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Greece



Greece{{otheruses}} '''Greece''', officially called the '''Hellenic Republic''' (Greek language|Greek: &Epsilon;&lambda;&lambda;&eta;&nu;&iota;&kappa;&#942; &Delta;&eta;&mu;&omicron;&kappa;&rho;&alpha;&tau;&#943;&alpha;), is a country in the southeast of Europe on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula. It has land boundaries with Bulgaria, the F.Y.R.O.M. and Albania to the north; and with Turkey to the east. The waters of the Aegean Sea border on Greece to the east, and those of the Ionian Sea|Ionian and Mediterranean Seas to the west and south. Regarded by many as the cradle of Western civilisation and the birthplace of Democracy, Greece has a long and rich history during which its culture has proven especially influential in Europe, Asia and Africa. {| border=1 align=right cellpadding=4 cellspacing=0 width=300 style="margin: 0 0 1em 1em; background: #f9f9f9; border: 1px #aaaaaa solid; border-collapse: collapse; font-size: 95%;" |+<big><big>'''&#917;&#955;&#955;&#951;&#957;&#953;&#954;&#942; &#916;&#951;&#956;&#959;&#954;&#961;&#945;&#964;&#943;&#945;'''<br>'''Ellinikí Dhimokratía'''</big></big> | align="center" colspan="2"| {| border=0 cellpadding=2 cellspacing=0 style="background:#f9f9f9; text-align:center;" | width="130px"| Image:Greece flag large.png|125px|Flag of Greece || align=center width=130px | Image:Greece_coa.png|125px|Coat of Arms |- | align=center width=130 | (Flag of Greece|National Flag) || align=center width=130px | |} |- | colspan=2 align=center | <small>''National motto: &#7960;&#955;&#949;&#965;&#952;&#949;&#961;&#943;&#945; &#7972; &#920;&#940;&#957;&#945;&#964;&#959;&#962;<br>(Greek language|Greek: Liberty or Death)'' |- | align=center colspan=2 style="background:#fff;" | image:LocationGreece.png |- | '''Official language''' || Greek language|Greek |- | '''Capital''' || Athens |- | '''Largest city''' || Athens |- | '''List of Presidents of Greece|President''' || Karolos Papoulias|Károlos Papoúlias |- | '''List of Prime Ministers of Greece|Prime Minister''' || Costas Caramanlis|Kóstas Karamanlís |- | '''Area'''<br>&nbsp;- Total<br>&nbsp;- % water || List of countries by area|Ranked 94th<br/>1 E11 m2|131,940 km&sup2;<br/>0.86% |- | '''Population'''<br>&nbsp;- Total (2004)<br>&nbsp;- Population density|Density || List of countries by population|Ranked 70th<br/>10,665,989<br/>82/km&sup2; |- | '''Independence'''<br>&nbsp;- Declared<br>&nbsp;- Recognised || From the Ottoman Empire<br/>25 March 1821<br/>1829 |- | '''Gross Domestic Product|GDP'''<br>&nbsp;- Total<br>&nbsp;- GDP per capita | IMF 2005 estimate<br>$230.684 billion (List of countries by GDP (nominal)|29th)<br>$21,017 (List of countries by GDP (nominal) per capita|28th) |- | '''HDI|UN Human Development Index rank''' | UN_HDI_index|24 (2004) |- | '''Currency''' || Euro (&euro;)<sup>1</sup> |- | '''Time zone'''<br/>&nbsp;- in European Summer Time|summer | Eastern European Time|EET (Coordinated Universal Time|UTC+2)<br/>Eastern European Summer Time|EEST (Coordinated Universal Time|UTC+3) |- | '''National anthem''' || Hymn to Freedom|Hímnos prós tín Eleftherían |- | '''Top-level domain|Internet TLD''' || .gr |- | '''List_of_country_calling_codes|Calling Code''' || +30 |- | colspan="2" align="left" | <small><sup>1</sup> Prior to 2001: Drachma|Greek Drachma.</small> |} ==Name== The formal name of Greece in Greek is &Epsilon;&lambda;&lambda;&#x03ac;&sigmaf; = Ell&aacute;s {{IPA|/&#603;&#712;las/}}<!