energy production has increased. Greece does not have any [[nuclear power plant]]s. During the 2nd Nuclear Energy Summit in Paris, [[Kyriakos Mitsotakis]] announced that Greece will begin exploring the possibility of using nuclear energy, especially [[Small modular reactor|Small Modular Reactors]] (SMRs), as part of its future energy mix.{{Cite web |last=Kokkinidis |first=Tasos |date=2026-03-10 |title=Greece Opens Door to Nuclear Energy Exploration |url=https://greekreporter.com/2026/03/10/greece-nuclear-energy-exploration/ |access-date=2026-03-10 |website=GreekReporter.com |language=en-US |archive-date=10 March 2026 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20260310122445/https://greekreporter.com/2026/03/10/greece-nuclear-energy-exploration/ |url-status=live }} === Maritime === {{Main|Greek shipping|List of ports in Greece}} {{See also|Economy of Greece#Maritime industry|label 1=Economy of Greece » Maritime industry}} The shipping industry has been a key element of economic activity since ancient times.{{cite web |url=http://www.greece.org/poseidon/work/articles/polemis_one.html |title=The History of Greek Shipping |author=Polemis, Spyros M. |publisher=greece.org |access-date=9 April 2007 |archive-date=11 October 1997 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/19971011122557/http://www.greece.org/poseidon/work/articles/polemis_one.html |url-status=live }} Shipping remains one of the country's most important industries, accounting for 5% of GDP and employing about 160,000 people (4% of the workforce).{{cite press release |url=http://www.nbg.gr/en/pr_release_resb.asp?P_ID=463 |publisher=[[National Bank of Greece]] |title=Greek Shipping Is Modernized To Remain a Global Leader and Expand Its Contribution to the Greek Economy |date=11 May 2006 |access-date=8 April 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070831114031/http://www.nbg.gr/en/pr_release_resb.asp?P_ID=463 |archive-date=31 August 2007}} The [[Greek Merchant Navy]] is the largest in the world at 18% of global capacity. The merchant fleet ranks first in tonnage (384 million [[Deadweight tonnage|dwt]]), 2nd in number of ships (at 4,870), first in [[tanker (ship)|tankers]] and dry bulk carriers, fourth in the number of containers, and fifth in other ships.{{cite web |url=http://www.rita.dot.gov/bts/sites/rita.dot.gov.bts/files/publications/maritime_trade_and_transportation/2007/html/table_02_01.html|title=Top 15 Ranking of World Merchant Fleet by Country of Owner, Year-End 2006|publisher=U.S. [[Bureau of Transportation Statistics]]|year=2001|access-date=11 June 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131029205740/http://www.rita.dot.gov/bts/sites/rita.dot.gov.bts/files/publications/maritime_trade_and_transportation/2007/html/table_02_01.html|archive-date=29 October 2013}} The number of ships flying a Greek flag (includes non-Greek fleets) is 1,517, or 5% of the world's tonnage (ranked fifth globally). Today's fleet is smaller than an all-time high of 5,000 ships in the late 1970s. During the 1960s, the Greek fleet nearly doubled, through the investment undertaken by the shipping magnates, [[Aristotle Onassis]] and [[Stavros Niarchos]].{{cite magazine |url= http://www.slate.com/?id=2124542& |title= So Many Greek Shipping Magnates... |author= Engber, Daniel |magazine= [[Slate (magazine)|Slate]] |date= 17 August 2005 |access-date= 5 August 2011 |url-status= live |archive-date= 5 August 2011 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20110805080110/http://www.slate.com/?id=2124542& }} The modern Greek maritime industry was formed after World War II when Greek shipping businessmen were able to amass surplus ships sold by the U.S. government through the Ship Sales Act of the 1940s. Greece has a significant shipbuilding and ship maintenance industry. The six shipyards around the port of [[Piraeus]] are among the largest in Europe.{{cite book|author1=Jill Dubois |author2=Xenia Skoura|author3=Olga Gratsaniti|title=Greece |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DVzthRVC_SMC&pg=PA42 |access-date=14 April 2013|year=2003|publisher=Marshall Cavendish |isbn=978-0-7614-1499-5|page=42|quote=Greek ships make up 70 percent of the European Union's total merchant fleet. Greece has a large shipbuilding and ship refitting industry. Its six shipyards near Piraeus are among the biggest in Europe. As Greek ships primarily transport ...|archive-date=10 June 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240610022758/https://books.google.com/books?id=DVzthRVC_SMC&pg=PA42#v=onepage&q&f=false|url-status=live}} Greece has become a leader in the construction and maintenance of luxury yachts.{{cite web |date=2017-02-17 |url=http://www.ekathimerini.com/216308/article/ekathimerini/business/mega-yacht-owners-choose-greece-for-construction-and-maintenance|title=Mega yacht owners choose Greece for construction and maintenance|first=Ilias|last=Bellos|website=ekathimerini.com |access-date=13 February 2018 |url-status=live|archive-date=22 February 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170222031815/http://www.ekathimerini.com/216308/article/ekathimerini/business/mega-yacht-owners-choose-greece-for-construction-and-maintenance}} === Tourism === {{Main|Tourism in Greece}} [[File:Blue-dome-Santorini.JPG|alt=|thumb|[[Santorini]], a popular tourist destination, is ranked as the world's top island in many travel magazines and sites.{{cite web | url = http://www.travelandleisure.com/worldsbest/2011/islands/top-10-islands/237 | work = Travel+Leisure | title = 2011 World's Best Awards | access-date = 16 July 2011 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20110712204603/http://www.travelandleisure.com/worldsbest/2011/islands/top-10-islands/237 | archive-date = 12 July 2011 }}{{cite web | url = http://www.bbc.com/travel/slideshow/20111123-worlds-best-islands | publisher = BBC | access-date = 1 December 2011 | title = World's Best Islands | archive-date = 1 December 2011 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20111201185032/http://www.bbc.com/travel/slideshow/20111123-worlds-best-islands }}]] Tourism has been a key element of the economy and one of the most important sectors, contributing 21% of gross domestic product in 2018.{{cite web |author1=Chloe Wynne |title=Greek tourism sector growing over three times faster than wider economy says new WTTC research |url=https://www.wttc.org/about/media-centre/press-releases/press-releases/2019/greek-tourism-sector-growing-over-three-times-faster-than-wider-economy-says-new-wttc-research/ |website=WTTC |access-date=21 April 2019 |archive-date=21 April 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190421071148/https://www.wttc.org/about/media-centre/press-releases/press-releases/2019/greek-tourism-sector-growing-over-three-times-faster-than-wider-economy-says-new-wttc-research/ |url-status=live }} Greece was the 9th most visited country in the world in 2022, hosting 28 million visitors,{{Cite web |title=International Tourism – 2023 starts on a strong note with the Middle East recovering 2019 levels in the first quarter |url=https://webunwto.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/s3fs-public/2023-05/UNWTO_Barom23_02_May_EXCERPT_final.pdf?VersionId=gGmuSXlwfM1yoemsRrBI9ZJf.Vmc9gYD |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230802171252/https://webunwto.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/s3fs-public/2023-05/UNWTO_Barom23_02_May_EXCERPT_final.pdf?VersionId=gGmuSXlwfM1yoemsRrBI9ZJf.Vmc9gYD |archive-date=2 August 2023 |website=webunwto.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com}} an increase from 18 million tourists in 2007.{{cite web|url=http://epp.eurostat.ec.europa.eu/cache/ITY_OFFPUB/KS-HA-10-001-11/EN/KS-HA-10-001-11-EN.PDF|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110516161713/http://epp.eurostat.ec.europa.eu/cache/ITY_OFFPUB/KS-HA-10-001-11/EN/KS-HA-10-001-11-EN.PDF|archive-date=16 May 2011|title=Tourism |year=2010 |publisher=[[Eurostat]] |access-date=10 August 2011}} Most visitors come from the European continent,{{cite web|url=http://www.statistics.gr/portal/page/portal/ESYE/BUCKET/A2001/Other/A2001_STO03_TB_MM_12_2007_02_F_GR.pdf|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101114095907/http://www.statistics.gr/portal/page/portal/ESYE/BUCKET/A2001/Other/A2001_STO03_TB_MM_12_2007_02_F_GR.pdf|archive-date=14 November 2010 |script-title=el:02. Αφίξεις αλλοδαπών από το εξωτερικό κατά υπηκοότητα και μέσο ταξιδίου ( Δεκέμβριος 2007 ) |trans-title=02. Arrivals of foreigners from abroad by nationality and means of travel (December 2007) |date=December 2007 |publisher=Hellenic National Statistics Agency|language=el |access-date=10 August 2011}} while the most from a single nationality are from the United Kingdom, followed by Germany. The most visited [[modern regions of Greece|region]] of Greece is [[Central Macedonia]].{{cite web |url=http://appsso.eurostat.ec.europa.eu/nui/setupModifyTableLayout.do |title=Nights spent in tourist accommodation establishments – regional – annual data |year=2010 |publisher=[[Eurostat]] |access-date=10 August 2011 |archive-date=22 August 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190822022800/http://appsso.eurostat.ec.europa.eu/nui/setupModifyTableLayout.do |url-status=live }} In 2011, [[Santorini]] was voted as "The World's Best Island" in ''[[Travel + Leisure]]''.{{cite magazine|url=http://www.travelandleisure.com/worldsbest/2011/islands/europe-islands/242|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110712230838/http://www.travelandleisure.com/worldsbest/2011/islands/europe-islands/242|archive-date=12 July 2011|title=World's Best Awards – Islands |magazine=[[Travel + Leisure]] |access-date=10 August 2011}} Its neighbouring island [[Mykonos]], came in fifth in the European category. There are [[List of World Heritage sites in Greece|21 UNESCO World Heritage Sites]] in Greece,{{cite web|title=Greece Properties inscribed on the World Heritage List (17)|url=https://whc.unesco.org/en/statesparties/gr|publisher=Unesco|access-date=26 December 2019|archive-date=18 September 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180918171639/http://whc.unesco.org/en/statesparties/gr/|url-status=live}} and Greece is ranked 17th in the world in total sites. Eleven further sites are on the tentative list, awaiting nomination. {{wide image|Corfu Town R02.jpg |900px| Panoramic view of the old [[Corfu City]], a [[UNESCO World Heritage Site]], as seen from the [[Old Fortress, Corfu|Old Fortress]]. The Bay of Garitsa is to the left and the port of [[Corfu]] is just visible on the top right. [[Spianada Square]] is in the foreground.}} === Transport === {{Main|Transport in Greece|Highways in Greece}} [[File:Rio-Antirio bridge.jpg|thumb|The [[Rio–Antirrio bridge]] connects mainland Greece to the [[Peloponnese]]]] [[File:Greekmotorways2017 2.jpg|thumb|Map of Greece's motorway network as of 2022. '''Black'''=Completed routes, '''Blue'''=Under Construction, '''Grey'''=Planned routes]] [[File:Blue Star Ferry and Greek military ship in Astypalea Greece Aegean sea.jpg|thumb|A [[Blue Star Ferries]] vessel and a Greek navy ship.]] Since the 1980s, the road and rail network has been modernised. With a total length of about {{Convert|2320|km|abbr=on}} as of 2020, Greece's motorway network is the most extensive in [[Southeastern Europe]] and one of the most advanced in Europe,{{cite web|url=http://www.ypodomes.com/index.php/alles-ypodomes/endiaferouses-eidiseis/item/35705-aftokinitodromoi-diktyo-2500-xiliometra-mexri-to-2017|title=Αυτοκινητόδρομοι: Δίκτυο 2.500 χιλιόμετρα μέχρι το 2017 - ypodomes.com|access-date=28 July 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180625185609/https://www.ypodomes.com/index.php/alles-ypodomes/endiaferouses-eidiseis/item/35705-aftokinitodromoi-diktyo-2500-xiliometra-mexri-to-2017|archive-date=25 June 2018}} including the east–west [[A2 motorway (Greece)|A2]] (Egnatia Odos) in northern Greece, the north–south [[A1 motorway (Greece)|A1]] (Athens–Thessaloniki–Evzonoi, AThE) along the mainland's eastern coastline and the [[A5 motorway (Greece)|A5]] (Ionia Odos) along the western coastline, leading to the [[Rio–Antirrio bridge]], the longest suspension cable bridge in Europe ({{convert|2250|m|0|abbr=on}} long), connecting [[Rio, Greece|Rio]] in the [[Peloponnese]] with [[Antirrio]] in western Greece. The Athens Metropolitan Area is served by the privately run [[Attiki Odos]] ([[A6 motorway (Greece)|A6]]/[[A62 motorway (Greece)|A62]]/[[A621 motorway (Greece)|A621]]/[[A64 motorway (Greece)|A64]]/[[A65 motorway (Greece)|A65]]) motorway network and the expanded [[Athens Metro]] system, while the [[Thessaloniki Metro]] was launched in 2024. Railway connections play a smaller role than in many other European countries but have been expanded, with new suburban/[[commuter rail]] connections, served by [[Proastiakos]] around Athens, Thessaloniki, and Patras. A modern intercity rail connection between Athens and Thessaloniki has been established, while an upgrade to double lines in many parts of the {{convert|2500|km|mi|abbr=on}} network is underway; along with a [[P.A.Th.E./P.|new double track, standard gauge]] railway between [[Athens]] and [[Patras]] (replacing the old [[metre-gauge railway|metre-gauge]] [[Piraeus–Patras railway]]) which is under construction and opening in stages.{{Cite web|url=https://www.ergose.gr/|title=Αρχική|date=5 February 2024|website=ΕΡΓΟΣΕ|access-date=19 April 2024|archive-date=19 April 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240419105359/https://www.ergose.gr/|url-status=live}} International railway lines connect Greek cities with the rest of Europe, the Balkans and Turkey. All major islands are served by ferries to the mainland. [[Piraeus]], the port of Athens, was the third busiest passenger port in Europe as of 2021. 37 million passengers travelled by boat in Greece in 2019, the second-highest in Europe.{{cite web | title=Maritime passenger statistics | website=European Commission | url=https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/statistics-explained/index.php?title=Maritime_passenger_statistics#Messina_remained_the_largest_EU_passenger_port_in_2021 | ref={{sfnref | European Commission}} | access-date=6 October 2023 | archive-date=27 February 2021 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210227000908/https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/statistics-explained/index.php?title=Maritime_passenger_statistics#Messina_remained_the_largest_EU_passenger_port_in_2021 | url-status=live }} Greece has 39 active airports, 15 of which serve international destinations.{{cite web | title=Hellenic Civil Aviation Authority - Our Airports | website=Υπηρεσία Πολιτικής Αεροπορίας - Αρχική | url=http://www.ypa.gr/en/our-airports | ref={{sfnref | Υπηρεσία Πολιτικής Αεροπορίας - Αρχική}} | access-date=6 October 2023 | archive-date=13 April 2016 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160413044943/http://www.ypa.gr/en/our-airports/ | url-status=live }} [[Athens International Airport]] served over 28 million passengers in 2023.