Greece

I

Introduction

Greece (Greek Hellas), officially known as the Hellenic Republic (Ellinikí Dimokratía), country in southeastern Europe, occupying the southernmost part of the Balkan Peninsula. Famed for the beauty of its landscape, Greece is dominated by mountains and sea. The Aegean, Mediterranean, and Ionian seas constitute the country’s eastern, southern, and western borders, and no part of mainland Greece is more than 100 km (60 mi) from the water. Islands constitute about one-fifth of the country’s land area.

Greece has historically been poor with inadequate communications, but it has experienced rapid economic and social change from the mid-20th century on. Tourism and shipping make major contributions to the Greek economy, which has also benefited from payments arising from Greece’s membership in the European Union (EU). The country’s merchant ship fleet is one of the largest in the world. Greece’s capital and largest city is Athens.

Although Greece did not come into being as a modern state until the 19th century, its people have a proud history that stretches back thousands of years. In the 1st millennium bc, ancient Greek city-states led by Athens made tremendous advances in government, philosophy, and the arts. The ancient Greek civilization was concentrated on the coastlines of present-day Greece and its islands, as well as the Aegean coast of what is today Turkey. The archaeological remains of many of the cities and sacred sites of ancient Greece are located in modern Greece. For a discussion of ancient Greek civilization and history, see Ancient Greece.

The Ottoman Empire gained control of Greece in stages, beginning in the 15th century. After an eight-year war, Greece formally gained its independence from the Ottomans in 1830; it was the first nation in the empire to do so. Initially including just the Pelopónnisos (Peloponnesus) and the southern tip of the Balkan Peninsula, Greece more than tripled its area between 1880 and 1920, gaining mainland territory and islands from the Ottomans, Britain, and Bulgaria. German forces occupied Greece during World War II (1939-1945). Greek Communist rebels then waged war against the country’s right-wing government from 1946 to 1949. In 1967 a group of middle-ranking military officers took control of Greece. The military regime was overthrown in 1974, and the people of Greece voted in favor of a republic. In so doing, they brought an end to the Greek monarchy, which had been a controversial feature of the country’s government throughout most of its modern history.

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Greece’s heritage and geographical position make it part of the European, Balkan, and Mediterranean worlds. The country is bordered to the north by (from east to west) Turkey, Bulgaria, the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM), and Albania.

II

Land and Resources

Greece’s total area is 131,957 sq km (50,949 sq mi). Islands account for about 20 percent of that figure. From north to south, the greatest distance between points on Greek territory is 793 km (493 mi); from east to west it is 992 km (616 mi).

A

Natural Regions

Mainland Greece includes the regions of Thrace and Macedonia in the north; Epirus, Thessaly (Thessalia), and Central Greece in the central section; and the Pelopónnisos, a peninsula connected to the rest of the mainland by the Isthmus of Corinth, in the south. Of Greece’s more than 2,000 islands, only about 170 are inhabited. Major islands include Crete (Kríti), Euboea (Évvoia), Ikaría (Icaria), Khíos (Chios), Límnos (Lemnos), Lésvos (Lesbos), Sámos, Samothráki (Samothrace), and Thásos. Greece also has four island groups: the Northern Sporades, the Cyclades (Kikladhes), the Dodecanese, and the Ionian Islands. Like much of the mainland of which they are geological extensions, the islands are generally mountainous and dry. The islands of the Aegean Sea are hilly, rugged, stony, and dry.

About 80 percent of Greece’s land area is mountainous. The Pindus Mountains, with an average elevation of about 2,650 m (about 8,700 ft), extend from north to south through the middle of the mainland. A northeastern spur of the Pindus range includes Greece’s highest point, Mount Olympus (2,917 m/9,570 ft), considered in ancient times to be the home of the gods. Lower mountain ranges, including the Taíyetos Mountains on the Pelopónnisos, generally run from northeast to southwest through the country, including on the islands. Much of Greece lies in an earthquake zone, and earthquakes occur frequently. In 1978 an earthquake inflicted considerable damage on the city of Thessaloníki (Salonika).

B

Rivers

Greece’s rivers are relatively short, and many dry up in the summer. None of the rivers are navigable. The country’s major rivers include the Vardar (Axiós), the Struma (Strymon), the Néstos, and the Aliákmon, all of which flow through the region of Macedonia to the Aegean. Measuring 297 km (185 mi), the Aliákmon is the longest river in Greece.

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