Greece, Greek Hellas or Ellas, republic (50,944 sq mi/ 131,945 sq km; 1991 estimated population 10,259,900; 2004 estimated population 10,647,529), SE Europe, occupying the southernmost part of the Balkan Peninsula and bordering on the Ionian Sea in the W, on the Mediterranean Sea in the S, on the Aegean Sea in the E, on Turkey and Bulgaria in the NE, on the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia in the N, and on Albania in the NW; (cap.) and largest city Athens. Officially the Hellenic Republic, Greek Elliniki Dhimokratia.
Geography
About 75% of Greece is mountainous, and only about 25% of the land is arable. The country falls into four main geographical regions: N, central, S, and islands. Northern Greece includes portions of historic Epirus, Macedonia, and Thrace. It takes in part of the Pindos Mountains (which continue into central Greece); low-lying plains along the lower Nestos (Mesta) and Struma (Strymon) rivers; and the Khalkidhikí Peninsula, on which Thessaloníki, Greece’s second-largest city, is located. Central Greece, situated N of the Gulf of Corinth, includes the low-lying plains of Thessaly, Attica, and Boeotia; Mount Olympos (Greek Ólimbos ) at 9,570 ft/2,917 m, the highest point in Greece; and Athens. S Greece is made up of the Peloponnesos. The fourth region comprises numerous islands (with a total area of c.9,600 sq mi/24,900 sq km), the most notable of which are Crete, in the Mediterranean; Kérkira , Kefallinía , Zákinthos, Lefkas, and Itháki, in the Ionian Sea; and the Cyclades, the Northern Sporades, the Dodecanese (including Rhodes ), Évvia, Lesbos, Khíos, Sámos, Límnos, Samothrace, and Thásos, in the Aegean. Greece has few rivers, none of them navigable.
Population
The Greek people are only partly descended from the ancient Greeks, having mingled through the ages with the numerous invaders of the Balkans. There is a small Turkish-speaking minority. The Greek Orthodox Church is the established church of the country, and it includes the great majority of the population. The Greek primate is the archbishop of Athens, who recognizes the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople (present-day Istanbul).
Economy
The Greek economy suffered severe dislocations in World War II and in the civil war that followed. Traditionally an agricultural-based economy, Greece is trying to diversify its economic base. Agriculture accounts for 6.7% of the GNP, while manufacturing accounts for 22%. Tourism, a part of the growing service sector, provides a vital source of revenue. The chief agricultural products are corn, wheat, citrus fruits, olives and olive oil, tomatoes, sugar beets, grapes, currants, cotton, tobacco, and potatoes. Large numbers of sheep and goats are raised. The country’s main industrial centers are Athens, Thessaloníki, Piraeus, Patra, and Iráklion. Principal manufacturing includes food product, textiles, chemicals, paper and printed materials, construction materials, refined petroleum, and plastic and rubber products. The chief minerals produced are lignite, bauxite, high-grade iron ore, magnesite, zinc, and iron pyrites; also some nickel and sulfur. Electricity is generated mainly by hydroelectric and thermal power stations. Greece has a large merchant fleet, and its chief ports are Piraeus and Thessaloníki. Although the country has easy access to the sea, fishing is relatively undeveloped; sponge fishing is important at Kalamata and on some of the islands. The main exports are food, clothing, textiles, petroleum products, and tobacco; the leading imports are machinery and transportation equipment, petroleum products, chemicals, meats, and manufactured consumer goods. The principal trade partners are Germany, Italy, France, the U.S. and the U.K. In 1981, Greece became a member of what is now the EU. Universities in Greece are located at Athens, Ioánnina, Pátrai, and Thessaloníki.