{{cite web|title=Athens International Airport "El.Venizelos" Facts & Figures|url=https://www.aia.gr/company-and-business/the-company/facts-and-figures/|website=aia.gr|access-date=12 January 2021|archive-date=7 March 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230307044003/https://www.aia.gr/company-and-business/the-company/facts-and-figures|url-status=live}} Most Greek islands and main cities are connected by air by the three major airlines: [[Olympic Air]], [[Aegean Airlines]] and [[Sky Express (Greece)|Sky Express]]. === Telecommunications === {{Main|Telecommunications in Greece}} Modern digital information and communication networks reach all areas. There are over {{convert|35000|km|0|abbr=on}} of fiber optics and an extensive open-wire network. Broadband internet availability is widespread in Greece: there were a total of 2,252,653 broadband connections {{as of|2011|alt=as of early 2011}}, translating to 20% broadband penetration.{{cite news |date=2 May 2011 |url=http://news.in.gr/science-technology/article/?aid=1231106170 |script-title=el:''Το 20% του πληθυσμού πλησιάζει η διείσδυση της ευρυζωνικότητας στην Ελλάδα'' |trans-title=20% of the population approaching broadband penetration in Greece |language=el |publisher=in.gr |access-date=18 April 2014 |archive-date=10 June 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240610022756/https://www.in.gr/2011/05/02/in-science/to-20-toy-plithysmoy-plisiazei-i-dieisdysi-tis-eyryzwnikotitas-stin-ellada/ |url-status=live }} In 2017 around 82% of the population used the internet regularly.{{cite web|url=http://www.kathimerini.gr/922914/article/texnologia/diadiktyo/to--818-twn-ellhnwn-serfarei-sto-diadiktyo|title=Το 81,8 των Ελληνων σερφαρει στο ιντερνετ|trans-title=81.8% of Greeks surf the Internet|publisher=Kathimerini.gr|access-date=28 October 2016|archive-date=17 August 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170817154815/http://www.kathimerini.gr/922914/article/texnologia/diadiktyo/to--818-twn-ellhnwn-serfarei-sto-diadiktyo|url-status=live}} [[Internet café]]s that provide net access, office applications and multiplayer gaming are a common sight, while mobile internet on [[3G]] and [[4G]]- [[LTE (telecommunication)|LTE]] cellphone networks and [[Wi-Fi]] connections can be found almost everywhere.{{cite web|title=Finding Free WiFi Internet in the Greek Islands|url=http://www.openjourney.com/blogs/josh/free-wifi-internet-greek-islands-47.html|publisher=Open Journey|access-date=20 August 2011|date=29 June 2011|archive-date=22 December 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111222043509/http://www.openjourney.com/blogs/josh/free-wifi-internet-greek-islands-47.html|url-status=live}} As of July 2022, 5G service is accessible in most of major cities. The UN ranks Greece among the top 30 countries with a highly developed information and communications infrastructure.{{cite web|url=http://www.itu.int/net/pressoffice/backgrounders/general/pdf/5.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100216184100/http://www.itu.int/net/pressoffice/backgrounders/general/pdf/5.pdf |archive-date=16 February 2010 |url-status=live |title= ICT Development Index (IDI), 2010 and 2008 |access-date=22 July 2012|publisher=The United Nations Telecommunication Union{{!}}International Telecommunication Union}} p. 15. === Science and technology === {{Main|List of Greek inventions and discoveries}} [[File:Gnpapanikolaou.jpg|thumb|left|upright=0.6|[[Georgios Papanikolaou]], a pioneer in [[cytopathology]] and early cancer detection]] The General Secretariat for Research and Technology of the Ministry of Development and Competitiveness is responsible for designing, implementing and supervising national research and technological policy. In 2017, spending on research and development (R&D) reached an all-time high of €2 billion, equal to 1.1% of GDP.{{cite web|url=http://www.greeknewsagenda.gr/index.php/topics/business-r-d/6889-r-d-spending-2017|title=R&D spending in Greece reached a record high in 2017|website=www.greeknewsagenda.gr|date=26 November 2018|access-date=3 August 2019|archive-date=4 April 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230404065318/http://www.greeknewsagenda.gr/index.php/topics/business-r-d/6889-r-d-spending-2017|url-status=live}} Greece was ranked 42nd in the [[Global Innovation Index]] in 2025.{{Cite web |title=GII Innovation Ecosystems & Data Explorer 2025 |url=https://www.wipo.int/gii-ranking/en/greece |access-date=2025-10-16 |website=WIPO |archive-date=20 July 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250720010449/https://www.wipo.int/gii-ranking/en/greece |url-status=live }}{{Cite book |last1=Dutta |first1=Soumitra |url=https://www.wipo.int/web-publications/global-innovation-index-2025/en/index.html |title=Global Innovation Index 2025: Innovation at a Crossroads |last2=Lanvin |first2=Bruno |publisher=[[World Intellectual Property Organization]] |year=2025 |isbn=978-92-805-3797-0 |page=19 |language=en |doi=10.34667/tind.58864 |access-date=2025-10-17 |archive-date=12 October 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20251012035001/https://www.wipo.int/web-publications/global-innovation-index-2025/en/index.html |url-status=live }} Greece has major technology parks with incubator facilities. The [[Hellenic National Space Committee]] began cooperating with the [[European Space Agency]] (ESA) in 1994 and has been its member since 2005.{{cite web |url=http://www.esa.int/About_Us/Business_with_ESA/Greece_becomes_16th_ESA_Member_State |title=Greece becomes 16th ESA Member State |date=22 March 2005 |publisher=ESA |access-date=15 May 2012 |archive-date=18 January 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240118222458/https://www.esa.int/About_Us/Business_with_ESA/Greece_becomes_16th_ESA_Member_State |url-status=live }} The country participates in the ESA's telecommunication and technology activities and the [[Global Monitoring for Environment and Security]] Initiative. The [[National Centre of Scientific Research "Demokritos"]] was founded in 1959 and is the largest multidisciplinary research centre in Greece. Its activities cover several fields of science and engineering.{{Cite web |title=National Center for Scientific Research Demokritos (NCSR Demokritos) |url=https://eurocc-greece.gr/demokritos/ |access-date=10 April 2023 |website=EuroCC@Greece |language=en-US |archive-date=1 December 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231201201646/https://eurocc-greece.gr/demokritos/ |url-status=live }} Greece has one of the highest rates of tertiary enrollment in the world,{{cite web|title=School enrollment, tertiary (% gross) – Country Ranking|url=https://www.indexmundi.com/facts/indicators/SE.TER.ENRR/rankings|website=indexmundi.com|publisher=Index Mundi|access-date=26 February 2018|archive-date=2 May 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230502135545/http://www.indexmundi.com/facts/indicators/SE.TER.ENRR/rankings|url-status=live}} while Greeks are well represented in academia worldwide; leading Western universities employ a disproportionately high number of Greek faculty.{{cite news |title= University reforms in Greece face student protests |newspaper=The Economist|date=6 July 2006 |access-date=19 December 2008|url= http://www.economist.com/world/europe/displaystory.cfm?story_id=E1_STQTVNJ|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20081207061901/http://www.economist.com/world/europe/displaystory.cfm?story_id=E1_STQTVNJ|archive-date= 7 December 2008 }} Greek scientific publications have grown significantly in terms of [[research impact]], surpassing both the EU and global average from 2012 to 2016.{{cite web|title=Greek scientific publications increase their impact|url=https://greeknewsagenda.gr/index.php/topics/business-r-d/6869-scientific-publications-increase-impact|website=greeknewsagenda.gr|date=30 October 2018|access-date=15 May 2020|archive-date=4 April 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230404065319/https://greeknewsagenda.gr/index.php/topics/business-r-d/6869-scientific-publications-increase-impact|url-status=live}} Notable Greek scientists of modern times include [[Georgios Papanikolaou]] (inventor of the [[Pap test]]), mathematician [[Constantin Carathéodory]] (known for the [[Carathéodory theorem (disambiguation)|Carathéodory theorems]] and [[Carathéodory conjecture]]), astronomer [[E. M. Antoniadi]], archaeologists [[Ioannis Svoronos]], [[Valerios Stais]], [[Spyridon Marinatos]], [[Manolis Andronikos]] (discovered the tomb of [[Philip II of Macedon]] in [[Vergina]]), Indologist [[Dimitrios Galanos]], botanist [[Theodoros G. Orphanides]], and scientists such as [[Michael Dertouzos]], [[Nicholas Negroponte]], [[John Argyris]], [[John Iliopoulos]] (2007 [[Dirac Medal (ICTP)|Dirac Prize]] for his contributions on the physics of the [[charm quark]]), [[Joseph Sifakis]] (2007 [[Turing Award]], the "Nobel Prize" of Computer Science), [[Christos Papadimitriou]] (2002 [[Knuth Prize]], 2012 [[Gödel Prize]]), [[Mihalis Yannakakis]] (2005 [[Knuth Prize]]) and physicist [[Dimitri Nanopoulos]]. == Demographics == {{Main|Demographics of Greece|Greeks}} [[Eurostat]] estimated the Greek population at 10.6 million in 2022.{{Cite web |title=Population on 1 January by age and sex |date=2023 |url=https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/databrowser/view/demo_pjan/default/table?lang=en |access-date=31 March 2023 |website=Eurostat |archive-date=21 January 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220121031131/https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/databrowser/view/demo_pjan/default/table?lang=en |url-status=live }} [[File:Greece Population Density, 2000 (cropped).jpg|thumb|Greece population density, 2000]] Greek society has changed significantly over recent decades, coinciding with the [[Aging of Europe|broader European trend]] of declining fertility and population aging. The [[fertility rate]] of 1.4 children per woman is well below the [[Replacement fertility rate|replacement rate of 2.1]], and one of the lowest in the world, considerably below the high of 5.5 children in 1900.{{citation|url=https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/children-born-per-woman?year=1800&country=GRC|title=Total Fertility Rate around the world over the last centuries|author=Max Roser|date=2014|work=[[Our World in Data]], [[Gapminder Foundation]]|access-date=7 May 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180807155725/https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/children-born-per-woman?year=1800&country=GRC|archive-date=7 August 2018}} The [[birth rate|crude birth rate]] in 2023 was 6.8 per 1,000 inhabitants, a significant decline from 8.5 per 1,000 in 2016 and 14.5 in 1981.{{Cite web |title=Birth rate in Greece 2009-2023 |url=https://www.statista.com/statistics/429117/crude-birth-rate-in-greece/ |access-date=2025-06-27 |website=Statista |language=en |archive-date=6 July 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250706081457/https://www.statista.com/statistics/429117/crude-birth-rate-in-greece/ |url-status=live }}{{cite report |title=Data on Vital Statistics |publisher=[[Hellenic Statistical Authority]] (ELSTAT) |date=October 2025 |url=https://www.statistics.gr/en/statistics/-/publication/SPO03/- |access-date=2026-06-05}} The mortality rate in 2025 is 11.53 per 1,000 compared to 11.2 in 2016 and 8.9 in 1981. Greece's [[median age]] is 44.2 years, the seventh highest in the world. In 2001, 17% of the population were 65 years old and older, 68% between the ages of 15 and 64 years old, and 15% were 14 years old and younger.{{cite web |url=http://www.statistics.gr/eng_tables/hellas_in_numbers_eng.pdf |title=Greece in Numbers|publisher=[[Hellenic Statistical Authority]]|year=2006|access-date=14 December 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040707190604/http://www.statistics.gr/eng_tables/hellas_in_numbers_eng.pdf|archive-date=7 July 2004}} By 2023, those aged 65 and older had risen to 25.4%, while those aged 14 and younger declined to 6.4%; the population aged 15 to 64 rose slightly to 68.2%.{{Cite web |title=Greece |url=https://data.who.int/countries/300 |access-date=2025-06-27 |website=datadot |language=en |archive-date=3 July 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250703122123/https://data.who.int/countries/300 |url-status=live }} Marriage rates began declining from almost 71 per 1,000 inhabitants in 1981 to 51 in 2004. Divorce rates have increased from 32.8 per 100 marriages in 2018 to 33.4 in 2022, albeit declining from the peak of 41.2 in 2020.[https://www.statistics.gr/documents/20181/dfad21dd-7c31-de8b-e264-c94d650c880b DATA ON VITAL STATISTICS: 2022] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250908095350/https://www.statistics.gr/documents/20181/dfad21dd-7c31-de8b-e264-c94d650c880b |date=8 September 2025 }} Hellenic Statistical Authority (26 Oct. 2023). As a result of these trends, the average household is smaller and older than in previous generations. The economic crisis exacerbated this development, with 350,000–450,000 Greeks, predominantly young adults, emigrating since 2010,{{cite news|url=https://www.ft.com/content/24866436-9f9f-11e8-85da-eeb7a9ce36e4 |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221210/https://www.ft.com/content/24866436-9f9f-11e8-85da-eeb7a9ce36e4 |archive-date=10 December 2022 |url-access=subscription|title=Greece brain drain hampers recovery from economic crisis|last=Hope|first=Kerin|date=16 August 2018|website=Financial Times|language=en-GB|access-date=3 August 2019}} when the population reached its peak of 11.1 million. Based on current trends, the Greek population is projected to fall to 7.5 million by 2050.{{Cite web |last=Gilchrist |first=Karen |date=2024-12-11 |title=Greece's ghost towns offer a glimpse of a country struggling with 'existential' population collapse |url=https://www.cnbc.com/2024/12/11/ghost-towns-show-greeces-battle-with-falling-birth-rate-depopulation.html |access-date=2025-06-27 |website=CNBC |language=en}} === Cities === {{See also|List of cities and towns in Greece}} Almost two-thirds of the Greek people live in urban areas. Greece's largest and most influential metropolitan centres are [[Athens]] (population 3,744,059 according to [[Athens Metropolitan Area, Greece|2021 census]]) and [[Thessaloniki]] (population 1,092,919 in [[Thessaloniki metropolitan area|2021]]), that latter commonly referred to as the {{transliteration|el|symprotévousa}} ({{lang|el|συμ[[wikt:πρωτεύουσα|πρωτεύουσα]]}}, {{literally|co-capital}}).