--Please note: IPA accent is written *before* the accented syllable, not after the accented vowel-->. This name is also written &lsquo;Hellas&rsquo; in English, following polytonic orthography|polytonic/Greek language|ancient conventions. Less formally, and more commonly, it is called &Epsilon;&lambda;&lambda;&#x03ac;&delta;&alpha; = Ell&aacute;dha {{IPA|/&#603;&#712;laða/}}. The mythical ancestor of the Greeks is the eponymous Hellen. The name of Greece in the European languages (English: Greece, French: Gr&egrave;ce, Italian: Grecia, German: Griechenland, Russian: &#1043;&#1088;&#1077;&#1094;&#1080;&#1103;, Serbo-Croatian: Gr&#269;ka, ...) comes from a different root, &#915;&#961;&#945;&#953;&#954;&#x03cc;&#962; = Graikos (<i>via</i> Latin Graecus) which according to Aristotle was an ancient name for the Greeks. On the other hand, the name of Greece in Middle Eastern languages (Turkish Yunanistan, Arabic &#1610;&#1608;&#1606;&#1575;&#1606;, Hebrew &#1497;&#1493;&#1493;&#1503;, Ancient Persian Yaunâ) comes from the Greek root &#921;&#969;&#957;&#943;&#945; = Ionia. Some Greeks prefer the name "Hellas" for the country and "Hellenes" for the people even in English. See <i>Hellenes</i> for discussion. == History == Image:athenssunset.jpg|thumbnail|left|The Parthenon in the Greek capital, Athens. ''Main Article: History of Greece.'' The shores of Greece's Aegean Sea saw the emergence of the first civilisations in Europe, namely the Minoan civilisation|Minoan and Mycenae|Mycenaean civilisations. After these, a Dark Age followed until around 800 BC, when a new era of Greek civilisation emerged. This Greece of polis|city-states established colonies along the Mediterranean Sea|Mediterranean and partially resisted Persian Empire|Persian invasions. Greek culture would later become the basis of the History of Hellenistic Greece|Hellenistic civilisation that followed the empire of Alexander the Great. For a detailed history of ''Ancient Greece'' see the relevant articles in: History of Greece. Militarily Greece itself declined to the point that the Roman Republic|Romans conquered the land (168 BC onwards), though Greek culture would in turn conquer Roman life. Greece became a province of the Roman Empire, but Greek culture would continue to dominate the eastern Mediterranean and when the Empire finally split in two the Eastern or Byzantine Empire, centred on Constantinople, would remain Greek in nature, as well as encompassing Greece itself. From the 4th century to the 15th century the Eastern Roman Empire survived eleven centuries of attacks from the west and east until Fall of Constantinople|Constantinople fell on May 29 1453 to the Ottoman Empire. Greece proper had gradually been conquered by the Ottomans during the 15th century. When the Ottomans arrived, two Greek migrations occurred. The first migration entailed the Greek intelligentsia migrating to Western Europe and influencing the advent of the Renaissance. The second migration entailed Greeks leaving the plains of the Greek peninsula and resettling in the mountains. Greece being mostly mountainous, the Ottomans could not conquer the entire Greek peninsula since they did not create either a military or administrative presence in the mountains. There existed many Greek mountain clans all across the peninsula and islands. The Sphakiots of Crete, the Souliots (or Souli) of Epirus, and the Mani (or Maniots) of Peloponnesus were the most resilient mountain clans throughout the Ottoman Empire. By the end of the 16th century up until the 17th century, many Greeks began to migrate from the mountains to the plains. The millet system contributed to the ethnic cohesion of Orthodox Greeks by segregating the various peoples within the Ottoman Empire based on religion. The Greek Orthodox Church, an ethno-religious institution, helped the Greeks from all geographical areas of the peninsula (i.e. mountains, plains, and islands) to preserve their ethnic, cultural, linguistic, and racial heritage during the harsh years of Ottoman rule. The Greeks living in the plains during Ottoman occupation were either Christians who dealt with the burdens of foreign rule or Crypto-Christians (Greek Muslims who were secret practitioners of the Greek Orthodox faith). Many Greeks became Crypto-Christians in order to avoid heavy taxes and at the same time express their identity by maintaining their secret ties to the Greek Orthodox Church. However, Greeks who converted to Islam and were not Crypto-Christians were deemed Turks in the eyes of all Orthodox Greeks. Image:ac.sounion.JPG|thumb||fruit|Cape Sounion in Attica, looking out to the Aegean islands The Ottomans ruled Greece until the early 