Greece (Hellenic Republic)
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CultureGramsTM World Edition 2015 Greece (Hellenic Republic) Ancient Greece BACKGROUND Although the history of ancient Greece stretches back to 3000 BC, Athens had its beginnings in 1300 BC, and city-states Land and Climate began forming around 1000 BC. From this point, Greek Greece is about the same size as Nicaragua, or just smaller culture began to thrive; literature, philosophy, and art began than the U.S. state of Alabama. Although it lies farther east to flourish. The first Olympics were held in 776 BC. Ancient than most of Western Europe, Greece is generally considered Greek civilization reached its peak by 400 BC. During that part of the West because of its heritage and its membership in period, Athens was the center of a vast overseas empire. The the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and the country's rich heritage of government, art, science, and drama European Union (EU). It is situated south of Albania, played an important role in the establishment of Western Bulgaria, and Macedonia. The latter became an independent civilization. nation in 1991, but its name has been an issue of contention Philip of Macedonia conquered Greece in 338 BC and was because Greece's northern province is also called Macedonia assassinated just two years later. His son, Alexander the and Greece feared territorial disputes. Great, led the Greeks to conquer an empire that covered much Sparsely populated mountain areas cover much of Greece. of what is now the Middle East. After Alexander's death in The Pindos Mountains run from north to south through the 323 BC, the empire declined, and by 146 BC it had become mainland. Mount Olympus is the highest point in the country, part of the Roman Empire. In AD 330, the Roman emperor at an elevation of 9,570 feet (2,917 meters). The fertile Constantine moved the capital of the empire to the Greek city valleys, plains, and coastal areas are densely populated. Just of Byzantium, which he renamed Constantinople (now under 20 percent of Greece is arable. Earthquakes are Istanbul, Turkey). common and sometimes severe. The country includes an Turkish Rule and the War of Independence archipelago of about a thousand islands, the largest of which In AD 395, the Roman Empire divided into an eastern (later is Crete. These islands give Greece the twelfth longest called Byzantium) empire and a western empire, with Greece coastline in the world and comprise about one-fifth of the at the center of the Byzantium Empire. The eastern empire country's total land area, though only a tenth of the islands are fell in 1453, and in 1460, most of Greece became a Turkish suitable for habitation. A warm, temperate Mediterranean province. After four centuries of Turkish rule (the Ottoman climate prevails in southern Greece, while the north is wet Empire), the Greeks began a war of independence in 1821, and cool. In general, winters are mild but wet; summers are supported by Britain, France, and Russia. In 1832, Prince hot and dry. Otto of Bavaria became the king of the newly independent state of Greece. History Wars and Political Struggle 1 TM CultureGrams Greece Greece adopted a parliamentary system in 1875. As a result of prolonged talks with the EU brought Greece to the verge of World War I and the Balkan wars, the Greek territory bankruptcy in spring 2015. After a missed debt repayment in doubled. In World War II, Greece was occupied by German July, Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras agreed to further austerity and Italian forces and lost one-eighth of its population to measures in exchange for more EU bailout money, a move fighting and starvation. After liberation in 1944, a civil war that angered many within his party. between the government and communist guerrillas cost Recent Events and Trends another 120,000 lives. The government, with aid from the • Economic struggles: Although the EU agreed to another United States, was victorious in 1949. bailout loan in July 2015, Greek banks are still limiting In 1965, a political crisis developed between Prime individual withdrawals and refusing new loans to small- and Minister George Papandreou and King Constantine II, which medium-sized businesses. While Greece avoided bankruptcy, resulted in Papandreou's dismissal. The royal family fled the economy is still in a precarious position. Greece in 1967 when a group of army colonels staged a coup. •Migrant crisis: In summer 2015, Greek authorities From 1967 to 1974, the colonels ruled as a repressive struggled to handle the massive numbers of migrants fleeing dictatorship. Their fall in 1974 allowed for general elections, wars in Syria, Iraq, and Afghanistan. Greece is used by many through which voters rejected a return to monarchy and migrants as the easiest entry point into the European Union. established a republic. In the first half of 2015, Greece experienced a five-fold Republic of Greece and Privatization Efforts increase in the number of migrants compared to the same In 