Sculpture and Art in Ancient Greece

Greek art and sculpture has had a profound effect throughout the ages. Many of
the styles have been reproduced and copied by some of what the modern day
audiences would class as some of the finest artists to have ever lived e.g.
Michelangelo. Western art and sculpture derived from Roman art, while in the
East, Alexander the Great's conquest gave birth to Greco-Buddhist art, which has
even had an influence as far as Japan all of which stem from ancient Greek art.
The Greeks used many different types of materials in their sculptures including
stone, marble and limestone as these were abundant in Greece. Other materials
such as clay were also used but due to their brittle nature very few have survived.
Greek sculptures are very important as the vast majority of them tell us a story
about Gods, Heroes, Events, Mythical Creatures and Greek culture in general.
Many of the statues that have survived are actually of Roman origin. Like many
people today the Romans had a deep respect for Greek sculptures and many were
copied. If the Romans had not made these copies, many of the Greek Legends and
stories that we know today would have been lost to antiquity. Greek sculptures
are mainly divided into 7 time periods - Mycenaean Art, Sub-Mycenaean or Dark
Age, Proto-Geometric, Geometric Art, Archaic, Classical and Hellenistic.
Mycenaean art is the first era in which we find surviving examples of Greek art.
This era dates from around 1550 BC to 1200 BC on the Greek mainland. During
this period there were two separate civilisations living on the mainland, the
Greeks and the Mycenaeans. The Greeks at the time learnt a lot from the
Mycenaeans, who where more technologically advanced. The Greeks learnt how
to build gates and tombs (such as Agamemnon's tomb in the 'Bee-hive') and how
to use different metals in art, using Mycenaean techniques. The famous
Cyclopean Wall of Mycenae before the lion gate is a good example of their
masonry skills. The Mycenaeans were also fantastic goldsmiths which can be seen
from finds such as 'Agamemnon's Death Mask' found in a grave dating back to the
16th Century. Other items such as ivory figures (the head of a warrior with boars'
tuck helmet) and a Rock Crystal 'sauceboat' dating between the 16th and 13th
Century show they could craft out of other materials as well.
Around 1200 BC, attributed to the Homeric Fall of Troy, seems to be the down fall
of Mycenaean art, this time period being known as the Sub-Mycenaean or the
Dark Ages. This time period lasted from around 1100 to 1025 BC and very few
examples of statutes or art have been found. The few items that have been found
show no new methods or innovation. This is probably due to the constant wars
and invasions which crippled the growth of their civilisation during that time.
The next phase (ca. 1025 - 900 BC) is known as the Proto-Geometric art era. We
begin to find pottery starting to be decorated with simple shapes, wavy lines and
black hands. It is thought that this time period was the Greeks' first expression of
reviving their civilisation. With the invention of faster pottery wheels and other
innovations it is believed that experimenting with pottery began. Notable
examples of this era have a broad horizontal band about the neck and belly,
concentric circles applied with a compass and multiple brushes. They are mainly
of abstract elements.
Geometric Art dates from around 900 - 700 BC and was a dramatic transformation
that led to the establishment of primary Greek institutions such as the Greek city -
state (polis) and the Greek alphabet. Sculptures and carvings began to be made
representing each city states' heroes and past legends including animals and
humans. The growth of new trade routes and the opportunities for colonisation
permitted Greek art to flourish. Large temples and sanctuaries were built in
tribute to the Gods and were furnished with precious statues and art. The armed
warrior, the chariot, and the horse are the most familiar symbols of the Geometric
period. The only thing that was yet to emerge from this newly burgeoning Greek
passion for the arts was the solid stone statue.
With the newly established trade routes in the Levant and the Nile Delta we begin
to see an amalgamation of Greek and oriental art. This led to the Archaic age (ca.
700 - 450 BC) which showed a more naturalistic style reflecting significant
influence from the Near East and Egypt. This is known as the Orientalising Phase
(735 - 650 BC) and happened gradually. Many Greek artists began to assimilate
ideas from their Eastern counterparts, starting to use palmette and lotus
compositions, animal hunts and such composite beasts as griffins (part bird, part
lion), sphinxes (part woman, part winged lion), and sirens (part woman, part bird).
Competition between the Greek artists throughout the Greek mainland and
colonies began to emerge to see who could produce the greatest and most
innovative marvels. Sculptors in the Aegean islands, notably on Naxos and Samos,
carved large-scale statues in marble. Goldsmiths on Rhodes specialized in fine
jewellery, while bronze workers on Crete fashioned armour and plaques decorated
with superb reliefs. The prominent artistic centres of mainland Greece, notably
Sparta, Corinth, and Athens, also exhibited significant regional variation. Sparta
and its neighbours in Laconia produced remarkable ivory carvings and distinctive
bronzes. Corinthian artisans invented a style of silhouetted forms that focused on
tapestry-like patterns of small animals and plant motifs. By contrast, the vase
painters of Athens were more inclined to illustrate mythological scenes. Despite
the differences in dialect - even the way the alphabet was written varied from
region to region at this time - the Greek language was a major unifying factor in
Greece as it is today with English speaking countries. Huge sanctuaries and
temples were built and decorated with the finest motifs, as competition was fierce
in the Greek world to surpass previous works of art. The Archaic age was best
known for the emergence of stone statues of humans, such as the limestone
kouros (male) and kore (female) statues. Statue of Kouros c.590 BC
These new statues showed young humans naked and always with a smile on their
face. The main aim was to try and show perfection in human form, however, the
majority of statues came across as rigid and unnatural. Despite these flaws it was
the Greeks who first invented the free standing statues during this era. Athens, by
550 BC, had perfected the use of 'black figure pottery' which it subsequently
successfully exported throughout the Greek world. Among the great painters of
Attic black-figure vases, Sophilos, Kleitias, Nearchos, Lydos, Exekias, and the
Amasis Painter experimented with a variety of techniques to overcome the
limitations of black-figure painting with its emphasis on silhouette and incised
detail. The consequent invention of the red-figure technique, which offered
greater opportunities for drawing and eventually superseded black-figure, is
conventionally dated about 530 B.C. and attributed to the workshop of the potter
Andokides.
Classical Art (480 - 323 BC) was created during a "golden age", from the time
Athens rose to prominence and Greek expansion, right up until the death of
Alexander the Great. The Classical age could be seen as a turning point in art and
produced some of the most exquisite sculptures known today. It was during this
age that sculptors had mastered marble and began creating statues that showed
joyous freedom of movement and expression, while celebrating mankind as an
independent entity (atomo).
Discobolos, Ancient Greek Statue
The best example showing freedom of movement is the Discobolos (The Discus
Thrower) by Myron in the Museo Nazionale Romano, Rome. This is one of the most
famous classic Greek statues from this period. The Classical age also saw the first
time human anatomy was deemed worthy of being portrayed in a statue and for
ever immortalised in stone and bronze. Portraying people in a static and stiff
position had now been replaced with the more modern 'snap-shot' three-
dimensional movements, so that people could admire the human body for its
aesthetic values. It was the first time that humans could be seen as almost God-
Like, which meant that the human body became the subject of study for the first
time. In ancient Greece, a long intellectual evolution had reached its logical
conclusion during the classical era when 'man as a living organism on this planet
acquired the importance it deserved and gods became human through marble
and bronze'. With the rise of democracy and philosophy it changed the face of art
literally. From the Classical period all the Greek statues from this time period
showed a lack of expression, whereas, the depiction of 'barbarians' show a
dramatic facial expression. This was because the Greeks believed that
suppression of the emotions was a noble characteristic of all civilised men, while
the public display of human emotion was a sign of barbarism. Logic and reason
was to dominate human expression even during the most dramatic situations.
Temples and sanctuaries cried out for more and more lavish and monumental
statues bringing the legends and Gods to life, such as the famous motifs from the
Parthenon (unfortunately only a few fragments remain). Statues at funerals also
evolved from the rigid un-human like statues of the past to new modern pieces
that showed more detail and more family orientated scenes, such as the Family
group on a grave marker from Athens, National Archaeological Museum.

The greatest statues of this age were the Statue of

Zeus at Olympia and the Statue of Athena at the Parthenon, both of which were
designed by Phidias. Smaller copies of these statues still exist but the originals
unfortunately were so awe-inspiring that they were stolen by the Byzantium
Emperors from the Parthenon and later destroyed in what is thought to have been
a fire. The sculptures of Greece more than any other art form are the pure
expression of freedom, self-consciousness and self-determination. These were the
values that motivated the inhabitants of Ancient Greece to defeat mighty Persia
and led them to the development of a model of society that ensured the dignity of
every man within it.
The Hellenistic Era (323 - 31 BC) began around the death of Alexander the Great
and ended with the battle of Actium in 31 BC. The Hellenistic period saw dramatic
changes compared to previous logic. The artists of the Hellenistic period did not
stick to classical conventions and rules but turned to a more experimental
movement and a sense of freedom that allowed the artist to explore his subjects
from different unique points of view.
Charioteer of Delphi
The easiest way to explain this is to look at the 'Charioteer of Delphi' and the 'Boy
Jockey' statues. The first statue is from the classical period and shows greatness
and humility whereas the latter is from the Hellenistic era which shows a greater
expression of power and energy. Artists were also able to take ideas from a much
wider area as the Greek empire was at its peak, reaching even as far as India. This
led to a number of new art styles emerging such as Greco-Bactrian, Indo-Greek
and Greco-Buddhist. With the emergence of Rome it was now more acceptable to
make sculptures of normal people and animals, with sculptors less obliged to
make figures heroic and physically perfect. New Hellenistic cities started to spread
in places like Egypt and Syria, all of which wanted statues depicting Greek Gods
and Heroes to be placed in their temples. This led to more and more statues and
items of pottery being mass-produced, resulting in a poorer quality of product.
That said, vast improvements in techniques and materials allowed one of the
largest and most magnificent creations in human endeavour, the 'Colossus of
Rhodes' to be built. Unfortunately, the combined effects of looting and various
earthquakes destroyed the statue, thought to have been as big as the Statue of
Liberty. Some of the best known Hellenistic sculptures are Dying Gaul, the Venus
de Milo, and the Winged Victory of Samothrace, all of which depict a classical hero
but have a Hellenistic twist which shows a more sensuous and emotional taste.

Greek nature - Ecotourism

Notwithstanding its limited surface area, Greece is endowed with a particularly rich and diversified
natural environment as a result of a rare geomorphology, with many striking natural contrasts and
areas of great ecological value. The country’s abundant natural gifts –thousands of indented coasts,
imposing rocky massifs, caves, gorges, lakes, rivers, biotopes of spectacular beauty and unique
natural habitats– coupled with the mild climate, place it among the ideal destinations for ecotourism
and alternative forms of tourism.
When travelling in Greece, nature-loving tourists are offered the opportunity to:
- to wander in aesthetic forests or explore national parks not merely in the mountainous regions of the
mainland, but also on certain islands or in the proximity of rivers and lakes
- to enjoy the wonderful natural monuments, gorges, caves and waterfalls.
- to watch and admire rare bird species nesting or seeking refuge in coastal ecosystems and wetlands
(rocky coasts, sandy beaches, sand dunes, river deltas, lakes, marshes, coastal plains, etc)
- to study the highly diverse floral life of the Greek countryside
- to visit the unique marine parks supported near the islands of Alonissos and Zakynthos, which
provide shelter to two protected species, the Mediterranean monk seal (Monachus-Monachus) and the
Mediterranean green loggerhead turtle (Caretta caretta) respectively.
- to engage in extreme sports (canoe-kayak, rafting, monoraft, hydrospeed, canyoning, mountain
biking, etc), activities which have seen a spectacular rise in popularity in recent years
- to stay in agrotourist units which are being developed all over the country and afford visitors the
opportunity to become familiar with vernacular architecture, cultural and gastronomic tradition, local
products, farming activities and the daily life of local inhabitants.
Visitors of ecologically sensitive areas must observe all rules for the protection of the environment
against pollution, the non-disturbance of natural habitats and the preservation of the various
ecosystems’ equilibrium. Information on visiting protected areas and participating in special programs
can be obtained from local information centres, local authorities, and specialised agencies. (See
relevant list)

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Alexander the Great

One of the greatest military geniuses in history, Alexander the Great was born in
356 B.C. in Pella, Macedonia. The son of Philip of Macedon, who was an excellent
Army General and organizer. His mother was Olympias, princess of Epirus.
At the age of 20, Alexander assembled forces in Greek Cities in Corinth that
recognised him as their Leader. His Army mainly consisted of Macedonian soldiers
and also some Greeks. He then invaded the Persian Empire, but whilst he was at
war in Thrace, some Greek cities rebelled, which brought him back South.
Whereupon he captured the city of Thebes and demolished it as a warning to
other Greek cities of what would become of them if they tried to resist his rule.
In 333 BC Alexander advanced south from Cilicia into Syria, after defeating the
Persians at the River Granicus, he defeated Darius III at Issus. He then proceeded
through Phoenicia to Egypt, where they accepted him as their liberator from
Persian Rule.
Determined to rule the World, Alexander pursued conquering north, through Syria
and Mesopotamia and defeated Darius at Gaugamela in 331 BC. After Darius fled
he was then killed by his own men. Now occupying Susa and Persepolis,
Alexander was the master of the Persian Empire. Still determined to conquer the
World he continued through what is now Afghanistan to the Indus River Valley and
reach Punjab in 326BC. Averse to his will, but convinced by his men that they had
reached the end of the world, Alexander turned back.
After his death his Empire soon dissolved, he conquered much of what was then
the civilized world. Alexander was governed by divine ambition to conquer the
world and create a universal world monarchy. He was the first great conqueror
who reached Greece, Egypt, Asia Minor, and Asia. He is famous for having created
ethnic fusion between the Macedonians and the Persians. Forming many Greek
cities in Syria, Iran, Bactria and in Egypt, the city called Alexandria. From many
victorious battles, Alexander created empire which had marked history as the
beginning of the Hellenistic Age and brought him eternal glory.
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Archimedes

Archimedes Thoughtful by Fetti (1620)

When we think of the great scientists and mathematicians of the ancient world,
who have contributed greatly to today's inventions and researches, who could
forget Archimedes.
In the hearts and minds of scientists Archimedes occupies the same respectable
position as Newton and Gauss. In his ancient Greek days he was known as the
"the wise one," "the master" and "the great geometer". His works such as the
"Death Ray" gained him popularity and fame that lasts till this day. He was one of
the last great Greek mathematicians.
Biography
Archimedes was born in 287 B.C. in the port of Syracuse, Sicily in the colony of
Magna Graecia. His father was Phidias, who was an astronomer about whom
nothing is known. We derive this information about Archimedes from his work
"The Sand Reckoner".
In those times, in the absence of paper or blackboards, Archimedes used dust,
ashes or any other available surface to draw his geometric figures. He used to get
so engrossed in his work that sometimes he forgot to eat. It is alleged that he
drew figures on his body after bathing and applying olive oil. According to the
Greek historian John Tzetzes, who was famous for his research on Byzantinne
Greek era, Archimedes lived for 75 years.
Except for the period of his life where he attended school in Alexandria at Euclid's,
Archimedes spent all his life at Syracuse. Ancient Greek biographer Plutarch,
relates Archimedes to King Hiero II of Syracuse. He says Archimedes achieved so
much fame because of his relation to King Hiero II and Gelon (son of King Hiero II).
He was a close friend of Gelon and helped Hiero solve complex problem with
extreme ease, utterly amazing his friend.
Archimedes died in 212 B.C. during the Second Punic war, when Syracuse was
captured by the Roman forces after a two year siege.
According to Plutarch, Archimedes was researching a mathematical diagram,
when a Roman soldier ordered him to meet General Marcus (who was engaged in
the siege of Syracuse). But Archimedes declined saying that he had to finish his
diagram. Furious, the Roman soldier killed Archimedes. General Marcus was
angered by the death of Archimedes, because he didn't wish him any harm.
Another popular theory regarding Archimedes' death is that he was killed while
actually surrendering to the Romans.
Tomb of Archimedes
The tomb of Archimedes is famous for it depicts his famous diagram, a sphere in a
cylinder of the exact height and diameter. Archimedes had earlier proved that the
volume and surface area of the sphere would be two thirds that of the cylinder. In
75 B.C., 137 years after the death of Archimedes, it was Cicero who was
responsible for giving respect and attention to Archimedes' tomb, which had been
long neglected. Cicero had heard about the tomb of Archimedes, but it took him a
long time to find it, as the local populace were unable to help. Ultimately he found
it at the Agrigentine gate in Syracuse, covered in bushes. He cleaned up the tomb
and gave it its due respect.
Discoveries and Inventions
Archimedes has many discoveries and inventions to his credit, but he considered
his theoretical work as his main triumph. Along with his inventions in mathematics
and geometry, he is also known for the weapons he created for King Hiero II to
help protect Syracuse. He is credited with many inventions in the field of
mathematics and physics such as "Death ray", "Archimedes claw", hydrostatics,
calculus, etc.. Some of his discoveries are stated below:
Hydrostatics:
Today when we get any idea, we often shout the word 'Eureka'. This famous word
is originally attributed to Archimedes, for the invention of measuring the volume
of an object with an irregular shape. Once when Hiero had ordered a gold crown,
he suspected that the crown was not made of pure gold but also silver. However,
he could not prove this. He told Archimedes of his suspicion.
One day as Archimedes thoughts were revolving around the problem, he took a
bath in his bathtub. He realized that the amount of water that overflowed the tub
was proportional to the amount of his body that was submerged. At the realization
he came shouting out of the bathtub "Eureka, Eureka" and ran out on to the
streets of Syracuse completely naked.
In his work 'The Floating Bodies', this principle is known as the 'Archimedes
Principle'. But the example of golden crown does not appear in any known works
of Archimedes.
Principle of levers:

Although Archimedes did not invent the lever, he discovered the reasoning behind
why it worked. It is said that he remarked, "Give me a place to stand on, and I will
move the Earth." Plutarch explained how Archimedes designed the block and
tackle pulley systems, allowing sailors to use the principle of leverage to lift
objects that would otherwise have been too heavy to shift. It is also said that
Archimedes built the Syracusia ship, which was the largest vessel of its time and
capable of transporting 600 passengers. Since a ship of this size would leak a
considerable amount of water through the hull, the Archimedes' screw was
purportedly developed in order to remove the bilge water. The screw was a
machine with a revolving screw shaped blade inside a cylinder. It was turned by
hand, and could also be used to transfer water from a low-lying body of water into
irrigation canals.
Archimedes' claw:

Archimedes' claw was invented to defend the city of Syracuse. Known as the 'ship-
shaker', it is shaped like a crane arm, from which a large metal hook was
balanced. When the claw was dropped on an attacking ship, it would lift the ship
by swinging the arm upwards and then sink the ship.
Death Ray:
There have bee n many doubts about Archimedes weapon of the death Ray.
However in 2005 the Death Ray was proved and tested by a University class
(MIT). Using over one hundred mirrors,they made a dummy profile of ship with 5
inch thick wood which ignited after focusing all the mirrors to a specific point on
the ship. this experiment was then carried out again on a real boat in the water
with the help of the 'mythbusters'.Thus proving Archimedes death ray as no
longer a theory but a definitely possibility that this 'death ray' tactic was used
against the roman ships in Syracuse.
Archimedes Death Ray: Testing with MythBusters

Mathematics:

Mostly known as inventor of mechanical devices, we cannot ignore Archimedes'

contribution to Mathematics.
Being unhappy with the existing one, Archimedes is known to have invented his
own Greek number system, so that he could accommodate more of his invented
numbers.
According to some, the greatest invention of Archimedes is 'integral calculus'.
Using this, he measured the section of areas surrounded by geometric figures. He
broke the sections into a number of rectangles and then added the areas
together. This principle is known as 'integration'. Also a part of the discovery of
'integral calculus' is 'differential calculus'. He calculated ways to approximate the
slope of the tangent lines of his figures.
In the 'Measurement of Circle' Archimedes discovers the value of the square root
of 3 as being more than 265/153 (approximately 1.732) and less than 1351/780
(approximately 1.7320512). The accurate value is rounded to 1.7320508076. He
aquainted us with this principle without offering any explaination.
In 'The Quadrature of the Parabola', Archimedes proved that the area enclosed by
a parabola and a straight line is 4/3 multiplied by the area of a triangle with equal
base and height.
In 'The Sand Reckoner', he set out the impossible task of calculating the number
of sand grains the universe could contain. He challenged that it was not
impossible to do, even if sand grains were too large to be counted. His friend King
Gelo thought this was hardly possible. To solve the problem of sand grains,
Archimedes invented a system based around the myriad or uncountable in Greek.
It also denoted 10,000 in the Greek number system. He fixed a number system
using powers of myriads (100 million) and finally calculated the number of sand
grains in the universe as 8x1063 .
Sites Referred:

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The Parthenon
Work began on the Parthenon, built on the Acropolis, in 447 BC to replace an
existing temple which was destroyed by the Persians in 480 BC and cost 469 silver
talents to build. The work began under the orders of Pericles to show the wealth
and exuberance of Athenian power. The name of the building most likely came
from a cult statue of Athena Parthenos housed in the eastern room of the building.
This magnificent structure was built of ivory and gold and was sculptured by the
renowned sculptor Phidias. As with most buildings on the Acropolis it was
dedicated to Athena to thank the Goddess for their success. The Parthenon was
finally finished in 432 BC and was to show the world the dominance and power of
Athens. The vast majority of the money used in the construction came from the
Delian League funds. The Delian League was a treaty between the Greek states in
league against the Persian Empire. However two years before work started on the
Parthenon, the Athenians had struck a peace treaty with the Persians ending the
war, although the League continued to exist. It is believed that because of this the
league stopped being a mutual defence against Persia but part of the Athenian
Empire. This theory was reinforced when Athens moved the Leagues treasury
from the Pan-Hellenic sanctuary at Delos to the Parthenon (Opisthodomos room).
Not only was the Parthenon a magnificent structure to look at, but it also showed
Athenian dominance over the rest of the Greek peninsula and that Athens was its
Greek imperial master.
The five main instigators of the design and construction on the Parthenon were
Pericles, Phidias, Kalamis, Ictinus and Calibrates. Pericles was the leading
Athenian statesman at the time, Phidias and Kalamis were in charge of the design
of the sculptures and decorations, and Ictinus and Calibrates were the main
architects. The vast majority of the 469 silver talents spent on the Parthenon went
on transporting the stone from Mount Pantelakos, which was about 16 kilometres
from Athens, to the Acropolis. It is thought there are around 13400 stones in the
building. The Parthenon is a clear example of Doric design with Ionic architectural
features. The architects used a clever visual effect in their design of the building.
The curvature of the Stylobate, the taper of the Naos walls (housing the cult
statue) and the Entasis of the columns allow the visual effect to make the temple
appear more symmetrical than it actually is. This design was so renowned it has
been copied centuries later, even the Romans incorporated it into the design of
their buildings, and a good example of this can be seen at the Roman library at
Ephesus. Measured at the top step, the dimensions of the base of the Parthenon
are 69.5 meters by 30.9 meters (228.0 x 101.4 ft). The Cella was 29.8 meters long
by 19.2 meters wide (97.8 x 63.0 ft), with internal Doric colonnades in two tiers,
structurally necessary to support the roof. On the exterior, the Doric columns
measure 1.9 meters (6.2 ft) in diameter and are 10.4 meters (34.1 ft) high. The
corner columns are slightly larger in diameter. The Stylobate has an upward
curvature towards its centre of 60 millimetres (2.36 in) on the east and west ends,
and of 110 millimetres (4.33 in) on the sides.
Inside the Cella it was made up of both old and new elements. There was a double
pi-shaped colonnade which held the statue Athena Parthenos. The statue showed
Athena dressed in full armour holding Nike (Goddess of Victory) to the Athenians
in her right hand. In the west room (Opisthodomos) were 4 Ionic columns. The two
sloped wooden roofs had marble tiles with false lion shaped spouts in the corners
and false palmette shaped antefixes running along the edge. The room also held
large marble statues placed on corner pediments, which were adorned with
depictions of Athena's life. The East Pediment showed Athena's birth from Zeus'
head whilst the Olympian Gods watched. The West pediment portrayed the
dispute between Athena and Poseidon over control of Athens in front of Heroes,
the Gods and the mythical Kings of Attica. The Outer Colonnade was made up of
92 metopes alternating with Triglyphs that were placed above the epistyle
underneath the architrave, all of which held reliefs, (Trojan War on the northern
side, Centauromachy on the southern side, Amazonomachy on the western side
and Gigantomachy on the eastern side). The Frieze (dated 442-438 BC), which ran
along the top of the Opisthodomos, Pronaos and the Cella was of the Ionic order
and showed the greatest Athenian festival 'Panathinaia'. The festival held a
procession from the Dipylon Gate in the Koromikos to the Acropolis. The
procession was held yearly and had a special procession every fourth year.
Athenians and foreigners came together at the festival, with all paying tribute and
offering sacrifices to Athena.
The Parthenon had been kept in relatively good condition right up until the 19th
century. During this time it had seen a number of changes. For nearly a thousand
years the Parthenon was still used as a temple to Athena until as late as the 4th
Century AD. By this time Athens had been turned into a province of the Roman
Empire and had lost most of its former glory. Unfortunately sometime in the 5th
Century the Parthenon was raided by a Roman Emperor and the statue of the cult
image of Athena was stolen and taken to Constantinople where it was later
destroyed during the crusades (around 1204 AD). After the looting by the Roman
Emperors the building itself was still intact and was turned into a church in the 5th
Century AD by the Christians. The Byzantine Christians converted the Parthenon
in honour of Parthena Maria (Virgin Mary), or the Church of the Theotokos (Mother
of God), which it remained for around 250 years. Turning the temple into a church
meant that the building was still kept in good condition apart from a bit a
restructuring internally; for example a few of the columns were removed as well
as some of the marble statues. It also meant that statues and other motifs
depicting more than one god were either removed or destroyed. The Ottomans
converted the Parthenon from a church to a mosque (ca. 1460s). Again the
Parthenon was well maintained and looked after until the late 17th Century. In
1687 the Venetians, under Francesco Morosini, attacked the Ottomans in Athens.
The Acropolis had been fortified by the Ottomans (as well as the Athenians over a
century before). The building was also used as a gunpowder store and when the
Parthenon took a direct hit from a mortar fired by the Venetians from the Hill of
Philopappus, the gunpowder exploded and destroyed a large part of the building.
Morosini and his men soon plundered the building, looting what they could find
and destroying the rest, leaving the partial ruins that can be seen today. As most
of the sculptures and depictions were either looted or destroyed we only know
what they looked like from drawings by Jacques Carrey, a Flemish artist in 1674.
What was left was further damaged in 1801 when many of the depictions and
remaining antiques were forcibly removed by the British Ambassador at
Constantinople, the Earl of Elgin, under orders to make casts and drawings by the
Sultan.
It was only in 1975 that a concertive effort was made by the Greek government,
with help from Europe, to try and restore the damage caused by the explosion as
well as the modern day damage caused by pollution. Unfortunately the Parthenon
will never be restored to its former glory; however, in time we will hopefully be
able to have a better idea of what it once looked like.
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Acropolis
Acropolis in Greek means "The Sacred Rock, the high city". All around the world
the Acropolis of Athens is known as 'The Acropolis'. There are many Acropolises in
Greece but the Acropolis of Athens is the best known. The Acropolis is primarily
dedicated to the Goddess Athena. But humans from the prehistoric era have
populated the Acropolis and the caves around it. Situated in the middle of Athens,
many myths, festivals and important events are connected to the sacred
Acropolis. The Acropolis echoes the grandeur and the power of the Athenian
empire.
Geographical Description
Acropolis rock has been a part of Earth since the Late Cretaceous period. Built of
limestone it is based on the Attica plateau and includes the Likavitos hill, the
Philopappos hill, the hill of the Nymphs, and the Pnyx. The Acropolis is also known
as the Cecropia, after a mythological half serpent-man Cecrops who is considered
the first Athenian King. With a height of about 70 meters and 300 meters long, it
is 150 meters wide. Many human inhabitants have made constructions here since
the Mycenaean era resulting in the flat top table of the Acropolis. As there was
spring water and caves in abundance, the place was perfect for human habitation.
History of Acropolis
Neolithic Era
Human occupancy of Acropolis and Attica has been dated back to 6 BC i.e. during
the Neolithic Era. Many unique works of arts and architecture prove that
inhabitation around Attica started in the Upper Paleolithic period while the caves
in Acropolis and Klepsythra springs were occupied from the Neolithic Period.
Mycenaean Era
In the Mycenaean Era, during the 13th century a well-built wall was constructed
around the hill of Acropolis where the king resided and he controlled the small
settlements around the fortress. These walls that were created by the Mycenaean
kings were around eight meters high and constructed their palaces inside these
walls. These walls consisted of two barricades. The walls are built in a typical
Mycenaean style consisting of a wall, barricade and a tower on right hand side for
defense. Today very little remains of these walls and palaces.
The Dark Ages
The Acropolis has seen no major destruction during the Mycenaean Era. The
Acropolis successfully resisted the attack by the Dorians, a fact, which is
supported by Athenian folklore. Therefore the palaces and walls show no signs of
fire or attack. But the Kylons and the Pisistratus had overtaken the Acropolis,
suggesting power transfer. It is during this period that the 9-gate wall
'Enneapylon' was built around the water spring 'Clepsydra'.
The 'Sacred Acropolis' Era
The Acropolis became a sacred place in the 6th century BC when a temple
dedicated 'Athenia Polias' was built in the northeastern side of the hill. The
'Athenia Polias' temple is made up of limestone and many artifacts and
documents were found from this area. The temple is also known as 'Bluebeard
temple' after the 3-headed serpent whose beard was blue. In the late 6th century
BC another temple was built known as the 'Archaios Naos' or the Old Temple,
which was built by the Peisistratos. The Acropolis flourished during the Peisistratos
rule when many religious festivals and memorials were recognized. Many artifacts
and works of art bear inscription describing the splendor of Athens during the
archaic period. The 'Bluebeard temple' was destroyed when the Athenians
defeated the Persians at the Battle of Marathon in 490 BC. A much larger and
grander building was built which is known to be the "Older Parthenon". The
Mycenaean gate was also destroyed and replaced by the 'Old Propylon'
monument, which was used for religious purposes. The "Older Parthenon"
construction remained unfinished because the Persians once again attacked Attica
in 480 BC and destroyed Attica and its monuments. Whatever artifacts were
remaining, were buried by the Athenians (to save them) in the small, natural
caves and 2 new walls were built around Acropolis. These walls were known as the
'The wall of Themistokles' and 'The wall of Kimon'. Whatever artifacts were buried
by the Athenians during the war, and survived, are known today as the 'Persian
Debris'.
The Golden Age of Athens
Whatever chief and sacred temples were built in and around Acropolis and Attica
was during the Golden Age of Athens i.e. from 460 BC to 430 BC. Pericles was
responsible for most of these structures. Pericles was an ambitious man. The
constructions lasted for about half a century. Phidias, a sculptor and Ictinus and
Callicrates, who were architechts, were in charge of these constructions. Workers
who were laborers on these constructions were paid 1 drachma a day. Temples
and monuments such as the Parthenon, the Propylaia, the Erechtheion and the
temple of Athena Nike were built during this time. The temples on the north of
Acropolis housed earlier sects and Olympian Gods and those at the south were
dedicated to the Goddess Athena and her forms such as Polias, Parthenos, Pallas,
Promachos, Ergane and Nike. No major structures were constructed from 404 BC
to the 1st century BC during the Peloponnesian Era. In the 7th century BC a small
temple dedicated to Augustus and Rome was built east of the Acropolis. In spite of
many Roman invasions of Greece, the Acropolis has retained its charm and has
been saved from destruction and looting.
Advent of Christianity
As time passed, natural degradation and human interference both affected the
Acropolis. As Christianity was introduced, the monuments were converted into
churches. All the structures were renamed and served as churches and
cathedrals. During the medieval period, some of the structures became
residences or headquarters for kings such as the Frankish or Turkish rulers. Due to
reasons such as wars, invasions and attacks important structures such as the
Parthenon, etc were destroyed leading to a tragic loss of history. It was only
during the late 20th century that the Acropolis was excavated properly and paid
attention to. The excavation and restoration process is ongoing. The artifacts and
works of arts can be seen at the Acropolis Museum.

Reference:

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Athens is the symbol of freedom, art, and democracy in the conscience of the
civilized world. The capital of Greece took its name from the goddess Athena, the
goddess of wisdom and knowledge.
In Athens memory never fades. Wherever you stand, wherever you turn, the city's
long and rich history will be alive in front of you. This is where that marvel of
architecture, the Parthenon, was created. This is where art became inseparable
from life, and this is where Pericles gave the funerary speech, that monument of
the spoken word. In the centre of town are two hills, the Acropolis with the
monuments from the Age of Pericles, and Lycabettus with the picturesque chapel
of Ai Giorgis.
Ancient ruins provide a vivid testimony to the glory of Athens, hailed by many
people as the cradle of western civilization.

Sparta a beautiful town near the river Evrotas, located in the centre of the
Peloponnese in southern Greece, is the capital of the prefecture of Lakonia.
SPARTA ( known in Greek as Sparti) has a history which dates back to the Neolithic
period, at least 3,000 years before Christ.
Even in its most prosperous days, it was merely a group of five villages with
simple houses and a few public buildings. The passes leading into the valley of the
Evrotas were easily defended, and Sparta had no walls until the end of the 4th
century BC. The city itself was destroyed by the Goths under their king, Alaric I, in
396 AD.
Modern Sparta, founded by the government in 1834, occupies part of the site of
ancient Sparta and is the capital of the department of Laconia. Excavations of the
ancient city have uncovered ruins of temples and public buildings as well as a
theatre dating from the Roman period, but the sparse remains are insignificant for
a city of such renown in antiquity.