{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=x9TG0Q0xKJYC&q=Thessaloniki%20co-capital&pg=PA19|title=Regional analysis and policy: the Greek experience|author1=Harry Coccossis |author2=Yannis Psycharis|year=2008|publisher=Springer|access-date=19 August 2011|isbn=978-3-7908-2086-7|archive-date=10 June 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240610022754/https://books.google.com/books?id=x9TG0Q0xKJYC&q=Thessaloniki%20co-capital&pg=PA19#v=snippet&q=Thessaloniki%20co-capital&f=false|url-status=live}} Other prominent cities with populations above 100,000 inhabitants include [[Patras]], [[Heraklion]], [[Larissa]], [[Volos]], [[Rhodes (city)|Rhodes]], [[Ioannina]], [[Agrinio]], [[Chania]], and [[Chalcis]].{{cite web|url=http://www.statistics.gr/Athena2001/Athena2001.ASP?wcu=$cmd=0$id=5200712142356520314915 |title=Athena 2001 Census |publisher=[[National Statistical Service of Greece]] |access-date=14 December 2007 |archive-date=17 January 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080117231653/http://www.statistics.gr/Athena2001/Athena2001.ASP?wcu=%24cmd%3D0%24id%3D5200712142356520314915}} {{Largest cities of Greece}} === Languages === {{Main|Greek language|Varieties of Modern Greek|Languages of Greece|Minorities in Greece}} [[File:Greece linguistic minorities.svg|thumb|upright=1.1|Regions with a traditional presence of languages other than Greek. Today, Greek is the dominant language throughout the country.{{cite web | publisher = Summer institute of Linguistics | url = http://www.ethnologue.com/country/GR/languages | title = Languages of Greece | website = Ethnologue | access-date = 19 December 2010 | archive-date = 6 April 2013 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20130406054419/http://www.ethnologue.com/country/GR/languages | url-status = live }}{{cite web |title=Euromosaic – Le [slavo]macédonien / bulgare en Grèce |url=https://www.uoc.edu/euromosaic/web/document/macedoni/fr/i1/i1.html |website=www.uoc.edu |access-date=8 February 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304044656/http://www.uoc.edu/euromosaic/web/document/macedoni/fr/i1/i1.html |archive-date=4 March 2016 }}{{cite web |title=Euromosaic – L'arvanite / albanais en Grèce |url=https://www.uoc.edu/euromosaic/web/document/albanes/fr/i2/i2.html |website=www.uoc.edu |access-date=8 February 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190702205628/https://www.uoc.edu/euromosaic/web/document/albanes/fr/i2/i2.html |archive-date=2 July 2019 }}{{cite web |title=Euromosaic – Le valaque (aromoune, aroumane) en Grèce |url=https://www.uoc.edu/euromosaic/web/document/valac/fr/i1/i1.html |website=www.uoc.edu |access-date=8 February 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303170314/http://www.uoc.edu/euromosaic/web/document/valac/fr/i1/i1.html |archive-date=3 March 2016 }}{{cite web |title=Turkish The Turkish language in Education in Greece |url=https://www.mercator-research.eu/fileadmin/mercator/documents/regional_dossiers/turkish_in_greece.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190209124027/https://www.mercator-research.eu/fileadmin/mercator/documents/regional_dossiers/turkish_in_greece.pdf |archive-date=9 February 2019 |url-status=live |website=mercator-research.eu}}{{Sfn | Trudgill | 2000}}]] Greece is relatively homogeneous in linguistic terms, with a large majority of the native population using Greek as their first or only language. Among the Greek-speaking population, speakers of the distinctive [[Pontic Greek|Pontic]] dialect came to Greece from Asia Minor after the [[Greek genocide]] and constitute a sizeable group. The [[Cappadocian Greek|Cappadocian]] dialect came due to the genocide as well, but is endangered and barely spoken. Indigenous Greek dialects include the archaic Greek spoken by the [[Sarakatsani]], traditionally [[Transhumance|transhumant]] mountain shepherds of [[Greek Macedonia]] and other parts of [[Northern Greece]]. The [[Tsakonian language]], a distinct Greek language derived from [[Doric Greek]] instead of [[Koine Greek]], is still spoken in villages in the southeastern Peloponnese. The Muslim minority in Thrace, approximately 0.95% of the population, consists of speakers of [[Turkish language|Turkish]], [[Bulgarian language|Bulgarian]] ([[Pomaks]]){{Sfn | Trudgill | 2000}} and [[Romani language|Romani]]. Romani is spoken by Christian [[Romani people|Roma]] in other parts of the country. The [[Council of Europe]] has estimated that there are approximately 265,000 [[Romani people]] living in Greece (2.47% of the population).{{Cite web|title=Greece - European Commission|url=https://commission.europa.eu/strategy-and-policy/policies/justice-and-fundamental-rights/combatting-discrimination/roma-eu/roma-equality-inclusion-and-participation-eu-country/greece_en |website=commission.europa.eu|access-date=20 May 2024|archive-date=20 May 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240520084405/https://commission.europa.eu/strategy-and-policy/policies/justice-and-fundamental-rights/combatting-discrimination/roma-eu/roma-equality-inclusion-and-participation-eu-country/greece_en|url-status=live}} Other minority languages have traditionally been spoken by regional population groups in various areas. Their use decreased radically in the course of the 20th century through assimilation with the Greek-speaking majority. They are only maintained by the older generations and almost extinct. The same is true for the [[Arvanites]], an [[Albanian language|Albanian]]-speaking group mostly located in rural areas around Athens, and for the [[Aromanians]] and [[Megleno-Romanians]] whose language is closely related to [[Romanian language|Romanian]] and who used to live scattered across areas of mountainous central Greece. Members of these groups usually identify ethnically as Greek{{cite web |url=http://www.cilevics.eu/minelres/reports/greece/greece_NGO.htm |publisher=Greek Helsinki Monitor |title=Minority Rights Group, Greece, Report about Compliance with the Principles of the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities (along guidelines for state reports according to Article 25.1 of the Convention) |date=8 September 1999 |access-date=27 December 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120111161345/http://www.cilevics.eu/minelres/reports/greece/greece_NGO.htm |archive-date=11 January 2012}} and are bilingual in Greek. Near the northern Greek borders there are some [[Slavic speakers of Greek Macedonia|Slavic–speaking groups]], most of whom identify ethnically as Greeks. It is estimated that after the population exchanges of 1923, [[Macedonia (Greece)|Macedonia]] had 200,000 to 400,000 [[Slavic languages|Slavic]] speakers.{{sfn|Roudometof|2001|p=186}} The Jewish community traditionally spoke [[Ladino language|Ladino]] (Judeo-Spanish), today maintained by a few thousand speakers. Other notable minority languages include [[Armenian language|Armenian]], [[Georgian language|Georgian]], and the Greco-Turkic dialect spoken by the [[Urums]], a community of [[Caucasus Greeks]] from the [[Tsalka]] region of central Georgia and ethnic Greeks from southeastern [[Greeks in Ukraine|Ukraine]] who arrived in Northern Greece as economic migrants in the 1990s. === Migration === {{Main|Greek diaspora|Immigration to Greece}} [[File:50 largest Greek diaspora.png|thumb|upright=1.7|A map of the fifty countries with the largest [[Greek diaspora]] communities]] Throughout the 20th century, millions of Greeks migrated to the [[Greek Americans|United States]], [[Greeks in the United Kingdom|United Kingdom]], [[Greek Australians|Australia]], [[Greek Canadians|Canada]], and [[Greeks in Germany|Germany]], creating a large [[Greek diaspora]]. Net migration started to show positive numbers from the 1970s, but until the beginning of the 1990s, the main influx was returning Greek migrants or of [[Pontic Greeks]] and others from [[Greeks in Russia|Russia]], [[Greeks in Georgia|Georgia]], [[Greeks in Turkey|Turkey]] the [[Greeks in the Czech Republic|Czech Republic]], and elsewhere in the former [[Soviet Bloc]].Triandafyllidou, Anna. [http://www.idea6fp.uw.edu.pl/pliki/POES_Greece_PB_3.pdf "Migration and Migration Policy in Greece"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130923025433/http://www.idea6fp.uw.edu.pl/pliki/POES_Greece_PB_3.pdf |date=23 September 2013 }}. ''Critical Review and Policy Recommendations''. [[Hellenic Foundation for European and Foreign Policy]]. No. 3, April 2009 A study from the Mediterranean Migration Observatory maintains that the 2001 census recorded 762,191 persons residing in Greece without Greek citizenship, constituting around 7% of the population. Of the non-citizen residents, 48,560 were EU or [[European Free Trade Association]] nationals and 17,426 were Cypriots with privileged status. The majority came from Eastern European countries: Albania (56%), Bulgaria (5%), and Romania (3%), while migrants from the former Soviet Union (Georgia, Russia, Ukraine, Moldova, etc.) comprised 10% of the total.Kasimis, Charalambos; Kassimi, Chryssa (June 2004). [http://www.migrationpolicy.org/article/greece-history-migration/ "Greece: A History of Migration"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151007072123/http://www.migrationpolicy.org/article/greece-history-migration |date=7 October 2015 }}. Migration Information Source. The total Albanian national population, which included temporary migrants and undocumented persons, was around 600,000.Managing Migration: The Promise of Cooperation. By Philip L. Martin, Susan Forbes Martin, Patrick Weil The [[Greek census 2011|2011 census]] recorded 9,903,268 Greek citizens (92%), 480,824 Albanian citizens (4.4%), 75,915 Bulgarian citizens (0.7%), 46,523 Romanian citizenship (0.4%), 34,177 Pakistani citizens (0.3%), 27,400 [[Georgia (country)|Georgian]] citizens (0.25%) and 247,090 people had other or unidentified citizenship (2%).{{cite press release |title=Announcement of the demographic and social characteristics of the Resident Population of Greece according to the 2011 Population |publisher=[[Hellenic Statistical Authority|Greek National Statistics Agency]] |page=9 |date=23 August 2013 |url=http://www.statistics.gr/portal/page/portal/ESYE/BUCKET/General/nws_SAM01_EN.PDF |access-date=3 June 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131225192921/http://www.statistics.gr/portal/page/portal/ESYE/BUCKET/General/nws_SAM01_EN.PDF |archive-date=25 December 2013}} 189,000 people of the total population of Albanian citizens were reported in 2008 as ethnic Greeks from [[Southern Albania]], in the irredentist region of [[Northern Epirus]]. The greatest cluster of non-EU immigrant population are in the larger urban centres, especially Athens, with 132,000 immigrants comprising 17% of the local population, and then Thessaloniki, with 27,000 immigrants reaching 7% of the local population. There is a considerable number of co-ethnics that came from the Greek communities of Albania and former [[Soviet Union]]. Greece, together with Italy and Spain, is a major entry point for [[European migrant crisis|illegal immigrants trying to enter the EU]]. Illegal immigrants entering mostly do so from the border with Turkey at the [[Evros River]] and the islands of the eastern Aegean across from Turkey. In 2012, most illegal immigrants came from [[Afghanistan]], followed by Pakistanis and Bangladeshis.{{cite news|title=In crisis, Greece rounds up immigrants – Associated Press|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/feedarticle/10403249|newspaper=The Guardian|access-date=11 June 2013|date=22 August 2012|location=London}} In 2015, arrivals of refugees by sea had increased dramatically due to the [[Syrian civil war]]. There were 856,723 arrivals by sea in Greece, an almost fivefold increase to the same period of 2014, of which the [[Syrians]] represented almost 45%.{{cite web|url=http://data.unhcr.org/mediterranean/country.php?id=83|title=Refugees/Migrants Emergency Response – Mediterranean, Greece|date=13 February 2016|publisher=[[UNHCR]]|access-date=20 February 2016|archive-date=17 February 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160217181157/http://data.unhcr.org/mediterranean/country.php?id=83}} Most refugees and migrants use Greece as a transit country to Northern Europe.{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-34131911|title=Migrant crisis: Migration to Europe explained in seven charts|date=4 March 2016|work=[[BBC News]]|access-date=7 June 2017|archive-date=31 January 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160131030536/http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-34131911|url-status=live}}{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-35091772|title=This migrant crisis is different from all others|last=Simpson|first=John|date=24 December 2015|work=BBC News|access-date=7 June 2017|archive-date=3 August 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170803185703/http://www.bbc.com/news/world-35091772|url-status=live}} In July 2025, Greek officials implemented a three month suspension of asylum processing for migrants from North Africa, drawing criticism from human rights groups.{{Cite web |title=Greek MPs approve suspension of asylum claims despite criticism |url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/7/9/greece-to-halt-migrant-asylum-processing-from-north-africa |access-date=2025-07-13 |website=Al Jazeera |language=en |archive-date=10 July 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250710113930/https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/7/9/greece-to-halt-migrant-asylum-processing-from-north-africa |url-status=live }} === Religion === {{Main|Religion in Greece|Greek Orthodox Church|Church of Greece}} {{See also|Muslim minority of Greece|Hellenismos|Ancient Greek religion|Romaniote Jews}} {{Pie chart | thumb = right | caption = Religiosity in Greece (2017): | label1 = [[Eastern Orthodoxy]] | value1 = 90 | color1 = Orchid | label2 = Other Christians (exc.[[Catholics]]) | value2 = 3 | color2 = DeepSkyBlue | label3 = [[Irreligion]] | value3 = 4 | color3 = Honeydew | label4 = [[Islam]] | value4 = 2 | color4 = Green | label5 = Other religions (inc.[[Catholics]]) | value5 = 1 | color5 = Yellow }} The Greek Constitution recognises [[Eastern Orthodox Church|Eastern Orthodoxy]] as the 'prevailing' faith of the country, while guaranteeing freedom of religious belief for all.