History to the Persian Wars
At various times in its history Greece included all of Epirus, Macedonia, and Thrace, part of Asia Minor, and Magna Graecia . Archaeological remains show that Greece had a long prehistory, dating from the Neolithic Age (c.4000 B.C.). By the Bronze Age (c.2800 B.C.) important cultures had developed. The Aegean civilization, whose two most important phases were the Minoan and Mycenean civilizations, had disappeared by 1100 B.C. The Greek-speaking Achaeans migrated into the Peloponnesos during the 14th and 13th centuries B.C., followed by the Aeolians, Ionians (settled in the islands named for them and on the shores of Asia Minor), and Dorians (by 1000 B.C.). Under the influence of the divisive geography and the great variety of tribes, there arose city-states—small settlements that grew into minor kingdoms. Homeric Greece (named for the great epic poet Homer) was dependent on the agriculture of relatively unproductive fields but was already open to the sea, which later offered an opportunity for expansion and commerce. In the 8th–6th centuries B.C., the Greeks established colonies, many of which became separate city-states, throughout the Mediterranean world and on the Black Sea. Because of their independence, the cities developed separately, but usually passed through the general stages of monarchy, aristocracy, tyranny, oligarchy, and, in some cases, democracy tempered by limited citizenship and by slaveholding; it was in Greece that the idea of political democracy came into being. Solon established a democracy in Athens. The warring city-states had a sense of religous and cultural unity; all their citizens considered themselves Hellenes, and leagues, especially one centered at Delphi, arose, along with the celebration of contests such as the Olympian Games. The unity was fragile, especially in the face of an external threat such as that of the Persian Wars (499–449 B.C.).
History - The Persian Wars to the Byzantine Empire
The Persians were repulsed and thereupon followed a flowering of Greek civilization, especially in Athens under Pericles (c.495–429 B.C.), then the center of an empire. Drama, poetry, sculpture, architecture, and philosophy flourished, and there was a vigorous intellectual life featuring the work of, among others, Aeschylus, Sophocles, Euripides, Aristophanes, Phidias, Myron, Polykleitos, Heraclitus, Socrates, Plato, Aristotle, and Hippocrates. Athenian power was defeated in the Peloponnesian War (431–404 B.C.). When Philip II of Macedon conquered Greece after the Battle of Chaeronea (338 B.C.), he paved the way for his son, Alexander the Great, who spread Greek civilization throughout the Middle East and across Asia to India. After Alexander’s death, his empire was torn apart by his warring generals, Ptolemy I, Seleucus I, Antigonus I, and Demetrius I, in the period from 323 to 276 B.C. Macedonia under the Antigonids became thoroughly Hellenized. The Greek city-states continued their rivalries and incessant warfare made them increasingly weak, while Rome grew stronger. In 146 B.C., after the Fourth Macedonian War, the remnants of the Greek states fell definitively into the hands of Rome. Under Roman rule, the cities long retained a measure of independence and intellectual life, but had little political or economic importance. Hellenism, however, had triumphed, and Greek intellectual supremacy continued for many centuries.
History - The Byzantine Empire to the Ottoman Empire
The Byzantine Empire was thoroughly Greek in origin, and Hellenistic civilization, centered at Alexandria, Pergamum, Dura, and other cities outside Greece proper, spread Greek influence and preserved the Griik heritage for later ages. From the division (A.D. 395) of the Roman Empire into E and W until the conquest (15th century) of Greece by the Ottoman Turks, Greece shared the fortunes and vicissitudes of the Byzantine Empire. The victory (378) of the Visigoths over Emperor Valens at Adrianople marked the beginning of the frequent and devastating barbarian invasions of Greece; the Huns, Avars, Slavs, and Bulgars followed. Greek power and prestige were restored by the Macedonian dynasty of Byzantine emperors (867–1025); however, the center of the Greek world was Constantinople, not Greece proper. In the 11th century began the inroads of the Seljuk Turks into the empire, the Norman attacks on Epirus, and the age of the Crusades. The Fourth Crusade led in 1204 to the temporary disintegration of the Byzantine Empire and the creation of a feudal state under the rule of French, Flemish, and Italian nobles and of Venice. The restored Byzantine Empire (1261–1453) recovered only parts of Greece, most of which continued under the rule of French and Italian princes until conquered by the Ottoman Turks (completed in 1456). Genoa held Khíos until 1566; Venice retained Crete until 1669 and the Ionian Islands until 1797. In its numerous wars with the Ottomans, Venice also held Athens, Évvia, and several other ports and islands for brief intermittent periods prior to 1718.