 Ancient Greece: Sparta

 Sparta from Laconian Professionals

 Materials for the Study of Ancient Sparta

 Ancient Sites - Athens

--

It's hard for textbooks to say anything nice about the Spartans. Take up
any world history textbook and read; you'll find that the Spartans were "an
armed camp," "brutal," "culturally stagnant," "economically stagnant,"
"politically stagnant," and other fun things. The reality, of course, lies
somewhere behind the value judgements. Greek history does, after all,
come down to us through the eyes of the other major city-state in Greece,
Athens, a bitter enemy and rival of Sparta. The two represent diametrically
opposed concepts of the Greek polis and its relations with other city-
states; they also represent diametrically opposed concepts of the
individual's relationship to the state. Despite all the rhetoric in Athens and
in the European historical tradition, we should keep in mind that the
Spartans believed they lived in the best of all Greek worlds, and many of
their Greek neighbors agreed with them. The rivalry, then, between Sparta
and Athens, which would erupt into a disastrous war for Athens, was also
an ideological and cultural rivalry.

The single, overwhelming fact of Spartan history is the Messenean War.

In the eighth century BC, Sparta, like all her neighbors, was a monarchy
with a limited oligarchy. In 725, however, needing land to feed a
dramatically growing population, the Spartans marched over the Taygetus
mountains and annexed all the territory of their neighbor, Messenia. The
Messenians occupied a fertile plain and the Spartans found themselves
with more than enough land to support themselves and their newly
conquered people. However, like all conquered people, the Messenians did
not appreciate the loss of their independence. With the help of the city-
state of Argos, the Messenians revolted in 640 BC. This was no ordinary
revolt, for not only did the Messenians almost win, they almost destroyed
Sparta itself.

Here's how the situation stood for Sparta at the end of the Messenian
revolt. Almost defeated, controlling the territory of a subject population
that outnumbered their population ten to one , it was only a matter of time
before this subject population would overrun their conquerors. So the
Spartans invented a new political system as dramatically revolutionary as
Athenian democracy in the north: they turned their state into what
amounts to a military state.

The Messenians were turned into agricultural slaves called helots . We

describe their lives as the life of a "serf," for they worked small plots of
land on estates owned by Spartans; part of their produce went to the
master of the estate, and the remainder went to the helot farmer and his
family. There's no question that the life of the helots was a miserable life.
Labor was long and hard and the helots always lived right on the border of
subsistence.
 But Spartan society itself changed. The military and the city-state
became the center of Spartan existence. The state determined whether
children, both male and female, were strong when they were born;
weakling infants were left in the hills to die of exposure. Exposing weak or
sickly children was a common practice in the Greek world, but Sparta
institutionalized it as a state activity rather than a domestic activity. At the
age of seven, every male Spartan was sent to military and athletic school.
These schools taught toughness, discipline, endurance of pain (often
severe pain), and survival skills. At twenty, after thirteen years of training,
the Spartan became a soldier. The Spartan soldier spent his life with his
fellow soldiers; he lived in barracks and ate all his meals with his fellow
soldiers. He also married, but he didn't live with his wife; one Athenian
once joked that Spartans had children before they even saw the face of
their wives. The marriage ceremony had an unusual ritual involved: at the
end of the ceremony, the man carried his wife off as if he were taking her
by force (this did not mean, however, that the status of women was bad in
Sparta, as we shall see later). Only at the age of thirty, did the Spartan
become an "equal," and was allowed to live in his own house with his own
family—although he continued to serve in the military. Military service
ended at the age of sixty. How did the soldier survive? How did Sparta
afford to feed young men who did nothing but soldier in their twenties?
Each soldier was granted a piece of land, which he probably never saw;
this land was farmed, of course, by the helots.

The life of a Spartan male was a life of discipline, self-denial, and

simplicity. The Spartans viewed themselves as the true inheritors of the
Greek tradition. They did not surround themselves with luxuries, expensive
foods, or opportunities for leisure. And this, I think, is the key to
understanding the Spartans. While the Athenians and many others
thought the Spartans were insane, the life of the Spartans seemed to hark
back to a more basic way of life. Discipline, simplicity, and self-denial
always remained ideals in the Greek and Roman worlds; civilization was
often seen as bringing disorder, ennervation, weakness, and a decline in
moral values. The Spartan, however, could point to Spartan society and
argue that moral values and human courage and strength was as great as
it was before civilization. Spartan society, then, exercised a profound pull
on the surrounding city-states who admired the simplicity, discipline, and
order of Spartan life.

The ideology of Sparta was oriented around the state. The individual
lived (and died) for the state. Their lives were designed to serve the state
from their beginning to the age of sixty. The combination of this ideology,
the education of Spartan males, and the disciplined maintenance of a
standing army gave the Spartans the stability that had been threatened so
dramatically in the Messenean revolt.
 Paradoxically, this soldier-centered state was the most liberal state in
regards to the status of women. While women did not go through military
training, they were required to be educated along similar lines. The
Spartans were the only Greeks not only to take seriously the education of
women, they instituted it as state policy. This was not, however, an
academic education (just as the education of males was not an academic
education); it was a physical education which could be grueling. Infant
girls were also exposed to die if they were judged to be weak; they were
later subject to physical and gymnastics training. This education also
involved teaching women that their lives should be dedicated to the state.
In most Greek states, women were required to stay indoors at all times
(though only the upper classes could afford to observe this custom);
Spartan women, however, were free to move about, and had an unusual
amount of domestic freedom for their husbands, after all, didn't live at
home.

Spartan society was divided into three main classes. At the top was the
Spartiate, or native Spartan, who could trace his or her ancestry back to
the original inhabitants of the city. The Spartiate served in the army and
was the only person who enjoyed the full political and legal rights of the
state. Below the Spartiates wer the perioeci , or "dwellers around or
about." These were foreign people who served as a kind of buffer
population between the Spartans and the helots. Because of this vital
function, they were accorded a great deal of freedom. Most of the trade
and commerce carried out in Sparta were performed by the perioeci . At
the bottom, of course, were the helots.

Spartan government was an odd affair, but its overwhelming

characteristic was stability . The Spartans, in fact, had the most stable
government in the history of ancient Greece (some historians call this
stability, "political stagnation"). At the top of government was the
monarchy; the monarchy, however, was a dual monarchy. Below the
monarchy was a council which was composed of the two kings plus
twenty-eight nobles, all of whom were over sixty, that is, retired from the
military. The council debated and set legislative and foreign policy, and
was the supreme criminal court. Below the council (or above it), was an
assembly of all the Spartiate males (a democracy, in other words) that
selected the council and approved or vetoed council proposals. Above
them all, however, was a small group of five men known as the ephorate .
For all practical purposes, Spartan government was the ephorate, for
these five men led the council, ran the military, ran the educational
system, ran the infant selection system, and had veto power over
everything coming out of the council or the assembly. They even had
power to depose the king; however, they needed powerful divine proof (in
the form of omens or oracles) to exercise this power. So what kind of
government was Spartan government? It was a democratic timocratic
monarchical oligarchy. Chew on that a few times.
 The anxiety-ridden situation with the helots led the Spartans to fear
even their neighbors, who were often sticking their spoons in that pot to
brew up trouble. So in the sixth century BC, the Spartans began to set
their military sights on neighboring states. However, when they conquered
their neighbor, Tegea, they set up a truce with them rather than annex
their land and people. They demanded instead an alliance. Tegea would
follow Sparta in all its foreign relationships, including wars, and would
supply Sparta with a fixed amount of soldiers and equipment. In exchange,
the Tegeans could remain an independent state. This was a brilliant move
on the part of the Spartans. In a short time, Sparta had formed alliances
with a huge number of states in the southern part of Greece (called the
Peloponnesus), and had become the major power in Greece when the
Persians invaded in 490 BC. Their power eclipsed that of even their
powerful neighbor in the north, Athens.

Alexandria - City Founded by Alexander The Great

This Ancient Greek city was designed in a Hellenistic model, with orthogonal road
network that formed a regular grid. This sophisticated grid system managed to
maximize the cool North wind during the summer and with especially wide roads
to enable chariots to turn around with ease.
Much of what we know about the City is due to the Historian Strabo, geography
who lived in 25BC. He mentioned the city's main buildings and temples; including
the Temple of Poseidon, the Theatre and naval dockyards. These lay in front of the
Heptastadion, the cause way linking the island of Pharos to the mainland.
In the heart of the city were the main office and judicial, gardens of the
gymnasium. The Canopic Way was the great road that led from the East of the
Canopic Gate to the West, called Necropolis. This was the suburban area, which
included a large number of gardens, tombs and a number of areas suitable for
preparation of the dead.
TROY (Ilion)
 Troy was at first unknown to be factual city, known through Homer , until an
Archaeologist, Heinrich Schliemann in 1870 followed the geographical clues in the
'Iliad' and began excavating North West Turkey. He was convinced he had found
the legendary city of Troy and excavated a hill called Hisarlick, in Anatolia, on
Turkey's coast. He discovered huge city walls and evidence of a city destroyed by
fire. The archaeology site called Troia, where the city is now called now Truva by
the Turkish Government.
In 1988, Manfred Kauffman along with a Team from the University of Tubingen and
Cincinnati excavated this site further. Findings included arrowheads that dated to
the 12 Century BC. He is also reported to have found a deep ditch around the city,
as Kauffman explains this ditch would be means of defense of a much larger city
than originally thought.
However, it was still unclear which level of the city was Homer's Troy of 1200 BC,
which was destroyed by the Greeks, as there are nine consecutive levels of
occupation at Hisarlick. There are two levels that fit this period which are named
Troy VI and Troy VII, archaeologists are agreeable to VII, which was destroyed by
Fire in 1250 BC-1200BC.
At this time, as told by Homer's Iliad the King of Troy, was Priam, which was
waged war upon the Trojans by the Achaeans (Greeks) over Helen, the wife of
Agamemnon, who was kidnapped by Paris, the Prince of Troy. As Paris refused to
return Helen, the War is thought to have lasted about ten years or more and
eventually the Greeks won by using the deception of offering the Trojans a statue
of a Horse as a gift that they would take inside the Walls of Troy, once inside the
statue was filled with the Greek warriors that were able to open the Gates of Troy
allowing and the Greeks to overcome, burn and pillage the city.
Other references to the City of Troy include Homer's Odyssey and Virgil's Aeneid.
The language spoken in the ancient city of Troy is not certain, but though that the
inhabitants, Trojans could understand Greek
--

Principal Gods click for main characteristics

Mythical Characters

 Antigone

 Electra

 Heracles

 Jason

 Oedipus

 Orpheus

Titans

 Athena

 Zeus
Homer the name traditionally assigned to the reputed author of the Iliad and the
Odyssey, the two major epics of Greek antiquity. Nothing is known about Homer
as an individual. In fact, the question of whether a single person can be said to be
responsible for the creation of the two epics is still controversial. However,
linguistic and historical evidence allows the assumption that the poems were
composed in the Greek settlements on the west coast of Asia Minor sometime in
the 9th century BC.

Electra was the daughter of Agamemnon and Clytemnestra, the king and queen
of Mycenae. When Electra's father returned from the Trojan war, her mother,
Clytemnestra and her lover, Aegisthus killed him. They also killed Cassandra, a
concubine of Agamemnon from the Trojan war... more »

Antigone In ancient Greece, Antigone is mostly related to the myth that was told
by the Ancient Greek playwright Sophocles, although there is reference to a
different Antigone in the ancient Greek World.
Antigone was the daughter of King Oedipus of Thebes and Jocasta. The story says,
Oedipus, the son of Laius and Jocasta killed his father Laius and became the king
of Thebes. Oedipus unknowingly married his own mother Jocasta and had children
by her. Thus, Antigone was the daughter and the sister of Oedipus... more »
 JASON's story is an ancient Greek myth, folk tale that is passed from generations
to generations. About a hero who traveled on a voyage in search of the Golden
Fleece, so that he could help his father get his kingdom back from King Pelias.
Jason's father was Aeson, the King of Lolcus and mother Alcimede. Aeson
stepbrother Pelias was eager for the throne of Lolcus, so in a battle, he removed
Aeson from power and made himself the King. Aeson and Pelias shared a common
mother, Tyro. She was the daughter of Salmoneus and sea god Poseidon. Pelias, to
make sure that no one from Aeson's family could challenge him, killed his family.
But Alcimede saved their baby, Jason. To save him Alcimede gave away her baby
son to Chiron, who became his guardian. But Pelias was obsessed with his throne
and he consulted an oracle that told him that a man wearing one sandal would be
the reason for his end... more »

Chaos - in one ancient Greek myth of creation, the dark, silent abyss from which
all things came into existence. According to the Theogony of Hesiod, Chaos
generated the solid mass of Earth, from which arose the starry, cloud-filled
Heaven. Mother Earth and Father Heaven, personified respectively as Gaea and
her offspring Uranus, were the parents of the Titans. In a later theory, Chaos is the
formless matter from which the cosmos, or harmonious order, was created.

Gaea - She was the mother and wife of Father Heaven, Uranus. They were the
parents of the first creatures, the Titans, the Cyclopes, and the Giants - the
Hecatoncheires (Hundred - Headed Ones). Uranus hated the monsters, and, even
though they were his children, locked them in a secret place in the earth. Gaea
was enraged at this favoritism and persuaded their son Cronos to overthrow his
father. He emasculated Uranus, and from his blood Gaea brought forth the Giants,
and the three avenging goddesses the Erinyes. Her last and most terrifying
offspring was Typhon, a 100-headed monster, who, although conquered by the
god Zeus, was believed to spew forth the molten lava flows of Mount Etna.

Tartarus - The lowest region of the underworld. Hesiod claimed that a brazen
anvil would take none days and nights to fall from heaven to earth, and nine days
and nights to fall from earth to Tartarus. Tartarus rose out of Chaos and was the
destination of wicked souls. Uranus banished his children the Cyclopes and the
Hecatoncheires to Tartarus, as Zeus also did to the Titans. Other famous
inhabitants of Tartarus include Sisyphus, Ixion, Tantalus, Salmoneus, Tityus,
Ophion, and the daughters of Danaus.

Eros - The god of love. He was thought of as a handsome and intense young man,
attended by Pothos ("longing") or Himeros ("desire"). Later mythology made him
the constant attendant of his mother, Aphrodite, goddess of love.

Erebus - Personification of the darkness of the Underworld and the offspring of

Chaos. . In later myth, Erebus was the dark region beneath the earth through
which the shades must pass to the realm of Hades below. He is often used
metaphorically for Hades itself.

Uranus - Gaea - The personification of the sky; the god of the heavens and
husband of Gaea, the goddess of the earth. . Their children are the Hecatonchires,
the Cyclopes and the Titans.

Pontus - The sea god.

Cyclopes - Three sons: Arges, Brontes, and Steropes of Uranus and Gaea. The
Cyclops were giant beings with a single, round eye in the middle of their
foreheads.They helped Zeus defeat their brother, Cronus, by forging lightning
bolts. They also made Poseidon's trident and Hades invisibility cap.

Hecatonchires - Three sons of Uranus and Gaia. There were three of them:
Briareus also called Aegaeon, Cottus, and Gyges also called Gyes. They were
gigantic and had fifty heads and one hundred arms each of great strength. They
had 100 hands and helped Zeus in his war against the Titans.

Cronus - Rhea - Cronus was a ruler of the universe during the Golden Age. He
was one of the 12 Titans and the youngest son of Uranus and Gaea, Cronus and
his sister-queen, Rhea, became the parents of 6 of the 12 gods and goddesses
known as the Olympians. Cronus had been warned that he would be overthrown
by one of his own children. To prevent this, he swallowed his first five children as
soon as they were born. Rhea did not like this. She substituted a stone wrapped in
swaddling clothes for their sixth child, Zeus. He was hidden in Crete, and when he
was older, he returned and forced Cronos to disgorge all the other children, who
had grown inside of him. Zeus and his siblings fought a war against Cronos and
the Titans. Zeus won, and the Titans were confined in Tartarus, a cave in the
deepest part of the underworld.

Coeus - Phoebe - Coeus was a titan of Intelligence, the father of Leto, husband
of Phoebe.

Oceanus - Tethys - The personification of the vast ocean. Together with his wife
Tethys, they produced the rivers and six thousand offsprings called the Oceanids.
He ruled over Ocean, a great river encircling the earth, which was believed to be a
flat circle. The nymphs of this great river, the Oceanids, were their daughters, and
the gods of all the streams on earth were their sons.

Hestia - Virgin goddess of the hearth. She was the symbol of the house, around
which a new born child was carried before it was received into the family.
Although she appears in very few myths, most cities had a common hearth where
her sacred fire burned. I
Hades - He was made lord of the underworld, ruling over the dead. He is a greedy
god who is greatly concerned with increasing his subjects. Those whose calling
increase the number of dead were seen favorably by him. He was also the god of
wealth, due to the precious metals mined from the earth. His wife was Persephone
whom Hades abducted.
The underworld itself was often called Hades. It was divided into two regions:
Erebus, where the dead pass as soon as they die, and Tartarus, the deeper region,
where the Titans had been imprisoned. It was a dim and unhappy place, inhabited
by vague forms and shadows and guarded by Cerberus, the three-headed,
dragon-tailed dog. Sinister rivers separated the underworld from the world above,
and the aged boatman Charon ferried the souls of the dead across these waters.