{{cite web|title=The Constitution of Greece|url=http://www.hri.org/docs/syntagma/artcl25.html|publisher=Hellenic Resources Network|access-date=4 October 2014|archive-date=2 October 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171002214338/http://www.hri.org/docs/syntagma/artcl25.html|url-status=live}} The government does not keep statistics on religious groups and censuses do not ask for religious affiliation. According to the U.S. State Department, an estimated 97% of Greek citizens identify themselves as [[Eastern Orthodox Church|Eastern Orthodox]], belonging to the [[Greek Orthodox Church]],{{cite web | url = https://2001-2009.state.gov/g/drl/rls/irf/2007/90178.htm | website = International Religious Freedom Report 2007 | title = Greece | publisher = [[United States Department of State]], Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor | date = 15 September 2006 | access-date = 14 April 2007 | archive-date = 23 May 2019 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20190523073852/https://2001-2009.state.gov/g/drl/rls/irf/2007/90178.htm | url-status = live }} which uses the [[Byzantine rite]] and the [[Greek language]], the original language of the [[New Testament]]. The administration of the Greek territory is shared between the [[Church of Greece]] and the [[Patriarchate of Constantinople]]. In a 2010 [[Eurostat]]–[[Eurobarometer]] poll, 79% of Greek citizens responded that they "believe there is a God".{{cite web |url=http://ec.europa.eu/public_opinion/archives/ebs/ebs_341_en.pdf |title=Special Eurobarometer, biotechnology; Fieldwork: January–February 2010 |page=204 |date=October 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101215001129/http://ec.europa.eu/public_opinion/archives/ebs/ebs_341_en.pdf |archive-date=15 December 2010 }} According to other sources, 16% of Greeks describe themselves as "very religious", which is the highest among all European countries. The survey found just 3.5% never attend a church, compared to 5% in [[Poland]] and 59% in the Czech Republic.{{cite web|url=http://forskning.no/2008/02/dagens-ess-religiositet-og-kirkebesok|title=Dagens ESS: Religiøsitet og kirkebesøk|trans-title=Today ESS: Religiosity and church visits|publisher=Forskning|language=no|date=11 October 2005|access-date=11 September 2010|archive-date=10 June 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240610022756/https://www.forskning.no/dagens-ess-religiositet-og-kirkebesok/1039242|url-status=live}} Estimates of the recognised [[Muslim minority of Greece]], mostly located in [[Thrace]], range around 100,000, about 1% of the population. Some of the Albanian immigrants to Greece come from a nominally Muslim background, though most are secular.{{cite web |url=https://2009-2017.state.gov/j/drl/rls/irf/2006/71383.htm |title=Greece |publisher=[[United States Department of State]] |date=26 August 2005 |access-date=6 January 2009 |archive-date=23 May 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190523075106/https://2009-2017.state.gov/j/drl/rls/irf/2006/71383.htm |url-status=live }} Following the [[Greco-Turkish War (1919–1922)|1919–1922 Greco-Turkish War]] and the 1923 [[Treaty of Lausanne]], Greece and Turkey agreed to a [[Population exchange between Greece and Turkey|population transfer based on cultural and religious identity]]. About 500,000 Muslims from Greece, predominantly those defined as Turks, but also [[Greek Muslims]], were exchanged with approximately 1.5 million Greeks from Turkey. However, many refugees who settled in former Ottoman Muslim villages in [[Central Macedonia]], and were defined as Christian Orthodox [[Caucasus Greeks]], arrived from the former Russian [[Transcaucasus]] province of [[Kars Oblast]], after it had been retroceded to Turkey prior to the population exchange.{{cite web |website= Countrystudies.us |url= http://countrystudies.us/turkey/24.htm |title= Turkey – Population |place= US |publisher= [[Library of Congress]] |access-date= 23 September 2014 |archive-date= 29 June 2011 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20110629083555/http://countrystudies.us/turkey/24.htm |url-status= live }} Judaism has [[History of the Jews in Greece|been present]] in Greece for more than 2,000 years. The ancient community of Greek Jews is called [[Romaniote Jews|Romaniotes]], while the [[Sephardi Jews]] were once a prominent community in [[Thessaloniki]], numbering some 80,000, or more than half of the population, by 1900.{{Cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/jul/30/thessalonikis-jews-we-cant-let-this-be-forgotten-if-its-forgotten-it-will-die|title=Thessaloniki's Jews: 'We can't let this be forgotten; if it's forgotten, it will die'|first=Sam|last=Jones|date=30 July 2020|newspaper=The Guardian|access-date=3 March 2021|archive-date=10 June 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240610022755/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/jul/30/thessalonikis-jews-we-cant-let-this-be-forgotten-if-its-forgotten-it-will-die|url-status=live}} However, after the [[German occupation of Greece]] and [[the Holocaust]], it is estimated to number around 5,500 people. The [[Catholic Church|Roman Catholic]] community is estimated to be around 250,000 of which 50,000 are Greek citizens. [[Catholic Church in Greece|Their community]] is nominally separate from the smaller [[Greek Byzantine Catholic Church]], which recognises the primacy of the Pope but maintains the [[liturgy]] of the [[Byzantine Rite]].Leustean, Lucian N. (2014). "Eastern Christianity and Politics in the Twenty-First Century: an Overview" in Lucian N. Leustean (editor), ''Eastern Christianity and Politics in the Twenty-First Century'', pp. 1–20. New York: Routledge. {{ISBN|978-0-415-68490-3}}, pp 8–9. [[Greek Old Calendarists|Old Calendarists]] account for 500,000 followers.{{cite web|url=http://ec.europa.eu/employment_social/fundamental_rights/pdf/aneval/religion_el.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070605013415/http://ec.europa.eu/employment_social/fundamental_rights/pdf/aneval/religion_el.pdf |archive-date=5 June 2007 |title=Executive Summary Discrimination on the Grounds of Religion and Belief Greece |publisher=[[European Commission]] |last1=Ktistakis |first1=Ioannis |last2=Sitaropoulos |first2=Nicholas |date=22 June 2004 |access-date=14 April 2007 }} Protestants, including the [[Greek Evangelical Church]] and [[Free Evangelical Churches]], stand at about 30,000. Other Christian minorities, such as [[Assemblies of God]], [[International Church of the Foursquare Gospel]] and various [[Pentecostalism|Pentecostal]] churches of the [[Greek Synod of Apostolic Church]] total about 12,000 members.{{cite web| url= http://www.pentecost.gr/English/history.htm| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20041216225859/http://www.pentecost.gr/English/history%20keim.htm| archive-date= 16 December 2004 | title= Synod of Apostolic Church of Christ | publisher = Pentecost |access-date=22 March 2009}} The independent [[Free Apostolic Church of Pentecost]] is the biggest Protestant denomination in Greece with 120 churches.{{cite web|url=http://www.christianity.gr/church/addresses.php|title=Christianity Ministries|language=el|publisher=christianity.gr|access-date=22 March 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050530005647/http://www.christianity.gr/church/addresses.php|archive-date=30 May 2005}} There are no official statistics about the Free Apostolic Church of Pentecost, but the Orthodox Church estimates the followers as 20,000.{{cite web|url=http://www.egolpio.com/PENTECOSTAL/freechurpentecost.htm|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081202062529/http://www.egolpio.com/PENTECOSTAL/freechurpentecost.htm|archive-date=2 December 2008|script-title=el:Ελευθέρα Αποστολική Εκκλησία της Πεντηκοστής|trans-title=Free Apostolic Church of Pentecost|language=el|publisher=egolpio.com|access-date=22 March 2009}} The [[Jehovah's Witnesses]] report having 28,874 active members.{{cite web|url=http://download.jw.org/files/media_books/26/yb14_E.pdf|title=2014 Yearbook of Jehovah's Witnesses|publisher=Watchtower Bible and Tract Society of New York, Inc.|date=2014|pages=178–187|access-date=31 December 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141231060621/http://download.jw.org/files/media_books/26/yb14_E.pdf|archive-date=31 December 2014}} Since 2017, [[Hellenism (religion)|Hellenic Polytheism]], or Hellenism has been legally recognised as an actively practised religion,{{cite web |url=http://wildhunt.org/2017/04/greek-paganism-legally-recognized-as-known-religion-in-greece.html |title=Hellenism legally recognized as religion in Greece |publisher=wildhunt.org |access-date=9 April 2017 |archive-date=19 January 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200119183053/https://wildhunt.org/2017/04/greek-paganism-legally-recognized-as-known-religion-in-greece.html |url-status=live }} with estimates of 2,000 active practitioners and an additional 100,000 "sympathisers".{{cite web|url=http://www.newstatesman.com/200703200001|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081202123343/http://www.newstatesman.com/200703200001|title=Newstatesman – The ancient Gods of Greece are not extinct|archive-date=2 December 2008}}{{cite web|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2004/05/08/wgods08.xml|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040901020310/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=%2Fnews%2F2004%2F05%2F08%2Fwgods08.xml|archive-date=1 September 2004|title=Modern Athenians fight for the right to worship the ancient Greek gods|website=The Daily Telegraph|access-date=22 December 2021}}{{cite news | url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2007/feb/01/religion.uk | location=London | work=The Guardian | title=Helena Smith on why some Greeks are worshipping the ancient gods | access-date=11 December 2016 | archive-date=3 May 2020 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200503131432/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2007/feb/01/religion.uk | url-status=live }} Hellenism refers to religious movements that continue, revive, or reconstruct [[Ancient Greek religion|ancient Greek religious practices]]. === Education === {{Main|Education in Greece}} [[File:Ιόνιος Ακαδημία.jpeg|thumb|left|upright=0.8|The [[Ionian Academy]] in [[Corfu]], the first [[academic institution]] of modern Greece]] Greeks have a long tradition of valuing and investing in ''[[paideia]]'' (education), which was upheld as one of the highest societal values in the Greek and Hellenistic world. The first European institution described as a university was founded in fifth-century Constantinople and continued operating in various incarnations until the city's fall to the Ottomans in 1453.{{cite web|url= http://www.cwrl.utexas.edu/~bump/OriginUniversities.html|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20090220164836/http://www.cwrl.utexas.edu/~bump/OriginUniversities.html|archive-date= 20 February 2009 |title=Jerome Bump, University of Constantinople|access-date=19 December 2008|website= The Origin of Universities |publisher= University of Texas at Austin }} The [[University of Constantinople]] was Christian Europe's first secular institution of higher learning,{{cite book |last=Tatakes |first=Vasileios N. |author2=Moutafakis, Nicholas J. |title=Byzantine Philosophy |year=2003 |publisher=Hackett Publishing|isbn=978-0-87220-563-5|page=189}} and by some measures was the world's first university. Compulsory education in Greece comprises primary schools (Δημοτικό Σχολείο, ''Dimotikó Scholeio'') and [[Gymnasium (school)|gymnasium]] (Γυμνάσιο). Nursery schools (Παιδικός σταθμός, ''Paidikós Stathmós'') are popular but not compulsory. [[Kindergarten]]s (Νηπιαγωγείο, ''Nipiagogeío'') are compulsory for any child above four. Children start primary school aged six and remain there for six years. Attendance at gymnasia starts aged 12 and lasts for three years. Greece's post-compulsory secondary education consists of two main school types: unified upper secondary schools (Γενικό Λύκειο, ''Genikό Lykeiό'') and [[technical school|technical]]–[[vocational school|vocational]] schools. The traditional Technical-Vocational Educational Schools (Τεχνικά και Επαγγελματικά Εκπαιδευτήρια, "TEE") have been replaced by two pathways: Vocational Lyceums (Επαγγελματικό Λύκειο, "EPAL") and Vocational Training Schools (Επαγγελματικές Σχολές, "EPAS"). Public higher education consists of Highest Educational Institutions (Ανώτατα Εκπαιδευτικά Ιδρύματα, "ΑΕΙ") and Schools of Advanced Vocational Training (Σχολές Ανώτερης Επαγγελματικής Κατάρτισης, "SAEK"). The Technological Education Institutions (TEI) have been incorporated into existing universities or merged into new universities.{{cite web |url=https://www.nuffic.nl/en/education-systems/greece/educational-institutions-and-study-programmes |title=Educational institutions and study programmes - Greece |website=Nuffic |publisher=Dutch organisation for internationalisation in education |access-date=14 October 2025}} [[File:National Library of Greece at the Stavros Niarchos Foundation Cultural Centre 12.jpg|thumb|The new National Library of Greece at the [[Stavros Niarchos Foundation Cultural Center|Stavros Niarchos Foundation Cultural Centre]]]] The higher education landscape has seen a major shift with the enactment of Law 5094/2024, which for the first time establishes a framework for the licensing and operation of non-profit University-Legal Entities (ULEs) in Greece, affiliated with recognized foreign universities, starting from the 2025–2026 academic year.{{cite web|url=https://eurydice.eacea.ec.europa.eu/national-education-systems/greece/national-reforms-higher-education |title=National reforms in higher education - Greece |website=Eurydice Network |publisher=European Commission/EACEA |access-date=14 October 2025}} Students are admitted to public AEI Institutes according to their performance at national level examinations taking place after completion of the third grade of Lykeio. Students over 22 may be admitted to the Hellenic Open University through a lottery. The education system provides special kindergartens, primary, and secondary schools for people with special needs or difficulties in learning. There are specialist gymnasia and high schools offering musical, theological, and physical education. 72% of adults aged 25–64 have completed upper secondary education, which is slightly less than the OECD average of 74%. The average Greek pupil scored 458 in reading literacy, maths and science in the OECD's 2015 Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA). This is lower than the OECD average of 486. Girls outperformed boys by 15 points, much more than the average OECD gap of 2.{{cite web|title=OECD Better Life Index – Greece|url=http://www.oecdbetterlifeindex.org/countries/greece/|website=oecdbetterlifeindex.org|publisher=OECD|access-date=20 February 2018}} === Health === {{Main|Health in Greece}} {{See also|Healthcare in Greece}} Greece has [[universal health care]]. The system is mixed, combining a national health service with [[social health insurance]] (SHI). Per a 2000 [[World Health Organization|World Health Organisation]] report, its [[health system]] ranked 14th in overall performance of 191 countries surveyed.{{cite web |url=https://www.who.int/whr/2000/en/whr00_en.