Greece (Modern World Nations)

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Greece

Zoran Pavlovic

Series Consulting Editor

Charles F. GritznerSouth Dakota State University

Frontispiece: Flag of Greece

Cover: Greek houses and windmill, Santorini Island, Cyclades, Greece.

Greece

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Pavlovic, Zoran.Greece / Zoran Pavlovic.

p. cm. — (Modern world nations)Includes bibliographical references and index.ISBN 0-7910-8797-2 (hard cover)

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Table of Contents

Introducing Greece 8

Physical Landscapes 14

Greece Through Time 28

People and Culture 41

Government and Politics 56

Greece’s Economy 66

Regions of Greece 76

Greece Looks Ahead 89

Facts at a Glance 94History at a Glance 96Bibliography and Further Reading 98Index 99

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Greece

8

Atop the hill overlooking Athens, Greece’s capital city, lies theAcropolis. This famous cultural relic is more than simply one

of the country’s best known archaeological monuments. Italso serves as a majestic reminder of an era when Greek civilizationdom i n a ted the known worl d . The influ en ce of the ancient Gree kculture reached from the Straight of Gibraltar to as far east as theHimalaya Mountains. Zeus and other gods from Greek mythologywere well known throughout Europe, Africa, and Asia. Both warriorsand merch a n t s , with sword and go l d , were spre ading Greek knowl ed ge ,inventions, and philosophy. For their accomplishments in learningand the spread of their knowledge, the ancient Greeks were knownby other cultures as the “people of the book.”

Roots of m a ny modern scien tific disciplines, i n cluding geogra phy,are found in ancient Greek civilization. Before what we recognizetod ay as “geogra phy ” ex i s ted , Greeks were actively practicing the scien ce .

IntroducingGreece

1

(It was not until 200 B.C. that the Greek scholar Eratosthenesfirst used the word geography, meaning “writing about theearth”.) These early people, tucked away in a distant corner ofEurope, had long studied changes taking place on the earth’ssurface. They analyzed differences and similarities betweenpl aces and won dered why certain things were happening in

9Introducing Greece

Athens, pictured here from atop Lycabettus Hill, east of the city, is thecapital of Greece and regarded by many as the birthplace of We s t e r nCivilization. The Acropolis, the center of ancient Athens’s chief religiousand municipal buildings, can be seen in the center of the photo.

certain locations. In essence, they were interested in the impor-tance of location and spatial patterns—the foundations ofmodern geographic thought. Fortunately for us, much of theirearly thoughts were pre s erved in manu s c ri pts for thousandsof ye a rs . In recent cen tu ri e s , this inform a ti on served as thefou n d a ti on from wh i ch modern geogra phy and most othersciences grew.

Tod ay, we re s pect the works of Greek sch o l a rs su ch asHerodotus and Eratosthenes for their observations about theland and people. The same can be said for Greek observationson ph i l o s ophy, phys i c s , m a t h em a ti c s , and many other disciplines.One must not for get con tri buti ons from Plato and Ari s to t l e ,Arch i m ede s , Pyt h a gora s , and many others . These names arerecognized in classrooms around the world. Most scholars givegenerous credit to the Greeks for their role in building thespringboard that launched Western Civilization.

Greece then and now is not the same, h owever. Con tem-pora ry Greece is far from the worl d ’s leading civi l i z a ti on . Itholds a place as a small nati on - s t a te in sout h e a s tern Eu rope ,created through many years of cultural struggle. The gods ofMount Olympus are long gon e . To most modern Gree k s , s occerstars are much more important than the stars studied by theancient cosmographers (who studied the cosmos, or universe).Winning Eu ropean ch a m p i onships in soccer and basketb a llt a ke preceden ce now ad ays . The Greek world and cultu re areva s t ly ch a n ged from what they on ce were .

THEN AND NOWTimes and the Greek culture (way of life) have changed.

What has not changed is the beauty of the Aegean Peninsulaand surrounding islands; the area of the world that we now callthe country of Greece. Mountains rising abruptly out of thesea, crystal clear waters of the Mediterranean, and hundreds ofislands are postcard images of Greece. Quite often, however,pos tc a rd ph o togra phs are not acc u ra te dep i cti on s . Th eir pri m a ry

10 G r e e c e

purpose is to portray idyllic pictures of foreign places. Theyshow what the place should be like in our dreams, rather thanwhat the place is like in reality.

In the case of Greece, postcards do not need Photoshopenhancement. Towering Mo u n t Olympus, seawater the color ofthe most precious sapphires, the greenness of delicious olives,and the redness of wine are a Greek re a l i ty. Add to the natu ra lsp l en dor the hu n d reds of a rch i tectu ral and arch aeo l ogi c a ltreasures the country offers and Greece is a place that everyoneshould visit at least once in their lifetime!

Most Gree k s , of co u rs e , a re ex trem ely proud of t h eir co u n try;to them, it is much more than a tourist destination. They areproud that after many centuries of foreign domination, Greeceis now an independent country. In this part of the world, peaceis a relative term. Historically, war has broken out on manyoccasions in the region. Boundaries have changed many times,and there have been wide-scale human migrations resultingfrom political conflict. Greeks have suffered their share of hard-ships. Because of these historical circumstances, many Greekshave left their homeland. Today, people of Greek descent live inplaces throughout the world and number in the millions.