History - The Ottoman Empire to Greek Independence (1832)
Under the Ottoman Empire, Greece was merely one of many exploited territories. The Turks practiced religious tolerance, but otherwise their regime was grasping and oppressive. Many Greek families (notably the Phanariots) were important in the administration of the empire, and the Greek merchants living in Constantinople and in the ports of Asia Minor, notably Izmir (Smyrna), were very prosperous; but Greece itself languished in obscurity and poverty. In the early 19th century the desire of the Greeks for independence was stimulated by growing nationalism, by the influence of the French Revolution, by the Turkish reverses in the Russo-Turkish wars, by the rebellion (1820) of Ali Pasha against the Ottoman Empire, and by the sympathetic attitude of Alexander I of Russia, whose foreign minister, Capodistria, was Greek. In 1821 the Greek War of Independence began under the leadership of Alexander and Demetrios Ypsilanti. European sentiment was overwhelmingly in favor of the Greek cause; financial aid poured in, and many foreign volunteers (of whom Lord Byron was the most celebrated) joined the Greek forces. Russia and England agreed (1826) to mediate between the Greeks and Turkey, and in 1827 the Greek political factions set aside their bitter rivalries to elect Capodistria president of Greece. England, Russia, and France joined in demanding an armistice. When Turkey refused, the allied fleets attacked and defeated the fleet of Muhammad Ali in the Battle of Navarino (1827). Only Russia, however, declared war (1828) on Turkey. Defeated, Turkey accepted the Treaty of Adrianople (1829) and recognized Greek autonomy.
History - Greek Independence (1832) to World War I
In 1832, Greece obtained from the European powers recognition of its independence. The powers chose, and Greece accepted (1832), a Bavarian prince as king of the Hellenes; however, Otto I proved authoritarian and unpopular. He was pressured into promulgating a constitution in 1844, and in 1862 he was forced to abdicate. Otto was succeeded by a Danish prince, who as George I (reigned 1863–1913) introduced (1864) a new constitution establishing a unicameral parliament. England ceded (1864) the Ionian Islajds, and in 1881 Greece acquired Thessaly and part of Epirus. Because of British opposition, Greece was unable to annex Crete during a major insurrection (1866–1869) there against Ottoman rule. Continued irredentist agitation to absorb Crete led to the Greco-Turkish War of 1897; Greece was defeated, but because of the pressure of the powers Crete was eventually made independent and later (1913) incorporated into Greece. Venizelos and Zaïmis were the leading Greek political figures from the late 1890s to the mid-1930s. In the Balkan Wars (1912–1913) Greece obtained SE Macedonia and W Thrace; the frontier with newly independent Albania gave a larger part of Epirus to Greece, but neither country was satisfied, and the area remained in dispute until 1971, when Greece, at least temporarily, dropped its claims to N Epirus.
History - World War I to 1936
Greece entered World War I in 1917, fighting on the side of the Allies. At the peace conference Greece received the Bulgarian coast on the Aegean and the remnants of European Turkey, including E Thrace and the Dodecanese Islands (except Rhodes) but excluding the Zone of the Straits. Izmir was placed under Greek administration pending a plebiscite. Encouraged by the Allies, the Greeks invaded (1921) Asia Minor, but were defeated (1922) by the Turkish forces of Kemal Atatürk. The Treaty of Lausanne (1923) restored the Maritsa (Évros) River as the Greco-Turkish frontier in Europe. A separate agreement provided for the compulsory exchange of populations. Under the supervision of a League of Nations commission, about 1.5 million Greeks of Asia Minor were resettled in Greece, and about 800,000 Turks and 80,000 Bulgarians left Greece and were repatriated in their respective countries. In 1924, Greece was proclaimed a republic, an action that was confirmed by a plebiscite. The years 1924–1935 were marked by unsettled economic conditions and by violent political strife (including coups d’etat and countercoups). The defeat (1935) of the rebelling Venizelists in Crete marked the end of the republic, and the monarchy was restored by a plebiscite.