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040917211911/http://www.who.int/whr/2000/en/whr00_en.pdf |archive-date=17 September 2004 |url-status=live | title = Health Systems: Improving Performance |website=[[World Health Report]] | year = 2000 |publisher = [[World Health Organization]] |access-date=22 July 2011}} In a 2013 [[Save the Children]] report, Greece was ranked the 19th out of 176 countries for the state of mothers and newborn babies.{{cite web|url=http://www.savethechildren.org/site/c.8rKLIXMGIpI4E/b.8585863/k.9F31/State_of_the_Worlds_Mothers.htm|title=State of the World's Mothers 2013|year=2013|publisher=[[Save the Children]]|access-date=7 May 2013|archive-date=5 May 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130505125839/http://www.savethechildren.org/site/c.8rKLIXMGIpI4E/b.8585863/k.9F31/State_of_the_Worlds_Mothers.htm}} {{As of|2014}}, there were 124 public hospitals, of which 106 were general hospitals and 18 specialised hospitals, with a total capacity of about 30,000 beds.Hellenic Statistical Authority, 2018 Greece's health care expenditures was 9.6% of GDP in 2007. By 2015, it declined to 8.4%, compared with the EU average of 9.5%. Nevertheless, the country maintains the highest doctor-to-population ratio of any OECD country{{cite web|url=http://www.oecd.org/dataoecd/45/54/38979850.pdf |website=Health Data |year=2011 |title=How Does Greece Compare |publisher=[[Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development]] |access-date=22 July 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090902163839/http://www.oecd.org/dataoecd/45/54/38979850.pdf |archive-date=2 September 2009 }} and the highest doctor-to-patient ratio in the EU.Economou C, Kaitelidou D, Karanikolos M, Maresso A. Greece: Health system review. Health Systems in Transition, 2017; 19(5):1–192. [[Life expectancy]] is among the highest in the world; life expectancy in 2015 was 81.1 years, slightly above the EU average of 80.6. The island of [[Icaria]] has the highest percentage of nonagenarians in the world; 33% of islanders are 90 or older.{{cite news|title=The Island Where People Live Longer|url=https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=103744881|access-date=6 April 2013|newspaper=NPR|date=2 May 2009|quote=Buettner and a team of demographers work with census data to identify blue zones around the world. They found Icaria had the highest percentage of 90-year-olds anywhere on the planet — nearly 1 out of 3 people make it to their 90s.}} Icaria is subsequently classified as a "[[Blue Zone]]", a region where people allegedly live longer than average and have lower rates of cancer, heart disease, or other chronic illnesses.{{cite news|title=The Island Where People Forget to Die|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2012/10/28/magazine/the-island-where-people-forget-to-die.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220102/https://www.nytimes.com/2012/10/28/magazine/the-island-where-people-forget-to-die.html |archive-date=2 January 2022 |url-access=limited |url-status=live|access-date=6 April 2013|newspaper=The New York Times|date=24 October 2012|author=DAN BUETTNER}}{{cbignore}} A 2011, OECD report showed Greece had the largest percentage of adult daily smokers of any of the 34 OECD members. The obesity rate is 18%, above the OECD average of 15%. In 2008, infant mortality, with a rate of 3.6 deaths per 1,000 live births, was below the 2007 OECD average of 4.9. == Culture == {{Main|Culture of Greece|Greeks|List of Greeks}} [[File:Epidavros.JPG|thumb|The [[Ancient Theatre of Epidaurus]], [[Epidaurus Festival|annually used for theatrical plays]] since 1955]] The culture of Greece has evolved, beginning in [[Mycenaean Greece]] and continuing into [[Classical Greece]], through the influence of the [[Roman Empire]] and its [[Greek East]]ern continuation, the [[Byzantine Empire]]. Other cultures and nations, such as the [[Frankokratia|Latin and Frankish states]], the [[Ottoman Empire]], the [[Venetian Republic]], the [[Genoese Republic]], and the [[British Empire]] have left their influence on modern Greek culture, though historians credit the [[Greek War of Independence]] with revitalising Greece and giving birth to a single, cohesive entity of its multifaceted culture. In ancient times, Greece was the birthplace of [[Western culture]].Mazlish, Bruce. [https://books.google.com/books?id=AmacbFXUTEoC&pg=PA3 ''Civilization And Its Contents.''] Stanford University Press, 2004. p. 3. Web. 25 June 2012.{{cite book|author=William J. Broad|title=The Oracle: Ancient Delphi and the Science Behind Its Lost Secrets|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8Oi_sVWIXLAC&pg=PA120|year=2007|publisher=Penguin Publishing Group|isbn=978-0-14-303859-7|page=120|quote=In 1979, a friend of de Boer's invited him to join a team of scientists that was going to Greece to assess the suitability of the ... But the idea of learning more about Greece – the cradle of Western civilization, a fresh example of tectonic forces at ...}} 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 [[Logic#History|logic]], [[biology]], [[geometry]], government, [[geography]], medicine, history,Myres, John. ''Herodotus, Father of History''. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1953. Web. 25 June 2012. philosophy,[[Frederick Copleston|Copleston, Frederick]]. ''History of Philosophy, Volume 1''. [[physics]], and mathematics.{{cite book|author=Thomas Heath|title=A History of Greek Mathematics|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=drnY3Vjix3kC&q=ancient%20Greek%20mathematicians|access-date=19 August 2013|year=1981|publisher=Courier Dover Publications|isbn=978-0-486-24073-2|page=1}} They introduced important literary forms as epic and lyrical poetry, history, tragedy, comedy and drama. In their pursuit of order and proportion, the Greeks created an ideal of beauty that strongly influenced [[Western art history|Western art]].{{ citation| mode=cs1| first=Peter |last=Krentz | entry=Greece, Ancient | title=World Book Advanced | publisher=World Book|date=2012}} === Visual arts === {{See also|Greek art|Byzantine art|Modern Greek art}} [[File:Detail of the Charioteer, Delphi (4691931414).jpg|thumb|Close-up of the ''Charioteer of [[Delphi]]'', a celebrated statue from the 5th century BC]] Artistic production in Greece began in the prehistoric pre-Greek [[Cycladic civilization|Cycladic]] and the [[Minoan civilization|Minoan]] civilisations, both of which were influenced by local traditions and the [[art of ancient Egypt]].{{cite web|url=http://www.digital.library.upenn.edu/women/edwards/pharaohs/pharaohs-5.html|title=Egypt the Birthplace of Greek Decorative Art|website=digital.library.upenn.edu|access-date=10 August 2017|archive-date=15 September 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180915055454/http://www.digital.library.upenn.edu/women/edwards/pharaohs/pharaohs-5.html}} There were interconnected traditions of painting in ancient Greece. Due to technical differences, they underwent differentiated developments. Not all painting techniques are equally well represented in the [[Archaeology|archaeological]] record. The most respected form of art, according to [[Pliny the Elder|Pliny]] or [[Pausanias (geographer)|Pausanias]], were individual, mobile paintings on wooden boards, described as [[panel painting]]s. Wall painting in Greece goes back at least to the [[Minoan civilization|Minoan]] and [[Mycenaean Greece|Mycenaean]] civilisations, with the lavish fresco decoration of sites like [[Knossos]], [[Tiryns]], and [[Mycenae]]. [[Ancient Greek sculpture]] was composed almost entirely of workable and durable materials, [[marble]] or [[bronze]], bronze becoming the favoured medium for major works by the early 5th century, while [[chryselephantine]] sculptures, made largely of [[gold]] and [[ivory]] and used for temple [[cult image]]s and luxury works, were much rarer. It has been established that ancient Greek sculptures were painted{{cite journal |last= Gurewitsch |first= Matthew |date= July 2008 |title= True Colors |journal= Smithsonian |pages= 66–71 |url= http://www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture/true-colors.html |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20150509012652/http://www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture/true-colors-17888/ |archive-date= 9 May 2015 |access-date= 22 October 2017 |url-status= live }} with a variety of colours, a feature known as [[polychromy]].{{cite AV media |last=Harris |first=Cyril M. |title=Illustrated Dictionary of Historic Architecture |publisher=[[Dover Publications]] |location=New York |year=1977 |edition=1983}} Art production continued during the Byzantine era. The most salient feature of this new aesthetic was its "abstract", or anti-naturalistic character. Classical art was marked by attempts to create representations that mimicked reality, Byzantine art favoured a more symbolic approach. Byzantine painting concentrated mainly on [[icon]]s and [[hagiography|hagiographies]]. The [[Macedonian art (Byzantine)]] was the artistic expression of [[Macedonian Renaissance]], a label used to describe the Macedonian dynasty of the Byzantine Empire (867–1056), which scholars have seen as a time of increased interest in classical scholarship and the assimilation of classical motifs into [[Christian art]]work. Post Byzantine art schools include the [[Cretan School]] and [[Heptanese School (painting)|Heptanese School]]. The first artistic movement in the [[Greek Kingdom]] can be considered the [[Greek academic art of the 19th century]] (''Munich School''). Modern Greek painters include [[Nikolaos Gyzis]], [[Georgios Jakobides]], [[Theodoros Vryzakis]], [[Nikiforos Lytras]], [[Konstantinos Volanakis]], [[Nikos Engonopoulos]] and [[Yannis Tsarouchis]], while notable sculptors are [[Pavlos Prosalentis]], [[Ioannis Kossos]], [[Leonidas Drosis]], [[Georgios Bonanos]], and [[Yannoulis Chalepas]]. === Architecture === {{See also|Ancient Greek architecture|Byzantine architecture|Modern Greek architecture}} [[File:Syros Ano Syros u Ermoupolis140707.jpg|thumb|Harbour of [[Ermoupolis]], on the island [[Syros]], first capital of independent Greece.]] [[File:Greek village narrow path, walkway.jpg|thumb|Narrow path between village houses on the island of [[Astypalea]].]] The architecture of ancient Greece was produced by the ancient Greeks (''Hellenes''), whose [[Ancient Greece|culture]] flourished on the Greek mainland, the [[Aegean Islands]] and their [[Colonies in antiquity|colonies]], from about 900 BC until the 1st century AD, with the earliest remaining architectural works dating from around 600 BC. The formal vocabulary of ancient Greek architecture, in particular the division of architectural style into three defined orders (the [[Doric Order]], the [[Ionic Order]], and the [[Corinthian Order]]), was to have a profound effect on [[History of architecture|Western architecture]]. Byzantine architecture was dominant in the Greek-speaking world and significantly influenced [[Medieval architecture]] throughout Europe and the Near East, becoming the primary progenitor of the [[Renaissance architecture|Renaissance]] and [[Ottoman architecture|Ottoman architectural]] traditions that followed the Byzantine Empire's collapse. After Greek Independence, modern Greek architects combined traditional Greek and Byzantine elements and motives with Western European movements and styles. [[Patras]] was the first city of the modern Greek state to develop a city plan applying the orthogonal rule by [[Stamatis Voulgaris]], a Greek engineer of the French army, in 1829.Παύλος Κυριαζής, «Σταμάτης Βούλγαρης. Ο αγωνιστής, ο πολεοδόμος, ο άνθρωπος», στο: Συλλογικό, Πρώτοι Έλληνες τεχνικοί επιστήμονες περιόδου απελευθέρωσης, εκδ. Τεχνικό Επιμελητήριο Ελλάδος, Αθήνα, 1976, σελ.158 Two special genres can be considered the Cycladic architecture, featuring white-coloured houses, in the [[Cyclades]] and the Epirotic architecture in the region of [[Epirus]].{{cite web|url=https://travelaway.me/cycladic-architecture/|title=23 Best Examples of Cycladic Architecture|date=23 April 2015}}{{cite web|url=https://www.greeka.com/epirus/architecture/|title=Architecture of Epirus, Greece - Greeka.com|website=Greekacom}} Important is also the influence of the [[Venetian Gothic architecture|Venetian style]] in the [[Ionian Islands]] and the "Mediterranean style" of [[Florestano Di Fausto]] (during the fascist regime) in the [[Dodecanese|Dodecanese islands]].{{cite journal|last=Anderson|first=Sean|date=2010|title=The Light and the Line: Florestano Di Fausto and the Politics of 'Mediterraneità'|journal=California Italian Studies|doi=10.5070/C311008864|url=https://escholarship.org/uc/item/9hm1p6m5#page-1|doi-access=free}} After the establishment of the [[Greek Kingdom]], the architecture of Athens and other cities was mostly influenced by the [[Neoclassical architecture]]. For Athens, the first [[King of Greece]], [[Otto of Greece]], commissioned the architects [[Stamatios Kleanthis]] and [[Eduard Schaubert]] to design a modern city plan fit for a capital. After the [[Great Thessaloniki Fire of 1917]], the government ordered for a new city plan under the supervision of [[Ernest Hébrard]]. Other modern Greek architects include [[Anastasios Metaxas]], [[Lysandros Kaftanzoglou]], [[Panagis Kalkos]], [[Ernst Ziller]], [[Xenophon Paionidis]], [[Dimitris Pikionis]], and [[Georges Candilis]]. There is an emerging need to secure the long-term preservation of the archaeological sites and monuments against the growing threats of climate change.{{cite journal | last1 = Kountouri| first1 = E. | last2 = Benissi | first2 = C. | last3 = Spyropoulou | first3 = S. | year = 2022 | title = Integrating Climate Change into Protection Policies in Greece | journal = Internet Archaeology | issue = 60 | doi = 10.11141/ia.60.8| doi-access = free }} === Theatre === {{See also|Theatre of ancient Greece|Modern Greek theatre}} [[File:Corfu Town Hall R01.jpg|thumb|[[Nobile Teatro di San Giacomo di Corfù]], the first theatre and opera house of modern Greece]] Theatre in its Western form was born in Greece.Brockett, Oscar G. (1991) ''History of the Theatre'' (sixth edition). Boston; London: [[Allyn & Bacon]]. [[Greek tragedy|Tragedy]] (late 6th century BC), [[Ancient Greek comedy|comedy]] (486 BC), and the [[satyr play]] were the three dramatic genres that emerged in the [[Polis|city-state]] of [[Classical Athens]] and were institutionalised as part of a festival called the [[Dionysia]], which honoured the god [[Dionysus]]. Of the hundreds of [[tragedies]] written and performed during the classical age, only a limited number of plays by three authors have survived: [[Aeschylus]], [[Sophocles]], and [[Euripides]]. The surviving plays by [[Aristophanes]] are a treasure trove of comic presentation. During the Byzantine period, theatrical art declined; the only form that survived was folk theatre (''Mimos'' and ''Pantomimos''), despite the hostility of the state.