19th century. In 1821, the Greeks rebelled and declared their independence, but did not succeed in winning it until 1829. The elites of powerful European nations saw the war of Greek independence, with its accounts of Turkish atrocity|atrocities, in a romantic light (see, for example, the 1824 painting ''Massacre of Chios'' by Eugene Delacroix). Scores of non-Greeks volunteered to fight for the cause--including, for example Lord Byron--and indeed at times the Ottomans seemed on the point of almost entirely suppressing the Greek revolution but for the threatened direct military intervention of France, England or Russia. The Russian minister for foreign affairs, Ioannis Kapodistrias, himself a Greek, returned home as President of the new Republic following Greek independence. That republic disappeared when a few years later Western powers helped turn Greece into a monarchy, the first king coming from Bavaria and the second from Denmark. During the 19th and early 20th century|20th centuries, in a series of wars with the Ottomans, Greece sought to enlarge its boundaries to include the ethnic Greek population of the Ottoman Empire, slowly growing in territory and population until it reached its present configuration in 1947. In World War I, Greece sided with the entente powers against Ottoman Empire|Turkey and the other Central Powers. In the war's aftermath, the Great Powers awarded parts of Asia Minor to Greece, including the city of Smyrna (known as Izmir today) which had a large Greek population. At that time, however, the Turkish nationalists led by Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, overthrew the Ottoman government, organised a military assault on the Greek troops, and defeated them. Immediately afterwards, hundreds of thousands of Turks then living in mainland Greek territory left for Turkey as an Population_exchange#Turkey_and_Greece:_population_exchange.2C_1922|exchange with hundreds of thousands of Greeks living in Turkey. Image:81fv8033.jpg|thumbnail|An overview of the 2004 Olympic infrastructure Despite the country's numerically small and ill-equipped armed forces, Greece made a decisive contribution to the Allies | Allied efforts in World War II. At the start of the war Greece sided with the Allies and refused to give in to Italian demands. Italy invaded Greece on 28 October 1940, but Greek troops repelled the invaders after a bitter struggle. This marked the first Allied victory in the war. Hitler then reluctantly stepped in, primarily to secure his strategic southern flank: troops from Germany, Hungary, Bulgaria and Italy successfully invaded Greece, overcoming Greek, British, Australian and New Zealand units. However, when the Germans attempted to Battle of Crete|seize Crete in a massive attack by paratroops &mdash; with the aim of reducing the threat of a counter-offensive by Allied forces in Egypt &mdash; Allied forces, along with Cretan civilians, offered fierce resistance. Although Crete eventually fell, this delayed German plans significantly, with the result that the German invasion of the Soviet Union started fatally close to winter. During years of Nazi occupation, thousands of Greeks died in direct combat, in concentration camps or of starvation. The occupiers murdered the greater part of the Jewish community despite efforts by the Greek Orthodox Church and many Christian Greeks to shelter Jews. The economy languished. After liberation, Greece experienced an equally bitter Hellenic Civil War|civil war&mdash;between communists and royalists&mdash;that lasted until 1949. In the 1950s and 1960s, Greece continued to develop slowly, initially with the help of the U.S.A Marshall_Plan|Marshall programme and later with the growth of tourism. In 1967, the military seized power in a coup d'état, overthrew the right-wing government of Panayiotis Kanellopoulos and established what became known as the ''Régime of the Colonels'', supported by the U.S.A. In 1973, the régime abolished the Kings of Greece|Greek monarchy. In 1974, dictator George Papadopoulos| Papadopoulos denied help to the USA and as a