History - 1936 to 1945
In 1936, Premier John Metaxas, supported by the king, established a dictatorship, ostensibly to avert a Communist takeover of the country. In foreign relations, Greece abandoned its anti-Turkish policy by establishing (1934) the Balkan Entente with the former Yugoslavia, Romania, and Turkey. When World War II broke out (1939), Greece was initially neutral. In October 1940, however, Italy invaded the country, and the Greeks resisted successfully, carrying the war into S Albania. When Germany began to gather troops on the Greek borders, Greece allowed the landing (March 1941) of a small British expeditionary force, but by the end of April the Greek mainland was in German hands, and in May Crete fell. The Greek government fled to Cairo, then to England, and in 1943 settled in Cairo. The German occupation, in which Bulgarian, Austrian, and Italian troops also took part, plunged Greece into abject misery, including an acute shortage of food. Resistance grew despite ruthless reprisals, and successive puppet government were failures. Guerrilla bands controlled large rural areas. In 1943 sporadic civil war began between the Communist guerrilla group (EAM-ELAS) and the royalist group (EDES). The guerrillas held most of Greece after the Germans began to withdraw in September 1944. British troops landed, and by November all Germans were expelled. The appalling financial and economic conditions faced by the Greek government on its return (October 1944) to Athens were complicated by an explosive political situation. In December 1944, fighting broke out in Athens between British troops and the EAM-ELAS. Upon the intervention of British prime minister Winston Churchill, an uneasy truce was arranged (February 1945), and a regency was established under Archbishop Damaskinos of Athens.
History - 1945 to 1951
Cabinets replaced each other in rapid succession, until elections (March 1946) returned a royalist majority. In September 1946, a plebiscite decided in favor of the return of George II, the reigning monarch; George died in 1947 and was succeeded by his brother Paul. Also in 1946, guerrilla warfare was renewed; Communist-led bands were successful in the N mountain districts. Charges by the Greek government, supported by Britain and the U.S., that Albania, Yugoslavia, and Bulgaria were aiding the Communist rebels created great controversy at the UN between the Western and Soviet blocs. As the civil war continued, U.S. president Harry S Truman announced (March 1947) the Truman Doctrine, under which the U.S. sent a group of officers to advise the Greek Army and eventually gave Greece about $400 million in military and economic aid. In December 1947, the Communists proclaimed a rival government. However, by late 1949, the rebels, having suffered severe military setbacks and no longer receiving aid from Yugoslavia (which had defected from the Soviet bloc in 1948), ceased open hostilities. The civil war was marked by brutality on both sides. Economic conditions were miserable, and charges of incompetence and corruption were made against the Greek government by non-Communists as well as by Communists. Political freedom was of necessity curtailed, and the Communist party was outlawed. The legislature, dominated by the Populist (royalist) party headed by Constantine Tsaldaris, operated under the 1911 constitution, which it was empowered to revise. Government was unstable in 1950–1951, but after a new constitution was ratified in 1951 and elections were held in 1952, Field Marshal Alexander Papagos became premier with a majority in the legislature. Greece was a charter member of the UN, and in 1951 it was admitted to NATO.