Poseidon - God of the sea. His weapon was a trident, which could shake the
earth, and shatter any object. He was second only to Zeus in power amongst the
gods. Under the ocean, he had a marvelous golden palace. Poseidon was the
husband of Amphitrite, one of the Nereids, by whom he had a son, Triton.
Poseidon had numerous other love affairs. At one point he desired Demeter. To put
him off Demeter asked him to make the most beautiful animal that the world had
ever seen. To impress her Poseidon created the first horse. In some accounts his
first attempts were unsucessful and created a varity of other animals in his quest.
By the time the horse was created his passion for Demeter had cooled.

Zeus - Hera - The god of the sky and ruler of the gods of Mount Olympus. He
displaced his father and assumed the leadership of the gods of Olympus. Zeus
was considered the father of the gods and of mortals. He did not create either
gods or mortals; he was their father in the sense of being the protector and ruler
both of the Olympian family and of the human race. His weapon was a
thunderbolt. His breastplate was the aegis, his bird the eagle, his tree the oak. He
was married to Hera but, is famous for his many affairs, which resulted in many
known children and probably many more that were not known to be his. Athena
was his favorite child. He bore her alone from his head. One of the greatest feasts
for Zeus was the Olympic games. They were taking place every four years in
Olympia. Even if there was a war between the city-states of Greece they were
stopping the war to take part on that games.
Hera's marriage was founded in strife with Zeus and continued in strife. Writers
represented Hera as constantly being jealous of Zeus's various amorous affairs.
She punished her rivals and their children, among both goddesses and mortals,
with implacable fury. The peacock (the symbol of pride; her wagon was pulled by
peacocks) and the cow (she was also known as Bopis, meaning "cow-eyed", which
was later translated as "with big eyes") were her sacred animals. Her favorite city
was Argos.

Demeter - Zeus - Goddess of corn and the harvest. She taught mankind the art
of sowing and ploughing so they could end their nomadic existence. She was of a
severe, a beauty scarcely relieved by her hair. which was as fair as ripened grain.
Poseidon coveted her, but Demeter refused herself to him. To escape him she fled
to Arkadia where, assuming the shape of a mare, she mingled with the herds of
King Oncus. Poseidon, however, succeeded in finding her, changed himself into a
stallion and made her the mother of the horse Arion.
When her daughter Persephone was abducted by Hades, god of the underworld,
Demeter's grief was so great that she neglected the land; no plants grew, and
famine devastated the earth. Dismayed at this situation, Zeus, demanded that his
brother Hades return Persephone to her mother. Hades agreed, but before he
released the girl, he made her eat some pomegranate seeds that would force her
to return to him for four months each year. In her joy at being reunited with her
daughter, Demeter caused the earth to bring forth bright spring flowers and
abundant fruit and grain for the harvest. However, her sorrow returned each
autumn when Persephone had to return to the underworld. The desolation of the
winter season and the death of vegetation were regarded as the yearly
manifestation of Demeter's grief when her daughter was taken from her. Demeter
and Persephone were worshipped in the rites of the Eleusinian Mysteries.

Persephone - Persephone was the Queen of the Underworld and the daughter of
Demeter. Persephone is the goddess of the underworld in Greek mythology. She is
the daughter of Zeus and Demeter, goddess of the harvest. Persephone was such
a beautiful girl that everyone loved her, even Hades wanted her for himself.
Although Zeus gave his consent, Demeter was unwilling. Hades, therefore, seized
the maiden as she was gathering flowers and carried her off to his realm.
Persephone was a personification of the revival of nature in spring. Her attributes
in iconography can include a torch, a crown, a sceptre, and stalks of grain.

Leto - Zeus - The mother of Artemis, goddess of the bow and of hunting. She was
loved by the god Zeus, who, fearing the jealousy of his wife, Hera, banished Leto
when she was about to bear his child. All countries and islands were also afraid of
Hera's wrath and refused the desperate Leto a home where her child could be
born. Finally, in her wanderings, she set foot on a small island floating in the
Aegean Sea, which was called Delos.

Iapetus - The son Uranus and Gaea. Iapetus' wife was Clymene.

Athena - or Pallas-Athene, is one of the most important goddesses in Greek

mythology. Goddess of wisdom, war, the arts, industry, justice and skill. Athena
sprang full-grown and armoured from the forehead of the god Zeus and was his
favourite child. She was fierce and brave in battle but, only fights to protect the
state and home from outside enemies. She was the goddess of the city,
handicrafts, and agriculture. She invented the bridle, which permitted man to
tame horses, the trumpet, the flute, the pot, the rake, the plow, the yoke, the
ship, and the chariot. Her attributes in iconography include the aegis (a fringed
cloak, sometimes decorated with a Gorgon's head), the helmet, and the spear.

Ares - God of war. He was very aggressive. He was unpopular with both gods and
humans. Ares was not invincible, even against mortals. He personified the brutal
nature of war. He was immortal but whenever he would get hurt he would run
back to his father, Zeus and was healed. Ares was mainly worshipped in Thracia.

Hebe - The goddess of youth. She, along with Ganymede were the cupbearers to
the gods, serving them their nectar and ambrosia. She also prepared Ares' bath,
and helped Hera to her chariot. Hebe was Hercules' wife.

Hephaestus - God of fire and metalwork. He was born lame and weak, and
shortly after his birth, he was cast out of Olympus. In most legends, however, he
was soon honoured again on Olympus and was married to Aphrodite, goddess of
love, or to Aglaia, one of the three Graces. His workshop was believed to lie under
Mount Etna, a volcano in Sicily. He made many wonderful artifacts for the gods,
including the twelve golden thrones of the Olympians, their weapons and
treasures.

Apollo - Apollo was primarily a god of prophecy. He sometimes gave the gift of
prophecy to mortals whom he loved, such as the Trojan princess Cassandra. As a
prophet and magician, he is the patron of medicine and healing. He was a gifted
musician, who delighted the gods with his performance on the lyre. He was also a
master archer and a fleet-footed athlete, credited with having been the first victor
in the Olympic games. His twin sister was Artemis. He was famous for his oracle
at Delphi. People traveled to it from all over the Greek world to divine the future.
He was also the god of agriculture and cattle, and of light and truth.

Artemis - Artemis was the goddess of the hunt and animals, as well as of
childbirth. Her twin brother was Apollo. As the moon goddess, she was sometimes
identified with the goddesses Selene and Hecate.Her attributes are the bow and
arrow, while dogs, deer and goose are her sacred animals. Her most elaborate
temple was in Ephesis.

Atlas - Son of the Titan Iapetus and the nymph Clymene, and brother of
Prometheus. Atlas fought with the Titans in the war against the deities of Mount
Olympus. Atlas stormed the heavens and Zeus punished him for this deed by
condemning him to forever bear the earth and the heavens upon his shoulders.
He was the father of the Hesperides, the nymphs who guarded the tree of golden
apples, and Heracles (Hercules).

Prometheus - Prometheus was the wisest Titan, known as the friend and
benefactor of humanity.He stole the sacred fire from Zeus and the gods. He also
tricked the gods so that they should get the worst parts of any animal sacrificed
to them, and human beings the best. Zeus commanded that Prometheus be
chained for eternity in the Caucasus. There, an eagle would eat at his liver and
each day, the liver would be renewed. So the punishment was endless, until
Heracles finally killed the bird.
Epimetheus - Epimetheus was a Titan, whose name meant "afterthought". In
some accounts, he was delegated, along with his brother Prometheus by Zeus to
create mankind. He foolishly ignored his brother Prometheus' warnings to beware
of any gifts from Zeus. He accepted Pandora as his wife, thereby bringing ills and
sorrows to the world.

Maia - Zeus - Maia was a daughter of Atlas. She was one of Zeus' lovers. She,
along with Zeus was the mother of Hermes.

Dione - Zeus - The goddess or Titaness Dione became by Zeus the mother of
Aphrodite.

Hermes - Hermes' main role was as a messenger. As the special servant and
courier of Zeus, Hermes had winged sandals and a winged hat and bore a golden
caduceus, or magic wand, entwined with snakes and surmounted by wings. He
conducted the souls of the dead to the underworld and was believed to possess
magical powers over sleep and dreams. Five minutes after he was born, he stole a
herd of cows from Apollo. He invented the lyre from a cow's internal fibers. After
Apollo learned what happened, he knew that his half-brother should he one of the
pantheon. Hermes was the patron of trickster and thieves because of his actions
early in life. His attributes in iconography include the kerykeion (messenger's
staff), winged boots, and petassos (cap).

Aphrodite - The goddess of love and beauty. Aphrodite loved and was loved by
many gods and mortals. Among her mortal lovers, the most famous was perhaps
Adonis. Some of her sons are Eros, Anteros, Hymenaios and Aeneas (with her
Trojan lover Anchises). Perhaps the most famous legend about Aphrodite concerns
the cause of the Trojan War. She was the wife of Hephaestus. The myrtle was her
tree. The dove, the swan, and the sparrow were her birds.

Zeus - Before the pantheon of Greek gods we are familiar with ruled atop
Olympus, an earlier generation of deities, known as Titans, held power. The ruler
of these divine beings was Cronus, son of Gaia (Mother Earth). Cronus' mother
had informed him that he would be usurped by one of his offspring who would be
tremendously powerful. Therefore, whenever Cronus' wife Rhea bore a child he
would swallow the newborn god to prevent them from overturning his power...more
»

Greek Mythology Links:

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The Sicilian war

Sicily was attacked by Syracuse in 416 BC. Under the able guidance of Alcibiades,
they dreamt of conquering the whole of Sicily. Athens could loot Sicily, as it was a
flourishing region. But then Alcibiades was held for crimes against religious
statues (hermai). Alcibiades was allowed for the Sicilian expedition but on arriving
called back to Athens for trial. He fled to Sparta and Nicias was the new leader.
Alcibiades became a Spartan messenger.
Nicias delayed the attack and Syracuse was left with no harm. The delay helped
Syracuse who raised forces with the help of Sparta and other Sicilian cities. They
defeated the Athenian's and prevented them from entering Syracuse.
Demosthenes from Athens joined Nicias for help to attack Sicily. But the
Athenian's were defeated once again. A late withdraws due to lunar eclipse and
the battle ensued in the Great Harbor of Syracuse. Nicias and Demosthenes fleet
was faced a major and embarrassing defeat.

The Ionian or Decelean War

Sparta recommenced war in 414 BC. Now Sparta had a strong army and navy.
Athens had lost all its best sailors and finances were wearing. The Spartan on King
Agis orders occupied Decelea so that Athens could not access their silver mines.
The Athenian empire started to fall apart due to attack after attack. Persia entered
the war to support Sparta. The Athenian navy called back Alcibiades, who had fled
to Sparta, to help them.
The food sources of Sicily and Egypt were under the control of Sparta and Egypt.
Athens only support was in form of Crimea. The Athenians under Thrasybulus and
Thrasylus defeated the Spartans at Cynossema. Athens also enjoyed a naval
victory over Persia at Cyzicus at the Sea of Marmora.
Sparta saw a new leadership in the form of Lysander who along with Persian
leader Cyrus started to builds a new armada. Alcibiades divided his forces and left
one at Notium. But Lysander attacked Notium and Alcibiades could not do
anything upon returning as the damage had been done. He was called back to
Athens, probably for his trial, and he therefore fled to Hellespont.

Callicratidas was the next leader after Lysander left. He attacked the Athenian
harbor of Mitylene. Athens sailed their fleet in the battle of Arginusae where
Sparta lost. Callicratidas lost his life due to drowning. Sparta offered peace but
Athens refused.
Athens sailed to Aegospotami in Hellespont. Lysander was called back and he was
based at the harbor of Abydos, opposite Aegospotami. Lysander captured the
entire Athenian fleet and smashed and bringing the war to an end in just one
attack. Lysander blocked Athens through its naval power, while the army attacked
on land. With food supply closed, Athens surrendered on Spartan terms.
Repercussions:
After the war ended, the 'Thirty Tyrants' ruled Athens for a short period of time.
Democracy was reinitiated in 403 BC. Spartan victory in the Peloponnesian War
was somewhat diluted because of their defeat in Battle of Leuctra in 371 BC. Later
on when Philip II of Macedon conquered all of Greece, Sparta's empire and power
was diminished and ultimately destroyed.
Sources:

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Social Structure and Government

Social Structure
Greece in the Archaic Period was made up from independent states, called Polis,
or city state. The polis of Athens included about 2,500 sq kilometres of territory,
but other Polis with smaller areas of 250 sq kilometres.
Greek Society was mainly broken up between Free people and Slaves, who were
owned by the free people. Slaves were used as servants and labourers, without
any legal rights. Sometimes the slaves were prisoners of war or bought from
foreign slave traders. Although many slaves lived closely with their owners, few
were skilled craftsmen and even fewer were paid.
As Athenian society evolved, free men were divided between Citizens and Metics.
A citizen was born with Athenian parents and were the most powerful group, that
could take part in the government of the Polis. After compulsory service in the
army they were expected to be government officials and take part in Jury Service.
A metic was of foreign birth that had migrated to Athens, to either trade or
practice a craft. A metic had to pay taxes and sometimes required to serve in the
army. However, they could never achieve full right s of a Citizen, neither could
they own houses or land and were not allowed to speak in law courts.
The social classes applied to men only, as women all took their social and legal
status from their husband or their male partner. Women in ancient Greece were
not permitted to take part in public life.
Government
c.800 BC
The majority of Greek states were governed by groups of rich landowners, called
aristocrats; this word is derived from 'aristoi', meaning best people. This was a
system known as 'oligarchy' the rule by the few.
c.750 BC
Athenian power in the Archaic Period was controlled by Aeropagus, or council.
Their policies were delivered through three magistrates called Archons.
c.500 BC
Democracy was introduced by an aristocrat, Cleisthenes. Who was from family of
the Alcmaeonids in 508 BC, after 2 years of civil war, they used the help of
Spartans to secure power.
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Clothing
Ancient Greek clothing was typically homemade and the same piece of homespun
fabric that was used as a type of garment, or blanket. From Greek vase paintings
and sculptures, we can tell that the fabrics were intensely colored and usually
decorated with intricate designs.
Clothing for women and men consisted of two main garments-a tunic (either a
peplos or chiton) and a cloak (himation). The peplos was a large rectangle of
heavy fabric, usually wool, folded over along the upper edge so that the over fold
(apoptygma) would reach to the waist. It was placed around the body and
fastened at the shoulders with a pin or brooch. There were armholes were on each
side, and the open side of the garment was either left that way, or pinned or sewn
to form a seam.
The chiton was made of a much lighter material, normally linen. It was a very long
and very wide rectangle of fabric sewn up at the sides, pinned or sewn at the
shoulders, and usually girded around the waist. Often the chiton was wide enough
to allow for sleeves that were fastened along the upper arms with pins or buttons.
Both the peplos and chiton were floor-length garments that were usually long
enough to be pulled over the belt, creating a pouch known as a kolpos. Under
either garment, a woman might have worn a soft band, known as a strophion,
around the mid-section of the body.
Men in ancient Greece customarily wore a chiton similar to the one worn by
women, but knee-length or shorter. An exomis (a short chiton fastened on the left
shoulder) was worn for exercise, horse riding, or hard labor. The himation (cloak)
worn by both women and men was essentially a rectangular piece of heavy fabric,
either woolen or linen. It was draped diagonally over one shoulder or
symmetrically over both shoulders, like a stole.
Women sometimes wore an epiblema (shawl) over the peplos or chiton. Young
men often wore a chlamys (short cloak) for riding. Greek men occasionally wore a
broad-brimmed hat (petasos), and on rare occasions, Greek women donned a flat-
brimmed one with a high peaked crown.
Footwear
Women and men wore sandals, slippers, soft shoes, or boots, although at home
they usually went barefoot.