result the (US/Henry Kissinger|Kissinger) "appointed" a new dictator named Dimitrios Ioannides | Ioannides. Many hold Ioannides responsible for the coup against President Makarios of Cyprus -- the ''coup'' seen as the pretext for the first wave of the Turkish invasion of Cyprus in 1974; see: Greco-Turkish relations#The_1974_crisis_and_after|the 1974 crisis between Greece and Turkey. The Cyprus events and the outcry following a bloody suppression of Athens Polytechnic uprising in Athens led to the implosion of the military régime. A charismatic exiled politician, Konstantinos Karamanlis, returned from Paris as interim prime minister and later gained re-election for two further terms at the head of the conservative New_Democracy|Nea Dimokratia party. In 1975, following a referendum to confirm the deposition of King Constantine II of Greece|Constantine II, a democratic republican constitution came into force. Another previously exiled politician, Andreas Papandreou also returned and founded the socialist PASOK party, which won the elections in 1981 and dominated the country's political course for almost two decades. Since the restoration of democracy, the stability and economic prosperity of Greece have grown. Greece joined the European Union in 1981 and adopted the Euro as its currency in 2001. New infrastructure, funds from the EU and growing revenues from tourism, shipping, services, light industry and the telecommunications industry have brought Greeks an unprecedented standard of living. Tensions continue to exist between Greece and Turkey over Cyprus and the delimitation of borders in the Aegean Sea but relations have considerably thawed following successive earthquakes - first in Turkey and then in Greece - and an outpouring of sympathy and generous assistance by ordinary Greeks and Turks. The 2004 Summer Olympics took place in the country of their birth to widespread praise and satisfaction. == Politics == ''Main article: Politics of Greece'' Image:hellenicparliament.jpg|thumb|left|The Parliament in Athens, Greece The 1975 constitution includes extensive specific guarantees of civil liberties and vests the powers of the head of state in an indirectly-elected president, who is advised by the Council of the Republic on an ''ad hoc'' basis. The Council of the Republic consists of the incumbent Prime Minister, the leaders of all parliamentary parties, and all former Prime Ministers that have received a parliamentary vote of confidence (see "''dedilomeni''" below) at least once. The Council's advice is not binding. The prime minister and cabinet (government)|cabinet play the central role in the political process, while the president performs some governmental functions in addition to ceremonial duties. The parliament elects the president for a five-year term and can be re-elected once. Greeks elect the 300 members of the country's unicameral parliament (the ''Vouli ton Ellinon'') by secret ballot for a maximum of four years, but elections can occur at more frequent intervals. Greece uses a complex reinforced proportional representation electoral system which discourages splinter parties and ensures that the party which leads in the national vote will win a majority of seats. A party must receive 3% of the total national vote to gain representation. Greek parliamentary politics hinge upon the principle of the "''dedilomeni''", i.e. the "declared confidence" of Parliament to the Prime Minister and his/her administration. This is achieved if Parliament approves a new administration's political platform by a majority "plus one" (i.e. 151 votes), and is renewed yearly by voting on the new budget. An administration may label any particular parliamentary vote a "vote of confidence", and conversely the opposition may designate any vote as a "vote of reproach". Both are rare occurrences with usually predictable outcomes as voting outside the party line happens very seldom. For a list of Greek political parties, see List of political parties in Greece. == Local government == ''Main articles: Peripheries of Greece'' Image:meteora.jpg|thumb|right|The