Greece

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Greece
Greece.gif
Flag of Greece
Capital Athens
Inhabitants 11.260.402
Language(s) Greek

Greece, Ancient, was the birthplace of Western civilization about 2,500 years ago. The magnificent achievements of the ancient Greeks in government, science, philosophy, and the arts continue to influence our lives today.


Greece achieved its independence from the Ottoman Empire in 1829. During the second half of the 19th century and the first half of the 20th century, it gradually added neighboring islands and territories with Greek-speaking populations.

Following the defeat of communist rebels in 1949, Greece joined NATO in 1952. A military dictatorship, which in 1967 suspended many political liberties and forced the king to flee the country, lasted seven years.

Democratic elections in 1974 and a referendum created a parliamentary republic and abolished the monarchy; Greece joined the European Community or EC in 1981 (which became the EU in 1992).

Greece.jpg

Contents

History

During the Bronze Age (3000-1200 BC) the powerful Cycladic, Minoan and Mycenaean maritime civilizations flourished. According to Homer, this was a time of violence and wars based on trade rivalries, although it is thought that Minoan culture was generally peaceful and harmonious. By the 11th century BC the Minoan and Mycenaean cultures had collapsed, due to changing patterns of trade and a Dorian invasion from the north, and a 'dark age' ensued.

By 800 BC Greece was undergoing a cultural and military revival, with the evolution of city-states, the most powerful of which were Athens and Sparta. Greater Greece was created, with southern Italy as an important component. This period was followed by an era of great prosperity known as the classical (or golden) age. During this time, Pericles commissioned the Parthenon, Sophocles wrote Oedipus the King, Socrates taught young Athenians the rigours of logic, and a tradition of democracy (literally, 'control by the people') was ushered in. The classical age came to an end with the Peloponnesian Wars (431-404 BC) in which the militaristic Spartans defeated the Athenians.

While embroiled in the Peloponnesian Wars, the Spartans failed to notice the expansion of Philip of Macedon's kingdom in the north, which enabled him to easily conquer the war-weary city-states. Philip's ambitions were surpassed by his son Alexander the Great, who marched into Asia Minor, Egypt (where he was proclaimed pharaoh and founded the city of Alexandria), Persia and parts of what are now Afghanistan and India. The reign of the Macedonian empire, which lasted in the form of three dynasties after Alexander's death at the age of 33, is known as the Hellenistic period, due to the merging of Greek ideas and culture with the other proud cultures of antiquity, creating a new cosmopolitan tradition.

From 205 BC there were Roman incursions into Greece, and by 146 BC Greece and Macedonia had become Roman provinces. After the subdivision of the Roman Empire into Eastern and Western empires in 395 AD, Greece became part of the illustrious Byzantine Empire. By the 12th century, the Crusades were in full flight and Byzantine power was much reduced by invasions by Venetians, Catalans, Genoese, Franks and Normans.

In 1453 the Turks captured the Byzantine capital, Constantinople, and by 1500 almost all of Greece had also fallen under Turkish control. The lands of present-day Greece became a rural backwater, with many merchants, intellectuals and artists exiled in central Europe. It was traditional village life and Orthodox religion that held together the notion of Greekness. A cultural revival in the late 18th century precipitated the War of Independence (1821-32), during which aristocratic young philhellenes such as Byron, Shelley and Goethe supported the Greeks in their battle against the Turks. The independence movement lacked unity, however, and in 1827 Russia, France and Britain decided to intervene. After independence, the European powers decided Greece should become a monarchy, with a non-Greek ruler to frustrate Greek power struggles, and installed Otto of Bavaria as king in 1833. The monarchy, with an assortment of kings at the helm, held on despite popular opposition until well into the 20th century, although George I established a new constitution in 1864 that returned democracy and pushed the king into a largely ceremonial role.

