| − | <table width="800" border="0" align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"><tr><td align="center"><img src="http://newsfeedresearcher.com/images/backtop.gif" width="800" height="45" align="middle"></td></tr><tr><td background="http://newsfeedresearcher.com/images/backmid.gif" valign="top"><table width="600" border="0" align="center"><tr><td><a name="top"><center>Your search has been for: <b><div id="hlight">Greece</div></b></center><br>Jump to: <br><a href="#overview"><b>Key Topics</b></a> || <a href="#extend"><b>In-Depth</b></a> || <a href="#sources"><b>Selected Sources</b></a> || <a href="#advanced"><b>Dig Deeper</b></a><br><br><br><a href="#" onclick="toggle_visibility('prvw'); return false;" title="General Info."><b><div id="hlight">GENERAL INFO<image src="http://iresearch-reporter.com/images/apx4.jpg" alt="General Info."></a></div></b><br><div id="prvw">GOVERNMENT AND POLITICAL CONDITIONS Greece is a parliamentary republic whose constitution was last amended in April 2001.<a href="http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/3395.htm" TARGET="_blank" <sup>[1]</sup></a> <br>Roman Greece is the period of Greek history (of Greece proper as opposed to the other centers of Hellenism in the Roman world) following the Roman victory over the Corinthians at the Battle of Corinth in 146 BC until the reestablishment of the city of Byzantium and the naming of the city by the Emperor Constantine as the capital of the Roman Empire (as Nova Roma, later Constantinople ) in 330.<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ancient_Greece" TARGET="_blank" <sup>[2]</sup></a> <br>The official Statistical body of Greece is the National Statistical Service of Greece (NSSG).<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greece" TARGET="_blank" <sup>[3]</sup></a> <br>Greece is a developed country, a member of the European Union since 1981, a member of the Economic and Monetary Union of the European Union since 2001, NATO since 1952, the OECD since 1961, the WEU since 1995 and ESA since 2005.<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greece" TARGET="_blank" <sup>[3]</sup></a> <br>To suggest that all of Western literature is no more than a footnote to the writings of ancient Greece is an exaggeration, but it is nevertheless true that the Greek world of thought was so far-ranging that there is scarcely an idea discussed today not already debated by the ancient writers.<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ancient_Greece" TARGET="_blank" <sup>[2]</sup></a> <br>At its economic height, in the 5th and 4th centuries BC, ancient Greece was the most advanced economy in the world.<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ancient_Greece" TARGET="_blank" <sup>[2]</sup></a> <br>Greece became the tenth member of the European Union on January 1, 1981 and ever since, the nation has experienced a remarkable and sustained economic growth.<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greece" TARGET="_blank" <sup>[3]</sup></a> <br>On January 1, 1981, Greece became the 10th member of the European Community (now the European Union). In parliamentary elections held on October 18, 1981, Greece elected its first socialist government, the Panhellenic Socialist Movement (PASOK), led by Andreas Papandreou.<a href="http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/3395.htm" TARGET="_blank" <sup>[1]</sup></a> <br>The assembly of ancient Greece is one of the first known forms of Democratic government.<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ancient_Greece" TARGET="_blank" <sup>[2]</sup></a> <br>Albanian immigrants to Greece are usually associated with the Muslim faith, although most are secular in orientation.<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greece" TARGET="_blank" <sup>[3]</sup></a> <br></div><br><br><a name="overview"></a><a href="#" onclick="toggle_visibility('overv'); return false;" title="Pertinent Info, most relevant to your research."><b><div id="hlight">KEY TOPICS<image src="http://iresearch-reporter.com/images/apx4.jpg" alt="Pertinent Info, most relevant to your research."></a></div></b><br><div id="overv"><ul><li>The country would eventually fall to urgently dispatched German forces during the Battle of Greece, but the occupiers nevertheless met serious challenges from the Greek Resistance.<a href="#hdng0">(More...)</a><br><br></li></ul><br><br><a name="hdng0"></a><b><i>The country would eventually fall to urgently dispatched German forces during the Battle of Greece, but the occupiers nevertheless met serious challenges from the Greek Resistance.</i></b> 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. <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greece" TARGET="_blank" <sup>[3]</sup></a> On 28 October 1940 Fascist Italy demanded the surrender of Greece, but the Greek dictator Ioannis Metaxas famously responded to the Italian ultimatum with the single word "OXI" ("No"). In the following Greco-Italian War, Greece repelled Italian forces into Albania, giving the Allies their first victory over Axis forces on land.<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greece" TARGET="_blank" <sup>[3]</sup></a> Greece ( Greek : """", Ell"da, IPA :, or """', Ell"s, ), officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in southeastern Europe, situated on the southern end of the Balkan Peninsula. It has borders with Albania, the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to the east.<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greece" TARGET="_blank" <sup>[3]</sup></a> The constitution of Greece recognizes the Greek Orthodox faith as the "prevailing" religion of the country, while guaranteeing freedom of religious belief for all.<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greece" TARGET="_blank" <sup>[3]</sup></a> <br><br><a href="#top"><img alt="Back to Top" title="Back to Top" src="http://newsfeedresearcher.com/images/backtotop.jpg" style="border: 0px solid ; width: 72px; height: 14px;"></a><br><br></div><br><a name="extend"></a><a href="#" onclick="toggle_visibility('ext'); return false;" title="Detailed Info, highly relevant to your research."><b><div id="hlight">IN-DEPTH<image src="http://iresearch-reporter.com/images/apx4.jpg" alt="Detailed Info, highly relevant to your research."></a></div></b><br><div id="ext"><b>Section Contents:</b><br><ul><li>The Peace of Apamaea ( 188 BC ) left Rome in a dominant position throughout Greece.<a href="#hdng1">(More...)</a><br><br></li><li>Under the influence of the "Megali Idea," the expansion of the Greek state to include all areas of Greek population, Greece acquired the Ionian islands in 1864; Thessaly and part of Epirus in 1881; Macedonia, Crete, Epirus, and the Aegean islands in 1913; Western Thrace in 1918; and the Dodecanese islands in 1947.<a href="#hdng2">(More...)</a><br><br></li><li>Ancient Greece - History, mythology, art, war, culture, society, and architecture.<a href="#hdng3">(More...)</a><br><br></li></ul></ul><br><br><a name="hdng1"></a><b><i>The Peace of Apamaea ( 188 BC ) left Rome in a dominant position throughout Greece.</i></b> When Philip V died in 179 BC he was succeeded by his son Perseus, who like all the Macedonian kings dreamed of uniting the Greeks under Macedonian rule. Macedon was now too weak to achieve this objective, but Rome's ally Eumenes II of Pergamum persuaded Rome that Perseus was a threat to Rome's position. <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ancient_Greece" TARGET="_blank" <sup>[2]</sup></a> Roman Greece is the period of Greek history (of Greece proper as opposed to the other centers of Hellenism in the Roman world) following the Roman victory over the Corinthians at the Battle of Corinth in 146 BC until the reestablishment of the city of Byzantium and the naming of the city by the Emperor Constantine as the capital of the Roman Empire (as Nova Roma, later Constantinople ) in 330.<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ancient_Greece" TARGET="_blank" <sup>[2]</sup></a> The term ancient Greece refers to the period of Greek history in Classical Antiquity, lasting from ca. 750 BC (the archaic period ) to 146 BC (the Roman conquest ). It is generally considered to be the seminal culture which provided the foundation of Western Civilization.