Meteora region in Central Greece Image:Gr-map.png|thumb|right|Map of Greece Greece consists of 13 administrative regions known as peripheries, which subdivide further into the 51 Prefectures of Greece|prefectures (''nomoi'', singular - ''nomos''): <table><tr valign=top><td> *Attica (periphery)|Attica: **Attica, Greece|Attica *Central Greece: **Euboea **Evritania **Fokis **Fthiotis **Viotia *Central Macedonia **Chalcidice|Khalkidhiki **Imathia **Kilkis **Pella **Pieria **Serres prefecture|Serres **Thessaloniki Prefecture|Thessaloniki </td><td> *Crete **Chania **Heraklion **Lasithi **Rethymno *East Macedonia and Thrace **Drama, Greece|Drama **Evros Prefecture|Evros **Kavala **Rodhopi **Xanthi *Epirus **Arta **Ioannina **Preveza **Thesprotia </td><td> *Ionian Islands **Corfu **Kefallinia **Levkas **Zakinthos *North Aegean **Chios **Lesbos **Samos *Peloponnesos **Arcadia **Argolis **Corinth, Greece|Corinth **Laconia **Messinia </td><td> *South Aegean **Cyclades **Dodecanese *Thessaly **Kardhitsa **Larisa **Magnesia **Trikala *West Greece **Achaea **Aitolia-Acarnania **Prefecture of Ilia|Ilia *West Macedonia **Florina **Grevena **Kastoria **Kozani </td></tr> </table> Beyond these one autonomous region exists: Mount Athos (''Ayion Oros'' - Holy Mountain), a monastic state under Greek sovereignty. The 51 ''nomoi'' subdivide into 147 ''eparchies'' (singular ''eparchia''), which contain 1,033 municipalities: 900 urban municipalities (''demoi'') and 133 rural communities (''koinotetes''). Before 1999, Greece's local government structure featured 5,775 local authorities: 457 ''demoi'' and 5,318 ''koinotetes'', subdivided into 12,817 localities (''oikosmoi''). == Geography == ''Main article: Geography of Greece'' Image:Satellite image of Greece.jpg|thumb|left|Greece from orbit Image:Island of Hydra.JPG|thumb|Greece has thousands of islands Image:Olympus.jpeg|thumb|Greece has many mountains, most famously Mount Olympus The country consists of a large mainland at the southern end of the Balkans; the Peloponnesus peninsula (separated from the mainland by the canal of the Isthmus of Corinth); and Greek islands|numerous islands, including Crete, Rhodes, Euboea and the Dodecanese and Cyclades|Cycladic groups of the Aegean Sea. Greece has more than 14,880 kilometres of coastline and a land boundary of 1,160 kilometres. About 80% of Greece consists of mountains or hills. Dry and rocky conditions prevail in much of the country, with only 28% of the land classed as arable. Western Greece contains lakes and wetlands. Pindus, the central mountain range, has an average elevation of 2,650 m. Mount Olympus forms the highest point in Greece at 2,911 m above sea level. Greece's climate features mild, wet winters and hot, dry summers. Temperatures rarely reach extremes, although snowfalls do occur in the mountains and occasionally even in Athens during the winter. Pinniped|Seals, sea turtles and other rare marine life live in Greek seas, while Greece's forests provide a home to Western Europe's last brown bears and lynx. <br clear=all> == Economy == ''Main article: Economy of Greece'' Image:greekships.jpg|thumb|left|Greek owners control the largest merchant fleet in the world Greece has a mixed capitalist economy with the public sector accounting for about half of Gross Domestic Product|GDP. Tourism has great importance, providing a large portion of GDP and foreign exchange earnings. Greece also counts as a world leader in shipping (first in terms of ownership of boats and third by flag registration) [http://www.marad.dot.gov/MARAD_statistics/Country-MFW-7-04.pdf]. Greece figures prominently as a major beneficiary of EU aid, equal to about 2.4% of GNP. The export of manufactured goods, including telecommunications hardware and software, foodstuffs and fuels accounts for the rest of Greek income. The economy has improved steadily over the last few years, as the government tightened policy in the run-up to Greece's entry into the zone of the EU's single currency, the euro, on January 1, 2001. Average ''per capita'' Gross domestic product|GDP in 