During WWI, Greek troops fought on the Allied side and occupied Thrace. After the war, Prime Minister Venizelos sent forces to 'liberate' the Turkish territory of Smyrna (present-day Izmir), which had a large Greek population. The army was repulsed by Ataturk's troops and many Greek residents were slaughtered. This led to a brutal population exchange between the two countries in 1923, the resultant population increase (1,300,000 Christian refugees) straining Greece's already weak economy. Shanty towns spilled from urban centres, unions were formed among the urban refugee population and by 1936 the Communist Party had widespread popular support.

In 1936 General Metaxas was appointed as prime minister by the king and quickly established a fascist dictatorship. Although Metaxas had created a Greek version of the Third Reich, he was opposed to German or Italian domination and refused to allow Italian troops to traverse Greece in 1940. Despite Allied help, Greece fell to Germany in 1941, leading to carnage and mass starvation. Resistance movements sprang up and polarised into royalist and communist factions, and a bloody civil war resulted, lasting until 1949, when the royalists claimed victory. During the civil war, America, inspired by the Truman Doctrine, gave large sums of money to the anticommunist government, and implemented the Certificate of Political Reliability, which remained valid until 1962. This document declared that the wearer did not hold left-wing sympathies; without it Greeks could not vote and found it almost impossible to get work.

Fearing a resurgence of the left, a group of army colonels staged a coup d'etat in 1967, said by Andreas Papandreou to be 'the first successful CIA military putsch on the European continent'. The junta distinguished itself by inflicting appalling brutality, repression and political incompetence upon the people. In 1974 the colonels attempted to assassinate Cyprus' leader, Archbishop Makarios, leading to Turkey's invasion and occupation of Northern Cyprus. This is still a volatile issue for the Greeks, and tensions with Turkey are easily inflamed.

In 1981 Greece entered the European Community (now the EU), and Andreas Papandreou's socialist party (PASOK) won elections. PASOK promised removal of US air bases and withdrawal from NATO, but these promises were never fulfilled. Women's issues fared better, though, with the abolition of the dowry system and legalisation of abortion. In the end, scandals got the better of Papandreou and his government was replaced by an unlikely coalition of conservatives and communists in 1989. Elections in 1990 brought the conservatives to power with a majority of only two seats, and intent on redressing the country's economic problems, the government imposed unpopular and severe austerity measures. A general election in 1993 returned the ageing, ailing Papandreou and PASOK to power.

Kostas Simitis was appointed prime minister in early 1996 when it became clear that Papandreou's time was drawing nigh - Greece's elder statesman died mid-1996. Simitis was re-elected by the skin of his teeth in April 2000, with a victory margin of one percentage point. Since receiving a fresh mandate, he has pledged to forge better relations with Turkey and to carry out economic reforms that secured Greece a place in the European Monetary Union at the beginning of 2001, and adopted the Euro currency in 2002.


Ancient Olympic Games

The Olympic Games begun at Olympia in Greece in 776 BC. The Greek calendar was based on the Olympiad, the four-year period between games. The games were staged in the wooded valley of Olympia in Elis. Here the Greeks erected statues and built temples in a grove dedicated to Zeus, supreme among the gods. The greatest shrine was an ivory and gold statue of Zeus. Created by the sculptor Phidias, it was considered one of the Seven Wonders of the World. Scholars have speculated that the games in 776 BC were not the first games, but rather the first games held after they were organized into festivals held every four years as a result of a peace agreement between the city-states of Elis and Pisa. The Eleans traced the founding of the Olympic games to their King Iphitos, who was told by the Delphi Oracle to plant the olive tree from which the victors' wreaths were made.

According to Hippias of Elis, who compiled a list of Olympic victors c.400 BC, at first the only Olympic event was a 200-yard dash, called a stadium. This was the only event until 724 BC, when a two-stadia race was added. Two years later the 24-stadia event began, and in 708 the pentathlon was added and wrestling became part of the games. This pentathlon, a five-event match consisted of running, wrestling, leaping, throwing the discus, and hurling the javelin. In time boxing, a chariot race, and other events were included.