S h a rp cultu ral con trasts are another factor that make sGreece su ch a won derful co u n try to stu dy geogra ph i c a lly.There is the ongoing transformation from a sleepy traditionalrural and village agricultural way of life into a rapidly growingurban culture and modern lifestyle. The culture change occur-ring in countries such as Greece is, perhaps, what leads to thecre a ti on of a modern world nati on . Trad i ti on - bound fo l kc u l tu re is being rep l aced by a new type of popular cultu ra llifestyle marked by change. The rapid transformation of societyf rom ru ral into urban of ten marks uneven progre s s . L a ter inthis boo k , we wi ll ex p l ore some of the major difficulties forGreece: the large gaps in economic growth among its differentregi on s . These differen ces con tri bute sign i f i c a n t ly to otheraspects of Greek lifestyle.

11Introducing Greece

Greeks share their love of l i fe and of fer open hospitality.No matter what part of the country a person visits, he or shecan always count on a warm greeting from local people. This isone of those traditional traits that hopefully will not disappearwith expanding urban popular cultu re . Cel ebra ti on of l i fe —the need for good food, friendship, and strong family ties—aretraits deeply entrenched in Greek culture.

This book is not inten ded to be a det a i l ed , s t a ti s ti c a l ,encyclopedic survey of Greece. Rather, it focuses on the mainaspects of Greek culture—those things that make the countryand its people unique. In order to fully understand Greek (orany other) culture, one must first understand its background.

The following chapter is devoted to the physical geographyof the Aegean Peninsula and surrounding islands. The naturalenvironment sets the stage on which cultural activities takeplace. Nature provides opportunities but can create obstacles. Itis up to people, based on their culture, to adapt to, use, andmodify the lands in which they live.

We wi ll then move on to a bri ef su rvey of the co u n try ’shistorical geogra phy. A prom i n ent geogra ph er, E rh a rd Ro s t lu n d ,once noted that “the present is the fruit of the past and containsthe seeds of the futu re .” In essen ce , wi t h o ut looking to the past,it is difficult if not impo s s i ble to understand the pre s ent orga ze into the futu re . Cu rrent cultu ral geogra phy is the re sult ofh i s torical devel opm en t . Ch a pter 4 portrays Greek cultu re as itis tod ay.

E con omics and po l i tics are two el em ents of c u l tu re thatw arrant our atten ti on . S tu dy of these disciplines is essen ti a lto the well - being of both humans and the co u n tries inwh i ch they re s i de . Th ey also provi de a pictu re of d ay - to - d ayl i fe of a co u n try ’s peop l e . Because of t h eir import a n ce , ach apter is devo ted both to econ omic and to po l i tical geogra phy.F i n a lly, before con cluding and proj ecting the futu re geogra-phy of Greece , you wi ll be taken on a tour of the co u n try ’sd iverse regi on s .

12 G r e e c e

You are now beginning a process of filling in your “mentalmap” of Greece, by learning about the country’s geog raphicconditions and patterns. Individuals who possess a detailedmental map of a region can much easier imagine what placesare like. Albert Einstein once noted that “Imagination is moreimportant than knowledge.” Imagination, after all, does notadh ere to any bo u n d a ri e s . Are you re ady to begin your imagi n a ryjourney of discovery to the fabled land of Greece?

13Introducing Greece

Geography can be defined as the science involved in the studyof “What is where, why there, and why care?” Whatever onestudies—whether it is the physical or human features of the

e a rt h’s su rf ace—it becomes geogra phical the mom ent a spati a lm et h odo l ogy (loc a ti on) is used to explain certain ph en om en a .G eographers try to understand how places and the various featuresthat make them unique are similar to or different from one another.They want to know why differen ces exist from place to place . The loc a-tion of a place often provides clues to its unique physical and culturaldevelopment. These are the foundations of geographic study.

Cu l tu re is the way that humans ad a pt . That is, by using knowl ed ge ,tools, and skills, they are able to develop a way of life best suited to apa rticular loc a ti on and envi ron m en t . Kn owing wh ere people livecan often tell us a great deal about their culture. For example, fertiles oils acc u mu l a te in the immed i a te vi c i n i ty of certain vo l c a n oe s .

Physical Landscapes

2

14

If a gri c u l tu re is important to a cultu re , it wi ll take adva n t a geof this natu ral con d i ti on , and farming wi ll be a major eco-n omic activi ty. With produ ctive farming on the ri ch soi l s ,the area also wi ll ex peri en ce a high er pop u l a ti on den s i tythan other, less ferti l e , a re a s . Almost all early civi l i z a ti on sdevel oped in areas that were well su i ted to agri c u l tu re , su chas river va ll eys .

Greece is located on the southern tip of the Balkan Penin-sula. In practical terms, the region is not really a peninsula.Rather, “Balkan” more correctly refers to the cultural regionlocated in southeastern Europe southward from the Sava andDanube rivers. It includes countries of the former Yugoslavia( Sl oven i a , Croa ti a , Bosnia and Her zegovi n a , Serbia andMontenegro, and Macedonia), Bulgaria, Albania, and Greece.Some scholars include Romania and European Turkey in thisgroup, as well.

Greek tri bes moved into sout h e a s tern Eu rope as early as2,000 B.C. Th ere , t h ey devel oped a thriving civi l i z a ti on in on eof the most attractive corn ers of the Med i terra n e a n . It was ana rea with a very pleasant cl i m a te , va ri ed terrain con s i s ting ofmountains and fertile va ll eys , and seas with hu n d reds ofislands scattered around the mainland. From this loc a ti on atthe sout h ern tip of the Balkans and sandwi ch ed bet ween theIonian and Aegean seas, the Greeks ex p a n ded to settle mu ch ofthe rest of the Med i terranean re a l m . Greece , i t s el f , rem a i n edthe Med i terranean cultu ral cen ter for many cen tu ri e s . Bec a u s ealmost three - fo u rths of Greece is mountainous, the co u n tryhas alw ays loo ked out w a rd . O f ten , this led to em i gra ti on( m i gra ti on out of a co u n try ) . It also hel ped tu rn the Gree k stow a rd the sea.