<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ancient_Greece" TARGET="_blank" <sup>[2]</sup></a> To suggest that all of Western literature is no more than a footnote to the writings of ancient Greece is an exaggeration, but it is nevertheless true that the Greek world of thought was so far-ranging that there is scarcely an idea discussed today not already debated by the ancient writers.<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ancient_Greece" TARGET="_blank" <sup>[2]</sup></a> <br><br>From about the 9th century BC written records begin to appear. Greece was divided into many small self-governing communities, a pattern dictated by Greek geography, where every island, valley and plain is cut off from its neighbours by the sea or mountain ranges. The Greek cities were originally monarchies, although many of them were very small and the term "king" ( basileus ) for their rulers is misleadingly grand.<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ancient_Greece" TARGET="_blank" <sup>[2]</sup></a> Any history of ancient Greece requires a cautionary note on sources. Those Greek historians and political writers whose works have survived, notably Herodotus, Thucydides, Xenophon, Demosthenes, Plato and Aristotle, were mostly either Athenian or pro-Athenian.<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ancient_Greece" TARGET="_blank" <sup>[2]</sup></a> <br><br>Greece last held the rotating EU presidency in the first half of 2003. Greek businesses continue to adjust to competition from EU firms, and the government has liberalized its economic and commercial regulations and practices.<a href="http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/3395.htm" TARGET="_blank" <sup>[1]</sup></a> Major markets --Germany, Italy, France, U.S., U.K. Imports --$51.44 billion: basic manufactures, food and animals, crude oil, chemicals, machinery, transport equipment. Greece is about to revise upward its GDP by 9.6%. This revision resulted from the first fundamental revision of Greek economic statistics since 1988.<a href="http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/3395.htm" TARGET="_blank" <sup>[1]</sup></a> In 1953, the first defense cooperation agreement between Greece and the United States was signed, providing for the establishment and operation of American military installations on Greek territory. The United States closed three of its four main bases in the 1990s.<a href="http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/3395.htm" TARGET="_blank" <sup>[1]</sup></a> Gen. Ioannides' attempt in July 1974 to overthrow Archbishop Makarios, the President of Cyprus, brought Greece to the brink of war with Turkey, which invaded Cyprus and occupied part of the island. Senior Greek military officers then withdrew their support from the junta, which toppled.<a href="http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/3395.htm" TARGET="_blank" <sup>[1]</sup></a> After the war, Greece took part in the Allied occupation of Turkey, where many Greeks still lived.<a href="http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/3395.htm" TARGET="_blank" <sup>[1]</sup></a> <br><br>Greece was adamantly opposed to the use of "Macedonia" by the government in Skopje, claiming that the term is intrinsically Greek and should not be used by a foreign country.<a href="http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/3395.htm" TARGET="_blank" <sup>[1]</sup></a> Starting in January 2005, Greece assumed a 2-year seat on the UN Security Council. Macedonia The Greek dispute with its northern neighbor over its constitutional name, Republic of Macedonia, has been an important issue in Greek politics since 1992 and has inhibited the establishment of full diplomatic relations.<a href="http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/3395.htm" TARGET="_blank" <sup>[1]</sup></a> Albania Greece restored diplomatic relations with Albania in 1971, but the Greek Government did not formally lift the state of war, declared during World War II, until 1987.<a href="http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/3395.htm" TARGET="_blank" <sup>[1]</sup></a> Overall responsibility for education rests with the Ministry of National Education and Religious Affairs. Private colleges and universities (mostly foreign) do have campuses in Greece despite the fact that their degrees are not recognized by the Greek state.<a href="http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/3395.htm" TARGET="_blank" <sup>[1]</sup></a> From 1952 to late 1963, Greece was governed by conservative parties--the Greek Rally of Marshal Alexandros Papagos and its successor, the National Radical Union (ERE) of the late Constantine Karamanlis.<a href="http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/3395.htm" TARGET="_blank" <sup>[1]</sup></a> In a forced exchange of populations, more than 1.3 million refugees from Turkey poured into Greece, creating enormous challenges for the Greek economy and society.<a href="http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/3395.htm" TARGET="_blank" <sup>[1]</sup></a> Greece and Turkey have unresolved disagreements regarding the Aegean maritime boundary, the treatment of the Orthodox Church and Greek minority in Istanbul, and the Muslim (primarily ethnic Turkish) minority in western Thrace. The largest source of tension in their relationship since 1974 has been the Cyprus conflict.<a href="http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/3395.htm" TARGET="_blank" <sup>[1]</sup></a> A significant breakthrough in relations took place when major earthquakes hit Turkey and Greece in 1999. Both countries and peoples responded generously to the other's need, helping turn around official perceptions that rapprochement was too risky politically. Since that time, Greek and Turkish Foreign Ministers have increased the quantity and quality of bilateral exchanges, both official and unofficial.<a href="http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/3395.htm" TARGET="_blank" <sup>[1]</sup></a> Crime in Greece involving Albanians often attracts headlines. Greece-Turkey-Cyprus Relations For historical reasons, most Greeks see Turkey as the major potential threat to their security.<a href="http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/3395.htm" TARGET="_blank" <sup>[1]</sup></a> <br><br>During the Roman, Byzantine, and Ottoman Empires (1st-19th centuries), Greece's ethnic composition became more diverse. The roots of Greek language and culture date back at least 3,500 years, and modern Greek preserves many elements of its classical predecessor.<a href="http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/3395.htm" TARGET="_blank" <sup>[1]</sup></a> On September 22, 2006 Minister of Finance Alogoskoufis announced a major upward revision of Greece's GDP by 26%. This large revision resulted from the first fundamental revision of Greek economic statistics since 1988. Eurostat issued its final assessment of Greece's proposed revision process in October 2007, revising GDP growth downward to 9.4%.<a href="http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/3395.htm" TARGET="_blank" <sup>[1]</sup></a> Following a very severe German occupation in which many Greeks died (including over 90% of Greece's Jewish community) German forces withdrew in October 1944, and the government-in-exile returned to Athens.<a href="http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/3395.htm" TARGET="_blank" <sup>[1]</sup></a> From 1994-99, about $20 billion in EU structural funds and Greek national financing were spent on projects to modernize and develop Greece's transportation network in time for the Olympics in 2004.<a href="http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/3395.htm" TARGET="_blank" <sup>[1]</sup></a> In August 1949, the Greek national army forced the remaining insurgents to surrender or flee to Greece's communist neighbors.<a href="http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/3395.htm" TARGET="_blank" <sup>[1]</sup></a> Despite continuing disagreements with Ankara over Cyprus and the Aegean, Greek opinion leaders across the political spectrum are convinced that Greece's long-term interests are best served by Turkey's successfully fulfilling the requirements for membership and joining the European Union.<a href="http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/3395.htm" TARGET="_blank" <sup>[1]</sup></a> The most successful Greek teams are Panathinaikos, Aris Salonica, Olympiacos, AEK Athens and PAOK. Cricket, Handball, Water Polo and Volleyball are also practiced in Greece with the first being particularly popular in Corfu due to its long connections with the British.