The victors of these early games were crowned with wreaths from a sacred olive tree that grew behind the temple of Zeus. According to tradition this tree was planted by Hercules (Heracles), founder of the games. The winners marched around the grove to the accompaniment of a flute while admirers chanted songs written by a prominent poet.

The Olympic Games were held without interruptions in ancient Greece. The games were even held in 480 BC during the Persian Wars, and coincided with the Battle of Thermopylae. Although the Olympic games were never suspended, the games of 364 BC were not considered Olympic since the Arkadians had captured the sanctuary and reorganized the games.

After the Battle of Chaironeia in 338 BC, Philip of Makedon and his son Alexander gained control over the Greek city-states. They erected the Philippeion (a family memorial) in the sanctuary, and held political meetings at Olympia during each Olympiad. In 146 BC, the Romans gained control of Greece and, therefore, of the Olympic games. In 85 BC, the Roman general Sulla plundered the sanctuary to finance his campaign against Mithridates. Sulla also moved the 175th Olympiad (80 BC) to Rome.

The games were held every four years from 776 BC to 393 AD, when they were abolished by the Christian Byzantine Emperor Theodosius I. The ancient Olympic Games lasted for 1170 years.

The successful campaign to revive the Olympics was started in France by Baron Pierre de Coubertin late in the 19th century. The first of the modern Summer Games opened on Sunday, March 24, 1896, in Athens, Greece. The first race was won by an American college student named James Connolly.

Chronology of athletic events added to the Olympic Games According to the tradition of Hippias of Elis ca. 400 BC, the events of the Olympic Games were added to the program in the following order.


  • 776 BC: 1st Olympiad, Stadium race
  • 724 BC: 14th Olympiad, double-stadium race
  • 720 BC: 15th Olympiad, long-distance race
  • 708 BC: 18th Olympiad, Pentathlon
  • 708 BC: 18th Olympiad, Wrestling
  • 688 BC: 23rd Olympiad, Boxing
  • 680 BC: 25th Olympiad, 4-horse chariot race
  • 648 BC: 33rd Olympiad, horse race
  • 648 BC: 33rd Olympiad, Pankration
  • 520 BC: 65th Olympiad, race in armor
  • 408 BC: 93rd Olympiad, 2-horse chariot race

The Importance of the Olympic Games

The Importance of Ancient Greek Athletics The ancient Greeks were highly competitive and believed strongly in the concept of "agon", or "competition" or "contest". The ultimate Greek goal was to be the best. All aspects of life, especially athletics, were centered around this concept. It was therefore considered one of the greatest honors to win a victory at Olympia. The fact that the only prize given at Olympia was an olive wreath illustrates this point. The athletes competed for honor, not for material goods.

Athletics were of prime importance to the Greeks. The education of boys concentrated on athletics and music as well as academic subjects such as philosophy. Education took place in the gymnasion and the palaistra as well as the academy.

The Religious Aspects of the Ancient Olympic Games

In ancient Greece, games were closely connected to the worship of the gods and heroes. Games were held as part of religious ceremonies in honor of deceased heroes, a concept displayed in the funeral games for Patroklos in Book 23 of Homer's epic poem, The Iliad. Games were also held in the context of many ancient fertility festivals. The games at Olympia were connected with both the funeral games of Oinomaos, established by Pelops, and a fertility cult involving any number of gods and goddesses who were worshipped at the site. The Olympic games began to be usurped by the prominent cult of Zeus, and eventually lost much of their religious character.

The Olympic Games and the Greek Calendar

The Greek calendar was based on the conception of the four-year Olympiad. When Greek historians referred to dates, they most often referred to a year (i.e., first, second, third, fourth) within the Olympiad that the event occurred. The winner of the stadium race in a given year had the Olympiad named in honor of him. The first Olympiad is therefore known as that of Koroibos of Elis, the winner of the stadium race in 776 BC.