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Ancient Greek Language

The Ancient Greeks were the first Europeans to read and write with an Alphabet,
which eventually led to all modern European languages.
The Ancient Greek Language has different theories of origin; firstly some believe it
migrated with the Proto-Greek speakers into the Greek Peninsula, dating from
2500BC to 1700 BC. Second Theory considers the migration into Greece happened
before Proto-Greek, so the characteristics of Greek sounds were later.
Ancient Greek Dialects
Different variants of the early Greek alphabet suited to local dialects. There were
three major dialects in ancient Greece, Aeolic, Doric and Ionic. Each of these were
from different tribes, the Aeolians lived in the islands of the Aegean, the Dorians,
from the Greek coast of Peloponnesus, including Crete, Sparta and other parts of
West Coast Asia Minor. The Ionians settled in the West coast of Asia Minor
including the Smyma.
The first surviving script for writing Greek was the Linear B discovered in 1953. It
was used for the archaic Mycenaean dialect. When Mycenaean civilization was
destroyed, there was a period of roughly five hundred years, when writing was
either not used, or either that there was nothing that survived.
Homer's poetry of the Iliad and Odyssey were written in a sort of literary Ionic with
some borrowed words from the other dialects. Ionic, became the first literary
language of ancient Greece until the ascendancy of Athens in the late fifth
century. Greek lyrical poetry and Ancient Greek Tragedy was written in Doric.
Attic Greek was a sub dialect of Ionic that belonged to the language of the
Athenians for centuries. Classical Literature that survived is written in Attic Greek,
this includes extant text of Plato and Aristotle .
Hellenistic Greek 'Koine' (meaning Common, also known as Biblical Greek) came
from the colonization of Asian Minoans to Egypt and to the Middle East; this is
where the language evolved into multiple dialects. Alexander the Great was
instrumental in combining these dialects to make the 'Koine' dialect. As this
allowed Alexander's combined Army to communicate with itself and the language
also taught the inhabitants of the land he conquered, making Greek a world
language. This then allowed the Greek language to flourish during the Hellenistic
period.
From the beginning of the classical period, Greek has been written in the Greek
alphabet, which was derived from the Phoenicians. This is clear from the shape of
the letters, even Herodotus in his book of Histories, claimed the Greek alphabet
included Phoenician styled letters in the alphabet, However, the Phoenician
language only had letters for constants, which the Greeks adopted and evolved to
included letters of sounds that were not included. Early Ancient Greek was also
written from right to left, the same as the Phoenician.
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Jewelry
Different types of jewelry were produced in the Hellenistic period of Ancient
Greece-Necklaces, earrings, pendants, pins, bracelets, armbands, thigh bands,
finger rings, wreaths, diadems, and other elaborate hair ornaments.
Bracelets were often worn in pairs or in matched sets. Pieces were usually inlaid
with pearls and dazzling gems or semiprecious stones-emeralds, garnets,
carnelians, banded agates, sardonyx, chalcedony, and rock crystal. Artists also
incorporated colorful enamel inlays that dramatically contrasted with their
intricate gold settings.
Elaborate subsidiary ornamentation drew plant and animal motifs, or the relation
between adornment and the goddess, Aphrodite, and her son, Eros. Popular
designs for earrings included; Airborne winged figures, such as Eros, Nike, and the
eagle of Zeus carrying Ganymede up to Mount Olympus.

In Hellenistic times, jewelry was often passed down through generation.

Occasionally, it was dedicated at sanctuaries as offerings to the gods. There are
records of headdresses, necklaces, bracelets, rings, brooches, and pins in temple
and treasury inventories, as, for example, at Delos. Hoards of Hellenistic jewelry
that were buried for safekeeping in antiquity have also come to light. Some of the
best-preserved samples come from tombs where jewelry was usually placed on
the body of the deceased. Some of these pieces were made specifically for
interment; however, most were worn during life.
 --

Ancient Greek Theatre

 Playwrights
 Aeschylus

 Aristophanes

 Euripides

 Sophocles

The Greek theatre history began with festivals honoring their gods. A god,
Dionysus, was honored with a festival called by "City Dionysia". In Athens, during
this festival, men used to perform songs to welcome Dionysus. Plays were only
presented at City Dionysia festival.
Athens was the main center for these theatrical traditions. Athenians spread these
festivals to its numerous allies in order to promote a common identity.
At the early Greek festivals, the actors, directors, and dramatists were all the
same person. After some time, only three actors were allowed to perform in each
play. Later few non-speaking roles were allowed to perform on-stage. Due to
limited number of actors allowed on-stage, the chorus evolved into a very active
part of Greek theatre. Music was often played during the chorus' delivery of its
lines.

Panoramic view of the Greek theatre at Epidaurus.

Tragedy, comedy, and satyr plays were the theatrical forms.

Tragedy and comedy were viewed as completely separate genres. Satyr plays
dealt with the mythological subject in comic manner. Aristotle's Poetics sets out a
thesis about the perfect structure for tragedy.
Tragedy plays

Thespis is considered to be the first Greek "actor" and originator of tragedy (which
means "goat song", perhaps referring to goats sacrificed to Dionysus before
performances, or to goat-skins worn by the performers.) However, his importance
is disputed, and Thespis is sometimes listed as late as sixteenth in the
chronological order of Greek tragedians.
Aristotle's Poetics contain the earliest known theory about the origins of Greek
theatre. He says that tragedy evolved from dithyrambs, songs sung in praise of
Dionysus at the Dionysia each year. The dithyrambs may have begun as frenzied
improvisations but in the 600s BC, the poet Arion is credited with developing the
dithyramb into a formalized narrative sung by a chorus.
Three well-known Greek tragedy playwrights of the fifth century are Sophocles,
Euripides and Aeschylus.
Comedy plays

Comedy was also an important part of ancient Greek theatre. Comedy plays were
derived from imitation; there are no traces of its origin. Aristophanes wrote most
of the comedy plays. Out of these 11 plays survived - Lysistrata, a humorous tale
about a strong woman who leads a female coalition to end war in Greece.
Greek Theatre

Theatre buildings were called a theatron. The theaters were large, open-air
structures constructed on the slopes of hills. They consisted of three main
elements: the orchestra, the skene, and the audience.
Orchestra: A large circular or rectangular area at the center part of the theatre,
where the play, dance, religious rites, acting used to take place.
Skene: A large rectangular building situated behind the orchestra, used as a
backstage. Actors could change their costumes and masks. Earlier the skene was
a tent or hut, later it became a permanent stone structure. These structures were
sometimes painted to serve as backdrops.
Rising from the circle of the orchestra was the audience. The theatres were
originally built on a very large scale to accommodate the large number of people
on stage, as well as the large number of people in the audience, up to fourteen
thousand.
Acting

The cast of a Greek play in the Dionysia was comprised of amateurs, not
professionals (all male).
Ancient Greek actors had to gesture grandly so that the entire audience could see
and hear the story. However most Greek theatres were cleverly constructed to
transmit even the smallest sound to any seat.
Costumes and Masks

The actors were so far away from the audience that without the aid of
exaggerated costumes and masks.
The masks were made of linen or cork, so none have survived. Tragic masks
carried mournful or pained expressions, while comic masks were smiling or
leering.
The shape of the mask amplified the actor's voice, making his words easier for the
audience to hear.
Ancient Greek Everyday Life
Men if they were not training in military, or discussing politics went to the Theatre
for entertainment. To watch dramas that they could relate to, including tragedies
and comedies. These often involved current politics and gods in some form. It is
thought that women were not allowed to watch theatre or perform at the theatre,
although male actors did play women roles.
Lives of Women in Ancient Greece were closely tied to domestic work, spinning,
weaving and other domestic duties. They were not involved in public life or in
politics. The live were normally quite confined to the house although one public
duty was acting as a priestess at a temple.
Children in ancient Greece usually occupied their time playing with toys and
games.
Farming and Food
The majority of Ancient Greek people made their living from farming. Citizens
often had land outside the city which provided their income. The Greek landscape
and climate was difficult to farm.
Grapes were usually picked around September and either kept for eating or made
into wine. Making wine was done by treading and kept in jars to ferment.

Olives were either picked by hand or knocked out of the tress with
wooden sticks. Some were crushed in a press to produce olive oil and some eaten.
This was an important product to the Greeks that had many uses including;
cooking, lighting, beauty products and for athletic purposes. It is also believed
that uprooting an olive tree was a criminal offence. The grain was usually harvest
around October to ensure it would grow during the wettest season. A man drove
the ox driven plough, as second man sowed the seeds behind. In Spring the Crops
were harvested using curved knives (sickles). After harvesting the grain, it was
then thrashed, using mules and the help of the wind to separate the chaff from
the grain, the husks were then removed by pounding the grain with a pestle and
mortar.
 Ancient Greeks usually ate bread (barley or wheat)
and porridge, accompanied with food such as cheese, vegetables, fish, eggs and
fruit. Animal such as deer, hare and boars were hunted only as addition to the
food supply. Seasoning usually involved coriander and sesame seeds. Honey was
probably the only sweetening that existed at the time, importance this is shown
as the beehives were kept in terracotta
Ancient Greek Games
Greek boys played games like hockey, which were not part of the Olympic Games.
The Ancient Greek boys usually played games naked, so girls were forbidden to
watch.
Ancient Greek women and girls were not expected to do much physical activity for
recreation purposes. From this pot we can see a young girl, juggling three balls,
but there is nothing to presume she was a performer, as she is dressed like an
ordinary girl.
The Ancient Greeks also played games that did not involve much physical activity
also, such as marbles, dice, checkers and knucklebones. Below is a famous vase
from the Vatican museum depicting Achilles and Ajax playing 'Petteia' checkers.
The Ancient Greek version of checkers was similar to what the current game of
backgammon is where the Game backgammon is derived from. The Ancient Greek
version of Checkers involved a board, stones and dice.
The Greeks invented athletic contests and held them in honour of their gods. The
Isthmos game were staged every two years at the Isthmos of Corinth. The Pythian
games took place every four years near Delphi. The most famous games held at
Olympia, South- West of Greece, which took place every four years. The ancient
Olympics seem to have begun in the early 700 BC, in honour of Zeus. No women
were allowed to watch the games and only Greek nationals could participate. One
of the ancient wonders was a statue of Zeus at Olympia, made of gold and ivory
by a Greek sculptor Pheidias. This was placed inside a Temple, although it was a
towering 42 feet high.
The games at Olympia were greatly expanded from a one-day festival of athletics
and wrestling to, in 472 BC, five days with many events. The order of the events is
not precisely known, but the first day of the festival was devoted to sacrifices. On
the Middle Day of the festival 100 oxen were sacrificed in honor of a God. Athletes
also often prayed and made small sacrifices themselves..
On the second day, the foot-race, the main event of the games, took place in the
stadium, an oblong area enclosed by sloping banks of earth.
At Olympia there were 4 different types of races; The first was stadion, the oldest
event of the Games, where runners sprinted for 1 stade, the length of the
stadium(192m). The other races were a 2-stade race (384 m.), and a long-
distance run which ranged from 7 to 24 stades (1,344 m. to 4,608 m.).The fourth
type of race involved runners wearing full amor, which was 2-4 stade race (384 m.
to 768 m.), used to build up speed and stamina for military purposes.
On other days, wrestling, boxing, and the pancratium, a combination of the two,
were held. In wrestling, the aim was to throw the opponent to the ground three
times, on either his hip, back or shoulder. In ancient Greek wrestling biting and
genital holds were illegal.
Boxing became more and more brutal; at first the pugilists wound straps of soft
leather over their fingers as a means of deadening the blows, but in later times
hard leather, sometimes weighted with metal, was used. In the pancratium, the
most rigorous of the sports, the contest continued until one or the other of the
participants acknowledged defeat.
Horse-racing, in which each entrant owned his horse, was confined to the wealthy
but was nevertheless a popular attraction. The course was 6 laps of the track,
with separate races for whereupon the rider would have no stirrups. It was only
wealthy people that could pay for such training, equipment, and feed of both the
rider and the horses. So whichever horse won it was not the rider who was
awarded the Olive wreath but the owner. There were also Chariot races, that
consisted of both 2-horse and 4-horse chariot races, with separate races for
chariots drawn by foals. There was also a race was between carts drawn by a
team of 2 mules, which was 12 laps of the stadium track.
After the horse-racing came the pentathlon, a series of five events: sprinting,
long-jumping, javelin-hurling, discus-throwing, and wrestling.
The ancient Greeks considered the rhythm and precision of an athlete throwing
the discus as important as his strength.
The discus was a circle shaped stone, iron, bronze, or lead. There were different
sizes according to age groups. The javelin was a long wooden stick shape with
spear head, similar height to that of a person. In the middle was bound a thong
for a hurler's fingers to grip and guide to the correct angle it was thrown.
To Jump long distances athletes used lead or stone weights to increase the length
of the jump. These weights were known as 'halteres' were held in front of the
athlete during his ascent, and then swung behind his back and dropped during his
descent to help propel him.
The history of Greece can be traced back to Stone Age hunters. Later came early
farmers and thecivilizations of the Minoan and Mycenaean kings. This was
followed by a period of wars and invasions, known as the Dark Ages. In about
1100 BC, a people called the Dorians invaded from the north and spread down the
west coast. In the period from 500-336 BC Greece was divided into small city
states, each of which consisted of a city and its surrounding countryside.
There were only a few historians in the time of Ancient Greece. Three major
ancient historians, were able to record their time of Ancient Greek history, that
include Herodotus, known as the 'Father of History' who travelled to many ancient
historic sites at the time, Thucydides and Xenophon.
Most other forms of History knowledge and accountability of the ancient Greeks
we know is because of temples, sculpture, pottery, artefacts and other
archaeological findings.

NEOLITHIC PERIOD (6000 - 2900 BC)

According to historians and archeological findings, the Neolithic Age in Greece

lasted from 6800 to 3200 BC. The most domesticated settlements were in Near
East of Greece. They traveled mainly due to overpopulation. These people
introduced pottery and animal husbandry in Greece. They may as well have
traveled via the route of Black sea into Thrace, which then further leads to
Macedonia, Thessaly, Boeotia etc. The second way of traveling into Greece is from
one island to another and such type of colonies has been found in Knossos and
Kythnos... more »

EARLY BRONZE AGE (2900 - 2000BC)

The Greek Bronze Age or the Early Helladic Era started around 2800 BC and lasted
till 1050 BC in Crete while in the Aegean islands it started in 3000 BC. The Bronze
Age in Greece is divided into periods such as Helladic I, II. The information that is
available today on the Bronze Age in Greece is from the architecture, burial styles
and lifestyle. The colonies were made of 300 to 1000 people... more »

Minoan Age(2000 - 1400 BC )

Bronze Age civilization, centring on the island of Crete. It was named after the
legendary king Minos. It is divided into three periods: the early Minoan period
(c.3000-2200 B.C.), the Middle Minoan period (c.2200-1500 B.C.) and the Late
Minoan period (c.1500-1000 B.C.).
 Middle Minoan Crete

 The Minoans

 The History of The Minoans

Mycenaean Age (600 - 1100 BC)

Period of high cultural achievement, forming the backdrop and basis for
subsequent myths of the heroes. It was named for the kingdom of Mycenae and
the archaeological site where fabulous works in gold were unearthed. The
Mycenaean Age was cut short by widespread destruction ushering in the Greek
Dark Age.... more »

The Dark Ages (1100 - 750 BC)

- The period between the fall of the Mycenean civilizations and the readoption of
writing in the eigth or seventh century BC. After the Trojan Wars the Mycenaeans
went through a period of civil war, the country was weak and a tribe called the
Dorians took over. Some speculate that Dorian invaders from the north with iron
weapons laid waste the Mycenaean culture. Others look to internal dissent,
uprising and rebellion, or perhaps some combination.
 The Greek Dark Ages
A chapter on the history and culture of the Greek Dark Ages.
 The Dorians
one of the three main groups of people of ancient Greece, the others being
the Aeolians and the Ionians, who invaded from the north in the 12th and
11th centuries BC.

Archaic Period (750 - 500 BC)

The Archaic Period in Greece refers to the years between 750 and 480 B.C., more
particularly from 620 to 480 B.C. The age is defined through the development of
art at this time, specifically through the style of pottery and sculpture, showing
the specific characteristics that would later be developed into the more
naturalistic style of the Classical period. The Archaic is one of five periods that
Ancient Greek history can be divided into; it was preceded by the Dark Ages and
followed by the Classical period. The Archaic period saw advancements in political
theory, especially the beginnings of democracy, as well as in culture and art. The
knowledge and use of written language which was lost in the Dark Ages was re-
established.

Classical Period (500-336 BC) - Classical period of ancient Greek history, is

fixed between about 500 B. C., when the Greeks began to come into conflict with
the kingdom of Persia to the east, and the death of the Macedonian king and
conqueror Alexander the Great in 323 B.C. In this period Athens reached its
greatest political and cultural heights: the full development of the democratic
system of government under the Athenian statesman Pericles; the building of the
Parthenon on the Acropolis; the creation of the tragedies of Sophocles, Aeschylus
and Euripides; and the founding of the philosophical schools of Socrates and Plato.
 Archaic and Classical Greek History
Hellenistic Period (336-146 BC) - period between the conquest of the Persian
Empire by Alexander the Great and the establishment of Roman supremacy, in
which Greek culture and learning were pre-eminent in the Mediterranean and Asia
Minor. It is called Hellenistic (Greek, Hellas, "Greece") to distinguish it from the
Hellenic culture of classical Greece.
 Hellenistic Greece

 Hellenic and Hellenistic Societies

3300-1000 BCE:
Greece - The earliest known prehistoric civilizations occupy
the Aegean world. This period marks the rise and fall of the MINOAN and
MYCENAEAN civilization.