Eventually, the center of cultural dominance and politicalpower shifted from the eastern Mediterranean to northwesternEurope. Today, culturally, Greece remains somewhat outsidemainstream European centers. The importance of location haschanged, as has the spatial distribution of power.

15P h y s i cal Landsca p e s

16 G r e e c e

Greece is located on the southern end of the Balkan Peninsula, in south-eastern Europe. In addition to Greece, the nations of Slovenia, Croatia,Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia and Montenegro, Macedonia, Bulgaria,A l b a n i a , and sometimes Romania and European Turkey are recognizedas part of this peninsula.

It was not until the twentieth century that Greece finallyassumed its current geographic area and shape. In addition tothe country’s territory on the European mainland, there arenumerous islands in the surrounding seas, including most ofthe islands in the Aegean Sea. Greece occupies an area of 51,146square miles (131,468 square kilometers), making it about thesize of Alabama or Louisiana. By European standards, it is amidsized country, but in global terms, it occupies a small area.Most of Greece lies roughly between 35 and 42 degrees northlatitude. Athens is located at approximately the same latitude asSan Francisco, St. Louis, or Washington, D.C.

THE LANDAs noted earl i er, the topogra phy of Greece is pri m a ri ly made

up of h i lls and mountains—both on the mainland and islands—the highest of wh i ch are loc a ted in the nort h ern and we s ternp a rt of the co u n try. Lowlands of a ny size are found on ly in then ort h e a s t , bordering Tu rkey and Bu l ga ri a . Ru gged terrain is thed i rect re sult of geo l ogical events spanning mill i ons of ye a rs .

A look at a map of Eu rope reveals the gen eral east-we s tand northwest-southeast direction of mountain ranges. Theform a ti on of s o ut h e a s tern Eu rope’s mountains began abo ut60 m i ll i on ye a rs ago, and the process con ti nues tod ay. Mo u n t a i nbuilding begins when the movement of tectonic plates causesthem to collide. During this process, one tectonic plate slidesbeneath another, forcing it upward and creating mountains.This violent process often generates earthquakes and can alsocre a te vo l c a n oe s . These processes can be seen cl o s er to hom e,in California.

Land conditions in Greece are the result of a collisionbetween Europe and Africa—that is, the process in which theAfrican tectonic plate is slowly pushing into the Europeanplate. Although the clash of plates is less violent than in someother parts of the world, active volcanoes scattered throughoutthe Mediterranean serve as a reminder that it is still very much


18 G r e e c e

With the exception of the northeastern portion of Greece, which is p r e d o m i n a n t l yl owlands, the topography of the country consists primarily of mountains andhills. Greece is surrounded on three sides by water and includes approximately2,000 islands in the Aegean, Ionian, and M e d i t e r ranean seas.

a l ive . On the Greek mainland, the on ly volcanic activi ty isfound on the Pel opon n e sus Pen i n su l a . The Greek islands,however, are home to some of the world’s best known volca-noe s . Loc a ti on again proves to be import a n t . The vo l c a n oe sare loc a ted in an area known as the Aegean Volcanic Arc ofthe eastern Mediterranean. It follows the subduction zone, ordeep sea tren ch , form ed wh ere the Af rican and Eu rope a np l a te s collide. This zone, just off the Greek coast, is also thedeepest point in the Mediterranean Sea, with a depth of almost15,000 feet (4,572 meters).

One of the volcanic islands, Sa n torini (also histori c a llyk n own as Th era ) , bel on gs to a famous group of vo l c a n oe s . Itis still active and represents a potential danger to people livingnearby. Its fame, though, dates to around 1,650 B.C., when aviolent eruption and resulting tsunami (tidal wave) devastatedearly cultures in the eastern Mediterranean. The eruption wasso strong that many hundreds of miles away, in Asia and Africa,people felt its effects and recorded the event in their historicalannals. Many scholars even believe the story of the mythicalisland of At l a n ti s , to wh i ch the ph i l o s oph er Plato famouslyreferred in his wri ti n gs , was in fact a de s c ri pti on of the Sa n tori n ieru pti on . P l a to noted that a well - devel oped civi l i z a ti on ex i s tedon the island of At l a n ti s , but disappe a red wh en the islandva n i s h edbeneath the sea because of violent natural forces. Evenif not true , the legend of At l a n tis is a fascinating story that hasp u z z l ed gen era ti ons of s ch o l a rs and laypeople alike .

About 2,000 islands scattered about the Aegean, Ionian,and Mediterranean seas be long to Greece. They vary in sizefrom little more than small rocks protruding from the water toGreece’s largest island, Crete. Islands generally are rugged andqu i te dry, wi t h o ut major stre a m s . Most of t h eir set t l em en t sare oriented toward the sea. The Greek coastline measuresalmost 8,500 miles (13,676 kilometers) in length, which forsuch a small country is impressive. One might imagine that atone point, Greece, like Norway, had many alpine-type gl ac i ers


sliding into the sea and sculpting spectacular valleys. That wasnot the case, however. During the Ice Age, Greece was too farsouth to have major glaciers. Rather, its rugged coast was theresult of tectonics (earth-building forces). The PeloponnesusPeninsula, which accounts for a large portion of the mainland,s erves as a good example of h ow these forces shaped thecountry. The peninsula is connected to the mainland by a thinsliver of land that today is severed by the Corinth Canal (whichtechnically makes Peloponnesus an island).