The Sacred Truce

The sacred truce was instituted during the month of the Olympiad. Messengers known as "spondorophoroi" carried the word of the truce and announced the date of the games all over the Greek world. The truce called for a cessation of all hostilities for a period of one month (later three months) to allow for the safe travel of athletes to and from Olympia. Armies and armed individuals were barred from entering the sanctuary. In addition, no death penalties could be carried out during the period of the truce.

The Internationalization of the Olympic Games

From the beginning, the games at Olympia served as a bond between Greeks and strengthened the Greek sense of national unity. During the Hellenistic period, Greeks who came to live in foreign surroundings such as Syria, Asia, and Egypt, strove to hold on to their culture. One of the ways to achieve this was to build athletic facilities and continue their athletic traditions. They organized competitions, and sent competitors from their towns to compete in the Panhellenic games.

In the 2nd century A.D., Roman citizenship was extended to everyone within the Roman empire. From then on, the participation of many competitors from outside of Greece in the Olympic games, gave them to a degree, international nature.

When the Greek government reinstated the games in 1896, this international character of the competitions was preserved by Baron de Coubertin. Now, 16 centuries later, the Olympic games attract competitors from countries all over the world.

Culture

Music

Greek culture.jpg

Music has always been an integral part of life in Greece. Cycladic figurines holding musical instruments resembling harps and flutes date back to 2000 BC. The Greek equivalent to the American blues are the rembetika. Rembetika was made popular in Greece by refugees from Asia Minor. Themes of rembetika centre on life, love and joy. Composers performing this style of music were Markos Vamvakaris, Vassilis Tsitsanis, Apostolos Kaldaras, Yiannis Papaioannou, Yiorgos Markopoulos, Dionyssis Savvopoulos, Yiannis Xenakis and Vangelis. Singers popular in Greece today include Yiorgos Dalaras, Stelios Kazantzidis, Dimitris Mitropanos, Eleftheria Arvanitaki amongst others.

Dance

Each region of Greece has its own dances, but the most common traditional dance around Greece is the kalamatianos, originated from Kalamata in the Peloponnese. Tsamiko, also popular, originated in Epirus. The Dora Stratou Dance Company and Hellenic Lyceum are two dance organizations dedicated to researching and presenting Greek folk dances.

The Greek lifestyle

The tourist image of Greeks as plate-breaking, souvlaki-swiveling people is fading away. Look beyond the stereotypes and you will notice Greece in terms of economic prosperity and organization. For the most part, Greeks differ little from their European partners in their living conditions and day-to-day functions.

Traditional gender roles have been broken and women enjoy an egalitarian status, socially and in the employment sector. Recent waves of foreigners drawn by the Greek lifestyle and refugees have made Greece a multicultural society.

Even so, it is nice to know that some things have not changed. Despite a rising divorce rate, family bonds are still close and act as a life support system on many occasions. The isolating effects of urbanization have not curbed traditional Greek hospitality. Greeks continue to be extremely extroverted and sociable, and celebrations (such as weddings) are highly festive occasions. Nightlife entertainment continues to be a thriving industry, and Greeks need entertainment options to express their joy of life, for the Greek capacity for enjoyment of life is innate and immediately evident.

A place of constant activity, day and night, one may wonder whether Greeks sleep at all. Climatic conditions make a midday nap necessary for many people and most offices run from 8am to 3pm (without lunch break) rather than 9am to 5pm. Shops have a broken timetable with morning and evening times to also allow for this break.

Greeks continue to cling to their traditions tenaciously, for it was this tradition and religion that ensured the survival of the Greek nation through hundreds of years of foreign occupation. Greeks today remain well aware of the hardships their forebears endured. Even hip, young Greeks defend these traditions and enthusiastically participate in many of them.

