>> Greece: Greek History

The shores of the Aegean Sea saw the emergence of the first civilizations in Europe, namely the Minoan and Mycenaean civilisations. After these subsided a Dark Age followed until around 800 BC a new era of Greek civilization emerged. It was this Greece of city-states that established colonies along the Mediterranean, resisted Persian invasions and whose culture would be the basis of Hellenistic civilisation that followed the empire of Macedonian King Alexander the Great.

Militarily Greece itself declined until it was conquered by the Romans from 168 BC onwards, though Greek culture would in turn conquer Roman life. Greece became a province of the Roman Empire, but Greek culture would continue to dominate the eastern Mediterranean and when the Empire finally split in two the Eastern or Byzantine Empire, centred on Constantinople, would remain Greek in nature, as well as encompassing Greece itself. From the 4th century to the 15th century the Eastern Roman Empire survived eleven centuries of attacks from the west and east until Constantinople fell on May 29, 1453 to the Ottoman Empire. Greece had gradually been conquered by the Ottomans during the 15th century.

Cape Sounion in Attica, looking out to the Aegean islandsThe Ottomans ruled Greece until the early 19th century. In 1821 the Greeks rebelled and declared their independence, but did not succeed in winning it until 1829. The war of the Greek independence, with news of Turkish attrocities, was seen romantically by the elites of powerful European nations [[see, for example, the 1824 painting "Massacre of Chios" by Eugene Delacroix scores of whom volunteered to actually fight -e.g. Lord Byron and indeed at times the Greek revolution was almost entirely suppressed but for the direct militarily intervention of France, England or Russia.

The Russian minister for foreign affairs was in fact a Greek, Ioannis Kapodistrias who, following Greek independence, returned home as President of the new Republic. That republic was abolished when a few years later Western powers helped turn Greece into a Monarchy, the first Monarch being Danish and the second from Bavaria.

During the 19th and early 20th centuries, in a series of wars with the Ottomans, Greece sought to enlarge its boundaries to include the Greek-speaking population of the Ottoman Empire, slowly growing in territory and population until it reached its present configuration in 1947.

In World War I Greece sided with the entente powers against a pro-German Turkey.In the war's aftermath parts of [[Minor Asia] were given to Greece under international law, including the city if Izmir which had a large Greek population. At that time, however, the Turkish nationalists led by Mustafa Kemal Attaturk, overthrew the Ottoman government, organised a military assault on the Greek troops, defeated them and virtually destroyed the Greek community, thousands of whom died and millions fled to mainland Greece. At the same time hundrend sof thousands of Turks who were living in mainalnd Greek territory left for Turkey.

Greece has first class sports infrastuctureAt the start of World War II Greece sided with the Allies and refused to give in to Italian demands. Italy, invaded Greece on 28/10/1941 but, after a bitter war, was repelled. Germany then invaded Greece succesfully. Millions of Greeks died in direct combat, in concentration camps or of starvation during the Nazi occupation. The greatest part of the Jewish community were murdered. The economy was in tatters. After liberation Greece experienced an equally bittercivil war between communists and royalists that lasted until 1949.

In the fifties and sixties Greece coninued to velop slowly and with the help of the U.S.A Marshall programme. In 1967 the military seized power in a coup d'état, overthrew the social-democrat government of George Papandreou senior and established what became known as the Régime of the Colonels that was supported by the U.S.A. In 1973 the régime abolished the Greek monarchy. In 1974, dictator Papadopoulos denied help to USA and that had as a result the (US/Kissinger) to "appoint" as a new dictator Ioannidis. The latter is held widely responsible for the coup against President Makarios of Cyprus which legitimated the first wave of the Turkish invasion of Cyprus in 1974.

The Cyprus events and the outcry following a bloody suppression of Greek student uprisings in Athens led to the implosion of the military regime. A charismatic, exiled politician, Konstantinos Karamanlis, returned from Paris as interim prime minister and later was re-elected for two more periods heading the conservative NEA DIMOKRATIA party.

In 1975, following a referendum to confirm deposition of Constantine II, a democratic republic was established. Another previously exiled politician, Andreas Papandreou also returned and founded the socialist PASOK party which won the elections in 1981 and dominated the country's political fortunes for almost the next two decades. Since the restoration of Democracy the stability and economic prosperity of Greece have grown. Greece joined the European Union in 1981 and adopted the Euro as its currency in 2001. New infrastructure, funds from the EU and growing revenues from tourism, shipping, services, light industry and telecommunication industry have brought Greeks an unprecedented standard of living in their modern history.

Tensions continue to exist between Greece and Turkey over Cyprus and the delimitation of borders in the Aegean Sea but relations have considerably thawed following successive earthquakes in, first, Turkey and, then, Greece and an outpouring of sympathy and generous assistance by ordinary Greeks and Turks. Greece is actually a proponent of Turkish entry into the EU. The 2004 Summer Olympics were held in the country of their foundation to general satisfaction.