{{cite web|url=http://www.24grammata.com/?p=32749 |title=Culture e-Magazine – Free eBooks – WebTV " Το Θέατρο στο Βυζάντιο και την Οθωμανική περίοδο |publisher=24grammata.com |date=18 March 2012 |access-date=23 April 2014}} 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]]. Significant dramatists of the era include [[Vitsentzos Kornaros]] and [[Georgios Chortatzis]]. Modern Greek theatre was born after independence, in the early 19th century, and initially was influenced by Heptanesean theatre and melodrama, such as the Italian opera. The [[Nobile Teatro di San Giacomo di Corfù]] was the first theatre and opera house of modern Greece and the place where the first Greek opera, [[Spyridon Xyndas]]' ''The Parliamentary Candidate'' was performed. During the late 19th and early 20th century, the Athenian theatre scene was dominated by [[revues]], [[Musical theatre|musical comedies]], [[operettas]] and [[nocturnes]] and notable playwrights included [[Spyridon Samaras]], [[Dionysios Lavrangas]], [[Theophrastos Sakellaridis]]. The [[National Theatre of Greece]] was opened in 1900 as ''Royal Theatre''.{{cite news|url=https://www.n-t.gr/el/knowus|title=ΓΝΩΡΙΣΤΕ ΜΑΣ – Εθνικό Θέατρο|website=n-t.gr}} Notable playwrights of the modern Greek theatre include [[Gregorios Xenopoulos]], [[Nikos Kazantzakis]], [[Pantelis Horn]], [[Alekos Sakellarios]], and [[Iakovos Kambanellis]], 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]]. === Literature === {{Main|Greek literature|Byzantine literature|Modern Greek literature}} {{multiple image | align = right | direction = horizontal | total_width = 330 | image1 = Konstantinos Kavafis.jpg | alt1 = | caption1 = | image2 = Odysseas Elytis 1974.jpg | alt2 = | caption2 = | image3 = Giorgos Seferis 1963.jpg | alt3 = | caption3 = | footer = [[Constantine P. Cavafy]]'s work was inspired mainly by the [[Hellenistic period|Hellenistic past]], while [[Odysseas Elytis]] (''centre'') and [[Giorgos Seferis]] (''right'') were representatives of the Generation of the '30s and [[Nobel Prize in Literature|Nobel laureates in Literature]] | footer_align = left }} Greek literature can be divided into three main categories: Ancient, Byzantine, and modern Greek.Encyclopædia Britannica – "Greek literature: Byzantine literature" Athens is considered the birthplace of Western literature.{{cite book|author=Carol Strickland|title=The Illustrated Timeline of Western Literature: A Crash Course in Words & Pictures|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Qw_7eINO_NcC&pg=PA2|year=2007|publisher=Sterling Publishing Company, Inc.|isbn=978-1-4027-4860-8|page=2|quote=Although the first writing originates in the cradle of civilization along Middle Eastern rivers – the Tigris, Euphrates, and Nile – the true cradle of Western literature is Athens. As the poet Percy Bysshe Shelley says, "We are all Greeks."}} At the beginning of Greek literature stand the monumental works of [[Homer]]: the ''[[Iliad]]'' and the ''[[Odyssey]]'', composed around 800 BC or after. In the classical period, many of the genres of Western literature became more prominent. [[Lyrical poetry]], [[ode]]s, [[pastorals]], [[elegy|elegies]], [[epigrams]]; dramatic presentations of comedy and [[tragedy]]; [[historiography]], [[rhetorical]] treatises, philosophical dialectics, and philosophical treatises all arose in this period. The two major lyrical poets were [[Sappho]] and [[Pindar]]. [[Herodotus]] and [[Thucydides]] are two of the most influential historians in this period. [[Byzantine literature]] written in [[Attic Greek|Attic]], [[Medieval]] and early [[Modern Greek]], is the expression of the intellectual life of the [[Byzantine Greeks]] during the Christian [[Middle Ages]]. Although ''popular'' Byzantine literature and early [[Modern Greek literature]] both began in the 11th century, the two are indistinguishable."The Modern Greek language in its relation to Ancient Greek", [[E. M. Geldart]] [[Modern Greek literature]] refers to literature written in the common Modern Greek language, emerging in the late Byzantine period of the 11th century. The Cretan Renaissance poem ''[[Erotokritos]]'' is considered the masterpiece of this period. It is a verse [[Romance (heroic literature)|romance]] written around 1600 by [[Vitsentzos Kornaros]] (1553–1613). Later, during the period of Greek enlightenment ([[Diafotismos]]), writers such as [[Adamantios Korais]] and [[Rigas Feraios]] prepared with their works the Greek Revolution. Leading figures of modern Greek literature include [[Dionysios Solomos]], [[Andreas Kalvos]], [[Angelos Sikelianos]], [[Emmanuel Rhoides]], [[Demetrius Vikelas]], [[Kostis Palamas]], [[Penelope Delta]], [[Yannis Ritsos]], [[Alexandros Papadiamantis]], [[Nikos Kazantzakis]], [[Andreas Embirikos]], [[Kostas Karyotakis]], [[Gregorios Xenopoulos]], [[Constantine P. Cavafy|Constantine Cavafy]], [[Nikos Kavvadias]], [[Kostas Varnalis]], and [[Kiki Dimoula]]. Two Greek authors have been awarded the [[Nobel Prize in Literature]]: [[George Seferis]] in 1963, and [[Odysseas Elytis]] in 1979. === Philosophy === {{Main|Ancient Greek philosophy|Modern Greek Enlightenment}} [[File:Academy of Athens by ArmAg (2).jpg|thumb|right|Statues of [[Plato]] (left) and [[Socrates]] (right) in front of the [[Academy of Athens (modern)|Academy of Athens]], Greece's [[national academy]] and highest research establishment.]] [[Ancient Greek philosophy]] involved a disposition to value [[reasoning]] and [[critical thinking|thinking critical]]ly of traditional culture, thus inaugurating the [[Western culture|Western intellectual tradition]]. While [[Presocratics|thinkers before him]] provided proto-scientific explanations of the natural world, [[Socrates]] in 5th-century Athens systematically enquired [[ethics]]; the next century, his disciple, [[Plato]], wrote presently still pertinent dialogues about [[ethics]], [[Political philosophy|politics]], [[metaphysics]], and [[epistemology]]. There were also topics of treatises composed by Plato's prolific student, [[Aristotle]], whose thought, especially in [[Aristotelian physics|physics]], [[Aristotelianism|infused]] the [[Western world|West]] for centuries. Other philosophical schools emerged during the Hellenistic period, [[Cynicism (philosophy)|Cynicism]], [[Stoicism]], [[Epicureanism]] and [[Skepticism]], while [[Neoplatonism]] dominated subsequent thought.{{cite web |url=http://www.iep.utm.edu/greekphi/|title=Ancient Greek Philosophy |publisher= Internet encyclopedia of philosophy|access-date= 23 March 2016}} [[Byzantine philosophy]] was characterised by a Christian world-view, but one which could draw ideas directly from the Greek texts of Plato, Aristotle, and the [[Neoplatonists]]. On the eve of the [[Fall of Constantinople]], [[Gemistus Pletho]] tried to restore the use of the term "Hellene" and advocated the return to the [[Olympian Gods]] of the ancient world.{{cite book |last=Hanegraaff |first=Wouter |title=Esotericism and the Academy: Rejected Knowledge in Western Culture |publisher=[[Cambridge University Press]] |location=Cambridge |date=2012 |isbn=978-0-521-19621-5 |page=38}} Byzantine Greek scholars, who were largely responsible for preserving [[Classical Greece|Classical Greek]] knowledge, fled to the West after the [[fall of Constantinople|fall of Byzantium]], taking with them literature and significantly [[Greek scholars in the Renaissance|contributing to the Renaissance]].{{cite book |title= A Short History of Byzantium |last= Norwich |first= John Julius|year=1997 |publisher= Vintage Books |isbn=978-0-679-77269-9 |page = xxi}} In the modern period, [[Modern Greek Enlightenment|Diafotismos]] (Greek: Διαφωτισμός, "enlightenment", "illumination"){{cite book |last1=Patiniotis |first1=Manolis |title=Relocating the History of Science |chapter=Neo-Hellenic Enlightenment: In Search of a European Identity |series=Boston Studies in the Philosophy and History of Science |date=2015 |volume=312 |pages=117–130 |doi=10.1007/978-3-319-14553-2_9 |isbn=978-3-319-14552-5 }} was the Greek expression of the [[Age of Enlightenment]] and its philosophical and political ideas. Notable representatives were [[Adamantios Korais]], [[Rigas Feraios]] and [[Theophilos Kairis]]. Other modern era Greek philosophers or political scientists include [[Elli Lambridi|Helle Lambridis]], [[Cornelius Castoriadis]], [[Nicos Poulantzas]] and [[Christos Yannaras]]. === Music and dances === {{Main|Music of Greece}} [[File:Sfakia-dance.jpg|thumb|[[Cretan]] dancers of [[Greek folk music|traditional folk music]]]] Greek vocal music dates back to ancient times, when mixed-gender choruses performed for entertainment, celebration, and spiritual reasons. Instruments included the double-reed [[aulos]] and the plucked string instrument, the [[lyre]], especially the special kind called a [[kithara]]. While the new technique of polyphony was developing in the West, the [[Eastern Orthodox Church]] resisted change. Therefore, [[Byzantine music]] remained monophonic and without any form of instrumental accompaniment. As a result, and despite certain attempts by certain Greek chanters, Byzantine music was deprived of elements which, in the West, encouraged an unimpeded development of art. Byzantium presented the monophonic [[Byzantine chant]], a melodic music, with rhythmical variety and expressive power.{{Cite web |title=UNESCO - Byzantine chant |url=https://ich.unesco.org/en/RL/byzantine-chant-01508 |access-date=2024-11-05 |website=ich.unesco.org |language=en}} Along with Byzantine chant and music, the Greeks cultivated the [[Greek folk music|Greek folk song]] (''Demotiko''), which is divided into two cycles, the [[Acritic songs|akritic]] and [[klephtic song|klephtic]]. The akritic was created between the 9th and 10th centuries and depicted the life and struggles of the [[akrites]] (frontier guards) of the Byzantine Empire, the most well-known of whom was [[Digenes Akritas]]. The klephtic cycle came into being between the late Byzantine period and the start of the Greek War of Independence. The most famous klephtic and modern Greek folk song is ''The Battle of Mount Olympus and Mount Kisavos'', a ballad based on a musico-poetic motif dating back to classical Greece.{{cite book |last=Trypanis |first=Constantine Athanasius |title=Greek Poetry: From Homer to Seferis |publisher=The University of Chicago Press |location=Chicago |year=1981 |isbn=0-226-81316-9 |pages=592–594 |quote=The Klephtic ballads developed in mainland Greece, and in the eighteenth century represented the final and supreme stage in the evolution of modern Greek folk poetry. They can be separated into two groups, one dealing with the achievements or the death of an individual Klepht and the second with the life of the Klephts in general...Among them is a notable series of songs that deal with battles between mountains, a motif that goes back to antiquity, as we know from a fragment of Corinna found on a second-century papyrus in which Mount Helicon and Mount Cithaeron are fighting. Such battles of mountains in Greek folk songs have survived in Crete and in Karpathos, but the most famous of all is the Pan-Hellenic ballad of ''The Battle between Mount Olympus and Mount Kisavos''.}} The klephtic cycle, together with historical songs, ''paraloghes'' (narrative song or ballad), love songs, [[mantinada|mantinades]], wedding songs, songs of exile, and dirges express the life of the Greeks. [[File:Mikis2004.jpg|thumb|upright|left|[[Mikis Theodorakis]] was one of the most popular and significant Greek composers.]] The [[Heptanese]]an [[Greek folk music#Ionian Islands|kantádhes]] (καντάδες '[[serenade]]s'; sing.: καντάδα) became the forerunners of the Greek modern urban popular song, influencing its development. For the first part of the next century, Greek composers continued to borrow elements from the Heptanesean style. The most successful songs during 1870–1930 were the so-called Athenian serenades, and the songs performed on stage ('theatrical revue songs') in [[revue]]s, [[operetta]]s, and [[nocturne]]s that dominated Athens' theatre scene.{{Cite web |title=FolkWorld #44: Music of Greece |url=http://www.folkworld.de/44/e/greece.html |access-date=2024-11-05 |website=www.folkworld.de}} [[Rebetiko]], initially a music associated with the lower classes, later gained greater acceptance as the rough edges of its overt subcultural character were softened, sometimes to the point of unrecognisability.{{cite web |title=Feature: Greek rebetiko music rises from margins to UNESCO's list |url=http://www.xinhuanet.com/english/2017-12/29/c_136858286.htm |website=Xinhua |date=29 December 2017 |access-date=14 October 2025}} It was the base of the later [[laïkó]] (song of the people). The leading performers of the genre include [[Vassilis Tsitsanis]], [[Grigoris Bithikotsis]], [[Stelios Kazantzidis]], [[George Dalaras]], [[Haris Alexiou]] and [[Glykeria]]. It was through the [[Ionian islands]] (which were under western rule) that major advances of the western European classical music were introduced to mainland Greeks. The region is notable for the birth of the first school of modern Greek classical music ([[Ionian School (music)|Heptanesean or Ionian School]]), established in 1815. Prominent representatives of this genre include [[Nikolaos Mantzaros]], [[Spyridon Xyndas]], [[Spyridon Samaras]] and [[Pavlos Carrer]]. [[Manolis Kalomiris]] is considered the founder of the Greek National School of Music. In the 20th century, Greek composers had a significant impact on the development of [[avant garde]] and modern classical music, with figures such as [[Iannis Xenakis]], [[Nikos Skalkottas]], and [[Dimitri Mitropoulos]] achieving international prominence. Composers and musicians such as [[Mikis Theodorakis]], [[Manos Hatzidakis]], [[Eleni Karaindrou]], [[Vangelis]] and [[Demis Roussos]] garnered an international following, which include famous [[film score]]s such as ''[[Zorba the Greek]]'', ''[[Serpico]]'', ''[[Never on Sunday]]'', ''[[America America]]'', ''[[Eternity and a Day]]'', ''[[Chariots of Fire]]'', and ''[[Blade Runner (soundtrack)|Blade Runner]]''. [[Greek American]] composers known for their film scores include [[Yanni]] and [[Basil Poledouris]]. Greek opera singers and classical musicians of the 20th and 21st century include [[Maria Callas]], [[Nana Mouskouri]], [[Mario Frangoulis]], [[Leonidas Kavakos]], and [[Dimitris Sgouros]].