Country of the Week: Greece

Time for a new segment in my blog. It's called "Country of the Week" and this week's country is Greece. (All information is from Wikipedia. I don't own any of the images.)


Here are some facts about Greece:
Capital: Athens
Area: 131,990 sq km
Population: 11,257,285
Official languages: Greek
Country in official language: Ἑλλάς (Hellas) or Ελλάδα (Hellada)
What Greeks call their language: Ελληνικά (Ellinika)
Type of Government: Parliamentary republic
Independence Day: March 25
Currency: Euro (formerly Greek drachma)
Famous for: Its ancient civilization, mythology, Olympic games, Greek Orthodox Church, the Parthenon, the bouzouki, moussaka, Greek salad, Homer, its diaspora


History


The Greek civilization, more generally, Western civilization, began with the Minoan civilization of Crete. The Minoan civilization was a sophisticated civilization that existed from about 3000BC to 1400 BC. This ancient civilization was mysteriously wiped out in 1400 BC. After the Minoans were wiped out, the Mycenaean civilization was beginning to establish dominance over the region. From 1400 BC to 1100 BC, the Myceneans were famous for building the city of Troy.


Later, city-states emerged & colonization of the Mediterranean occurred. The era of the city-states of Athens & Sparta signaled the golden age of Ancient Greece as art, philosophy, science, mathematics & democracy flourished in Athens. Both Athens & Sparta helped to repel the Persian forces in the Persian Wars. Tensions rose between Athens & Sparta as the Peloponnesian War occurred between the two city-states. In 336 BC, Alexander the Great united the city-states of Greece to defeat the Persians & to expand into the outer limits of the known world.

After Alexander the Great died in 323 BC, his kingdom was divided into the Seleucid Empire (which governed the lands of Persia & India), the Ptolemic Empire (which governed Egypt) & Greece. These kingdoms launched the era called the "Hellenistic Age". After the Hellenistic Age, the Romans conquered Greece in 146 BC. In AD 330, the Roman Empire was separated into the West & East Roman Empires. The Eastern Roman Empire, or the Byzantine Empire was a combination of Greek & Roman cultures.

The Byzantine Empire, which conquered the eastern half of what was the great Roman Empire, lasted from AD 330 to 1453. The capital of this great empire was Constantinople (now Istanbul). Constantine the Great & Justinian I were the Byzantine Empire's greatest leaders. The empire fell by the Turks during the siege of Constantinople in 1453. Since 1453 until 1832, Greece was ruled by the Ottoman Turks. In 1832, the Greeks revolted against Ottoman rule. Revolts ran through the land of Greece. In 1828, Greece was granted autonomy by the Ottoman Empire through the Great European Powers. And in 1832, Greece was granted independence from the Ottoman Empire.

After Greece has been granted independence in 1832, the Great Powers of Europe made the country a monarchy, with Otto as the first king of the monarchy. In WWII, Greece sided with the Allies. In 1940, Benito Mussolini ordered Greece to surrender to the Axis Powers, but Prime Minister Ioannis Metaxas refused to surrender & replied "No" to Mussolini's statement. Greece joined NATO in 1952. The Greek military junta from 1967-1974 abolished the monarchy & declared Greece a dictatorship. But finally, on 1974, from a hiatus of over 1,200 years, democracy returned to Greece. In 1981, Greece became the 10th member of the European Union.