Facts about Greece
Most of Greece was part of the Ottoman Empire from the fourteenth century until its declaration of independence in 1821.
The Cabinet of Greece includes the heads of all executive ministries, appointed by the president on the recommendation of the prime minister.
Immediately afterwards, over one million native Greeks of Turkey had to leave for Greece as a population exchange with hundreds of thousands of Muslims living in the Greek state.
The Aegean Sea lies to the east and south of mainland Greece, while the Ionian Sea lies to the west.
At the start of the war Greece sided with the Allies and refused to give in to Italian demands.
The Mycenaean proto-Greeks were probably the first historical people to arrive in the area now referred to as 'Greece' (the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula) in the 16th century B.C.E.
From the late eighth century, the empire began to recover from the devastating impact of successive invasions, and the reconquest of Greece began.
During the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, in a series of wars with the Ottomans, Greece sought to enlarge its boundaries to include the ethnic Greek population of the Ottoman Empire.
The Mycenaean period takes its name from the archaeological site Mycenae in the northeastern Argolid, in the Peloponnesos of southern Greece.
The mountains of Greece were largely untouched, and were a refuge for Greeks to flee foreign rule.
Towards the end of the nineteenth century, Greece aimed to expand its territory.
Greece has an extensive navy, with Hydra class and more Standard class frigates.
One of the earliest civilizations to appear around Greece was the Minoan civilization in Crete, which lasted approximately from 2700 (Early Minoan) B.C.E.
Ancient Greece is considered to be the foundational culture of Western Civilization.
Hitler then reluctantly stepped in, primarily to secure his strategic southern flank: troops from Germany, Bulgaria and Italy successfully invaded Greece, overcoming Greek, British, Australian and New Zealand units.
On January 1, 1981, Greece entered the European Union, and has experienced an unprecedented period of prosperity ever since.
Their general, Epaminondas, crushed Sparta at the Battle of Leuctra in 371 B.C.E., inaugurating a period of Theban dominance in Greece.
Greece operates a capitalist economy that produced a GDP of $305.595-billion in 2006.
Four-fifths of Greece consist of mountains or hills, making the country one of the most mountainous in Europe.
Despite the country's numerically small and ill-equipped armed forces, Greece made a decisive contribution to the Allied efforts in World War II.
After liberation, Greece experienced an equally bitter civil war—between communist insurgents and the government forces (that encompassed republicans, liberals, fascists, royalists and conservatives) ; it lasted until 1949.
Most rivers in Greece are short, unsuitable for navigation, and of limited use for irrigation.
Under Kostas Simitis's stewardship, Greece completed its move to the Euro zone in 2001 and the country successfully organized the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens.
Greece borders Albania, the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to the east.
The basic unit of politics in Ancient Greece was the polis, sometimes translated as city-state.
Greece's technology parks with incubator facilities include the Science and Technology Park of Crete (Heraklion), the Thessaloniki Technology Park, the Lavrio Technology Park, and the Patras Science Park.
When the Dorians came down into Greece they also were equipped with superior iron weapons, easily dispersing the already weakened Mycenaeans.
The cuisine of Greece has influences from Italian, Balkan and Middle Eastern cuisine.
Under Constantine, Greece was part of the prefectures of Macedonia and Thrace.
Having defeated the Bulgarians in 1371 and the Serbs in 1389, the Ottomans advanced south into Greece proper, capturing Athens in 1458.
Given that Greece is a peninsula, shipping in ancient times was the natural way for Greeks to reach their neighboring people, trade with them and expand by establishing colonies.
During the Hellenistic period the importance of "Greece proper" (that is, the territory of modern Greece) within the Greek-speaking world declined sharply.
The tourism industry is a major source of foreign exchange earnings and revenue accounting for 15 percent of Greece’s total GDP and employing (directly or indirectly) 659,719 people (or 16.5 percent of total employment).
In 2005, Greece welcomed almost 18 million visitors and in 2006 that figure almost reached 20 million.
Greece's post-compulsory secondary education consists of two school types: unified upper secondary schools and technical-vocational schools, as well as vocational training institutes.
Many of the most important Byzantine churches in around Athens, for example, were built during these two centuries, and this reflects the growth of urbanization in Greece during this period.
Greece (Greek: ?????? or ????? ), officially the Hellenic Republic (Greek: ???????? ?????????? ), is a country in Southeastern Europe, situated on the southern end of the Balkan Peninsula.
When the Byzantine Empire was rescued from a period of crisis by the resolute leadership of the three Komnenoi emperors Alexios (1048-1118), John (1087-1143) and Manuel (1118-1180) in the twelfth century, Greece prospered.
Greece also includes one autonomous region, the Monastic Community of the Holy Mountain, Mount Athos.
The Greek campaign was launched because the western Allies, particularly British Prime Minister David Lloyd George, had promised Greece territorial gains at the expense of the Ottoman Empire.
By the middle of the ninth century, Greece was Greek again, and the cities began to recover due to improved security and the restoration of effective central control.
The constitution of Greece recognizes the Greek Orthodox faith as the "prevailing" religion of the country, while guaranteeing freedom of religious belief for all.
During this period Greece experienced a decline in population and literacy.
The eleventh and twelfth centuries are said to be the Golden Age of Byzantine art in Greece.
Macedon became more politically involved with the south-central city-states of Greece.
Fifty percent of Greece is covered by forests with a rich varied vegetation which spans from Alpine coniferous to the Mediterranean type vegetation.
Greece is divided in 13 peripheries, further divided into 51 prefectures, the "Nomoi."