{{Cite journal |last=Trikoupis |first=Athanasios |title=Greek composers in the 20th century. European influences in their work |url=https://www.academia.edu/36757754 |journal=Academia}}{{Cite web |title=Mark Morris's Guide to Twentieth Century Composers GREECE - MusicWeb-International |url=https://www.musicweb-international.com/mark_morris/Greece.htm |access-date=2024-11-05 |website=www.musicweb-international.com}}{{Cite journal |last=Trikoupis |first=Athanasios |title=Nationalism and Modernism as parallel and interactive mainstream in the works of Greek composers of the 20th century |url=https://www.academia.edu/36786451 |journal=Academia |date=5 June 2018 }} During the [[Greek junta]] of 1967–74, the music of Mikis Theodorakis was banned, the composer jailed, internally exiled, and put in a [[concentration camp]],{{cite book|author=Thomas S. Hischak|title=The Encyclopedia of Film Composers|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Xz99CAAAQBAJ&pg=PA664|date=16 April 2015|publisher=Rowman & Littlefield Publishers|isbn=978-1-4422-4550-1|page=664}} before finally being allowed to leave Greece due to international reaction. Released during the junta years, ''Make Love, Stop the Gunfire'', by pop group [[Poll (band)|Poll]] is considered the first anti-war protest song in [[Greek rock]].{{cite web|title=Kostas Tournas|url=http://www.europopmusic.eu/Greece_pages/Kostas_Tournas.html#about|publisher=europopmusic.eu|access-date=10 March 2013|archive-date=11 March 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130311170321/http://www.europopmusic.eu/Greece_pages/Kostas_Tournas.html#about}} Greece participated in the [[Eurovision Song Contest]] 35 times after its debut at the [[Eurovision Song Contest 1974|1974 Contest]]. In [[Eurovision Song Contest 2005|2005]], Greece won with "[[My Number One]]", performed by Greek-Swedish singer [[Elena Paparizou]], which became a smash hit in different countries and especially in Greece, and the [[Eurovision Song Contest 2006|51st Eurovision Song Contest]] of 2006 was held in Athens.{{Cite web |title=Greece |url=https://eurovision.tv/country/greece}}{{Cite web |date=2024 |title=Greece in Eurovision: Voting & Points |url=https://eurovisionworld.com/eurovision/greece}} === Cinema === {{Main|Cinema of Greece}} [[File:Theodoros Angelopoulos Athens 26-4-2009-2.jpg|thumb|upright|[[Theodoros Angelopoulos]], winner of the {{Lang|fr|[[Palme d'Or]]|italic=no}} in [[1998 Cannes Film Festival|1998]], notable director in the history of the [[European cinema]]]] Cinema first appeared in Greece in 1896, but the first cine-theatre was opened in 1907 in Athens. In 1914, the ''Asty Films Company'' was founded and the production of long films began. ''Golfo'', a well known traditional love story, is considered the first Greek feature film, although there were minor productions such as newscasts before. In 1931, [[Orestis Laskos]] directed ''[[Daphnis and Chloe (film)|Daphnis and Chloe]]'', containing one of the first nude scene in European cinema;{{cite journal |title=Οι Ιταλοί θαυμάζουν το ''Δάφνις και Χλόη'' |journal=Ελευθεροτυπία |date=3 July 2009 |url=http://www.enet.gr/?i=news.el.article&id=60015 |access-date=13 May 2022 |language=el}} it was the first Greek movie played abroad.{{cite journal |title=''Δάφνις και Χλόη'' στην Μπολόνια |journal=Το Βήμα |date=4 July 2009 |url=http://www.tovima.gr/culture/article/?aid=276816 |access-date=13 May 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170128010437/http://www.tovima.gr/culture/article/?aid=276816 |archive-date=28 January 2017 |url-status=live }} In 1944, [[Katina Paxinou]] was honoured with the [[Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress|Best Supporting Actress Academy Award]] for ''[[For Whom the Bell Tolls (film)|For Whom the Bell Tolls]]''.{{cite web |url=http://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/1944 |title=The 16th Academy Awards (1943) Nominees and Winners |access-date=13 May 2022 |work=[[Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences]]|date=5 October 2014 }} The 1950s and early 1960s are considered to be a "golden age" of Greek cinema.{{cite book |last=Ephraim |first=Katz |section=Greece |title=The Film Encyclopedia |location=New York |publisher=HarperResource |year=2001 |pages=554–555}} Directors and actors of this era were recognised as important figures in Greece and some gained international acclaim: [[George Tzavellas]], [[Irene Papas]], [[Melina Mercouri]], [[Michael Cacoyannis]], [[Alekos Sakellarios]], [[Nikos Tsiforos]], [[Iakovos Kambanelis]], [[Katina Paxinou]], [[Nikos Koundouros]], [[Ellie Lambeti]] and others. More than sixty films per year were made, with most having film noir elements. Notable films include ''[[The Drunkard (1950 film)|The Drunkard]]'' (1950, directed by [[George Tzavellas]]), ''[[The Counterfeit Coin]]'' (1955, by [[Giorgos Tzavellas]]), ''Πικρό Ψωμί'' (1951, by [[Grigoris Grigoriou]]), ''[[O Drakos]]'' (1956, by [[Nikos Koundouros]]), ''[[Stella (1955 film)|Stella]]'' (1955, directed by Cacoyannis and written by Kampanellis), ''[[Woe to the Young]]'' (1961, by [[Alekos Sakellarios]]), ''[[Glory Sky]]'' (1962, by [[Takis Kanellopoulos]]) and ''[[The Red Lanterns]]'' (1963, by [[Vasilis Georgiadis]]) Cacoyannis directed ''[[Zorba the Greek (film)|Zorba the Greek]]'' with Anthony Quinn which received Best Director, Best Adapted Screenplay, and Best Film nominations.{{cite web |url=http://movies.nytimes.com/movie/56204/Zorba-the-Greek/awards |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090928030245/http://movies.nytimes.com/movie/56204/Zorba-the-Greek/awards |archive-date=28 September 2009 |department=Movies & TV Dept. |work=[[The New York Times]] |date=2009 |title=NY Times: Zorba the Greek |access-date=13 May 2022}} [[Finos Film]] contributed in this period with movies such as ''Λατέρνα, Φτώχεια και Φιλότιμο'', ''[[Madalena (1960 film)|Madalena]]'', ''[[I theia ap' to Chicago]]'', ''Το ξύλο βγήκε από τον Παράδεισο'' and many more. During the 1970s and 1980s, [[Theo Angelopoulos]] directed notable movies. His film ''[[Eternity and a Day]]'' won the {{Lang|fr|[[Palme d'Or]]|italic=no}} and the [[Prize of the Ecumenical Jury]] at the [[1998 Cannes Film Festival]].{{cite web|url=http://www.cinema-francais.fr/cannes/cannes_1998.htm |title=51ème Festival International du Film – Cannes |website=Cinema-francais.fr |language=fr |access-date=13 May 2022}}{{cite web |url=http://www.cannes-fest.com/1998/index.html |title=1998 – 51e édition (50th edition) |website=Cannes-fest.com |language=fr |access-date=13 May 2022 |archive-date=27 January 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220127061850/http://www.cannes-fest.com/1998/index.html }}{{cite news |url=http://www.urbancinefile.com.au/home/view.asp?a=1148&s=Features |title=Cannes 1998: News (2) |website=Urbancinefile.com |access-date=13 May 2022 |archive-date=7 September 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130907173822/http://urbancinefile.com.au/home/view.asp?a=1148&s=Features }} There are internationally renowned filmmakers in the Greek diaspora, such as the Greek-French [[Costa-Gavras]] and the Greek-Americans [[Elia Kazan]], [[John Cassavetes]], and [[Alexander Payne]]. [[Yorgos Lanthimos]] has received four [[Academy Awards|Academy Award]] nominations for his work, including [[Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film|Best Foreign Language Film]] for ''[[Dogtooth (film)|Dogtooth]]'' (2009), [[Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay|Best Original Screenplay]] for ''[[The Lobster]]'' (2015), and [[Academy Award for Best Picture|Best Picture]] and [[Academy Award for Best Director|Best Director]] for ''[[The Favourite (2018 film)|The Favourite]]'' (2018).{{cite web |url=https://variety.com/2019/film/news/2019-oscars-winners-list-academy-awards-1203145638/|title=Oscar Winners 2019: The Complete List|work=[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]|date=24 February 2019|access-date=13 May 2022|archive-date=15 January 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210115164501/https://variety.com/2019/film/news/2019-oscars-winners-list-academy-awards-1203145638/|url-status=live}} === Cuisine === {{Main|Greek cuisine|Greek wine}} [[File:Greek Salad from Thessaloniki.jpg|alt=|thumb|A [[Greek salad]], with [[feta]] and [[olive]]s]] [[Greek cuisine]] is characteristic of the [[Mediterranean diet]], which is epitomised by dishes of [[Cretan diet|Crete]].{{cite book |first=Sari |last=Edelstein |title=Food, Cuisine, and Cultural Competency for Culinary, Hospitality, and Nutrition Professionals |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=lj0CeaIIETkC&pg=PA147 |access-date=27 December 2011 |date=22 October 2010 |publisher=Jones & Bartlett |isbn= 978-0-7637-5965-0 |pages=147–49}} Greek cuisine incorporates fresh ingredients into local dishes such as [[moussaka]], [[pastitsio]], classic [[Greek salad]], [[fasolada]], [[spanakopita]] and [[souvlaki]]. Some dishes can be traced back to ancient Greece like [[skordalia]] (a thick purée of walnuts, almonds, crushed garlic and olive oil), [[lentil]] [[soup]], [[retsina]] (white or rosé wine sealed with pine resin) and [[Sesame seed candy|pasteli]] (candy bar with sesame seeds baked with honey). People often enjoy eating from small dishes such as [[meze]] with dips such as [[tzatziki]], grilled octopus and small fish, [[feta cheese]], [[dolmades]] (rice, currants and pine kernels wrapped in vine leaves), various [[Legume|pulses]], [[olive]]s and cheese. [[Olive oil]] is a widespread addition.{{Cite book |url=https://textbooks.restaurant.org/Textbooks/media/fmrca/FRMCA_GlobalCuisine2_1.pdf |title=Global Cuisine 2: Europe, the Mediterranean, the Middle East, and Asia |publisher=National Restaurant Association Educational Foundation |year=2017 |publication-date=2017 |page=19 |language=en}} Sweet desserts include [[melomakarona]], [[diples]] and [[galaktoboureko]], and drinks such as [[ouzo]], [[metaxa]] and wines including retsina. Greek cuisine differs from different parts of the mainland and island to island. It uses some flavourings more often than other Mediterranean cuisines: [[oregano]], [[Mentha|mint]], garlic, onion, [[dill]] and [[bay laurel]] leaves. Other common herbs and spices include [[basil]], [[thyme]] and [[fennel]] seed. Many recipes, especially in the northern parts of the country, use "sweet" spices in combination with meat, for example [[cinnamon]] and [[clove]]s in stews.{{Cite web |title=Greek Food Ingredients |url=https://angelfoods.gr/greek-food/greek-food-ingredients/ |access-date=4 January 2024 |website=Angelfoods |language=en-US}} [[Koutoukia]] are an underground restaurant common in Greece.{{Cite book |last=Wolfert|first=Paula|title=Mediterranean clay pot cooking: traditional and modern recipes to savor and share|publisher=John Wiley & Sons|year=2009|isbn=978-0-7645-7633-1|location=Hoboken, NJ |page=235|oclc=298538015|author-link=Paula Wolfert}} === Sports === [[File:Louis entering Kallimarmaron at the 1896 Athens Olympics.jpg|thumb|[[Spyridon Louis]] entering the [[Panathenaic Stadium]] at the end of the marathon; [[1896 Summer Olympics]]]] [[File:Charisteas' Siegtreffer im Finale der Euro 2004.jpg|thumb|[[Angelos Charisteas]] scoring Greece's winning goal in the [[UEFA Euro 2004 Final]]]] {{Main|Sports in Greece}} Greece is the birthplace of the [[ancient Olympic Games]], first recorded in 776 BC in [[Olympia, Greece|Olympia]], and hosted the modern [[Olympic Games]] twice, the inaugural [[1896 Summer Olympics]] and the [[2004 Summer Olympics]]. During the parade of nations, Greece is always called first, as the founding nation of the ancient precursor of the modern Olympics. The nation has competed at every [[Summer Olympic Games]], one of only four countries to have done so. Having won a total of 129 medals (36 gold, 46 silver and 47 bronze), Greece is ranked 35th by gold medals in the [[All-time Olympic Games medal table|all-time Summer Olympic medal count]]. Their best ever performance was in the 1896 Summer Olympics, when Greece finished second in the [[1896 Summer Olympics medal table|medal table]] with 10 gold medals. The [[Greece national football team]], ranked 47th in the [[FIFA World Rankings|world]] as of 2024 (and having reached a high of 8th in 2008 and 2011),{{cite web|url= https://inside.fifa.com/fifa-world-ranking/men|title=Men's Rankings |publisher=[[FIFA]] |access-date=25 May 2026|date=May 2026}} were crowned [[UEFA European Championship#Teams reaching the final|European Champions]] in [[UEFA Euro 2004|Euro 2004]] in one of the biggest upsets in the history of the sport.{{cite news |last= McNulty |first= Phil |title= Greece Win Euro 2004 | url= https://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/euro_2004/3860105.stm |publisher= BBC | work = News |access-date=7 May 2007 |date= 4 July 2004}} The [[Super League Greece|Greek Super League]] is the highest professional football league, comprising fourteen teams. The most successful are [[Olympiacos F.C.|Olympiacos]], [[Panathinaikos F.C.|Panathinaikos]], and [[AEK Athens F.C.|AEK Athens]]. The [[Greece national basketball team|Greek national basketball team]] has a decades-long tradition of excellence and is considered among the world's top basketball powers. {{As of|2026}}, it ranked 12th in the [[FIBA World Rankings|world]] and 7th in [[FIBA Europe|Europe]].{{cite web |url=http://www.fiba.com/pages/eng/fc/even/rank/rankMen.asp |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070607092902/http://www.fiba.com/pages/eng/fc/even/rank/rankMen.asp |archive-date=7 June 2007 | title = Ranking Men after Olympic Games: Tournament Men (2008) |date=August 2008 |access-date=24 August 2008 | publisher= [[International Basketball Federation]]}} They have won the [[EuroBasket|European Championship]] twice in [[EuroBasket 1987|1987]] and [[EuroBasket 2005|2005]],{{cite news |last=Wilkinson |first=Simon |url=https://www.espn.com/nba/news/story?id=2172612 |title=Greece Tops Germany for Euro Title |access-date=7 May 2007 |date=26 September 2005 |publisher=[[ESPN]]}} and have reached the final four in two of the last four [[FIBA World Championship]]s, taking the second place in the world in [[2006 FIBA World Championship]]. The domestic top basketball league, [[A1 Ethniki]], has fourteen teams. The most successful Greek teams are [[Panathinaikos BC|Panathinaikos]], [[Olympiacos B.C.|Olympiacos]], [[Aris B.C.|Aris Thessaloniki]], [[AEK Athens B.C.|AEK Athens]] and [[P.A.O.K. B.C.|PAOK]]. Greek basketball teams are the [[Euroleague#Finals|most successful]] in [[Euroleague#Titles|European basketball the last 25 years]]. After the [[FIBA EuroBasket 2005|2005 European Championship]] triumph of the Greek national basketball team, Greece became the reigning European Champion in both football and basketball. The [[Greece women's national water polo team]] have emerged as one of the leading powers in the world, becoming [[Water polo at the World Aquatics Championships#Women's tournament|World Champions]] in [[Water polo at the 2011 World Aquatics Championships – Women's tournament|2011]]. They won gold at the [[2005 FINA Women's Water Polo World League|2005 World League]] and silver at the [[2010 Women's European Water Polo Championship|2010]] and [[2012 Women's European Water Polo Championship|2012 European Championships]]. The [[Greece men's national water polo team]] became the third best water polo team in the world in [[2005 World Aquatics Championships|2005]]. The domestic top water polo leagues, [[A1 Ethniki Water Polo|Greek Men's Water Polo League]] and [[A1 Ethniki Women's Water Polo|Greek Women's Water Polo League]] are considered amongst the top national leagues in European water polo, as its clubs have made significant success in European competitions. The [[Greece men's national volleyball team|Greek men's national volleyball team]] has won two bronze medals, one in the [[Men's European Volleyball Championship|European Volleyball Championship]] and another one in the [[Men's European Volleyball League]]. The Greek league, the [[A1 Ethniki Volleyball|A1 Ethniki]], is considered one of the top volleyball leagues in Europe and Greek clubs have had significant success in European competitions. [[Olympiacos S.C.