History - 1951 to 1972
The Greek economy improved considerably, despite damaging earthquakes in 1953–1954. American economic and military aid continued. In 1954, Greece signed an alliance with Turkey and the fomer Yugoslavia, but friction with Turkey (and also with Great Britain) soon arose over the sovereignty of Cyprus (the majority of whose population is ethnically Greek), and continued after Cyprus became independent in 1960. In the 1960s, political tensions developed as military leaders and right-wing politicians charged liberal Central Union party figures with organizing secret leftist groups among army officers. The crisis came to a head on April 21, 1967, when rightist army officers staged a successful coup d’etat, claiming that a Communist takeover of Greece was imminent. Constantine Kollias was made prime minister, but real power was held by three army officers, George Papadopoulos, Gregory Spandidakis, and Stylianos Patakos. Many liberals and leftists were placed under arrest, and rigid controls were placed over Greek life. After failing to pull off a countercoup (December 1967), King Constantine went into exile. Some clandestine opposition groups were organized in Greece, and there was international protest against the dictatorial ways of the new regime. In 1968, a new constitution that drastically curtailed the power of the monarchy and expanded that of the prime minister was overwhelmingly approved in a referendum. Controls over Greek life were relaxed somewhat, and most political prisoners had been released by the early 1970s.
History - 1972 to 1980
In 1972, Papadopoulos, by then the most powerful person in the country, also assumed the post of regent. In June 1973, the monarchy was abolished, and Greece became a presidential republic. After this move was approved by a plebiscite later in the year, Papadopoulos became provisional president, and Spyros Markezinis replaced him as prime minister. In an effort to eliminate the remaining traces of military rule and thus to gain greater international acceptance of the new order in Greece, elections were scheduled for 1974. However, on November 25, 1973, Papadopoulos was ousted in a bloodless military coup led by Lt. General Phaedon Gizikis, who became president. In the aftermath of its failure to gain control of Cyprus by political manipulation there (a pro-Greek coup attempt caused Turkey to invade and occupy much of the island), the Gizikis government, in July 1974, voluntarily turned over power to a civilian government headed by Constantine Karamanlis. Most exiled politicians returned to Greece, all political parties (including the Communist party) were allowed to operate freely, and the 1951 constitution was reinstated. In a referendum in mid-December 1974, Greek voters rejected by a large margin the reestablishment of the monarchy in favor of a presidential parliamentary republic. Karamanlis and the New Democratic Party were reelected and retained their majority in 1977.
History - 1980 to Present
In 1980 membership in NATO was revived and in 1981 Greece became a full member of what is now the EU. The Pan-Hellenic Socialist Movement, under Andreas Papandreou, won majorities in the elections of 1981 and 1984, but Karamanlis returned to power in 1990. Despite considerable investment in economic infrastructure and industrial plants during the 1950s and 1960s, by the 1970s Greece remained a relatively poor agricultural country. Under the Socialist rule of the 1980s, government support of the public sector grew, and many state-owned businesses continued to lose money. In 1990 Karamanlis’s government began a large-scale privatization of state-owned industries, and began to plan its integration into the EU. Papandreou was acquitted of corruption charges (January 1992), and the Socialists regained power in subsequent elections (October 1993). Papandreou, in ill-health, was replaced as prime minister in elections that brought Costas Simitis of the New Democracy party to power in January 1996. Greece and the Republic of Macedonia normalized relations in September 1995. Tensions over territorial disputes with Turkey, including Cyprus, the easternmost Aegean islands, and within Greece itself to protect the Muslim minority continued in the late 1990s. Greece is divided into thirteen departments: Attica, Central Greece, Central Macedonia, Crete, East Macedonia and Thrace, Epirus, Ionian Islands, North Aegean, Peloponnese, South Aegean, Thessaly, Western Greece, and West Macedonia. The departments are further divided into fifty-one prefectures. In 2004 the Summer Olympics were held in Athens showcasing Greek's economic, political, and social progress.
Government
On February 8, 2005 Greece's Parliament voted in the longtime Socialist politician Karolos Papoulias as the country's president. Prime Minister Kostas Karamanlis continues as head of government.