<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greece" TARGET="_blank" <sup>[3]</sup></a> The Greek Super League is the highest professional football league in the country comprising of 16 teams.The most known football clubs are Olympiacos, Panathinaikos, AEK Athens and PAOK, which compete in the Super League Greece.<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greece" TARGET="_blank" <sup>[3]</sup></a> Stavronikita monastery, a Greek Orthodox monastery in Athos peninsula, northern Greece.<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greece" TARGET="_blank" <sup>[3]</sup></a> Note : Greek is the dominant language throughout Greece; inclusion in a non-Greek language zone does not necessarily imply that the relevant minority language is still spoken there.<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greece" TARGET="_blank" <sup>[3]</sup></a> 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 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.<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greece" TARGET="_blank" <sup>[3]</sup></a> The Greek Government does not keep statistics on religious groups and censuses do not ask for religious affiliation.<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greece" TARGET="_blank" <sup>[3]</sup></a> Karamanlis took over government from Kostas Simitis of PASOK, who had been in office since January 1996. Kostas Karamanlis won a second term on September 16, 2007, however his party acquired a slimmer majority in the Greek Parliament gaining only 152 out of 300 seats.<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greece" TARGET="_blank" <sup>[3]</sup></a> 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.<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greece" TARGET="_blank" <sup>[3]</sup></a> The shipping industry is a key element of Greek economic activity from ancient times.<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greece" TARGET="_blank" <sup>[3]</sup></a> 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. Construction (10%GDP) and agriculture (7%) are yet two other significant sectors of the Greek economic activity.Greece is the leading investor in all of her Balkan neighbors.<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greece" TARGET="_blank" <sup>[3]</sup></a> <br><br>In 1827, Ioannis Kapodistrias, a noble Greek from the Ionian Islands, was chosen as the first governor of the new Republic. Following his assassination, the Great Powers soon installed a monarchy under Otto, of the Bavarian House of Wittelsbach.<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greece" TARGET="_blank" <sup>[3]</sup></a> 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.<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greece" TARGET="_blank" <sup>[3]</sup></a> 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.<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greece" TARGET="_blank" <sup>[3]</sup></a> <br><br>Mount Olympus,a focal point of Greek culture throughout history is host to the Mytikas peak 2,917metres (9,570ft),the highest in the country.<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greece" TARGET="_blank" <sup>[3]</sup></a> Greek members of Roman Catholic faith are estimated at 50,000 with the Roman Catholic immigrant community approximating 200,000.<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greece" TARGET="_blank" <sup>[3]</sup></a> As a member of NATO, the Greek military participates in exercises and deployments under the auspices of the alliance.<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greece" TARGET="_blank" <sup>[3]</sup></a> The civilian authority for the Greek military is the Ministry of National Defence.<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greece" TARGET="_blank" <sup>[3]</sup></a> The Greek national football team is the reigning UEFA European Champions having won the EURO 2004 as underdogs. They are as of April 2008 ranked 8th in the world, and have recently qualified for Euro 2008 to defend their crown.<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greece" TARGET="_blank" <sup>[3]</sup></a> The men's Greek national basketball team has a decades-long tradition of excellence in the sport.<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greece" TARGET="_blank" <sup>[3]</sup></a> <br><br>"Protection of Individual Rights", Constitutional Law " Individual Rights " Volume I (in Greek).<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greece" TARGET="_blank" <sup>[3]</sup></a> Greek cuisine difers widely from different parts of the mainland and from island to island.<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greece" TARGET="_blank" <sup>[3]</sup></a> 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.<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greece" TARGET="_blank" <sup>[3]</sup></a> As statistics from 1971, 1981, and 2001 show, the Greek population has been aging the past several decades.<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greece" TARGET="_blank" <sup>[3]</sup></a> The Greek education system also provides special kindergartens, primary and secondary schools for people with special needs or difficulties in learning.<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greece" TARGET="_blank" <sup>[3]</sup></a> 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. The Ottoman millet system contributed to the ethnic cohesion of Orthodox people 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.<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greece" TARGET="_blank" <sup>[3]</sup></a> 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. Greece is regarded as the birthplace of democracy, Western philosophy, the Olympic Games, Western literature and historiography, political science, major scientific and mathematic principles, and Western drama including both tragedy and comedy.<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greece" TARGET="_blank" <sup>[3]</sup></a> 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. Because of its strategic location, qualified workforce and political and economic stability, many multinational companies, such as Ericsson, Siemens, SAP, Motorola, Coca-Cola have their regional R&D Headquarters in Greece.<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greece" TARGET="_blank" <sup>[3]</sup></a> 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.<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greece" TARGET="_blank" <sup>[3]</sup></a> Greece ranks 24th in the 2006 HDI, 22nd on The Economist's 2005 world-wide quality-of-life index, and, according to the International Monetary Fund it has an estimated average per capita income of $35,166 for the year 2007, comparable to that of Germany, France or Italy and approximately equal to the EU average.<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greece" TARGET="_blank" <sup>[3]</sup></a> Non-negligible parties include the Communist Party of Greece, the Coalition of the Radical Left and the Popular Orthodox Rally. On March 7, 2004, Kostas Karamanlis, president of the New Democracy party and nephew of the late Constantine Karamanlis was elected as the new Prime Minister of Greece, thus marking his party's first electoral victory in nearly eleven years.<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greece" TARGET="_blank" <sup>[3]</sup></a> As the birth place of the Olympic Games, Greece was most recently host of 2004 Summer Olympics and the first modern Olympics in the year 1896.<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greece" TARGET="_blank" <sup>[3]</sup></a> According to the BTS, 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 categories, Greece ranks first in both tankers and dry bulk carriers, fourth in the number of containers, and fourth in other ships.<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greece" TARGET="_blank" <sup>[3]</sup></a> 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).<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greece" TARGET="_blank" <sup>[3]</sup></a> Once considered the throne of the Gods, it is today extremely popular among hikers and climbers. 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.<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greece" TARGET="_blank" <sup>[3]</sup></a> <br><br>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.