2200 BCE: Greece - Indo-European invaders, speaking the earliest forms of Greek,
enter the mainland of Greece, and the MYCENAEAN CIVILIZATION (named after the
leading Greek city on the peninsula from 1600-1200 BCE) emerges.
2000-1500 BCE: Greece - MINOAN CIVILIZATION (named after the Cretan ruler
Minos) reaches its height with its central power in Knossos on the island of Crete.
This culture is apparently more female-oriented and peaceful than others at the time.
1400 BCE: Greece - MYCENAEAN CIVILIZATION replaces MINOAN CIVILIZATION
after the destruction of Knossos. Bronze weapons, war-scenes on art, Cyclopean
defence walls, and the fact that male warriors were buried with their weapons provide
evidence for the claim that the Mycenaeans were militaristic. The horse-drawn chariot
emerges around this time. The Mycenaeans dominate the Aegean world for about 200
years.
1250 BCE: Greece - Though this is disputed, some scholars believe that the
MYCENAEANS wage war with the Trojans of western Asia Minor and are successful.
By 1100 BCE they are overtaken by barbaric Dorian invaders who are using iron
weapons. From this point, Greek culture enters the so-called Dark Ages, characterized
by the disappearance of writing and a decline in architecture and other aspects of
material culture. The period lasts until about 800 BCE. The two Homeric epics, The Iliad
and The Odyssey, are often used by scholars as evidence of the traditions and
institutions in place during this time. However, such use is strongly contested.
800 BCE: Greece - Increase in trade and the establishment of governmental defense
fortifications allows for the emergence of Greek city-states from tribal communities.
These grow up around marketplaces and include ATHENS, Thebes and Megara on the
Greek mainland. The Greek city-states are considered the most famous units of Greek
political life to develop in this society.
800-500 BCE: Greece - This period, often referred to as the Archaic period, marks the
developments of literature and the arts, politics, philosophy and science. The
Peloponnesian city of Corinth, SPARTA and cities along the coast of the Aegean Sea
flourish. For the most part, the Greek city-states are similar in their political evolution,
with the exception of Sparta's elite dictatorship. Most begin their political histories as
monarchies, evolve to oligarchies, are overthrown during the age of the tyrants (650-
500 BCE) and eventually establish democracies in the sixth and fifth centuries. Of the
Greek city-states, ATHENS and Sparta were the two most important.
700 BCE: Greece - HESIOD, Greece's second poet (after HOMER) and the first poet to
name himself, is composing his poetry. His most important works are The Theogony and
Works and Days.

640 BCE: Greece - Sparta's form of government, which is adapted from the Dorians, is
heavily influenced by militarianism. The Messenian wars initiate Sparta's fear of
change. They remain an isolated people, primarily by banning trade and discouraging
travel outside of Spartan territory. Alcaeus, Greek lyric poet, is born in Mytilene on
the island of Lesbos. His lyrics expound on contemporary politics, love, hymns to
Apollo and Hermes, and include some drinking songs.
612 BCE: Greece - Sappho, Greek lyric poet of Lesbos, is born. The most famous
female poet of the ancient world, Sappho is inscribed in the Palatine Anthology
among the Muses, rather than among the great lyric poets, in the second century BCE.
Her lyric poetry includes the exploration of female sexuality, female values in a male
dominated society, and love.
594 BCE: Greece - Solon, the great elegiac poet, is appointed chief magistrate of
ATHENS. His reforms include both political and economical adjustments which lead to
dissatisfaction in the upper and lower classes.
585 BCE: Greece - In Miletus, the founding city of philosophy, Thales predicts a total
eclipse of the sun. The founder of the Melesian school, Thales, teaches that all things
are composed of moisture; he is the first to put forth a rational explanation of the
cosmos. By the end of the sixth century, philosophers begin to question the
metaphysical nature of the cosmos with inquiries into the nature of being, the meaning
of truth, and the relationship between the divine and the physical world.
546 BCE: Greece - The first of the Athenian tyrants, Peisistratus, replaces Solon as
ruler.
530 BCE: Greece - Pythagoras and his followers found the city of Croton and combine
philosophy and literature with political activity as the foundation of their community.
Pythagoras, mathematician and philosopher, is credited with the Pythagorean theorem
and the Pythagorean table of opposites (the "dualism" that underlies Greek thought).
525 BCE: Greece - Greek drama grows out of the Dionysian festivals. The plays of
AESCHYLUS are considered to be the beginning of this long history of tragic drama.
His stories are drawn from conflicts between the individual and the cosmos.
518 BCE: Greece - Pindar, considered by some to be the greatest Greek lyric poet, is
born in Cynoscephalae, Boeotia. Pindar's odes celebrate games held at the religious
festivals of Greece. Athletic victory serves as the ground for his poetic fancy and his
religious, moral, and aesthetic insights. He dies in 438 BCE.
515 BCE:Greece - Parmenides of Elea is born. He is the founder of the Eleatic school in
the Phocaean colony in southern Italy. He is the first to focus attention on the central
problem of Greek metaphysics: the nature of being. For Parmenides, the laws
governing the universe are stable. Change is merely an illusion.
510 BCE:Greece - Hippias, the son of Peisistratus, succeeds his father and is
overthrown by a group of nobles with the help of SPARTA.
508 BCE: Greece - Cleisthenes, the father of Athenian democracy, rules ATHENS. His
reforms grant full rights to all free men of Athens.
500 BCE: Greece - The height of Greek sculpture begins with the work of Phidias. His
masterpieces include the statue of Athena in the PARTHENON, the Parthenon reliefs
and the statue of Zeus in the Temple of Olympian Zeus. The second most important
sculptor, Myron, is renowned for his statue of the discus thrower.
490 BCE: Greece - Lasting until 479 BCE, the Greeks initiate war with Persia when
Persia, at this time the strongest power in western Asia, establishes rule over Greek-
speaking cities in Asia Minor. The PERSIAN WARS are commonly regarded as among
the most significant in all of history. Darius the Great is defeated at the battle of
Marathon in 490 BCE. The Greeks emerge victorious and put an end to the possibility
of Persian despotism.
486 BCE: Greece - A contempoary of Darius the Persian, Heraclitus of Ephesus lives
somewhere around this time. For Heraclitus, reality is flux which originated out of
fire (as opposed to Parmenides' "stable" reality -- see 515 BCE). PLATO credits
Heraclitus for saying, "One cannot step into the same river twice." Heraclitus was also
known as "the obscure."
485 BCE: Greece - Accompanying the high point of democracy in ATHENS is a Greek
intellectual revolution, with its beginnings in Sophism. The Sophists situate ethics and
politics within philosophical discourse which, before, was limited to physics and
metaphysics alone. The leading Sophist, Protagoras, states his famous doctrine: "Man is
the measure of all things." For him, all truth, goodness, beauty, etc. are relative to
man's necessities and inquiries. Emerging in opposition to the Sophists are Socrates,
PLATO and ARISTOTLE, each of whom offers alternatives to the Sophists' relativism.
484 BCE: Greece - The father of history, Herodotus, is born. He is author of a nine-
book History of the Persian War and a book dedicated to his travels through Egypt. He
dies in 420.
478 BCE:
Greece - ATHENS joins with other Greek city-states in the formation of the
DELIAN LEAGUE. The League continues even after the end of the PERSIAN WARS and
transforms into a naval empire with Athens as its leader.
469 BCE: Greece - SOPHOCLES is born. He is the second Greek dramatist, following
AESCHYLUS, and is considered by some to be the greatest of the Greek dramatists. His
works include Oedipus Rex and Antigone. He dies in 406 BCE. This year also marks the
birth of Socrates, a philosopher of ethics who leaves no written philosophy. He is the
major critic of popular belief in ATHENS and is the protagonist of Plato's dialogues.
He is condemned to death in 399 BCE on the charges of corrupting the youth and
introducing new gods into Greek thought.
461-429 BCE: Greece - During this "Age of Pericles," Athenian democracy reaches
perfection, and the court systems are completed. A jury system is put in place with the
jury serving as absolute authority in judicial matters.
448 BCE: Greece - ARISTOPHANES, considered by some to be the greatest Greek
comedy writer, is born. He dies in 380 BCE. Greek comedy, like Greek tragedy,
originates out of the Dionysian festivals.
431-404 BCE: Greece - During the PELOPONNESIAN WAR between ATHENS and
SPARTA, the political supremacy of Athens is ended. Athenian trade is destroyed.
Athenian democracy is overthrown, and Athens is forced to surrender to Sparta as a
subject state. Sparta assumes dominance over the Greek world and replaces many
Greek democracies with oligarchies. The two major causes of the war are Athens'
growth in imperialism and the economic and cultural differences between Athens and
Sparta. Between 404 and 338, Sparta is not able to persist in the rule of Greece. Power
over Greece shifts from Sparta to Thebes and then to numerous other city-states, none
able to maintain rule over such a large empire.
427 BCE: Greece - PLATO, Socrates' most distinguished student, is born. He is a
prolific writer and is considered by some to be the most important of all philosophers.
Among his most noted works are The Apology, The Symposium, The Phaedo, The Phaedrus,
and The Republic. His written works are in dialogue form. He dies in 347 BCE.
406 BCE: Greece - EURIPIDES dies. Born in 480 BCE, he is the last of the tragic
dramatists. His contribution to the history of Greek tragedy is his creation of a drama
that deals with situations analogous to human life.
384 BCE: Greece - Plato's most distinguished student, ARISTOTLE, is born. He enters
Plato's Academyat the age of seventeen. After spending several years as tutor to
Alexander the Great, Aristotle returns to ATHENS and founds the Lyceum. Among his
writings are treatises on logic, metaphysics, ethics, politics, rhetoric and several on
natural sciences. He dies in 322 BCE.
350 BCE: Greece - HELLENISTIC GREECE witnesses the new philosophy of the
Cynics. Their leader, Diogenes, puts forth the first argument against conventional life.
The Cynics believe that people should live naturally and strive for self-sufficiency.
343 BCE: Greece - The greatest dramatist of HELLENISTIC GREECE, Menander,
follows the comedic genre put forth by ARISTOPHANES (the subject of which is
romantic love).
338 BCE: Greece - Philip of Macedon, Alexander the Great's father, conquers Greece
and is succeeded by his son two years later. At age twenty-two, Alexander begins his
campaign to acquire new territory in Asia. Within four years, Alexander conquers the
entire Persian Empire (including Asia Minor, Egypt, Persia, Syria and Mesopotamia).
Alexander continues his campaign farther east and eventually returns to Persia in 323
BCE, where he dies of fever in Babylon. Before his death, Alexander was the ruler of
the largest empire the world had seen. HELLENISTIC GREECE, a combination of
Greek and western Asian cultures, lasts from Alexander's time until the beginning of
the Christian era.
323 BCE: Greece - Alexander leaves no successors, and the highest generals engage in
many wars which result in the decisive battle of Ipsus in 301 BCE. The empire is
divided into four major states under the separate rules of Seleucus, Lysimachus,
Cassander and Ptolemy. Greek cities revolt against Macedonian rule but to no avail.
The next four hundred years witness the growth of large cities and Hellenistic
international trade.
300 BCE: Greece - Epicureanism and Stoicism both originate in ATHENS. Both Epicurus
(342-270 BCE) and Zeno, the Stoic (not to be confused with Zeno of Elea), believe in an
individualistic and materialistic philosophy. Neither believe in spiritual substances.
The soul is thought to be material. The Epicureans believe that pleasure is the highest
good, and only by abandoning the fear of the supernatural can one achieve tranquillity
of mind. The Stoics believe that tranquillity of mind is only achieved by surrendering
the self to the order of the cosmos.
310 BCE: Greece - Hellenistic astronomy is founded by Aristarchus of Samos. His
major contribution to Hellenistic thought is his theory that the earth and all other
planets revolve around the sun, contrary to ARISTOTLE.
200 BCE: Greece - Under the influence of Carneades, Skepticism arises with doctrines
closely tied to Sophism. They teach that because all knowledge is achieved through
sense perception, nothing can be known for sure.
146-30 BCE: Greece - Between these years, nearly all Hellenistic territory becomes
subject to Roman rule.
Greece
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Jump to: navigation, search

For other uses, see Greece (disambiguation).

"Hellas" redirects here. For other uses, see Hellas (disambiguation).

Hellenic Republic
Ελληνική Δημοκρατία
Ellīnikī́ Dīmokratía

Flag Coat of arms

Motto: Ελευθερία ή θάνατος

(transliteration)
Eleftheria i thanatos
"Freedom or Death"

Anthem:Ὕμνος εἰς τὴν Ἐλευθερίαν

Ýmnos eis tīn Eleutherían
Hymn to Liberty1

Location of Greece (dark green)

– on the European continent (light green & dark grey)

– in the European Union (light green) — [Legend]

Athens
Capital
(and largest city)
38°00′N23°43′E3823.717
Official languages Greek
Demonym Greek
Government Parliamentary republic

- President Karolos Papoulias

- Prime Minister Kostas Karamanlis

- Speaker Dimitris Sioufas

Modern statehood
Independence
- from
25 March 1821
the Ottoman Empire
3 February 1830, in the
- Recognized
London Protocol

- Current 1975, "Third Republic"

 constitution
EU accession 1 January 1981
Area

131,990 km² (96th)

- Total
50,944 sq mi
- Water (%) 0.8669
Population

- 2008 estimate 11,216,708[1] (74th)

- 2001 census 10,964,020[2]
84/km² (88th)
- Density
218/sq mi
GDP (PPP) 2007 IMF estimate
- Total $324.891 billion[3] (33rd)
- Per capita $29,146[3] (28th)
GDP (nominal) 2007 IMF estimate
- Total $313.806 billion[3] (27th)
- Per capita $28,152[3] (27th)
Gini (2000) 34.32 (low) (35th)
HDI (2005) ▲ 0.926 (high) (24 ) th

3
Currency Euro (€) (EUR)
Time zone EET (UTC+2)

- Summer (DST) EEST (UTC+3)

4
Internet TLD .gr

Calling code +30

1
Also the national anthem of Cyprus.
2
UNDP Human Development Report 2007/08.
3
Before 2001, the Greek drachma.

4 The .eu domain is also used, as it is shared with other

European Union member states.

Greece [ɡɹiːs] (help·info) (Greek: Ελλάδα, transliterated: Elláda [e̞ˈlaða] (info), historically
Ἑλλάς, Ellás, IPA: [e̞ˈlas]), officially the Hellenic Republic (Ελληνική Δημοκρατία,
Ellīnikī́ Dīmokratía, [e̞liniˈkʲi ðimo̞kɾaˈtia]), is a country in southeastern Europe,
[4]

situated on the southern end of the Balkan Peninsula. It has borders with Albania, Bulgaria
and the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia to the north, and Turkey to the east.
The Aegean Sea lies to the east and south of mainland Greece, while the Ionian Sea lies
to the west. Both parts of the Eastern Mediterranean basin feature a vast number of
islands.

Greece lies at the juncture of Europe, Asia and Africa. It is heir to the heritages of ancient
Greece, the Roman and Byzantine Empires, and nearly four centuries of Ottoman rule.
[5] [6]

Greece is the birthplace of democracy, Western philosophy, the Olympic Games, Western
[7] [8]

literature and historiography, political science, major scientific and mathematical principles,
and Western drama, including both tragedy and comedy.
[9]
Greece is a developed country, a member of the European Union since 1981, a member of
[10]

the Economic and Monetary Union of the European Union since 2001, NATO since 1952, the[11]

OECD since 1961, [12]

the WEU since 1995 and ESA since 2005. Athens is the capital;
[13]

Thessaloniki, Patras, Heraklion, Larissa, Volos, Ioannina, Kavala, Rhodes and Serres are some of
the country's other major cities.
Contents
[hide]
• 1 History
• 2 Government and politics
○ 2.1 Peripheries and prefectures
• 3 Geography
○ 3.1 Climate
• 4 Economy
○ 4.1 Maritime industry
○ 4.2 Science and technology
○ 4.3 International relations
• 5 Demographics
○ 5.1 Immigration
○ 5.2 Religion
○ 5.3 Languages
• 6 Education
• 7 Culture
○ 7.1 Cuisine
○ 7.2 Sports
• 8 Armed forces
• 9 International rankings
• 10 See also
• 11 Notes
• 12 References
• 13 Further reading
• 14 External links
History
Main article: History of Greece
The Parthenon in Athens.