2004 was estimated at $21,300 [http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/fields/2004.html CIA World Factbook]. Greece has an expanding services sector and telecommunications industry and has become one of the largest investors in her region. Moreover, Greece now operates as a net importer of labour and foreign workers (mainly from the Balkans, Eastern Europe, the Middle East and Pakistan, and equatorial Africa) now account for 10% of the total population. Major challenges remaining include the reduction of unemployment and further restructuring of the economy, including privatisation|privatising several state enterprises, undertaking social security reforms, overhauling the tax system, and minimising bureaucratic inefficiencies. Forecasts predicted economic growth of 4 - 4.5 % in 2004. Reducing the government deficit also remains a major challenge, as it is currently running at nearly twice the Eurozone target (of 3% of Gross domestic product|GDP). The new conservative government claimed to Eurostat that the previous figures supplied, which were the basis of Greek entry into the Eurozone, were Greek Financial Audit, 2004|incorrect. The Bank of Greece, now a subsidiary of the European Central Bank, functions as the national central bank of Greece; distinguish this from the "National Bank of Greece", a commercial bank. == Demographics == ''Main article: Demographics of Greece'' According to the 2001 census, Greece had a population of 10,964,020. Of those, 58.8% lived in urban areas, whereas only 28.4% lived in rural areas. The population of the two largest cities in Greece, Athens and Thessaloniki, reached almost 4 million. Although the population of Greece continues to grow, Greece faces a serious demographic problem: for the first time in 2002 the number of deaths surpassed the number of births. A large number of immigrants live in Greece today, estimated at over one million. About 65% have come from Albania, and large-scale Albanian migration to Greece since the fall of Communism in Albania has become a source of controversy in Greece, exacerbated by the lack of a coherent government policy on immigration. A minority of Albanians are regularly implicated in highly publicised criminal activities and, as a result, Albanians in general are often stigmatised. The Albanians also occasionally suffer from discrimination and exploitation in Greece. Nonetheless most Greeks nowadays recognise their contribution to the Greek economy. Several prominent Greek sportsmen immigrated to Greece as ethnic Greeks from Albania or Georgia in the 1990s. Smaller numbers of immigrants came from Bulgaria, Serbia, Romania, Pakistan, Ukraine, Belarus, Poland, Egypt, Palestine, Ethiopia, Bangladesh, China and Georgia (country)|Georgia, Russia. The exact number remains unknown, since the majority live illegally in Greece. As a result of the illegal immigrants residing in Greece, Greek xenophobia/racism has risen significantly. Currently, right-wing nationalist political forces call for the expulsion of all illegal immigrants and the strengthening of Greek borders. Greece has traditionally had various, if not numerous, linguistic and cultural minorities. A non-comprehensive list of these would include Pomaks, various Roma (people)|Roma groups, Turkish-speakers, Slavs, Vlachs and Arvanites. Numerous religious minorities exist: Muslims form the largest such minority. One minority possesses special rights (deriving mainly from the Treaty of Lausanne): the Muslim minority of Thrace. === Religion === Greece, before the Ottoman rule, was part of the Eastern Roman Empire or as it is commonly known the Byzantine Empire. The civil and religious capital of the Roman Empire was moved to New Rome or Constantinople (modern day Istanbul) by Constantine the Great. From this time onwards the Orthodox Christian faith has flourished and spread throughout Europe. Even under Turkish rule and repeated attempts at being proselytised firstly by the Jesuits and then by the Protestants, Orthodox Christianity survived and flourished. The role of the Church of