<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greece" TARGET="_blank" <sup>[3]</sup></a> Greece is a developed country, a member of the European Union since 1981, a member of the Economic and Monetary Union of the European Union since 2001, NATO since 1952, the OECD since 1961, the WEU since 1995 and ESA since 2005.<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greece" TARGET="_blank" <sup>[3]</sup></a> Greece became the tenth member of the European Union on January 1, 1981 and ever since, the nation has experienced a remarkable and sustained economic growth.<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greece" TARGET="_blank" <sup>[3]</sup></a> All twenty-seven member states of the European Union are also members of the WTO in their own right: Austria " Belgium " Bulgaria " Cyprus " CzechRepublic " Denmark " Estonia " Finland " France " Germany " Greece " Hungary " Ireland " Italy " Latvia " Lithuania " Luxembourg " Malta " Netherlands and NetherlandsAntilles " Poland " Portugal " Romania " Slovakia " Slovenia " Spain " Sweden " UnitedKingdom.<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greece" TARGET="_blank" <sup>[3]</sup></a> <br><br>The only minority in Greece that has a specially recognized legal status is the Muslim minority (""""""""" """"""", Mousoulmanik" meion"tita ) in Thrace, which amounts to approximately 0.95% of the total population. Its members are predominantly of Turkish, Pomak and Roma ethnic origins. Other recognized minorities include approximately 35,000 Armenians and 5,500 Jews.<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greece" TARGET="_blank" <sup>[3]</sup></a> Having formally applied for full membership in 2003, Greece became ESA's sixteenth member on March 16 2005.<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greece" TARGET="_blank" <sup>[3]</sup></a> As member of the ESA, Greece participates in the agency's telecommunication and technology activities, and the Global Monitoring for Environment and Security Initiative.<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greece" TARGET="_blank" <sup>[3]</sup></a> Theodoros Vryzakis, 1865. As a result of the Balkan Wars, Greece successfully increased the extent of her territory and population, a challenging context both socially and economically.<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greece" TARGET="_blank" <sup>[3]</sup></a> 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.<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greece" TARGET="_blank" <sup>[3]</sup></a> 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.<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greece" TARGET="_blank" <sup>[3]</sup></a> <br><br>Greece is generally considered an important power in international basketball and the national team is regarded as one of the best in the world. They are as of January 2008 ranked 6th in the world. They have won the European Championship twice ( 1987 & 2005 ), and have reached the final four in three of the last four FIBA World Championships ( 1994, 1998, 2006 ) taking second place in 2006.<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greece" TARGET="_blank" <sup>[3]</sup></a> Cooperation between ESA and the Hellenic National Space Committee began in the early 1990s. In 1994, Greece and ESA signed their first cooperation agreement.<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greece" TARGET="_blank" <sup>[3]</sup></a> The official Statistical body of Greece is the National Statistical Service of Greece (NSSG).<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greece" TARGET="_blank" <sup>[3]</sup></a> <br><br>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.<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greece" TARGET="_blank" <sup>[3]</sup></a> Greece consists of a mountainous 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 (around 2,000), 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 14,880kilometres (9,246mi); its land boundary is 1,160kilometres (721mi).<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greece" TARGET="_blank" <sup>[3]</sup></a> <br><br>Greece operates a capitalist economy that produced a GDP of $305.595 billion in 2006. Its principal economic activities include tourism and shipping industries, banking and finance, manufacturing and construction and telecommunications.<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greece" TARGET="_blank" <sup>[3]</sup></a> Eleftherios Venizelos (1864-1936), one of the greatest political figures of modern Greece.<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greece" TARGET="_blank" <sup>[3]</sup></a> Four fifths of Greece consist of mountains or hills, making the country one of the most mountainous in Europe.<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greece" TARGET="_blank" <sup>[3]</sup></a> The current Constitution of Greece was drawn up 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.<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greece" TARGET="_blank" <sup>[3]</sup></a> Greece currently has universal compulsory military service for males while females (who may serve in the military) are exempted from conscription.<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greece" TARGET="_blank" <sup>[3]</sup></a> <br><br>Western Greece contains a number of lakes and wetlands and it is dominated by the Pindus mountain range.<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greece" TARGET="_blank" <sup>[3]</sup></a> Administratively, Greece consists of thirteen peripheries subdivided into a total of fifty-one prefectures ( nomoi, singular nomos ).<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greece" TARGET="_blank" <sup>[3]</sup></a> Albanian immigrants to Greece are usually associated with the Muslim faith, although most are secular in orientation.<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greece" TARGET="_blank" <sup>[3]</sup></a> <br><br>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 exercises vast political power, and the amendment of 1986 further strengthened his position to the detriment of the President of the Republic.<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greece" TARGET="_blank" <sup>[3]</sup></a> 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.<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greece" TARGET="_blank" <sup>[3]</sup></a> Greece's largest municipalities in 2001 were: Athens (745,514), Thessaloniki (363,987), Piraeus (175,697), Patras (161,114), Iraklio (133,012), Larissa (124,786), and Volos (82,439).<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greece" TARGET="_blank" <sup>[3]</sup></a> Thessaloniki is Greece's second largest city and a major economic, industrial, commercial and cultural center.<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greece" TARGET="_blank" <sup>[3]</sup></a> According to the NSSG, Greece's total population in 2001 was 10,964,020. That figure is divided into 5,427,682 males and 5,536,338 females.<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greece" TARGET="_blank" <sup>[3]</sup></a> <br><br>The ancient Greek religion has also reappeared as Hellenic Neopaganism, with approximately 2,000 adherents, comprising 0.02% of the general population.<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greece" TARGET="_blank" <sup>[3]</sup></a> According to some economic historians, it was one of the most advanced preindustrial economies. This is demonstrated by the average daily wage of the Greek worker which was, in terms of wheat, about 12 kg. This was more than 3 times the average daily wage of an Egyptian worker during the Roman period, about 3.75 kg.<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ancient_Greece" TARGET="_blank" <sup>[2]</sup></a> In Greek school books, "ancient times" is a period of about 900 years, from the catastrophe of Mycenae until the conquest of the country by the Romans, divided into four periods based on styles of art and culture and politics.<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ancient_Greece" TARGET="_blank" <sup>[2]</sup></a> Perseus was captured and taken to Rome, the Macedonian kingdom was broken up into four smaller states. Under the leadership of an adventurer called Andriscus, Macedon rebelled against Roman rule in 149 BC : as a result it was directly annexed the following year and became a Roman province, the first of the Greek states to suffer this fate.