25 March 1821: Germanos of Patras, blessing the Greek flag at Agia Lavra.
Theodoros Vryzakis, 1865.

24 July 1974: Konstantinos Karamanlis arrives in Athens on the jet courtesy of

French President Valéry Giscard d'Estaing

The shores of the Aegean sea saw the emergence of the first advanced civilizations in
Europe, the Minoan civilization in Crete and the Mycenean civilization on the mainland.
Later, city-states emerged across the Greek peninsula and spread to the shores of Black
Sea, South Italy and Asia Minor reaching great levels of prosperity that resulted in an
unprecedented cultural boom, expressed in architecture, drama, science and philosophy, and
nurtured in Athens under a democratic environment. Athens and Sparta led the way in
repelling the Persian Empire in a series of battles. Both were later overshadowed by
Thebes and eventually Macedon, with the latter under the guidance of Alexander the Great
uniting and leading the Greek world to victory over the Persians, to presage the
Hellenistic era, itself brought only partially to a close two centuries later with the
establishment of Roman rule over Greek lands in 146 BC.
The subsequent mixture of Roman and Hellenic cultures took form in the establishment
of the Byzantine Empire in 330 AD around Constantinople, which remained a major cultural
and military power for the next 1,123 years, until its fall at the hands of Ottomans in
1453. On the eve of the Ottoman era the Greek intelligentsia migrated to Western
Europe, playing a significant role in the Western European Renaissance through the
transferring of works of Ancient Greeks to Western Europe. Nevertheless, the Ottoman
[14]

millet system contributed to the cohesion of the Orthodox Greeks by segregating the
various peoples within the Ottoman Empire based on religion, as the latter played an
integral role in the formation of modern Greek identity.
After the Greek War of Independence, successfully fought against the Ottoman Empire from
1821 to 1829, the nascent Greek state was finally recognized under the London Protocol.
In 1827, Ioannis Kapodistrias, a noble Greek from the Ionian Islands, was chosen as the
first governor of the new Republic. However, following his assassination, the Great
Powers soon installed a monarchy under Otto, of the Bavarian House of Wittelsbach. In
1843, an uprising forced the King to grant a constitution and a representative
assembly. Due to his unimpaired authoritarian rule, he was eventually dethroned in
1863 and replaced by Prince Vilhelm (William) of Denmark, who took the name
George I and brought with him the Ionian Islands as a coronation gift from Britain. In
1877, Charilaos Trikoupis, a dominant figure of the Greek political scene who is
attributed with the significant improvement of the country's infrastructure, curbed the
power of the monarchy to interfere in the assembly by issuing the rule of vote of
confidence to any potential prime minister.
As a result of the Balkan Wars, Greece successfully increased the extent of her territory
and population, a challenging context both socially and economically. In the
following years, the struggle between King Constantine I and charismatic prime minister
Eleftherios Venizelos over the country's foreign policy on the eve of World War I dominated
the country's political scene, and divided the country into two bitterly hostile factions.
In the aftermath of WW I, Greece fought against Turkish nationalists led by Mustafa
Kemal, a war which resulted in a massive population exchange between the two
countries under the Treaty of Lausanne. Instability and successive coups d'etat marked
the following era, which was overshadowed by the massive task of incorporating 1.5
million Greek refugees from Asia Minor into Greek society. On 28 October 1940
Fascist Italy demanded the surrender of Greece, but Greek dictator Ioannis Metaxas
refused and in the following Greco-Italian War, Greece repelled Italian forces into Albania,
giving the Allies their first victory over Axis forces on land. The country would
eventually fall to urgently dispatched German forces during the Battle of Greece. The
German occupiers nevertheless met serious challenges from the Greek Resistance.
After liberation, Greece experienced a bitter civil war between Royalist and Communist
forces, which led to economic devastation and severe social tensions between its
Rightists and largely Communist Leftists for the next 30 years. The next 20 years
[15]

were characterized by marginalisation of the left in the political and social spheres but
also by a significant economic growth, propelled in part by the Marshall Plan.
Greece launched the single European currency, the euro in 2002. With 14
other EU member states it forms the Eurozone.

In 1965, a period of political turbulence led to a coup d’etat on 21 April 1967 by the
US-backed Regime of the Colonels. On November 1973 the Athens Polytechnic
Uprising sent shock waves across the regime, and a counter-coup established Brigadier
 as dictator. On 20 July 1974, as Turkey invaded the island of Cyprus, the
Dimitrios Ioannides
regime collapsed.
Former premier Constantine Karamanlis was invited back from Paris where he had
lived in self-exile since 1963, marking the beginning of the Metapolitefsi era. On the 14
August 1974 Greek forces withdrew from the integrated military structure of NATO
in protest at the Turkish occupation of northern Cyprus. In 1975 a democratic
[16][3]

republican constitution was activated and the monarchy abolished by a referendum

held that same year. Meanwhile, Andreas Papandreou founded the Panhellenic Socialist
Party, or PASOK, in response to Constantine Karamanlis' New Democracy party, with the
two political formations dominating Greek political affairs in the ensuing decades.
Greece rejoined NATO in 1980. Relations with neighbouring Turkey have improved
[3]

substantially over the last decade, since successive earthquakes hit both nations in the
summer of 1999 (see Greece-Turkey earthquake diplomacy), and today Athens is an active
supporter of Turkey's bid for EU membership.
Greece became the tenth member of the European Union on 1 January 1981 and ever
since the nation has experienced a remarkable and sustained economic growth.
Widespread investments in industrial enterprises and heavy infrastructure, as well as
funds from the European Union and growing revenues from tourism, shipping and a
fast growing service sector have raised the country's standard of living to
unprecedented levels. The country adopted the Euro in 2001 and successfully
organised the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens.
Government and politics
Great State Seal of the Presidency of the Republic

(1864–1936), one of the greatest political figures of

Eleftherios Venizelos
modern Greece.

Kostas Karamanlis, the current Prime Minister of Greece.

Main articles: Politics of Greece and List of political parties in Greece

Greece is a parliamentary republic. The head of state is the President of the Republic, who is
[17]

elected by the Parliament for a five-year term. The current Constitution was drawn up
[18]

and adopted by the Fifth Revisionary Parliament of the Hellenes and entered into
force in 1975 after the fall of the military junta of 1967–1974. It has been revised
twice since, in 1986 and in 2001. The Constitution, which consists of 120 articles,
provides for a separation of powers into executive, legislative, and judicial branches, and
grants extensive specific guarantees (further reinforced in 2001) of civil liberties and
social rights.
[19]
According to the Constitution, executive power is exercised by the President of the
Republic and the Government. The Constitutional amendment of 1986 the President's
[20]

duties were curtailed to a significant extent, and they are now largely ceremonial. [21]

The position of Prime Minister, Greece's head of government, belongs to the current leader of
the political party that can obtain a vote of confidence by the Parliament. The President
of the Republic formally appoints the Prime Minister and, on his recommendation,
appoints and dismisses the other members of the Cabinet. The Prime Minister
[22]

exercises vast political power, and the amendment of 1986 further strengthened his
position to the detriment of the President of the Republic. [23]

Legislative power is exercised by a 300-member elective unicameral Parliament. [24]

Statutes passed by the Parliament are promulgated by the President of the Republic. [25]

Parliamentary elections are held every four years, but the President of the Republic is
obliged to dissolve the Parliament earlier on the proposal of the Cabinet, in view of
dealing with a national issue of exceptional importance. The President is also
[26]

obliged to dissolve the Parliament earlier, if the opposition manages to pass a motion of
no confidence.
[27]

The Judiciary is independent of the executive and the legislature and comprises three
Supreme Courts: the Court of Cassation (Άρειος Πάγος), the Council of State (Συμβούλιο
της Επικρατείας) and the Court of Auditors (Ελεγκτικό Συνέδριο). The Judiciary system
is also composed of civil courts, which judge civil and penal cases and administrative
courts, which judge disputes between the citizens and the Greek administrative
authorities.
Since the restoration of democracy, the Greek two-party system is dominated by the
liberal-conservative New Democracy and the social-democratic Panhellenic Socialist
Movement (PASOK). [28]
Other significant parties include the Communist Party of Greece, the
Coalition of the Radical Left and the Popular Orthodox Rally. The current prime minister is
Kostas Karamanlis, president of the New Democracy party and nephew of the late
Constantine Karamanlis, who won a second term on 16 September 2007, acquiring a
slimmer majority in the Parliament with only 152 out of 300 seats.
Peripheries and prefectures
Main articles: Peripheries of Greece, Prefectures of Greece, and Communities
and Municipalities of Greece

Administratively, Greece consists of thirteen peripheries subdivided into a total of

fifty-one prefectures (nomoi, singular Greek: nomos). There is also one autonomous area,
Mount Athos (Greek: Agio Oros, "Holy Mountain"), which borders the periphery of
Central Macedonia.

Map Number Capital Population

Periphery Area

1 Attica Athens 3,808 3,761,810

km²

2 Central Greece Lamia 15,549 605,329

km²

Central Macedonia Thessaloniki

 18,811
3 1,871,952
km²

8,259
4 Crete Heraklion 601,131
km²

14,157
5 East Macedonia and Thrace Komotini 611,067
km²

9,203
6 Epirus Ioannina 353,820
km²

2,307
7 Ionian Islands Corfu 212,984
km²

3,836
8 North Aegean Mytilene 206,121
km²

15,490
9 Peloponnese Kalamata 638,942
km²

5,286
10 South Aegean Ermoupoli 302,686
km²

14.037
11 Thessaly Larissa 753,888
km²

11,350
12 West Greece Patras 740,506
km²

9,451
13 West Macedonia Kozani 301,522
km²

Mount Athos
- Karyes 390 km² 2,262
(Autonomous)

Geography
Albania
FYROM
Bulgaria
Turkey

GREECE
ATHENS
Thessaloniki
Kavala
Thasos
Alexandroupoli
Samothrace
Corfu
Igoumenitsa
Larissa
Volos
Ioannina
Chalcis
Patras
Corinth
Nafplion
Sparta
Areopoli
Piraeus
Eleusina
Laurium
Heraklion
Macedonia
Thrace
Epirus
Thessaly
Euboea
Central Greece
Peloponnese
Mt. Olympus
Lefkada
Kefalonia
Zakynthos
Lemnos
Lesbos
Chios
Samos
Andros
Tinos
Mykonos
Icaria
Patmos
Naxos
Milos
Santorini
Kos
Rhodes
Karpathos
Kassos
Kythira
Gavdos
Aegean
Sea
Sea of Crete
Myrtoan
Sea
Ionian
Sea
Mediterranean
Sea
 Crete
Aegean
Islands
Cyclades
Dodecanese
Ionian
Islands
Main article: Geography of Greece

View of the Meteora in central Greece.

View of Mount Olympus from the town of Litochoro.

Greece enjoys a typical sunny Mediterranean Climate (view of the

Myconos windmills during summer).

Greece consists of a mountainous peninsula mainland jutting out into the sea at the
southern end of the Balkans, the Peloponnesus peninsula (separated from the mainland by
the canal of the Isthmus of Corinth), and numerous islands (1400, 227 of which are
inhabited), including Crete, Euboea, Lesbos, Chios, the Dodecanese and the Cycladic groups
of the Aegean Sea as well as the Ionian Sea islands. Greece has the tenth longest coastline in
the world with 14,880 km (9,246 mi); its land boundary is 1,160 km (721 mi).
Four fifths of Greece consist of mountains or hills, making the country one of the
most mountainous in Europe. Western Greece contains a number of lakes and
wetlands and it is dominated by the Pindus mountain range. Pindus has a maximum
elevation of 2,636 m (8,648 ft) and it is essentially a prolongation of the Dinaric Alps.
The range continues through the western Peloponnese, crosses the islands of Kythera
and Antikythera and find its way into southwestern Aegean, in the island of Crete
where it eventually ends. The islands of the Aegean are peaks of underwater
mountains that once constituted an extension of the mainland. Pindus is characterized
by its high, steep peaks, often dissected by numerous canyons and a variety of other
karstic landscapes. Most notably, the impressive Meteora formation consisting of high,
steep boulders provides a breathtaking experience for the hundreds of thousands of
tourists who visit the area each year.
The Vikos-Aoos Gorge is yet another spectacular formation and a popular hotspot for
those fond of extreme sports. Mount Olympus, a focal point of Greek culture
throughout history is host to the Mytikas peak 2,917 m (9,570 ft), the highest in the
country. Once considered the throne of the Gods, it is today extremely popular among
hikers and climbers. Moreover, northeastern Greece features yet another high-altitude
mountain range, the Rhodope range, spreading across the periphery of East Macedonia
and Thrace; this area is covered with vast, thick, ancient forests. The famous Dadia
forest is in the prefecture of Evros, in the far northeast of the country.
Expansive plains are primarily located in the prefectures of Thessaly, Central Macedonia
and Thrace. They constitute key economic regions as they are among the few arable
places in the country.Rare marine species such as the Pinniped Seals and the
Loggerhead Sea Turtle live in the seas surrounding mainland Greece, while its dense
forests are home to the endangered brown bear, the lynx, the Roe Deer and the Wild
Goat.
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 ecoregions: the
Illyrian deciduous forests, Pindus Mountains mixed forests, Balkan mixed forests, Rodope montane
mixed forests, Aegean and Western Turkey sclerophyllous and mixed forests and
Crete Mediterranean forests.
Climate
Main article: Climate of Greece

The climate of Greece can be categorised into three types (the Mediterranean, the
Alpine and the Temperate) that influence well-defined regions of its territory. The
Pindus mountain range strongly affects the climate of the country by making the
western side of it (areas prone to the south-westerlies) wetter on average than the
areas lying to the east of it (lee side of the mountains). The Mediterranean type of
climate features mild, wet winters and hot, dry summers. The Cyclades, the
Dodecanese, Crete, Eastern Peloponessus and parts of the Sterea Ellada region are
mostly affected by this particular type of climate. Temperatures rarely reach extreme
values along the coasts, although, with Greece being a highly mountainous country,
snowfalls occur frequently in winter. It sometimes snows even in the Cyclades or the
Dodecanese.

The Alpine type is dominant mainly in the mountainous areas of Northwestern Greece
(Epirus, Central Greece, Thessaly, Western Macedonia) as well as in the central parts of
Peloponnese, including the prefectures of Achaia, Arcadia and parts of Laconia, where
extensions of the Pindus mountain range pass by). Finally, the Temperate type affects
Central Macedonia and East Macedonia and Thrace; it features cold, damp winters and hot,
dry summers. Athens is located in a transitional area featuring both the Mediterranean
and the Temperate types. The city's northern suburbs are dominated by the temperate
type while the downtown area and the southern suburbs enjoy a typical Mediterranean
type.
Economy

View of the city of Fira in Santorini, one of the top touristic destinations in
Greece.

View of section of the harbour of the City of Rhodes.

Main articles: Economy of Greece and Tourism in Greece

After World War II, Greece experienced the "Greek economic miracle"; GDP growth
averaged 7% between 1950 and 1973. Since then Greece has implemented of a
number of structural and fiscal reforms while receiving considerable European Union
funding. In 2001, Greece joined the Economic and Monetary Union. Annual growth of
Greek GDP has surpassed the respective levels of most of its EU partners. Today,
[29]

the service industry makes up the largest, most vital and fastest-growing sector of the
Greek economy, followed by industry and agriculture. The tourism industry is a
[30]

major source of foreign exchange earnings and revenue accounting for 15% of
Greece’s total GDP[30] and employing ,directly or indirectly, 16.5% of the total
workforce.
Greece is a leading investor in all of her Balkan neighbors with the National Bank of
Greece in 2006 acquiring the 46% of Turkish Finansbank and 99.44% of Serbia's
Vojvođanska Bank.The manufacturing sector accounts for about 13% of GDP with the
food industry leading in growth, profit and export potential. The public sector
accounts for about 40% of GDP, with the government however taking measures to
decrease it further. High-technology equipment production, especially for
telecommunications, is also a fast-growing sector. Other important areas include
textiles, building materials, machinery, transport equipment, and electrical appliances.
At 10% of GDP, construction is one of the main pillars of the economy, with the
sector experiencing a boom due to the Athens Olympics of 2004. Agriculture, at 7%,
is the final important sector of Greek economic activity.
The Greek labor force totals 4.9 million, and it is the second most industrious in the
world, after South Korea. The Groningen Growth & Development Centre has published a poll
[31]

revealing that between 1995 - 2005, Greece was the country with the largest
work/hour ratio among European nations; Greeks worked an average of 1,900 hours
per year, followed by the Spanish (average of 1,800 hours/year). In 2007, the average
[32]

worker made around 20 dollars, similar to Spain and slightly more than half of average
U.S. hourly income. Immigrants make up nearly one-fifth of the work force, occupied
mainly in agricultural and construction work.
Greece's purchasing power-adjusted GDP per capitais the world's 28th highest. According to
the International Monetary Fund it has an estimated average per capita income of $35,166
for the year 2007,[33] comparable to that of Germany, France or Italy and
approximately equal to the EU average. Greece ranks 24th in the 2006 HDI,[34] 22nd on
The Economist's 2005 world-wide quality-of-life index. According to a survey by the
[35]

Economist, the cost of living in Athens is close to 90% of the costs in New York; in
rural regions it is lower.
An important percentage of Greece's income comes from tourism. In 2007, Greece
welcomed more than 19 million tourists, and climbed to the top ten tourist
destinations worldwide. The island of Rhodes was announced the best European tourist
destination. Other known tourist sites are the capital Athens, and the island resort of
Myconos.
Maritime industry

Aerial view of Thessaloniki's central districts, Greece's second largest city and
a major economic and industrial center.