Greek topogra phy is dom i n a ted by mountains sep a ra tedby short valleys. In some places, mountains rise spectacularlys tra i ght out of the sea. E l s ewh ere , n a tu ral forces cre a teds m a ll plains or va ll eys , e s pec i a lly in areas near the coa s t .Coastal plains were utilized from the beginning of the humanoccupation of Greece. Through time, a number of large settle-ments, including the capital and the largest city, Athens, wereestablished on flat, low-lying, coastal lands. Inland, the PindusMountains are the country’s most significant mountain range.As a southern extension of the Dinaric Alps, the Pindus spreadfrom Macedonia through the center of Greece, all the way to itss o ut h ern margi n . Famous Mount Olym p u s , with all its mys ti c a lspirits, is the country’s highest point, reaching an elevation of9,570 feet (2,917 meters).

CLIMATECl i m a te is a lon g - term avera ge of we a t h er con d i ti on s ,

whereas weather is the current atmospheric condition we talkabout on a daily basis. Except for higher elevations, the climatein Greece is pr edominantly Mediterranean. This mild andpleasant cl i m a te takes its name from the con d i ti ons thatsurround much of the European Mediterranean Basin. Majorcharacteristics of this climate type are long, warm summersand mild winters. This climate, regarded by many people to bethe worl d ’s most pleasant, also occ u rs in sout h ern coa s t a lCalifornia. Most precipitation falls during the winter months,

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December to February, and is generally in the form of light andcontinuous rain, rather than snow. Snowfall does occur athigher elevations in the interior, however. Temperatures duringthese mild wi n ters ra rely fall bel ow free z i n g, and avera ges arein the upper 40s and lower 50s (degrees Fahrenheit, or 10°C).Summer temperatures are considerably warmer. Daily highsoften average in the 80s (mid-to-upper 20s°C) and occasionallywill reach into the upper 90s (mid-30s°C).

On very ra re occ a s i on s , tem pera tu res climb to and abovea s corching 100°F (38°C). Du ring recent ye a rs , Eu rope hasex peri en ced unu su a lly severe heat wave s . In some Med i terra n e a n


The nation’s principal mountain range is the Pindus (Píndhos in Greek),which run south from Macedonia and Albania to central Greece. A south-ern extension of the Dinaric Alps, the Pindus divide the Greek provincesof Thessaly and Epirus.

countries, including Greece, the weather took a serious toll,k i lling many peop l e . One re a s on for the hardship and su f fering isthe Eu ropean atti tu de abo ut air- con d i ti on i n g.For some unkn ownre a s on , Eu ropeans have never accepted air- con d i ti on i n g. Thisd i s l i ke , of co u rs e , is qu i te the oppo s i te of Am eri c a n s , wh ohave enjoyed the comfort of artificially cooled air for decades.Perhaps it is because of the European myth that being exposedto air con d i ti on ers prom o tes sickness and gen era tes poorhealth. This provides a wonderful example of the way in whichculture, not the physical environment, influences our beh avi orand dec i s i on s . Tod ay, the atti tu de is ch a n gi n g, p a rti a lly inresponse to growing tourism. Visitors to Greece and otherMed i terranean co u n tries now of ten have the lu x u ry of a nair-conditioned room when they rent an apartment, or house,for their summer vacation.

With increasing el eva ti on , cl i m a te gradu a lly ch a n ge s ,becoming more continental. Winter temperatures are lower,prec i p i t a ti on is som ewhat high er, and seasonal ch a n ges arem ore noti ce a ble than along the coa s t . Because of its smalls i ze , no place in the co u n try is more than abo ut 50 miles(80 kilometers) from the sea. This means that the con ti n en t a lconditions m en ti on ed earl i er occur on ly in the nort h ern moun-tainous regi on s . One ch a racteri s tic of mountainous co u n tri e ssu ch as Greece is that they have con s i dera ble va ri a ti ons incl i m a te , wh i ch re sults in va ri a ti ons in plant life . Tem pera tu re s ,of co u rs e , d rop with incre a s ed el eva ti on and moi s tu re of tenincreases. One can experience these changes by driving evenshort distances from coastal tourist resorts into the countrysideand higher elevation. In the mountains, it can often becomeunpleasantly chilly even during summer evenings.

ECOSYSTEMSEco s ys tems—a regi on’s plant and animal life and water

featu re s — a re influ en ced by cl i m a te more than any other natu ra lfactor. All life - forms have a natu ral habi t a t ; an envi ron m en t

22 G r e e c e

in which they can survive. Therefore, each plant and animalspecies is found in certain climatic conditions and absent i no t h ers . In terms of veget a ti on , the Med i terranean climate ischaracterized by a lack of continuous forests; rather, flora isdominated by shrubs, brush, and grasslands.

In Greece, as elsewhere throughout most of Europe, nativeveget a ti on was heavi ly distu rbed by human activi ti e s . Cl e a r-ing land for agriculture, cutting woodlands for timber, andextensive overgrazing by livestock all took their toll. In fact,because of these and other ch a n ges introdu ced by hu m a nactivity, little if any of the original “natural” vegetation existsanywhere on the continent today. Today, the Greeks are begin-ning to pre s erve their remaining veget a ti on ; t h ey are moreconcerned with income gained from tourism, and few touristswant to see barren hillsides!

Greece’s flora is well ad a pted to the ex i s ting cl i m a tic con-d i ti on s , wh i ch inclu des high tem pera tu res and long peri od sof s evere dro u ght du ring su m m er mon t h s . Because of t h e s econ d i ti on s , plant life in the Med i terranean cl i m a te is su bj ectto scorching f i res on a fairly regular basis. In order to su rvive ,plants must become invu l n era ble to damages from directex po su re to reoccurring wildfires. This adaptation processamong some plants is very intere s ti n g. For ex a m p l e , s om es pec i e s , su ch as va rious pines, must be ex po s ed to fire in order toreprodu ce . Th ey are known as pyroph i tic (fire resistant) plants pec i e s . Ot h er species su cce s s f u lly pre s erve water du ring su m m erm on t h s in order to avoid fatal ex po su re to dro u gh t . These plants,found in Greece as well , a re known as xerophyte s .