|Olympiacos]] is the most successful volleyball club in the country. In handball, [[AC Diomidis Argous]] is the only Greek club to have won a [[EHF Challenge Cup|European Cup]]. === Public holidays and festivals === {{Main|Public holidays in Greece}} [[File:Virgin Mary procession, Chora of Naxos, 118916.jpg|thumb|upright=0.8|Procession in honour of the Assumption of [[Mary, mother of Jesus|Virgin Mary]] (15 August), a major holiday]] According to Greek law, every Sunday of the year is a public holiday. Since the late '70s, Saturday has also been a non-school and non-working day. In addition, there are four mandatory official public holidays: 25 March (''[[Greek Independence Day]]''), [[Easter Monday]], 15 August (''[[Dormition of the Mother of God|Assumption or Dormition of the Holy Virgin]]''), and 25 December (''Christmas''). 1 May (''Labour Day'') and 28 October (''[[Ohi Day]]'') are regulated by law as being optional but it is customary for employees to be given the day off. There are, however, more public holidays celebrated in Greece than announced by the Ministry of Labour each year as either obligatory or optional, giving a total of eleven national holidays each year. In addition to the national holidays, there are public holidays that are celebrated only by a specific professional group or a local community. For example, many municipalities have a "Patron Saint" parallel to "[[Name days in Greece|Name Days]]", or a "Liberation Day".{{cite web|url=http://www.eortologio.gr/index_uk.php |title=Greek Name Days for the Year 2018 |access-date=20 May 2021}} Notable festivals, beyond the religious feasts, include [[Patras Carnival]], [[Athens Festival]], and local wine festivals. The city of [[Thessaloniki]] is also home of a number of festivals and events. The [[International Thessaloniki Film Festival|Thessaloniki International Film Festival]] is one of the most important film festivals in Southern Europe.{{cite web|url=http://www.filmfestival.gr/default.aspx?lang=el-GR&loc=1&page=586|script-title=el:Διεθνές Φεστιβάλ Κινηματογράφου Θεσσαλονίκης – Προφίλ|trans-title=Thessaloniki International Film Festival – Profile|language=el|access-date=3 September 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150905090357/http://www.filmfestival.gr/default.aspx?lang=el-GR&loc=1&page=586|archive-date=5 September 2015}} {{Clear}} == See also == {{Portal|Greece|Countries|Ancient Greece|Europe|European Union }} * [[Outline of Greece]] ** [[Outline of ancient Greece]] {{Clear}} == Notes == {{reflist|group="lower-alpha"}} == References == === Citations === {{reflist}} === Bibliography === {{Main|Bibliography of Greece}} {{refbegin|30em}} * {{cite book |last1=Bottici |first1=Chiara |last2=Challand |first2=Benoît |year=2013 |title=The Myth of the Clash of Civilizations |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QW1lrPMXprwC&pg=PA88 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-1-136-95119-0 }} * {{Cite book |last=Chadwick |first=John |author-link=John Chadwick |title=The Decipherment of Linear B |publisher=Cambridge University Press |year=1990 |isbn=0-521-39830-4 |edition=2nd |orig-date=1958}} *{{Cite book | last = Clogg | first = Richard | title = A Concise History of Greece | pages = 10–37 | publisher = Cambridge University Press | year = 1992 | edition = 1st | isbn = 978-0-521-37228-2 | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=H5pyUIY4THYC&q=richard%20clogg%20greece | access-date = 23 March 2016 }}, 257 pp. *{{cite book | last =Dagtoglou | first = PD | title = Constitutional Law – Individual Rights | volume = I | year = 1991 |publisher=Ant. N. Sakkoulas |location=Athens-Komotini |language=el |chapter=Protection of Individual Rights}} * {{cite book |last=Duchesne |first=Ricardo |title=The Uniqueness of Western Civilization |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=pWmDPzPo0XAC&pg=PA297 |year=2011 |publisher=BRILL |isbn=978-90-04-19248-5 |author-link=Ricardo Duchesne }} * {{Cite book|last1=Fafalios|first1=Maria|last2=Hadjipateras |first2=Costas|year=1995|title=Greece 1940–41: Eyewitnessed |publisher=Efstathiadis |language=el|location=Athens|isbn=978-960-226-533-8}} *{{Cite book | first = John Van Antwerp | last = Fine | title = The Early Medieval Balkans: A Critical Survey from the Sixth to the Late Twelfth Century | publisher = University of Michigan Press | year = 1991 | isbn = 978-0-472-08149-3 | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=Y0NBxG9Id58C | access-date = 23 March 2016 }}, 376 pp. *{{Cite book |author-link=Hans-Joachim Gehrke |first=Hans-Joachim |last=Gehrke |title=Geschichte des Hellenismus |year=1995 |publisher=Oldenbourg Wissenschaftsverlag |series=Oldenbourg Grundriss der Geschichte |language=de |location=München}} * {{cite book|last=Hatzopoulos|first=Marios|title=The making of Modern Greece: Nationalism, Romanticism, and the Uses of the Past (1797–1896)|chapter=From resurrection to insurrection: 'sacred' myths, motifs, and symbols in the Greek War of Independence|year=2009|publisher=Ashgate|editor1-first=Roderick|editor1-last=Beaton|editor2-first=David|editor2-last=Ricks|pages=81–93|chapter-url=https://www.academia.edu/985519}} *{{Cite book |author-link=Simon Hornblower |first=Simon |last=Hornblower |title=The Greek World, 479-323 BC |publisher=Routledge |year=2011 |series=Routledge History of the Ancient World| location=London |edition=4th}} * {{cite book|last=Knodell|first=Alex R.|year=2021|title=Societies in Transition in Early Greece: An Archaeological History|location=Oakland, CA|publisher=University of California Press|url=https://www.academia.edu/49319878|doi=10.1525/luminos.101|doi-access=free|isbn=978-0-520-38054-7}} *{{cite book|last1=Koliopoulos|first1=John S.|last2=Veremis |first2=Thanos M.|title=Greece: The Modern Sequel. From 1831 to the Present |publisher=Hurst & Co.|year=2002|location=London}} *{{cite journal|last=Kostopoulos|first=Tasos|title=La guerre civile macédonienne de 1903–1908 et ses représentations dans l'historiographie nationale grecque|journal=Cahiers Balkaniques|volume=38–39|year=2011|pages=213–226|doi=10.4000/ceb.835|doi-access=free}} *{{cite journal|first=Vassilis|last=Kremmydas |script-title=el:Η οικονομική κρίση στον ελλαδικό χώρο στις αρχές του 19ου αιώνα και οι επιπτώσεις της στην Επανάσταση του 1821|trans-title=The economic crisis in Greek lands in the beginning of 19th century and its effects on the Revolution of 1821|language=el|journal=Μνήμων|volume=6|date=1977|pages=16–33|doi=10.12681/mnimon.171|doi-access=free}} *{{cite journal|first=Vassilis|last=Kremmydas|date=2002 |script-title=el:Προεπαναστατικές πραγματικότητες. Η οικονομική κρίση και η πορεία προς το Εικοσιένα|trans-title=Pre-revolutionary realities. The economic crisis and the course to '21|language=el|journal=Μνήμων|volume=24|issue=2 |pages=71–84|doi=10.12681/mnimon.735|doi-access=free}} * {{cite journal |last1=Livanios |first1=Dimitris |title='Conquering the souls': nationalism and Greek guerrilla warfare in Ottoman Macedonia, 1904-1908 |journal=Byzantine and Modern Greek Studies |date=1999 |volume=23 |pages=195–221 |doi=10.1179/byz.1999.23.1.195 }} *{{cite book |last= Mavrias | first= Kostas G |title= Constitutional Law |year= 2002| publisher= Ant. N. Sakkoulas | location =Athens |language=el |isbn=978-960-15-0663-0}} * {{cite journal |last1=Mazower |first1=Mark |title=The Messiah and the bourgeoisie: Venizelos and politics in Greece, 1909–1912 |journal=The Historical Journal |date=December 1992 |volume=35 |issue=4 |pages=885–904 |doi=10.1017/S0018246X00026200 }} *{{cite book |last=Mazower |first=Mark |year=2001 |title=Inside Hitler's Greece: The Experience of Occupation, 1941–44 |publisher=Yale University Press |isbn=978-0-300-08923-3 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=KqTkwv2s3GkC }} *{{cite book |last=Mazower |first=Mark |year=2016 |author-link=Mark Mazower |title=After the War Was Over: Reconstructing the Family, Nation, and State in Greece, 1943-1960 |isbn=978-1-4008-8443-8 |publisher=Princeton University Press |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=LwnfDAAAQBAJ }} {{cite book |last=McEnroe |first=John C. |title=Architecture of Minoan Crete: Constructing Identity in the Aegean Bronze Age |location=Austin |publisher=University of Texas Press |year=2010}} * {{Cite book |last=Neer |first=Richard |title=Art & Archaeology of the Greek World | publisher=Thames & Hudson| year=2019| isbn=978-0-500-05208-2 |edition=2nd}} * {{cite journal |last1=Pappas |first1=Takis S. |title=The transformation of the Greek party system since 1951 |journal=West European Politics |date=April 2003 |volume=26 |issue=2 |pages=90–114 |doi=10.1080/01402380512331341121 }} * {{cite book |last1=Renfrew |first1=Colin |author-link1=Colin Renfrew |title=The Oxford Handbook of the Bronze Age Aegean |chapter=Cyclades |date=2012 |pages=83–96 |doi=10.1093/oxfordhb/9780199873609.013.0006 |isbn=978-0-19-987360-9 }} *{{Cite book |last=Roudometof |first=Victor |date=2001 |title=Nationalism, Globalization, and Orthodoxy: The Social Origins of Ethnic Conflict in the Balkans |place=[[Westport, Connecticut]] |publisher=[[Greenwood Publishing Group]] |isbn=978-0-313-31949-5 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=I9p_m7oXQ00C }} * {{cite magazine |last=Salgarella |first=Ester |year=2022 |title=Cracking the Cretan code |url=https://aeon.co/essays/without-a-rosetta-stone-can-linguists-decipher-minoan-script |magazine=Aeon |access-date=30 March 2024 |archive-date=20 January 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240120230134/https://aeon.co/essays/without-a-rosetta-stone-can-linguists-decipher-minoan-script |url-status=dead }} * {{Cite book |last=Sansone |first=David |title=Ancient Greek civilization |publisher=Wiley |year=2004 |isbn=978-0-631-23236-0}} *{{Cite book |author-link=:de:Wolfgang Schuller |first=Wolfgang |last=Schuller |title=Griechische Geschichte |publisher=Oldenbourg Wissenschaftsverlag |year=2008 |series=Oldenbourg Grundriss der Geschichte |language=de |location=München |edition=6th}} * {{cite encyclopedia |last=Tomas |first=Helena |year=2012 |title=Cretan Hieroglyphic and Linear A |editor-last=Cline |editor-first=Eric |encyclopedia=The Oxford Handbook of the Bronze Age Aegean |pages=340–355 |publisher=Oxford University Press |doi=10.1093/oxfordhb/9780199873609.013.0026 |isbn=978-0-19-987360-9}} * {{cite encyclopedia |last1=Tomkins |first1=Peter |last2=Schoep |first2=Ilse |year=2012 |title=Early Bronze Age: Crete |editor-last=Cline |editor-first=Eric |encyclopedia=The Oxford Handbook of the Bronze Age Aegean |publisher=Oxford University Press |doi=10.1093/oxfordhb/9780199873609.013.0005 |isbn=978-0-19-987360-9}} *{{Cite book |last=Trudgill |first=P. |contribution=Greece and European Turkey: From Religious to Linguistic Identity |editor1-first=S. |editor1-last=Barbour |editor2-first=C. |editor2-last=Carmichael |year=2000 |title=Language and Nationalism in Europe |location=[[Oxford]] |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]]}}. *{{cite book |author-link=Evangelos Venizelos| last=Venizelos| first=Evangelos| title=The "Acquis" of the Constitutional Revision |year=2002 |publisher=Ant. N. Sakkoulas |location=Athens |language=el |isbn = 978-960-15-0617-3 |chapter=The Contribution of the Revision of 2001}} *{{cite book | author-link = F. W. Walbank | last = Walbank| first = F. W. | title = The Hellenistic World | year= 1993 | publisher= Harvard University Press |location= Cambridge, Massachusetts | edition= Revised}} * {{cite book |last=Watrous |first=L. Vance |year=2021 |title=Minoan Crete: An Introduction |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-1-108-44049-3}} *{{cite book |last=Worthington |first=Ian |title=Demosthenes of Athens and the Fall of Classical Greece |year=2015 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-026356-0}} *{{Citation |title=Ἑλλάς - Ἑλληνισμὸς |trans-title=Greece – Hellenism |url=http://anemi.lib.uoc.gr/php/pdf_pager.php?filename=%2Fvar%2Fwww%2Fanemi-portal%2Fmetadata%2Fa%2Ff%2Fb%2Fattached-metadata-01-0002588%2F279838_10.pdf&rec=%2Fmetadata%2Fa%2Ff%2Fb%2Fmetadata-01-0002588.tkl&do=279838_10.pdf&width=662&height=963&pagestart=1&maxpage=1104&lang=en&pageno=1&pagenotop=1&pagenobottom=262 |work=Μεγάλη Ἐλληνικὴ Ἐγκυκλοπαιδεῖα |trans-work=Great Greek Encyclopedia |volume=10 |location=Athens |publisher=Pyrsos Co. Ltd. |date=1934 |language=el |ref={{harvid|Great Greek Encyclopedia}} }} {{refend}} === Further reading === {{refbegin}} * "Minorities in Greece – Historical Issues and New Perspectives". ''History and Culture of South Eastern Europe''. An Annual Journal. München (Slavica) 2003. *{{cite book |title=The Constitution of Greece |year=2008 |translator1=Paparrigopoulos, Xenophon |translator2=Vassilouni, Stavroula |publisher=[[Hellenic Parliament]] |location=Athens |isbn=978-960-560-073-0 |url=http://www.hellenicparliament.gr/UserFiles/f3c70a23-7696-49db-9148-f24dce6a27c8/001-156%20aggliko.pdf |access-date=21 March 2011}} {{refend}} == External links == {{Sister project links|Greece|voy =Greece}} *{{Wikiatlas |Greece}} *{{osmrelation-inline |192307}} {{Greece topics}} {{Navboxes |list= {{Countries of Europe}} {{Council of Europe members}} {{Member states of the European Union}} {{Countries and territories bordering the Mediterranean Sea}} {{European Economic Area (EEA)}} {{Founding member states of the United Nations}} }} {{Authority control}} {{coord |39|N|22|E|type:country_region:GR|display =title}} [[Category:Greece| ]] [[Category:1821 establishments in Europe]] [[Category:Countries in the Balkans]] [[Category:Countries in Europe]] [[Category:Member states of NATO]] [[Category:Member states of the European Union]] [[Category:Member states of the Organisation internationale de la Francophonie]] [[Category:Member states of the Three Seas Initiative]] [[Category:Member states of the Union for the Mediterranean]] [[Category:Member states of the United Nations]] [[Category:New Testament places]] [[Category:Republics]] [[Category:Countries and territories where Greek is an official language]] [[Category:States and territories established in 1821]] [[Category:Christian states]] [[Category:OECD members]]