Christmas

St. Nicholas is important in Greece as the patron saint of sailors. According to Greek tradition, his clothes are drenched with brine, his beard drips with seawater, and his face is covered with perspiration because he has been working hard against the waves to reach sinking ships and rescue them from the angry sea. Greek ships never leave port without some sort of St. Nicholas icon on board. To members of the Eastern Orthodox Church, as are most Greek Christians, Christmas ranks second to Easter in the roster of important holidays. Yet there are a number of unique customs associated with Christmas that are uniquely Greek. On Christmas Eve, village children travel from house to house offering good wishes and singing kalanda, the equivalent of carols. Often the songs are accompanied by small metal triangles and little clay drums. The children are frequently rewarded with sweets and dried fruits.

After 40 days of fasting, the Christmas feast is looked forward to with great anticipation by adults and children alike. Pigs are slaughtered and on almost every table are loaves of christopsomo ("Christ Bread"). This bread is made in large sweet loaves of various shapes and the crusts are engraved and decorated in some way that reflects the family's profession.

Christmas trees are not commonly used in Greece. In almost every home the main symbol of the season is a shallow wooden bowl with a piece of wire is suspended across the rim; from that hangs a sprig of basil wrapped around a wooden cross. A small amount of water is kept in the bowl to keep the basil alive and fresh. Once a day, a family member, usually the mother, dips the cross and basil into some holy water and uses it to sprinkle water in each room of the house. This ritual is believed to keep the Killantzaroi away from the house.

There are a number of beliefs connected with the Killantzaroi, which are a species of goblins or sprites who appear only during the 12-day period from Christmas to the Epiphany (January 6). These creatures are believed to emerge from the center of the earth and to slip into people's house through the chimney. More mischievous than actually evil, the Killantzaroi do things like extinguish fires, ride astride people's backs, braid horses' tails, and sour the milk. To further repel the undesirable sprites, the hearth is kept burning day and night throughout the twelve days.

Gifts are exchanged on St. Basil's Day (January 1). On this day the "renewal of waters" also takes place, a ritual in which all water jugs in the house are emptied and refilled with new "St. Basil's Water." The ceremony is often accompanied by offerings to the naiads, spirits of springs.

Modern theatre

During the summer season presentations of ancient plays at ancient open-aired theatres are common. However, Greece has an impressive modern theatre scene as well. Some of those who have shaped the modern theatre scene are playwrights Iakovos Kambanellis and Bost, directors like Karolos Koun (founded the Theatro Technis), Spyros Evangelatos (founded the Amphi-Theatro) and many more. Actors who are well-known on the modern theatre scene include Katina Paxinou, Irene Pappas, Anna Synodinou and Lydia Koniordo. Younger actors are abundant, making theatre a thriving art in Greece.

Cinema

Greeks consider cinema as a choice entertainment, with a fostering Greek film industry. One of Greece's most acclaimed film directors is Theodoros Anghelopoulos, whose films have often received awards at both national and international film festivals. Recently, his film «An Eternity and a Day» won the Palme D'Or prize at the 1998 Cannes Film Festival. Other well/known Greek film directors are Michael Kakoyannis and Nikos Koundouros. Local outdoor summer cinema theatres make film-watching under the stars a magical experience. Multiplexes like Village Center are beginning to also gain popularity.


Events

coming soon...

National holidays

  • Jan 1: New Year's Day
  • Jan 6: Epiphany
  • Mar 7: Dodecanese Accession (to be observed in Rhodes only)
  • Kathari Deftera
  • Mar 25: Greek Independence
  • May 1: May Day
  • Good Friday
  • Holy Saturday
  • Easter Sunday
  • Easter Monday
  • Aug 15: Assumption Day
  • Oct 4: Liberation of Xanthi (to be observed in Xanthi only)
  • Oct 26: St. Dimitrios Day (to be observed in Thessaloniki only)
  • Oct 28: Όχι (No) Day
  • Dec 25: Christmas Day
  • Dec 26: Boxing Day

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