<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ancient_Greece" TARGET="_blank" <sup>[2]</sup></a> In 215 BC, Philip V formed an alliance with Rome's enemy Carthage, which drew Rome directly into Greek affairs for the first time. Rome promptly lured the Achaean cities away from their nominal loyalty to Philip, and formed alliances with Rhodes and Pergamum, now the strongest power in Asia Minor.<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ancient_Greece" TARGET="_blank" <sup>[2]</sup></a> The Mantineans received the support of the Athenians and the Tegeans that of the Thebans. The Thebans prevailed, but this triumph was short-lived, for Epaminondas died in the battle. The Thebans renounced their policy of intervention in the Peloponnesus. Xenophon thus ended his history of the Greek world in 362 BC. Thebes sought to maintain its position until finally eclipsed by the rising power of Macedon in 346 BC.<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ancient_Greece" TARGET="_blank" <sup>[2]</sup></a> Greek colonies at about 550 BCE. The population grew beyond the capacity of its limited arable land (according to Mogens Herman Hansen, the population of Ancient Greece increased by a factor larger than ten during the period from 800 BC to 400 BC, increasing from a population of 800,000 to a total estimated population of 10 to 13 million).<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ancient_Greece" TARGET="_blank" <sup>[2]</sup></a> Some studies estimate that the average size of the Greek household, in the period from 800 BC to 300 BC, increased five times, which indicates a large increase in the average income of the population.<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ancient_Greece" TARGET="_blank" <sup>[2]</sup></a> Some would extend the period to ca. 1000 BC to the inclusion of the Dorian invasion and the Greek Dark Ages.<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ancient_Greece" TARGET="_blank" <sup>[2]</sup></a> Philip's son Alexander the Great ( 356 " 323 BC ) managed to briefly extend Macedonian power not only over the central Greek city-states, but also to the Persian empire, including Egypt and lands as far east as present-day Pakistan. The classical period conventionally ends at the death of Alexander in 323 BC and the fragmentation of his empire, divided among the Diadochi.<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ancient_Greece" TARGET="_blank" <sup>[2]</sup></a> The Hellenistic period of Greek lasts from 323 BC to the annexation of the Greek peninsula and islands by Rome in 146 BC.<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ancient_Greece" TARGET="_blank" <sup>[2]</sup></a> The traditional date for the end of the ancient Greek period is the death of Alexander the Great in 323 BC. The following period until the integration of Greece into the Roman Republic in 146 BC is classed Hellenistic. These dates are historians' conventions and some writers treat the ancient Greek civilization as a continuum running until the advent of Christianity in the 3rd century.<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ancient_Greece" TARGET="_blank" <sup>[2]</sup></a> <br><br>In 146 BC the Greek peninsula, though not the islands, became a Roman protectorate.<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ancient_Greece" TARGET="_blank" <sup>[2]</sup></a> Rome's ally Rhodes gained control of the Aegean islands. In 202 BC Rome defeated Carthage,and was free to turn her attention eastwards, urged on by her Greek allies, Rhodes and Pergamum.<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ancient_Greece" TARGET="_blank" <sup>[2]</sup></a> From about 750 BC the Greeks began 250 years of expansion, settling colonies in all directions.<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ancient_Greece" TARGET="_blank" <sup>[2]</sup></a> The Greeks are believed to have migrated southward into the Balkan peninsula in several waves beginning in the late 3rd millennium BC, the last being the Dorian invasion.<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ancient_Greece" TARGET="_blank" <sup>[2]</sup></a> The conquests of Alexander had a number of consequences for the Greek city-states. It greatly widened the horizons of the Greeks, and led to a steady emigration, particularly of the young and ambitious, to the new Greek empires in the east.<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ancient_Greece" TARGET="_blank" <sup>[2]</sup></a> Although the establishment of Roman rule did not break the continuity of Hellenistic society and culture, which remained essentially unchanged until the advent of Christianity, it did mark the end of Greek political independence.<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ancient_Greece" TARGET="_blank" <sup>[2]</sup></a> Greek culture had a powerful influence on the Roman Empire, which carried a version of it to many parts of Europe.<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ancient_Greece" TARGET="_blank" <sup>[2]</sup></a> In common usage it refers to all Greek history before the Roman Empire, but historians use the term more precisely.<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ancient_Greece" TARGET="_blank" <sup>[2]</sup></a> During the reign of Pericles (around the mid 400's B.C.) the assembly was given the sole power to veto or approve any and all matters concerning the Greek state.<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ancient_Greece" TARGET="_blank" <sup>[2]</sup></a> Sparta had a special type of slaves called helots. Helots were Greek war captives owned by the state and assigned to families where they were forced to stay. Helots raised food and did household chores so that women could concentrate on raising strong children while men could devote their time to training as hoplites. Their masters treated them harshly and helots often revolted.<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ancient_Greece" TARGET="_blank" <sup>[2]</sup></a> By the 6th century BC several cities had emerged as dominant in Greek affairs: Athens, Sparta, Corinth, and Thebes. Each of them had brought the surrounding rural areas and smaller towns under their control, and Athens and Corinth had become major maritime and mercantile powers as well.<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ancient_Greece" TARGET="_blank" <sup>[2]</sup></a> Athens and Sparta developed a rivalry that dominated Greek politics for generations.<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ancient_Greece" TARGET="_blank" <sup>[2]</sup></a> <br><br>Neither reason nor inquiry began with the Greeks. Defining the difference between the Greek quest for knowledge and the quests of the elder civilizations, such as the ancient Egyptians and Babylonians, has long been a topic of study by theorists of civilization.<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ancient_Greece" TARGET="_blank" <sup>[2]</sup></a> The Roman consul Lucius Mummius advanced from Macedonia and defeated the Greeks at Corinth, which was razed to the ground.<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ancient_Greece" TARGET="_blank" <sup>[2]</sup></a> Greek colonies were also founded in Egypt and Libya. Modern Syracuse, Naples, Marseille and Istanbul had their beginnings as the Greek colonies Syracusae ("""""""), Neapolis ("""""'), Massalia ("""""') and Byzantion ("""""").<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ancient_Greece" TARGET="_blank" <sup>[2]</sup></a> Many Greeks migrated to Alexandria, Antioch and the many other new Hellenistic cities founded in Alexander's wake, as far away as what are now Afghanistan and Pakistan, where the Greco-Bactrian Kingdom and the Indo-Greek Kingdom survived until the end of the 1st century BC.<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ancient_Greece" TARGET="_blank" <sup>[2]</sup></a> <br><br>The period from 1100 BC to the 8th century BC is a " Dark Age " following the Bronze Age collapse from which no primary texts survive, and only scant archaeological evidence remains. Secondary and tertiary texts such as Herodotus ' Histories, Pausanias ' Description of Greece, Diodorus ' Bibliotheca, and Jerome's Chronicon contain brief chronologies and king lists for this period.