The co u n trys i de landscape also inclu des a va ri ety of c u l ti-va ted plants. Greece is known for its citrus fru i t s , wine produ c-ing vi n eya rd s , and olive trees that produ ce olives from wh i cho l ive oil is ex tracted . At high er el eva ti on s , the landscape ch a n ge sto uncultiva ted species of p i n e s , beech , c ypre s s , and other tree sand shru b s . Ma ny plant species found in this co u n try areen dem i c , meaning they are found on ly in Greece .


For the most part , animal species inhabi ting the co u n trys i dea re rel a ted to other fauna com m on ly found in Eu rope ,a l t h o u gh some Asian species are pre s en t , as well . As is true inm a ny other parts of the worl d , econ omic devel opm ent andexp a n s i on of s et t l em ent dra s ti c a lly redu ced the habitat ofmany large mammals. Bears, for example, exist but are limitedin distribution to more mountainous and isolated northerna re a s . Few species pose a hazard to hu m a n s , a l t h o u gh therea re poi s onous snake s . Vi pers , the de adliest snake in theMed i terranean regi on , t h rive here and can of ten be seenw a rming up or re s ting on limestone rocks on a su n ny day. Inorder to prevent furt h er redu cti on of en d a n gered animals pec i e s , the govern m ent has cre a ted con s erva ti on progra m sand establ i s h ed nati onal park s . Ten nati onal parks curren t lyoccupy more than 100,000 acres (4,050 hectares) of land. Thesurrounding seas contain a bounty of marine life, includingmany edible species of fish and shellfish.

ENVIRONMENTAL PRESERVATION AND HAZARDSHumans must be stewards of the natural environment. A

close correlation exists between the quality of the environmentand the quality of human life. Geographers have long recog-nized that most severely degraded environments also are hometo people experiencing a very poor quality of life. A clean andprotected environment, some scholars believe, is a luxury thatonly an affluent society can afford. Careful management of anenvironment and its resources requires a considerable amountof formal edu c a ti on (envi ron m ental aw a ren e s s ) , envi ron m en-t a l ethic (a desire to preserve, rather than exploit), time, andfinancial re s o u rce s . E con omic devel opm ent som etimes act sas a do u bl e - ed ged sword : An expanding econ omy hel p speop l e live bet ter initi a lly, yet at the same time fast econ om i cand population growth may damage the environment. Athens,one of the largest Eu ropean citi e s , has been the de s ti n a ti on ofm a ny Greeks searching for a bet ter life . Because one in every

24 G r e e c e

t h ree citi zens of Greece curren t ly lives in the qu i ck ly growi n gAt h ens are a , the city battles choking air po lluti on . Haziness over-running the city and famous classical arch i tectu ral landscape scan be seen from miles aw ay. This is a probl em com m on to manylarge urban areas worldwide and is difficult to overcome.

Na tu ral hazards are the va rious dangers natu re pre s ents tohu m a n s . At least that is how they are def i n ed . Yet geogra ph ersrecogn i ze that in re a l i ty it is cultu re , ra t h er than natu re , t h a tex poses people to natu ra l h a z a rd s . It may be difficult to gra s pt his ph i l o s ophical con cept at firs t , but begin by imagi n i n gfor a mom ent two different cultu res living in a “tre ach ero u s”envi ron m en t . Ba s ed on bel i efs , c u s tom s , trad i ti on s , and sofort h , e ach of t h em wi ll devel op different envi ron m en t a lpercepti on s . One may see floods as a perm a n ent danger anddec i de to rel oc a te in order to avoid their rec u rring damage .Ano t h er may simply accept flooding as som ething overwh i ch they have no influ en ce . Th eir bel i ef s ys tem ex p l a i n ssu ch events as an act of god ( s ) ; s om ething that wi ll occ u rrega rdless of wh ere they live . We ch oose wh ere to live , of tenk n owi n gly put ting ours elves in po ten tial danger (for ex a m p l e ,l iving along active fault zones in Ca l i forn i a ) . Tod ay, m a nyh a z a rdous events can be forecast and damage preven ted bytaking appropri a te acti on . O f ten su ch warn i n gs are simplyi gn ored , t h o u gh . Na tu re can be de s tru ctive , but it is hu m a n s ,acting as cultu ral agents within their re s pective bel i ef s ys tem s ,that el ect to place them s elves in harm’s way or rem ove them-s elves from po ten tial hazard s .

Greece faces the om n i pre s ent threat of t wo po ten ti a llydeva s t a ting hazard s : volcanic eru pti ons and eart h qu a ke s .Currently, six of the country’s volcanoes are active (can erupt atany time), and these are located on islands in the Aegean Sea.They pose a potential threat to everyone living within at least a100-mile (160-kilometer) radius. Volcanic eruptions can ejecthuge amounts of scorching lava, ash, and gases. Earthquakesare earth movements that occur deep below the surface. They


can be devastating to land and structures built by humans, andthey often take a heavy toll on life and property. Greece’s mostdestructive earthquake struck near the outskirts of Athens inSeptember 1999. About 150 people died, more than 35,000homes were damaged or destroyed, and property losses soaredto billions of dollars.