Greece|Orthodox Church in maintaining Greek ethnic and cultural identity during the 400 years of Ottoman rule, has strengthened the bond between religion and government. Most Greeks, even those who are not Christian or religious in any way, revere and respect the Orthodox Christian faith, attend Church and Major Feast days, and understand Greek Orthodoxy as their national religion. Reflecting this, the Constitution of Greece|Greek Constitution on the one hand guarantees absolute freedom of religion while, on the other hand, it defines the "prevailing religion" of Greece as the Eastern Orthodox Church of Christ. In practice, the Church of Greece|Orthodox Church as well as the secular state approve jointly any activities related to the building of churches; priests receive state salaries; and the President of the Republic takes an oath on the Bible. The majority of Greeks (95 to 98%) have at least nominal membership of the Eastern Orthodox Church, although religious observance has declined in recent years. Greek Muslims make up about 1.3% of the population, and live mainly in Thrace. Greece has some Roman Catholics: mainly in the Cyclades islands of Syros, Paros and Naxos, Greece|Naxos; some Protestants and some Jews, mainly in Thessaloniki. Some groups in Greece have started an attempt to reconstruct Hellênismos, the old Greek paganism|pagan religion. See also: Greek Orthodox Church. One small part of Greece, Mount Athos, is required by the constitution to be governed theocratically (ie. governed by God and his ministers) as a monastic community and republic. Mount Athos remains as an independant state, yet is under the Patriarchate of Constantinople and is therefore in communion with all the monasteries on Mount Athos and with the Orthodox Church based in various countries. Only one monastery has recently broken away and has formed a completely independent schism on the Holy Mountain -- Esphygmenou Monastery. Esphygmenou is composed of 117 Zealot monks who stubornly oppose the head of the Church and do not commemorate him any more. They believe that they are the last remaining true Christians in the world and that Orthodoxy has been corrupted by having dialogue with other faiths and object to the lifting of the anathemas against the Roman catholic Church in the 1960's by Patriarch Athenagoras. == Culture == ''Main article: Culture of Greece'' Since the dawn of her history and until today Greece has produced a number of contributors to philosophy, astronomy, science and the arts. For a list of famous Greek women and men see List of Greeks. See also: * Classics * Education in Greece * List of folk dances sorted by origin#Greece|List of Greek dances * Greek National Holidays * Tourism in Greece * List of museums in Greece {| align=center |- | Image:byz6a2.jpg|thumb|right| | Image:oelytis.jpg|thumb|right|The Nobel prize for literature has went to Greek writers twice. Here Odysseus Elytis in 1979. | Image:kallas.jpg|thumb|right|Maria Callas |} <br clear=all> == Miscellaneous topics == *History of Greece **Ancient Greece *Communications in Greece **List of Greek language television channels **List of radio stations in Greece *Transportation in Greece **List of Greek roads **Rio-Antirio bridge *Foreign relations of Greece *Military of Greece *Postage stamps and postal history of Greece *Conscription#Greece| Conscription in Greece ==Sport in Greece== * Summer Olympics of 1896 Summer Olympics|1896, 1906 Summer Olympics|1906 & 2004 Summer Olympics|2004 * Greece national football team (Euro 2004 Cup Winners) {| align=center |- | Image:ceremony4.jpg|thumb|left|Greece hosted the 2004 Summer Olympics | Image:GreeceEuro.jpg|thumb|left|Greece won 2004 European Football Championship|Euro 2004 | Image:velodrome.jpg|thumb|right|Greece has world class sport infrastructure. Here the Athens velodrome |} <br clear=all> == See also == *Hellenic National Intelligence Service *National Statistical Service of Greece == External links == {{commons|Greece}} *[http://www.greece.com Greece.com] everything about Greece in Greece.com *[http://www.greeceindex.com Greece