<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ancient_Greece" TARGET="_blank" <sup>[2]</sup></a> Proto-Greek is assumed to date to some time between the 23rd and 17th centuries BC. The period from 1600 BC to about 1100 BC is known as the Mycenaean period and not usually included in "Ancient Greece" proper.<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ancient_Greece" TARGET="_blank" <sup>[2]</sup></a> In 198 the Second Macedonian War broke out for obscure reasons, but basically because Rome saw Macedon as a potential ally of the Seleucids, the greatest power in the east. Philip's allies in Greece deserted him and in 197 BC he was decisively defeated at the Cynoscephalae by the Roman proconsul Titus Quinctius Flamininus.<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ancient_Greece" TARGET="_blank" <sup>[2]</sup></a> Greece entered the 4th century under Spartan hegemony. By 395 BC the Spartan rulers removed Lysander from office, and Sparta lost her naval supremacy. Athens, Argos, Thebes, and Corinth, the latter two formerly Spartan allies, challenged Spartan dominance in the Corinthian War, which ended inconclusively in 387 BC.<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ancient_Greece" TARGET="_blank" <sup>[2]</sup></a> <br><br>In 168 BC the Romans sent Lucius Aemilius Paullus to Greece, and at Pydna the Macedonians were crushingly defeated.<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ancient_Greece" TARGET="_blank" <sup>[2]</sup></a> Greece now lay across Rome's line of communications with the east, and Roman troops became a permanent presence.<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ancient_Greece" TARGET="_blank" <sup>[2]</sup></a> <br><br>During the Hellenistic period the importance of "Greece proper" (that is, the territory of modern Greece) within the Greek-speaking world declined sharply.<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ancient_Greece" TARGET="_blank" <sup>[2]</sup></a> Macedon became more politically involved with the south-central city-states of Greece, but it also retained more archaic features like the palace-culture, first at Aegae (modern Vergina) then at Pella, resembling Mycenaean culture more than the classic city-states.<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ancient_Greece" TARGET="_blank" <sup>[2]</sup></a> <br><br>Under Constantine, Greece was part of the prefectures of Macedonia and Thrace.<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ancient_Greece" TARGET="_blank" <sup>[2]</sup></a> During the 2nd and 3rd centuries, Greece was divided into provinces including Achaea, Macedonia, Epirus, Thrace and Moesia.<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ancient_Greece" TARGET="_blank" <sup>[2]</sup></a> <br><br>The Achaeans, while nominally subject to Ptolemy, were in effect independent, and controlled most of southern Greece. Athens remained aloof from this conflict by common consent.<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ancient_Greece" TARGET="_blank" <sup>[2]</sup></a> In the 8th century BC, Greece began to emerge from the Dark Ages which followed the fall of the Mycenaean civilization.<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ancient_Greece" TARGET="_blank" <sup>[2]</sup></a> <br><br>We know far more about the history and politics of Athens than of any other city, and why we know almost nothing about some cities' histories. These writers, furthermore, concentrate almost wholly on political, military and diplomatic history, and ignore economic and social history. All histories of ancient Greece have to contend with these limits in their sources.<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ancient_Greece" TARGET="_blank" <sup>[2]</sup></a> At its economic height, in the 5th and 4th centuries BC, ancient Greece was the most advanced economy in the world.<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ancient_Greece" TARGET="_blank" <sup>[2]</sup></a> The Greek-speaking Mycenaean civilization that collapsed about 1150 BC is not generally included in the era labelled as Ancient Greece.<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ancient_Greece" TARGET="_blank" <sup>[2]</sup></a> The classical period of Ancient Greece, corresponds to most of the 5th and 4th centuries B.C. (i.e. from the fall of the Athenian tyranny in 510 BC to the death of Alexander the Great in 323 BC ). In 510, Spartan troops helped the Athenians overthrow their king, the tyrant Hippias, son of Peisistratos.<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ancient_Greece" TARGET="_blank" <sup>[2]</sup></a> The assembly of ancient Greece is one of the first known forms of Democratic government.<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ancient_Greece" TARGET="_blank" <sup>[2]</sup></a> The art of ancient Greece has exercised a huge influence on the culture of many countries from ancient times until the present.<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ancient_Greece" TARGET="_blank" <sup>[2]</sup></a> <br><br>The Parthenon is the most memorable symbol of the culture and sophistication of the ancient Greeks.<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ancient_Greece" TARGET="_blank" <sup>[2]</sup></a> The civilization of the ancient Greeks has been immensely influential on the language, politics, educational systems, philosophy, science, and arts, giving rise to the Renaissance in Western Europe and again resurgent during various neo-Classical revivals in 18th and 19th century Europe and the Americas.<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ancient_Greece" TARGET="_blank" <sup>[2]</sup></a> Clear unbroken lines of influence lead from ancient Greek and Hellenistic philosophers, to medieval Muslim philosophers and scientists, to the European Renaissance and Enlightenment, to the secular sciences of the modern day.<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ancient_Greece" TARGET="_blank" <sup>[2]</sup></a> There are no fixed or universally agreed upon dates for the beginning or the end of the ancient Greek period.<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ancient_Greece" TARGET="_blank" <sup>[2]</sup></a> <br><br><a href="#top"><img alt="Back to Top" title="Back to Top" src="http://newsfeedresearcher.com/images/backtotop.jpg" style="border: 0px solid ; width: 72px; height: 14px;"></a><br><br><a name="hdng2"></a><b><i>Under the influence of the "Megali Idea," the expansion of the Greek state to include all areas of Greek population, Greece acquired the Ionian islands in 1864; Thessaly and part of Epirus in 1881; Macedonia, Crete, Epirus, and the Aegean islands in 1913; Western Thrace in 1918; and the Dodecanese islands in 1947.</i></b> <a href="http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/3395.htm" TARGET="_blank" <sup>[1]</sup></a> Entrance to public universities is determined by state-administered exams. HISTORY The Greek War of Independence began in 1821 and concluded in 1830 when England, France, and Russia forced the Ottoman Empire to grant Greece its independence under a European monarch, Prince Otto of Bavaria.<a href="http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/3395.htm" TARGET="_blank" <sup>[1]</sup></a> An estimated three million Americans resident in the United States claim Greek descent. This large, well-organized community cultivates close political and cultural ties with Greece.<a href="http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/3395.htm" TARGET="_blank" <sup>[1]</sup></a> Greek and American diplomatic, law enforcement, and intelligence agencies worked closely together in the build-up to and throughout the 2004 Summer Olympic Games in Athens. In January 2006, the United States and Greece signed protocols updating treaties covering extradition and mutual legal assistance, which further strengthened this cooperation.<a href="http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/3395.htm" TARGET="_blank" <sup>[1]</sup></a> <br><br>The latest attempt, the Annan Plan, was overwhelmingly rejected by Greek Cypriots in March 2004. Turkish Cypriots voted in favor of the plan and both Greece and Turkey expressed their approval.<a href="http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/3395.htm" TARGET="_blank" <sup>[1]</sup></a> Despite Italian superiority in numbers and equipment, determined Greek defenders drove the invaders back into Albania. Hitler was forced to divert German troops to protect his southern flank and overran Greece in 1941.