Wildfires present a clear and present danger for everyMediterranean country, including Greece. They happen duringbone - d ry su m m er months and can deva s t a te natu ral veget a ti on ,cultivated fields, and even settlements. Most of the fires arecaused by humans, and many are set deliberately. Lightningoccurs very rarely in the Mediterranean climate. One of the

26 G r e e c e

Earthquakes are one of the most prevalent natural disasters that occurin Greece. Pictured here is the destruction left by the country’s mostd evastating earthquake in recent years; one that hit Athens in September1999 and registered 5.9 on the Richter sca l e .

problems that affects the spread of fires is a limited amount ofavailable water during the months of summer drought. Exceptfor the Axios (Vardar) and Strimon (Struma) rivers, whoseh e adw a ters are deep in Macedonia and Bu l ga ri a , few larges treams flow thro u gh Greece’s hilly co u n trys i de . It is notunusual to see dry riverbeds or smal l streams disappear intothe rocky limestone-based g round and then reappear withautumn rains.

In summary, the natural environment sets the stage forhuman activi ti e s . G en era lly spe a k i n g, Greece has ru gged terra i nwith little flat land, poor soils, little surface water, and a varietyof potentially devastating hazards. In the following chapters,you will see how Greek culture overcame these obstacles tobecome a leading civilization of antiquity and how it earned aplace among today’s modern world nations.


Human bei n gs have occ u p i ed sout h e a s tern Eu rope sincepreh i s toric ti m e s . Va rious human groups roa m ed thea rea for thousands of ye a rs , s e a rching for good hu n t-

ing grounds and places to ga t h er food and establish set t l em en t s .In i ti a lly, these set t l em ents were tem pora ry stati ons for migra torygro u p s . Wh en people began raising plants and keeping animals,h owever, con d i ti ons ch a n ged dra s ti c a lly. The abi l i ty to produ ceand store food s tu f fs in one place con tri buted to the cre a ti on ofperm a n ent set t l em en t s . This devel opm en t , b a s ed on plant andanimal dom e s ti c a ti on (the Agri c u l tu ral Revo luti on ) , gre a t lyi m proved peop l e’s qu a l i ty of l i fe . It also provi ded the fo u n d a ti onon wh i ch early civi l i z a ti ons were bu i l t . By 6,000 to 4,000 B.C., t h emainland and islands of pre s en t - d ay Greece su pported a sign i f i-cant pop u l a ti on . Hi s tori c a lly, this peri od correl a tes with the rise ofe a rly set t l em ents in Me s opotamia and Egypt , and essen ti a lly the

Greece Through Time

3

28

begi n n i n gs of what were to become the gre a test of a n c i en tWe s tern civi l i z a ti on s .

At firs t , s et t l em ents were small and isolated and facedm a ny geogra phic ch a ll en ge s . On the mainland, ru gged terra i npre s en ted a serious ob s t acle to mobi l i ty. Mountain ri d ge smade it difficult to establish tra n s port a ti on ro ute s . E a rlyre s i dents of the Aegean coast natu ra lly chose the sea as thei rpri m a ry means of con n ecting with people in other are a s . Th eydevel oped trade ro utes along seaboa rds and bet ween islands.From early ti m e s , Greeks began tu rning to the sea, ra t h er thanthe land, as their pri m a ry source of wealth and mobi l i ty.G eogra ph ers and other scien tists intere s ted in the diffusion( s pre ad) of m a terial cultu re have traced early trade ro utes inthe eastern Med i terra n e a n . Th ey have been able to do so bya n a lyzing the spatial distri buti on of po t tery, j ewel ry, and othera rch aeo l ogical arti f act s . Su ch re s e a rch stron gly su ggests that tothe Greeks and many other early peop l e s , the sea was a linkra t h er than a barri er. The events just de s c ri bed took cen tu ri e sto devel op. Fu rt h erm ore , people bel on ging to early cultu re sresiding around the Aegean Sea were not of Hellenic (Greek)stock. Although they inhabited the region long before Greektribes migrated southward, scholars are still working on tryingto fit them into the right context.

FIRST CIVILIZATIONSThe earliest highly developed culture in what is now Greece

was that of the Minoans, whose civilization flourished on theisland of Crete during much of the second millennium B.C.Crete was well positioned to be the early crossroad of maritimetrade routes in the eastern Mediterranean. It was the exchangeplace for goods from Egypt, the Aegean area, and Asia Minor.By 1,800 B.C., the Minoan civilization was the strongest navalpower in the Med i terranean Se a . Abundant arch aeo l ogi c a levi den ce su ggests a high level of a f f lu en ce in places likeKnossos, a leading settlement. Lavish palaces, various types of

29Greece Through Time

pottery, jewelry with sophisticated ornaments, and a domesti-cally cre a ted alph a bet all provi de evi den ce of a high ly devel opedcivilization. The Minoans even had the world’s first indoorplumbing and roads that are still in use today!

History teaches us that no civ ilization, no matter howdeveloped, survives forever. Even though the Minoan civiliza-tion was powerf u l , it was not powerful en o u gh to recovercompletely from natural disasters such as earthquakes and theeffects of nearby volcanic eruptions. Devastating earthquakess tru ck the island repe a tedly, l e aving en ti re cities in ru i n .However, the ulti m a te decline of Mi n oan civi l i z a ti on camenot from natural events but from cultural causes. The Minoanswere victims of their own success. Because of their strategic

30 G r e e c e

One of the first major civilizations that developed in Greece was that ofthe Minoans. Pictured here are ruins from a palace in Knossos, which islocated on the island of Crete and once was the center of Minoan society.

l oc a ti on and trem en dous we a l t h , t h ey became a target fori nva s i ons by out s i de force s .