Index] hand-selected webpages about Greece *[http://www.greece-athens.com Greece Athens travel guide] *[http://www.hri.org HR-Net (Hellenic Resources Network)] -- a comprehensive, non-commercial web site covering Greek news, radio links, Greek language instruction and an [http://www.hri.org/nodes/greece.html enormous categorised list] of sites related to Greece. *[http://www.holiday.gr Greece travel guide] Greece for travellers *[http://www.focusmm.com/greece/gr_anamn.htm The Land of Gods and Goddesses] Greece Guide *[http://www.ask4greece.org Ask for Greece] A volunteer community for Q&As about Greece *[http://www.greece-museums.com Greece Museums] Museum directory for Greece *[http://webcam.deili.info/en,1,8 Greece Webcam] *[http://www.ert.gr/radio/liveradioTritovraxea.asp Radio Greece live] *[http://www.travelling-greece.com Travelling Greece and the Greek Islands] *[http://www.aroundgreece.com Guide for Greece] *[http://greece.ianandwendy.com Pictures and photos of Greece from a backpacker's trip] *[http://dmoz.org/Regional/Europe/Greece/ Open Directory Project: Greece] ===Greek Ministries=== *[http://www.ypes.gr/ Ministry of the Interior, Public Administration and Decentralisation] *[http://www.ypepth.gr Ministry of Education and Religious Affairs] *[http://www.mfa.gr/english/ Ministry of Foreign Affairs] *[http://www.ypan.gr/ Ministry of Development] *[http://www.ydt.gr/ Ministry of Public Order] *[http://egov.yen.gr/ Ministry of Mercantile Marine] *[http://www.ypai.gr Ministry of the Aegean and insular policy] *[http://www.ministryofjustice.gr/ Ministry of Justice] *[http://www.culture.gr/ Ministry of Culture] ** online resource center with extensive information about the culture of Greece, its history, archaeological sites, etc. *[http://www.minagric.gr/ Ministry of Agriculture] *[http://www.labor-ministry.gr/ Ministry of Employment and Social Protection] *[http://www.mod.gr/ Ministry of National Defence] *[http://www.mnec.gr/ Ministry of National Economy and Economics] *[http://www.ypyp.gr/ Ministry of Health and Welfare] *[http://www.yme.gr/ Ministry of Transportation and Communications] *[http://www.mathra.gr/ Ministry of Macedonia and Thrace] ===Other official sites=== *[http://www.presidency.gr/en/index.htm President of the Hellenic Republic] *[http://www.greece.gr/index.htm Greece Now Government sponsored e-zine on Greek life] *[http://www.primeminister.gr/gr/lang/en/primeminister.asp Prime Minister of Greece] *[http://www.parliament.gr/english/default.asp Hellenic Parliament] {{EU_countries}} {{NATO}} {{Europe}} Category:Greece| Category:European Union member states <!-- The below are interlanguage links. --> ar:&#1610;&#1608;&#1606;&#1575;&#1606; be:&#1043;&#1088;&#1101;&#1094;&#1099;&#1103; bg:&#1043;&#1098;&#1088;&#1094;&#1080;&#1103; bn:&#2455;&#2509;&#2480;&#2496;&#2488; bs:Gr&#269;ka ca:Grècia cs:&#344;ecko cy:Gwlad Groeg da:Grækenland de:Griechenland el:&#917;&#955;&#955;&#940;&#948;&#945; eo:Grekio es:Grecia et:Kreeka fi:Kreikka fr:Grèce gd:A' Ghrèig gl:Grecia - &#917;&#955;&#955;&#940;&#948;&#945; he:&#1497;&#1493;&#1493;&#1503; hi:&#2327;&#2381;&#2352;&#2368;&#2360; hr:Gr&#269;ka hu:Görögország ia:Grecia id:Yunani is:Grikkland it:Grecia ja:&#12462;&#12522;&#12471;&#12515; ka:&#4321;&#4304;&#4305;&#4308;&#4320;&#4331;&#4316;&#4308;&#4311;&#4312; ko:&#44536;&#47532;&#49828; la:Graecia lb:Griicheland li:Griekeland lt:Graikija lv:Grie&#311;ija minnan:Hi-lia&#781;p mk:&#1043;&#1088;&#1094;&#1080;&#1112;&#1072; ms:Yunani nds:Grekenland nl:Griekenland nb:Hellas nn:Hellas pl:Grecja pt:Grécia ru:&#1043;&#1088;&#1077;&#1094;&#1080;&#1103; ro:Grecia roa-rup:G&#226;r&#355;ii simple:Greece sk:Grécko sl:Gr&#269;ija sq:Greqia sr:&#1043;&#1088;&#1095;&#1082;&#1072; sv:Grekland th:&#3611;&#3619;&#3632;&#3648;&#3607;&#3624;&#3585;&#3619;&#3637;&#3595; tpi:Gris tr:Yunanistan uk:&#1043;&#1088;&#1077;&#1094;&#1110;&#1103; zh:&#24076;&#33098; First page | Prev | Next | Last page |

This article on Greece is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Greece".

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