<a href="http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/3395.htm" TARGET="_blank" <sup>[1]</sup></a> The Greek Government responded to the September 11, 2001 attacks with strong political support for the United States, use of Greek airspace, and the offer of Greek military assets in support of the counterterrorism campaign. Its participation in Operation Enduring Freedom included the stationing of a Greek Navy frigate in the Arabian Sea for almost 2 years--the most distant deployment for the Greek Navy since WWII.<a href="http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/3395.htm" TARGET="_blank" <sup>[1]</sup></a> First the United Kingdom and later the U.S. gave extensive military and economic aid to the Greek government.<a href="http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/3395.htm" TARGET="_blank" <sup>[1]</sup></a> <br><br>The insurgency resulted in 100,000 killed, 700,000 displaced persons inside the country, and catastrophic economic disruption. This civil war left Greek society deeply divided between leftists and rightists.<a href="http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/3395.htm" TARGET="_blank" <sup>[1]</sup></a> Greek politics, particularly between the two world wars, involved a struggle for power between monarchists and republicans.<a href="http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/3395.htm" TARGET="_blank" <sup>[1]</sup></a> <br><br>A banned demonstration by resistance forces in Athens in December 1944 ended in battles with Greek Government and British forces.<a href="http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/3395.htm" TARGET="_blank" <sup>[1]</sup></a> After the fall of the Albanian communist regime in 1991, relations between Athens and Tirana became increasingly strained because of allegations of mistreatment of the Greek ethnic minority by Albanian authorities in southern Albania.<a href="http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/3395.htm" TARGET="_blank" <sup>[1]</sup></a> <br><br>Several thousand political opponents were imprisoned or exiled to remote Greek islands.<a href="http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/3395.htm" TARGET="_blank" <sup>[1]</sup></a> Prominent issues in Greek foreign policy include Greek-Turkish differences in the Aegean, Turkish accession to the EU, the name dispute with Macedonia, the reunification of Cyprus, Kosovo final status arrangements and Greek-American relations.<a href="http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/3395.htm" TARGET="_blank" <sup>[1]</sup></a> In December 2006, amid continuing dispute over Cyprus, the EU froze talks with Turkey on eight chapters regarding accession and stated that no chapters would be closed until a resolution is found. The Middle East Greece claims a special interest in the Middle East because of its geographic position and its economic and historic ties to the area.<a href="http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/3395.htm" TARGET="_blank" <sup>[1]</sup></a> A wave of Albanian illegal economic migrants to Greece exacerbated tensions. In the past several years, however, cooperation between Greece and Albania has improved, with efforts focused on regional issues, such as narcotics trafficking and illegal immigration.<a href="http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/3395.htm" TARGET="_blank" <sup>[1]</sup></a> The United States has provided Greece with more than $11.1 billion in economic and security assistance since 1946.<a href="http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/3395.htm" TARGET="_blank" <sup>[1]</sup></a> Mediation efforts by the UN and the United States brokered an interim agreement whereby Greece recognized the country as the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM) in September 1995.<a href="http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/3395.htm" TARGET="_blank" <sup>[1]</sup></a> U.S.-GREECE RELATIONS The United States and Greece have longstanding historical, political, and cultural ties based on a common heritage, shared democratic values, and participation as Allies during World War II, the Korean conflict, the Cold War, and now in Afghanistan.<a href="http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/3395.htm" TARGET="_blank" <sup>[1]</sup></a> GOVERNMENT AND POLITICAL CONDITIONS Greece is a parliamentary republic whose constitution was last amended in April 2001.<a href="http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/3395.htm" TARGET="_blank" <sup>[1]</sup></a> On January 1, 1981, Greece became the 10th member of the European Community (now the European Union). In parliamentary elections held on October 18, 1981, Greece elected its first socialist government, the Panhellenic Socialist Movement (PASOK), led by Andreas Papandreou.<a href="http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/3395.htm" TARGET="_blank" <sup>[1]</sup></a> Traditionally a seafaring nation, the Greek-owned merchant fleet totaled 3,700 ships in February 2007, 8.5% of the world merchant fleet and 16.5% of world tonnage. European Union (EU) Membership Greece has realigned its economy as part of its transition to full EU membership that began in 1981.<a href="http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/3395.htm" TARGET="_blank" <sup>[1]</sup></a> Greece has endorsed and supported Turkey's bid for candidacy to the European Union since the Helsinki EU Summit in 1999.<a href="http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/3395.htm" TARGET="_blank" <sup>[1]</sup></a> Greece has been a major net beneficiary of the EU budget; in 2005, EU transfers accounted for 3.2% of GDP and are estimated to have been approximately 2.6% of GDP in 2006.<a href="http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/3395.htm" TARGET="_blank" <sup>[1]</sup></a> <br><br>PEOPLE Greece was inhabited as early as the Paleolithic period and by 3000 BC had become home, in the Cycladic Islands, to a culture whose art remains among the most evocative in world history.<a href="http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/3395.htm" TARGET="_blank" <sup>[1]</sup></a> Israeli President Moshe Katsav visited Greece in 2006, the first-ever official visit by an Israeli head of state.<a href="http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/3395.htm" TARGET="_blank" <sup>[1]</sup></a> Eastern Orthodox Christianity is the dominant religion in Greece and receives state funding.<a href="http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/3395.htm" TARGET="_blank" <sup>[1]</sup></a> Political parties: New Democracy (ND), Panhellenic Socialist Movement (PASOK), Communist Party of Greece (KKE), Coalition of the Left (SYNASPISMOS), and Popular Orthodox Rally (LAOS).<a href="http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/3395.htm" TARGET="_blank" <sup>[1]</sup></a> PASOK under Papandreou was re-elected in 1985. Greece had two rounds of parliamentary elections in 1989; both produced weak coalition governments with limited mandates.<a href="http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/3395.htm" TARGET="_blank" <sup>[1]</sup></a> The U.S. Embassy in Greece is located at 91 Vasilissis Sophias Blvd., 10160 Athens; tel: (210) 721-2951 or 721-8401, after hours 729-4444; fax: (210) 645-6282.<a href="http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/3395.htm" TARGET="_blank" <sup>[1]</sup></a> Greece has the seventh-largest population of U.S. Social Security beneficiaries in the world.<a href="http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/3395.htm" TARGET="_blank" <sup>[1]</sup></a> Greece has good relations with Russia and has embassies in a number of the central Asian republics, which it sees as potentially important trading partners.<a href="http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/3395.htm" TARGET="_blank" <sup>[1]</sup></a> Greece was proclaimed a republic in 1924, but George II returned to the throne in 1935.<a href="http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/3395.htm" TARGET="_blank" <sup>[1]</sup></a> <br><br>At independence, Greece had an area of 47,515 square kilometers (18,346 square mi.), and its northern boundary extended from the Gulf of Volos to the Gulf of Arta.<a href="http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/3395.htm" TARGET="_blank" <sup>[1]</sup></a> <br><br>The government deficit in 2004 is now estimated by the Greek government to have reached 6.6% of GDP. As a result of lower post-Olympic spending and tight public spending, the government deficit in 2006 was 2.6% of GDP, with a debt to GDP ratio of 104.3%.