1981, Greece joined the European Community, which later period in 2014. evolved into the European Union (EU). The Panhellenic •Snap elections: In September 2015 snap elections, Prime Socialist Movement (PASOK)—led by Andreas Papandreou, Minister Alexis Tsipras led his leftist Syriza party to a the son of a former prime minister—won a majority in convincing victory over the main opposition party. Tsipras Parliament. Papandreou led the country as prime minister had resigned his position in August and called for early until 1989. In 1990, the New Democracy Party (ND) gained elections. Although Tsipras was elected on an anti-austerity power in the government and worked to privatize state platform, he ultimately agreed to additional austerity enterprises, cut government spending, and prepare Greece for measures demanded by Greece's lenders. His government greater economic integration within the EU. must now work to push through tough economic measures in The austerity measures used to accomplish these goals led order to secure the critical funding Greece needs. to voter discontent; PASOK regained parliamentary majority in 1993 elections through 2007 and vowed to reverse privatization efforts, among other economic policies. PASOK THE PEOPLE pursued policies to reduce inflation and unemployment, promote private sector investment, curb government Population spending, and improve Greece's infrastructure. Over the past Greece does not collect data on ethnicity for its census two decades, public sector employees—including reports. A little over 90 percent of the population (around 9.9 teachers—have repeatedly gone on strike to protest the million people) has Greek citizenship; the rest are government's privatization strategies. immigrants. Large numbers of Albanians and Turks now live International Relations and Economic Turmoil in Greece, though their numbers have not been officially Today, Greece seeks to develop closer ties with its Balkan counted. The government does not officially recognize the neighbors, including its traditional foe, Turkey. Signaling a 180,000 to 350,000 Roma (or Gypsies) who also live in the thaw in relations, Greece announced its support of Turkey's country. Athens, the capital and the largest city and industrial application for EU membership in December 1999. Despite a center, has a population of more than three million. recent series of negotiations aimed at resolving the problem, After the financial crisis of 2008, the number of disputes over control of the island of Cyprus continue to immigrants to Greece slightly decreased, while the number of strain relations with Turkey. Greeks leaving the country increased. However, large Severe financial trouble in 2009 and 2010 pushed Greece numbers of immigrants seeking employment and to impose strict spending cuts and to increase taxes, both of opportunities continue to flow into Greece from neighboring which led to widespread protests and strikes. In October countries. Illegal immigrants come to Greece in order to move 2011, eurozone leaders approved a bailout package for to other countries in Europe, but due to European laws and Greece that was conditional upon further economic austerity flawed Greek immigration policy, many get stuck in the measures; the ensuing political turmoil forced the prime country. Illegal immigrants face harsh conditions in minister to resign in November 2011. Two general elections detainment camps and may be held without being told why or in May and June 2012 did not result in a solid parliamentary for how long. majority for any single party; the pro-bailout conservative and socialist parties formed a temporary coalition government Language with a small party from the left to keep Greece in the Greek is the official language. The first surviving fragments eurozone. of written Greek date back to 1450 BC, and the language has In snap elections held in January 2015, the far-left, maintained significant continuity since the days of Homer anti-austerity Syriza party won on promises to renegotiate (ninth to eighth century BC). With its long scholarly tradition, Greece’s $270-billion bailout loan from the EU. However, Greek has lent terms to the world's modern languages, 2 TM CultureGrams Greece especially in disciplines such as medicine, physics, than do U.S. American women. Traditional costumes are philosophy, and theology. It has also borrowed numerous worn at folk festivals and on special occasions. Older women terms from Italian, Turkish, and French, as well as technical in rural areas often wrap scarves around their heads. terms more recently from English. Many of Greece's ethnic minorities speak Turkish and Albanian. English and French are widely understood, and CUSTOMS AND COURTESIES English is a mandatory subject in schools. Greetings Religion Greeks are often physically expressive in their greetings. There are no official statistics on religion in Greece. As the Friends and relatives hug and kiss upon meeting, while others official state religion, the Greek Orthodox Church (a branch shake hands.