Mycenaean Greece is the Late Helladic Bronze Age civilization of Ancient Greece, which lasted from the arrival of the Greeks in the Aegean around 1600 B.C.E.
The costumes of Greece are a rich part of a multi-layered cultural history.
The percentage figures represent citizenship, since Greece does not collect data on ethnicity.
Greece also experienced something of a Neo-Byzantine revival following the Greek Revolution, and quite unsurprisingly, also experienced a growth in Neo-Classical Architecture in the years following the revolution.
A bustling and cosmopolitan metropolis with an urban population of 3.3 million and total population of about 3.8 million, Athens is central to economic, financial, industrial, political and cultural life in Greece.
During the second and third centuries, Greece was divided into provinces including Achaea, Macedonia, Epirus, Thrace and Moesia.
Research and development spending in Greece remains lower than the EU average of 1.93 percent.
Greece is one of the few places in Europe where the day-to-day role of folk dance is sustained.
Non-negligible parties include the Communist Party of Greece, the Coalition of the Radical Left and the Popular Orthodox Rally.
Modern Greece, a developed country and a member of the European Union since 1981, lies at the juncture of Europe, Asia, and Africa.
Athens is the capital and largest city in Greece, and as one of the world's oldest cities, its recorded history spans at least 3000 years.
The history of music in Greece begins with the music of ancient Greece, largely structured on the lyre and other supporting string instruments of the era.
The Greeks are a nation and ethnic group who have populated Greece and the area of the Aegean Sea for over 3500 years.
Having formally applied for full membership in 2003, Greece became ESA's sixteenth member on March 16 2005.
The only minority in Greece which receives special treatment is the Muslim minority in Thrace, which amounts to approximately 0.95 percent of the total population.
Greece ranks first in both tankers and dry bulk carriers, fourth in the number of containers, and fourth in other ships.
During the years of Occupation of Greece by Nazi Germany, thousands of Greeks died in direct combat, in concentration camps or of starvation.
Greece was the first Mediterranean country to receive guided missile destroyers, which have since been decommissioned.
The 1975 constitution, which describes Greece as a "presidential parliamentary republic," includes extensive specific guarantees of civil liberties and vests the powers of the head of state in a president elected by parliament.
Greece's percentage of respondents asserting that they believe there is a God was the third highest among EU members behind Malta and Cyprus.
The Greeks were finally defeated at the Battle of Corinth in 146 BC. ... Despite being ruled by Rome, much of the Greek culture remained the same and had a heavy influence on Roman culture. Primary Causes. There were many factors that went into the decline and fall of Ancient Greece.
Hades did not live on Mount Olympus with the other gods. He ruled the kingdom of the dead, known as the Underworld. ... Aphrodite was the most beautiful goddess. ... Hera was queen of the gods and the wife of Zeus. ... Zeus was the king of the gods. ... Athena was the goddess of wisdom and war. ... Poseidon was the god of the sea.
The culture of Greece has evolved over thousands of years, beginning in Mycenaean Greece, continuing most notably into Classical Greece, through the influence of the Roman Empire and its successor the Byzantine Empire.
Most customs and traditions in Greece and the Greek Islands are of a religious nature, but some stem from paganism. Easter is by far the most important celebration for the Greeks, even Christmas comes second. The celebrations for Easter truly begin two months before, but Holy Week is the peak of these activities.Apr 8, 2010
Fasolada, a white-bean soup defined in many cookery books as the traditional Greek dish, sometimes even called "the national food of the Greeks". It is made of beans, tomatoes, carrot and a generous amount of celery usually served with a variety of salty side dishes(like olives or anchovies).
Greeks are master of charcoal-grilled and spit-roasted meats. Souvlaki is still Greece's favourite fast food, both the gyros and skewered meat versions wrapped in pitta bread, with tomato, onion and lashings of tzatziki. At the taverna, local free-range lamb and pork dominate, though kid goat is also a favourite.
The Greeks eat bread, grains, potatoes, rice, and pasta nearly every day. Staples of the Greek diet include olives (and olive oil), eggplant, cucumbers, tomatoes, spinach, lentils, and other types of beans, lemons, nuts, honey, yogurt, feta cheese, eggs, fish, chicken, and lamb.
The truth is, hummus has been made all over these areas for hundreds of years, a dish likely imported west from the chickpea-growing Arab countries to Greece. The only major difference between hummuses lies in how much cumin and tahini, or sesame paste, is used. Turkish hummus substitutes butter for olive oil.Apr 22, 2014
The oldest (2nd century BCE) recipe that resembles a similar dessert is the honey covered baked layered-dough dessert placenta of Roman times, which Patrick Faas identifies as the origin of baklava: "The Greeks and the Turks still argue over which dishes were originally Greek and which Turkish.
List of cities in GreeceRankCityCensus 19911Athens1 *772,0722Thessaloniki2 *383,9673Piraeus1,3182,6714Patras152,57076 more rows
The ancient name of the country is Hellas or Hellada (Greek: Ελλάς, Ελλάδα; in polytonic: Ἑλλάς, Ἑλλάδα) and its official name is the Hellenic Republic. In English, however, the country is usually called Greece, which comes from Latin Graecia (as used by the Romans) and literally means 'the land of the Greeks'.
The term Ancient, or Archaic, Greece refers to the time three centuries before the classical age, between 800 B.C. and 500 B.C.—a relatively sophisticated period in world history. Archaic Greece saw advances in art, poetry and technology, but most of all it was the age in which the polis, or city-state, was invented.