<a href="http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/3395.htm" TARGET="_blank" <sup>[1]</sup></a> Greek investment in Southeast Europe has increased, leading to a net FDI outflow in some years.<a href="http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/3395.htm" TARGET="_blank" <sup>[1]</sup></a> In recent years, Greek leaders have hosted several meetings of Israeli and Palestinian politicians to contribute to the peace process.<a href="http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/3395.htm" TARGET="_blank" <sup>[1]</sup></a> In the summer of 2002, Greek authorities captured numerous suspected members of the terrorist group "November 17."<a href="http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/3395.htm" TARGET="_blank" <sup>[1]</sup></a> In 2003, 15 members of the terrorist organization, which since 1975 had killed many prominent Greeks and five U.S. mission employees, were found guilty and convicted for more than 2,500 crimes, including multiple counts of homicide.<a href="http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/3395.htm" TARGET="_blank" <sup>[1]</sup></a> <br><br>In 1921, the Greek army marched toward Ankara, but was defeated by Turkish forces led by Ataturk and forced to withdraw.<a href="http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/3395.htm" TARGET="_blank" <sup>[1]</sup></a> The Greek economy grew by 4.2% in 2006 and similar growth rates are projected for 2007. These growth rates resulted in a drop in unemployment (to 9.2% in 2006, down from 10.4% in 2004), although it is still significantly higher among women and people under 27.<a href="http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/3395.htm" TARGET="_blank" <sup>[1]</sup></a> <br><br>The United States accounted for 3% of Greece's total imports in 2006, which reached $51.4 billion.<a href="http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/3395.htm" TARGET="_blank" <sup>[1]</sup></a> Greece's embassy <A href="http://www.greekembassy.org/Embassy/Content/en/Root.aspx">embassy</A> in the United States is located at 2221 Massachusetts Ave., NW, Washington, DC 20008; tel: (202) 939-1300; fax: (202) 939-1324.<a href="http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/3395.htm" TARGET="_blank" <sup>[1]</sup></a> <br><br>ND won 152 seats to PASOK's 102; Karamanlis was re-elected Prime Minister. Greece's exemplary success in hosting a safe and secure 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens has enhanced its international prestige.<a href="http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/3395.htm" TARGET="_blank" <sup>[1]</sup></a> Greece's entry into World War II was precipitated by the Italian invasion on October 28, 1940.<a href="http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/3395.htm" TARGET="_blank" <sup>[1]</sup></a> <br><br><a href="#top"><img alt="Back to Top" title="Back to Top" src="http://newsfeedresearcher.com/images/backtotop.jpg" style="border: 0px solid ; width: 72px; height: 14px;"></a><br><br><a name="hdng3"></a><b><i>Ancient Greece - History, mythology, art, war, culture, society, and architecture.</i></b> <a href="http://www.ancientgreece.com/" TARGET="_blank" <sup>[4]</sup></a> Thucydides (c.460/455-c.399 BCE): Civil War in Corcyra <a href="http://homepage.usask.ca/~jrp638/DeptTransls/ThucPorter.html">Civil War in Corcyra</a> 43-E (Book 3.69-85 here 3.82-83) Description of stasi s in a Greek polis. This one caused the outbreak of war.<a href="http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/ancient/asbook07.html" TARGET="_blank" <sup>[5]</sup></a> WEB Skenotheke: Images of the Ancient Stage <a href="http://homepage.usask.ca/~jrp638/skenotheke.html">Skenotheke: Images of the Ancient Stage</a> Has numerous images of the major remaining Greek theatres, with links to others all over the net.<a href="http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/ancient/asbook07.html" TARGET="_blank" <sup>[5]</sup></a> All the major Greek plays are online, as well as substantial amount of criticism and theorising.<a href="http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/ancient/asbook07.html" TARGET="_blank" <sup>[5]</sup></a> <br><br>Xenophon (c.428-c.354 BCE): Anabasis, or March Up Country or Persia Expedition, full text The story of a Greek army of mercenaries and their march into the Persian Empire.<a href="http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/ancient/asbook07.html" TARGET="_blank" <sup>[5]</sup></a> Herodotus (c.490-c.425 BCE): The Persians Reject Democracy/Darius' State The Persians Reject Democracy/Darius' State For the Greeks, the Persian's were the major "other" against whom they measured their own institutions.<a href="http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/ancient/asbook07.html" TARGET="_blank" <sup>[5]</sup></a> <br><br>It contains in AU format all the recordings of Ancient Greek Music made by the Kerylos ensemble.<a href="http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/ancient/asbook07.html" TARGET="_blank" <sup>[5]</sup></a> <br><br><a href="#top"><img alt="Back to Top" title="Back to Top" src="http://newsfeedresearcher.com/images/backtotop.jpg" style="border: 0px solid ; width: 72px; height: 14px;"></a></div><br><br><a name="sources"><a href="#" onclick="toggle_visibility('srcs'); return false;" title="Most Informative Documents, used in preparation of this report."><b><div id="hlight">SELECTED SOURCES<image src="http://iresearch-reporter.com/images/apx4.jpg" alt="Most Informative Documents, used in preparation of this report."></a></div></b><br><div id="srcs"><br><br>1. <a href="http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/3395.htm" TARGET="_blank">Greece (11/07)</a><br><a href="http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/3395.htm" TARGET="_blank">http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/3395.htm</a><br><br>2. <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ancient_Greece" TARGET="_blank">Ancient Greece - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia</a><br><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ancient_Greece" TARGET="_blank">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ancient_Greece</a><br><br>3. <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greece" TARGET="_blank">Greece - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia</a><br><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greece" TARGET="_blank">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greece</a><br><br>4. <a href="http://www.ancientgreece.com/" TARGET="_blank">Ancient Greece - History, mythology, art, war, culture, society, and architecture.</a><br><a href="http://www.ancientgreece.com/" TARGET="_blank">http://www.ancientgreece.com/</a><br><br>5. <a href="http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/ancient/asbook07.html" TARGET="_blank">Internet Ancient History Sourcebook: Greece</a><br><a href="http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/ancient/asbook07.html" TARGET="_blank">http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/ancient/asbook07.html</a><br><br> <a href="#top"><img alt="Back to Top" title="Back to Top" src="http://newsfeedresearcher.com/images/backtotop.jpg" style="border: 0px solid ; width: 72px; height: 14px;"></a></div><br><br><br><a name="advanced"><b>Try digging deeper by doing research on a<br>LARGER SET OF DOCUMENTS:</b><br><form name="theForm2" action="http://iresearch-reporter.com/demo" target="_blank" method="get" ><input name="query" height="21" size="55" maxlength="2048" title="Search2" type="text" value="Greece"><input alt="" name="Submit2" value="Submit" src="http://iresearch-reporter.com/irr/btn_submit.gif" title="Submit advanced request" align="center" height="21" type="image" width="77"></form><br>(Will open in a new window. Your browser must have JavaScript & Cookies enabled.)<br><br><br><br> <small>Automatically generated multi-source summary has been compiled basing on the <br>fair use of snippets extracted from original articles, found through the <br>Google web search.</small></td></tr></table></td></tr><tr><td align="center"><img src="http://newsfeedresearcher.com/images/backbottom.gif" width="800" height="45"></td></tr></table></td></tr></tbody></table>
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