Main articles: Greek shipping and List of ports in Greece

The shipping industry is a key element of Greek economic activity dating back to
ancient times. Today, shipping is one of the country's most important industries. It
[36]

accounts for 4.5% of GDP, employs about 160,000 people (4% of the workforce), and
represents 1/3 of the country's trade deficit. [37]

During the 1960s, the size of the Greek fleet nearly doubled, primarily through the
investment undertaken by the shipping magnates Onassis and Niarchos. The basis of [38]

the modern Greek maritime industry was formed after World War II when Greek
shipping businessmen were able to amass surplus ships sold to them by the United
States Government through the Ship Sales Act of the 1940s. According to the BTS,
[38]

the Greek-owned maritime fleet is today the largest in the world, with 3,079 vessels
accounting for 18% of the world's fleet capacity (making it the largest of any other
country) with a total dwt of 141,931 thousand (142 million dwt). In terms of ship
[39]

categories, Greece ranks first in both tankers and dry bulk carriers, fourth in the number
of containers, and fourth in other ships. However, today's fleet roster is smaller than
[39]

an all-time high of 5,000 ships in the late 70's. [36]

Science and technology
Because of its strategic location, qualified workforce and political and economic
stability, many multinational companies such as Ericsson, Siemens, SAP, Motorola and
Coca-Cola have their regional R&D Headquarters in Greece.

The General Secretariat for Research and Technology of the Hellenic Ministry of Development is
responsible for designing, implementing and supervising national research and
technological policy.

The Rio-Antirio bridge near the city of Patras is the longest cable-stayed bridge in
Europe and second in the world. It connects the Peloponnese with mainland
Greece.

In 2003, public spending on R&D was 456,37 million Euros (12,6% increase from
2002). Total research and development (R&D) spending (both public and private) as a
percentage of GDP has increased considerably since the beginning of the past decade,
from 0,38% in 1989, to 0,65% in 2001. R&D spending in Greece remains lower than
the EU average of 1,93%, but, according to Research DC, based on OECD and
Eurostat data, between 1990 and 1998, total R&D expenditure in Greece enjoyed the
third highest increase in Europe, after Finland and Ireland.
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.Greece has been a member of the European Space Agency (ESA) since
2005. Cooperation between ESA and the Hellenic National Space Committee began
[13]

in the early 1990s. In 1994, Greece and ESA signed their first cooperation agreement.
Having formally applied for full membership in 2003, Greece became ESA's sixteenth
member on 16 March 2005. As member of the ESA, Greece participates in the
agency's telecommunication and technology activities, and the Global Monitoring for
Environment and Security Initiative.
International relations
Greece is a major participant in most large scale international bodies, with the
geographic significance of the region proving advantageous for diplomatic, trade and
political crossroads.
BIS, BSEC, CCC, CE, EAPC, EBRD, ECA (associate), ECE, ECLAC, EIB, EMU, EU, FAO,
IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, IDA, IEA, IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMF, International Maritime Organization,
Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, NATO, OECD, OSCE, UN, UN Security Council, UNCTAD, UNESCO,
UNHCR, WEU,WHO, WIPO, WMO.
Most recently, Greece was elected by the United Nations General Assembly to the United
Nations Security Council, on 15 October 2004, as a non-permanent member for 2005 and
2006. [40]

Demographics
 Main article: Demographics of Greece

The Hermoupolis port in the island of Syros is the capital of the Cyclades.

The official Statistical body of Greece is the National Statistical Service of Greece (NSSG).
According to the NSSG, Greece's total population in 2001 was 10,964,020. That [41]

figure is divided into 5,427,682 males and 5,536,338 females. As statistics from
[41]

1971, 1981, and 2001 show, the Greek population has been aging the past several
decades. The birth rate in 2003 stood 9.5 per 1,000 inhabitants (14.5 per 1,000 in
[41]

1981). At the same time the mortality rate increased slightly from 8.9 per 1,000
inhabitants in 1981 to 9.6 per 1,000 inhabitants in 2003. In 2001, 16.71% of the
population were 65 years old and older, 68.12% between the ages of 15 and 64 years
old, and 15.18% were 14 years old and younger. Greek society has also rapidly
[41]

changed with the passage of time. Marriage rates kept falling from almost 71 per
1,000 inhabitants in 1981 until 2002, only to increase slightly in 2003 to 61 per 1,000
and then fall again to 51 in 2004. Divorce rates on the other hand, have seen an
[41]

increase – from 191.2 per 1,000 marriages in 1991 to 239.5 per 1,000 marriages in
2004. Almost two-thirds of the Greek people live in urban areas. Greece's largest
[41]

municipalities in 2001 were: Athens, Thessaloniki, Piraeus, Patras, Iraklio, Larissa, and
Volos.
[42]

Throughout the 20th century, millions of Greeks had migrated to the US, UK,
Australia and Germany, creating a thriving diaspora that accounts today almost 6
million people. The migration trend however was reversed after the important
improvements of Greek economy since the 80's.
Immigration
Due to the complexity of Greek immigration policy, practices and data collection,
truly reliable data on immigrant populations in Greece is difficult to gather and
therefore subject to much speculation. A study from the Mediterranean Migration
Observatory maintains that the 2001 Census from the NSSG recorded 762,191 persons
residing in Greece without Greek citizenship, constituting around 7% of total
population and that, of these, 48,560 were EU or EFTA nationals and 17,426 Cypriots
with privileged status. People from the Balkan countries of Albania, Bulgaria, and
Romania make up almost two-thirds of the total foreign population. Migrants from the
former Soviet Union (Georgia, Russia, Ukraine, Moldava, etc.) comprise 10% of the
total.
[43]

The greatest cluster of non-EU immigrant population is in the Municipality of Athens

–some 132,000 immigrants, at 17% of local population. Thessaloniki is the second
largest cluster, with 27,000, reaching 7% of local population. After this, the
predominant areas of location are the big cities environs and the agricultural areas. At
the same time, Albanians constituted some 56% of total immigrants, followed by
Bulgarians (5%), Georgians (3%) and Romanians (3%). Americans, Cypriots, British
and Germans appeared as sizeable foreign communities at around 2% each of total
foreign population. The rest were around 690,000 persons of non-EU or non-
homogeneis (of non-Greek heritage) status.
According to the same study, the foreign population (documented and undocumented)
residing in Greece may in reality figure upwards to 8.5% or 10.3%, that is
approximately meaning 1.15 million - if immigrants with homogeneis cards are
accounted for.
Religion
Main article: Religion in Greece

Stavronikita monastery, a Greek Orthodox monastery in Athos peninsula, northern

Greece.

The constitution of Greece recognizes the Greek Orthodox faith as the "prevailing"
religion of the country, while guaranteeing freedom of religious belief for all. The [17]

Greek Government does not keep statistics on religious groups and censuses do not
ask for religious affiliation. According to the State Department, an estimated 97% of
Greek citizens identify themselves as Greek Orthodox. In the Eurostat - Eurobarometer
[44]

poll of 2005, 81% of Greek citizens responded that they believe there is a God, the [45]

third highest percentage among EU members behind only Malta and Cyprus. [45]

Estimates of the recognized Muslim minority, which is mostly located in Thrace, range
from 98,000 to 140,000,[44] (between 0.9% and 1.2%) while the immigrant Muslim
[46]

community numbers between 200,000 and 300,000. Albanian immigrants to Greece

are usually associated with the Muslim faith, although most are secular in
orientation. Judaism has existed in Greece for more than 2,000 years. Sephardi Jews
[47]

used to have a large presence in the city of Thessaloniki, but nowadays the Greek-Jewish
community who survived the Holocaust is estimated to number around 5,500
people. [44][46]

Greek members of Roman Catholic faith are estimated at 50,000 with the Roman[44][46]

Catholic immigrant community approximating 200,000. Old Calendarists account [44]

for 500,000 followers. Protestants, including Greek Evangelical Church and Free
[46]

Evangelical Churches, stand at about 30,000. Assemblies of God, International Church of the
[46][44]

Foursquare Gospel and other Pentecostal churches of the Greek Synod of Apostolic Church has
12,000 members. Independent Free Apostolic Church of Pentecost is the biggest protestant
[48]

denomination in Greece with 120 churches. There are not official statistics about
[49]

Free Apostolic Church of Pentecost, but the Orthodox Church estimates the followers
in 20,000. The Jehovah's Witnesses report having 28,243 active members.
[50]
There [51][44][46]

are also 653 Mormons, 501 Seventh-Day Adventists, and 30 Free Methodists.
[52] [53] [54][44]

The ancient Greek religion has also reappeared as Hellenic Neopaganism,[55] with
estimates of approximately 2,000 adherents (comprising 0.02% of the general
population). [56]
Languages
Main articles: Languages of Greece and Minorities in Greece

Greece is today relatively homogeneous in linguistic terms, with a large majority of

the native population using Greek as their first or only language. The Muslim minority in
Thrace, which amounts to approximately 0.95% of the total population, consists of
speakers of Turkish, Bulgarian (Pomak) and Romani. Romani is also spoken by Christian
Roma in other parts of the country.

Further minority languages have traditionally been spoken by regional population

groups in various parts of the country. Their use has decreased radically in the course
of the 20th century through assimilation with the Greek-speaking majority. This goes
for the Arvanites, an Albanian-speaking group mostly located in the rural areas around
the capital Athens, and for the Aromanians and Moglenites, also known as Vlachs, whose
language is closely related to Romanian and who used to live scattered across several
areas of mountaneous central Greece. Members of these groups ethnically identfiy as
Greeks[57] and are today all at least bilingual in Greek. In many areas their traditional
languages are today only maintained by the older generations and are on the verge of
extinction.
In northern Greece there are also Slavic-speaking groups, whose members identify
ethnically as Greeks in their majority. Their dialects can be linguistically classified as
forms of either Macedonian (locally called Slavomacedonian or simply Slavic), or
Bulgarian (distinguished as Pomak in the case of the Bulgarophone Muslims of
Thrace.[58]

The Jewish community in Greece traditionally spoke Ladino (Judeo-Spanish), today

maintained only by a small group of a few thousand speakers.
Among the Greek-speaking population, speakers of the distinctive Pontic dialect,
brought to Greece by immigrants from Asia Minor, constitute a sizable group.
Education
Main article: Education in Greece

The building of the Faculty of Education at the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki.

Compulsory education in Greece comprises primary schools (Δημοτικό Σχολείο,

Dimotikó Scholeio) and gymnasium (Γυμνάσιο). Nursery schools (Παιδικός σταθμός,
Paidikós Stathmós) are popular but not compulsory. Kindergartens (Νηπιαγωγείο,
Nipiagogeío) are now compulsory for any child above 4 years of age. Children start
primary school aged 6 and remain there for six years.Attendance at gymnasia starts at
age 12 and last for three years. Greece's post-compulsory secondary education
consists of two school types: unified upper secondary schools (Ενιαίο Λύκειο, Eniaia
Lykeia) and technical-vocational educational schools (Τεχνικά και Επαγγελματικά
Εκπαιδευτήρια, "TEE"). Post-compulsory secondary education also includes
vocational training institutes (Ινστιτούτα Επαγγελματικής Κατάρτισης, "IEK") which
provide a formal but unclassified level of education. As they can accept both
Gymnasio (lower secondary school) and Lykeio (upper secondary school) graduates,
these institutes are not classified as offering a particular level of education.
Public higher education is divided into universities, "Highest Educational Institutions"
(Ανώτατα Εκπαιδευτικά Ιδρύματα, Anótata Ekpaideytiká Idrýmata, "ΑΕΙ") and
"Highest Technological Educational Institutions" (Ανώτατα Τεχνολογικά
Εκπαιδευτικά Ιδρύματα, Anótata Technologiká Ekpaideytiká Idrýmata, "ATEI").
Students are admitted to these Institutes according to their performance at national
level examinations taking place after completion of the third grade of Lykeio.
Additionally, students over twenty-two years old may be admitted to the Hellenic
Open University through a form of lottery. The Capodistrian university of Athens is
the oldest university in the eastern Mediterranean.
The Greek education system also provides special kindergartens, primary and
secondary schools for people with special needs or difficulties in learning. Specialist
gymnasia and high schools offering musical, theological and physical education also
exist.
Some of the main universities in Greece include:
National and Capodistrian University of Athens • National Technical University of Athens •
University of Piraeus • Agricultural University of Athens • University of Macedonia (in
Thessaloniki) • University of Crete • Technical University of Crete • Athens University of
Economics and Business • Aristotle University of Thessaloniki • University of the Aegean (across
the Aegean Islands) • Democritus University of Thrace • University of Ioannina • University of
Thessaly • University of Western Macedonia • Panteion University of Social and Political
Sciences • University of Patras • Charokopeio University of Athens • Ionian University
(across the Ionian Islands)
Culture
Main articles: Culture of Greece and List of Greeks
Hermes bearing the infant Dionysus, by Praxiteles, Olympia Archaeological Museum.

The culture of Greece has evolved over thousands of years, with its beginnings in the
Mycenaean and Minoan Civilizations, continuing most notably into Classical Greece, the
Hellenistic Period, through the influence of the Roman Empire and its Greek Eastern
successor the Byzantine Empire. The Ottoman Empire too had a significant influence on
Greek culture, but the Greek war of independence is credited with revitalizing Greece and
giving birth to a single entity of its multi-faceted culture throughout the ages.
Cuisine
Main article: Greek cuisine

Greek cuisineis often cited as an example of the healthy Mediterranean diet. Greek cuisine
incorporates fresh ingredients into a variety of local dishes such as moussaka, stifado,
Greek Salad, spanakopita and the world famous Souvlaki. Throughout Greece people
often enjoy eating from small dishes such as meze with various dips such as tzatziki,
grilled octopus and small fish, feta cheese, dolmades (rice, currants and pine kernels
wrapped in vine leaves), various pulses, olives and cheese. Olive oil is added to almost
every dish. Sweet desserts such as galaktoboureko, and drinks such as ouzo, metaxa and a
variety of wines including retsina. Greek cuisine differs widely from different parts of
the mainland and from island to island.
Sports
Main article: Sport in Greece

Inside the Athens Olympic Stadium

Greece home to the first modern Olympics, holds a long tradition in sports. The Greek
national football team, currently ranked 18th in the world, won the UEFA Euro 2004 in one
[59]

of the biggest surprises in the history of the sport. The Greek Super League is the
[60]

highest professional football league in the country comprising of 16 teams. The most
successful of them are Olympiacos, Panathinaikos, AEK Athens, PAOK and Aris. The Greek
national basketball team has a decades-long tradition of excellence in the sport. As of
August 2008 it is ranked 4th in the world. They have won the European Championship
[61]

twice in 1987 and 2005, and have reached the final four in three of the last four FIBA
[62]

World Championships, taking the second place in 2006. The domestic top basketball
league, A1 Ethniki, is composed of fourteen teams. The most successful Greek teams are
Panathinaikos, Olympiacos, Aris, AEK Athens and PAOK. Water polo and volleyball are also
practiced widely in Greece while cricket, handball are relatively popular in Corfu and
Veroia respectively.As the birth place of the Olympic Games, Greece was most recently
host of 2004 Summer Olympics and the first modern Olympics in 1896.
Armed forces
Hellenic Navy Frigates HS Spetsai (Meko class) and HS Bouboulina (S class).

Main article: Military of Greece

The Hellenic Armed Forces are overseen by the Hellenic National Defense General Staff
(Γενικό Επιτελείο Εθνικής Άμυνας - ΓΕΕΘΑ) and consists of three branches:
• Hellenic Army

• Hellenic Navy

• Hellenic Air Force

The civilian authority for the Greek military is the Ministry of National Defence.
Furthermore, Greece maintains the Hellenic Coast Guard for law enforcement in the sea
and search and rescue. Greece currently has universal compulsory military service for
males while females (who may serve in the military) are exempted from conscription.
As a member of NATO, the Greek military participates in exercises and deployments
under the auspices of the alliance.
International rankings

Organization Survey Ranking

2006
Human Development Index [63]

Human Development Index 24 out of 177

United Nations Development
Programme
2004 [64]
24 out of 177
Human Development Index 24 out of 177
2000 [64]

International Monetary Fund GDP per capita (PPP) [65]

18 out of 180

Worldwide Quality-of-life
The Economist 22 out of 111
Index, 2005 [66]

Heritage Foundation/Wall Street

Index of Economic Freedom[67] 57 out of 157
Journal

Reporters Without Borders Worldwide Press Freedom Index 32 out of 168

2006 [68]
18(tied) out
Worldwide Press Freedom of 168
Index 2005 [69]
33 out of 167
Worldwide Press Freedom
 Index 2004 [70]

2006
Corruption Perceptions Index [71]

Corruption Perceptions Index 54 out of 163

Transparency International 2005 [72]
47 out of 158
Corruption Perceptions Index 49 out of 145
2004 [73]

World Economic Forum Global Competitiveness Report[74] 47 out of 125

Environmental Sustainability Index

Yale University/Columbia University 67 out of 146
2005 [75]

Nationmaster Labor strikes [76]

13 out of 27

Globalization Index 2006 [77]

32 out of 62
A.T. Kearney / Foreign Policy Globalization Index 2005 [78]
29 out of 62
Globalization Index 2004 [79]
28 out of 62
See also