One invading group responsible for the Minoan declinewas the Mycen ae a n s . This early Greek tri be built forti f i edc i ties and establ i s h ed a powerful civi l i z a ti on on the mainlandabout the same time the Minoan civilization was at its height.Eventually, their interests clashed and a conflict for dominancebegan. The Mycenaeans had a stronger and better organizedm i l i t a ry. By the mid-fifteenth cen tu ry B.C., t h ey had largelydestroyed the Minoan civilization and its tangible landmarks.Ci ties lay in ru i n , and the Mi n oan fleet was essen ti a llyde s troyed , but many important Mi n oan cultu re tra i t s , su chas their art and alph a bet , were adopted by those on them a i n l a n d . Mycenae (the Mycenaean fortified city) became theleader of the early Greek cultural realm and also held militarycontrol over much of the region’s other cities and trade routes.L a ter on , wh en other Gree k - s peaking peoples moved sout h-ward, they found well - e s t a bl i s h ed urban set t l em en t s . Th e s ee a rly c ivi l i z a ti on s , with their well - devel oped urban cen ters ,provi ded the seeds from which Greek culture and civilizationgrew. Greeks would soon become the dominant force on thepen i n sula and thro u gh o ut the Aegean regi on .

As is true of a ny civi l i z a ti on , the evo luti on of a n c i en tGreek civi l i z a ti on was a len g t hy proce s s . In re a l i ty, it lastedm ore than 1,000 ye a rs , f rom the gl ory days of the Mi n oa ncivilization to the meteoric rise of the powerful city-states ofAthens and Sparta. Migrations from the north happened inseveral stages. The best known movement of people was from1,100 to 900 B.C. , wh en the last wave of Greek tri bes set t l edin their present-day homeland. It occurred as part of a largerm i gra ti on , a chain re acti on that even tu a lly affected evenrem o te areas of the Mi d dle East and Egypt . This event waseven recorded in the Bible as the “invasion of sea people” whopermeated and settled coastal areas of Palestine. New arrivalsmeant changes in population and military capability. Despite


technological supremacy and grandiose defensive walls aroundits citi e s , the Mycen aean civi l i z a ti on was even tu a lly over-powered and gradually replaced.

For the next few cen tu ri e s , Greece underwent a peri od ofdecline of ten referred to as the regi on’s “ D a rk Age .” Ot h er thanwhat is su gge s ted by material arti f act s , little is known abo utt h is peri od of Greek history. The situ a ti on is qu i te similar tothe co llapse of i n s ti tuti ons in We s tern Eu rope beginning inthe fifth and sixth cen tu ries A.D. The rec u pera ti on peri od ,recogn i zed histori c a lly as the “ Mi d dle Age s ,” l a s ted severa lcen tu ri e s . From what is known , Greece underwent a peri od ofs t a gn a ti on lasting from 900 to 700 B.C. In some re s pect s , t h o u gh ,this should be vi ewed as a peri od of recovery ra t h er than decl i n e .For ex a m p l e , du ring this ti m e , the Hell enic ex p a n s i on bega n .The re sults of c u l tu ral interacti on are tangi bl e , p a rti c u l a rly inpre s erved bu i l d i n gs and temples from that era built in Dori a na rch i tectu ral style (named after Dorian tri be s , wh i ch led wh a tbecame the Greek migra ti on and occ u p a ti on ) . An o t h er evenm ore important Dorian con tri buti on was that they indirect lyi n i ti a ted the beginning of the gradual spre ad of Greek cultu reo ut s i de the Aegean regi on . Pop u l a ti on growth in the hom el a n den co u ra ged furt h er migra ti on into new lands.

GREEK CULTURAL EXPANSIONAround 700 B.C. , Greeks began co l onizing all sectors of t h e

Med i terranean Sea and beyon d . Pop u l a ti on growt h , com bi n edwith unsu s t a i n a ble agri c u l tu ral practi ce s , were driving force sbehind the form a ti on of hu n d reds of s et t l em en t s , s tretch i n gfrom pre s en t - d ay Spain to what is tod ay the co u n try ofG eor gi a . Greek city - s t a tes would send co l onists to establ i s hs et t l em ents overs e a s . O n ce they had ga i n ed a foothold in an ew land, the Greeks initi a ted agri c u l tu re and trade wi t hl oc a l s . Th ey also en ga ged in many other aspects of c u l tu ra li n teracti on and exch a n ge . Du ring the next two cen tu ri e s , t h e s eco lonies gre a t ly ex p a n ded the Greek cultu ral regi on and

32 G r e e c e

Hell enic way of l i fe , reshaping the lives of m a ny native pop u-l a ti on s . For the first time in Eu ropean history, m a ny differen tgeogra phic areas en j oyed a form of co s m opolitan life s tyl eu n der the umbrella of Hell enic cultu re .

Rel i gi on was one of the most su ccessful tools used bythe Greeks to pe acef u lly spre ad their cultu ral influ en ce .Geographer Dan Stanislawski noted that in order to establishbetter economic connections throughout the Mediterranean,Greeks would introdu ce a cult of the wine god Di onysu swhenever they made contacts with local merchants. Gradually,worship of Dionysus became widespread among not just thoseinvolved in trade, but many others. Eventually, worship of thegod of wine brought Greeks and non-Greeks closer together.

Of all colonies, those in Asia Minor (peninsular Turkey)were the most developed. Coastal areas of present-day Turkeywere in close proximity to Greece, and the environments werevery similar. One new settlement was built in 667 B.C. on theEuropean side of the Bosporus Strait by colonists from theGreek mainland. They named it Byzantium, but it would even-tually become known as Constantinople (present-day Istanbul,Turkey)—the world’s greatest city for 1,000 years.

Tow a rd the end of the sixth cen tu ry B.C., the po l i ti c a lfortunes of Asia Minor began to change. Increasingly powerfulPersian kings were determined to conquer the known world.After gaining control of the Middle East, they turned theirattention toward Asia Minor and Greece. For the next severaldecades, a Persian threat hung over the Greeks. Huge Persianmilitary forces, often numbering several hundred thousandtroops, defeated weaker Greek forces and pushed ever deeperinto Greek territory. At this time, however, Greece was not onecontinuous empire. Rather, it was a large number of widelyscattered, autonomous city-states (polis). The Greeks managedto regroup their forces for a final defensive stand against thePersians. In 490 B.C., at the Battle of Marathon (on the Greekpeninsula), and later in the Battle of Salamina, the Greeks were


victorious. The tide began to turn, and soon the Persians wereexpelled from European soil for good. A century and a halflater, when their forces collided again, the roles were reversed.The Greeks, led by Alexander the Great, marched toward thePersian capital and eventually conquered their empire.

Before Greece became a part of the Macedonian Empire ofPhilip II and his son Alexander III (also known as Alexanderthe Great), a century and a half of the most interesting periodin ancient Greece’s history would pass. It was the period duringwhich art and science flourished. Cosmographers (early geog-raphers) such as Herodotus recorded their observations aboutthe ecumene (inhabited world). Artisans built palaces, temples,and exqu i s i te statues of god s . P l ay wri ghts wro te won derf u l

34 G r e e c e

This map depicts Greece and the colonies it held circa 500 B.C. D u r i n gthis era, Greece held sway over parts of present-day Turkey and Italy,and repeatedly turned back threats from the mighty Persian Empire.

dramas. Philosophers such as Plato and Aristotle producedclassical works that are still considered masterpieces. Much ofwhat we ch erish tod ay as the legacy of a n c i ent Greece wascreated in the fifth and fourth centuries B.C. Athens, whicheventually overpowered all political competitors, including itsmain rival Sparta, became a center of the Hellenic world.

THE AGE OF EMPIRESSuccess and wealth attracts those who want it for them s elve s .

In the case of the Greeks, it was a man whose appetite for con-quering the rest of the world was greater than any in previoushistory. Many consider Alexander the Great of Macedonia to bethe greatest conqueror in the history of the world. Macedoniansled by Alexander’s father, Philip II, conquered and unifiedGreece. Alexander (356–323 B.C.) continued on this path, andby the time of his death he was ruling over the vast landsbetween southeastern Europe, Egypt, and India. With everymilitary expedition, Greek culture followed. Alexander was inmany ways not just a conqueror but a unifying force, as well.His policies were to incorporate lands into his empire and havepeople benefit from Greek culture. Like no one before or after,Alexander had a habit of establishing cities named after him.Many of those cities still bear his name, the best known beingthe Egyptian city of Alexandria.

Greeks were known as “people of the book.” They respectedand appreciated learning, which is why they were welcomedalmost every wh ere as merchants and sch o l a rs . The Gree klang u a ge was one of the earliest forms of i n tern a ti onal com mu-nica ti on . It was an ancient lingua fra n c a, a language spo kenby peoples of d i f ferent language back grounds who need acommon language for diplomatic and economic purposes. TheGreek pre s en ce was felt in places as distant as the mountainsof Afghanistan and India, where the memory of Greek cultureand even some Greek cultu ral traits lingered for cen tu ri e s .Bri tish military com m a n ders re aching Afghan vi ll a ges from


India in the nineteenth cen tu ry were su rpri s ed to learn thatin some of t h em , re s i dents traced their lineage to the Gree kresidents of ancient Bactria (an old kingdom in Afghanistan).

Not long after the decline of Macedonian rule, Greecebecame a part of another empire, which would rule for manycenturies. By the mid-first century B.C., well-organized militaryunits of the Roman Empire were alre ady con tro lling mostof the Greek hom el a n d . This marked the beginning of a ninteresting relationship; one in which political power and orga-nization came from Rome, but most other aspects of culturewere being accepted from Greeks. In fact, Romans eagerly andeffectively integrated many elements of Greek culture into theirown. This exchange is evident in “Roman” art, literature, andarch i tectu re , wh i ch were all heavi ly influ en ced by Greek cultu re .The Greeks, meanwhile, were content to be members of thecosmopolitan Roman Empire, the boundaries of which encom-passed the Mediterranean world. For the next four and a halfcenturies, Greece was a part of the Roman Empire. Beyond thefeeling of belonging to a vast empire, however, the Greeks didnot really benefit from their role in the alliance. All roads led toRome, not to Athens. Greece grad ually became a remoteprovince that was fast losing its charm and glory.

By the fourth century A.D., the Roman Empire experiencedi n ternal stru ggles and a gen eral decline in its power. A fews trong ru l ers su ch as Con s t a n tine managed tem pora ri ly tokeep a ti ght gri p. As an em peror, Con s t a n tine made two majorcon tri buti on s . He made Ch ri s ti a n i ty the official rel i gi on ofthe Roman Empire . Al s o, in 330 A.D., he rel oc a ted the em p i re’scapital, moving it to the city of Constantinople, thereby shift-ing the source of power and wealth into a Greek-speakingregion. With these two decisions, Constantine single-handedlychanged the course of Greece’s people and culture for the next16 centuries.

The relocation of the capital from Rome to Constantinoplere su l ted in a great increase in the or ga n i z a ti on , power, a n d

36 G r e e c e

i n f lu en ce of the eastern half of the em p i re . Wh en the Rom a nE m p i re finally bro ke into eastern and we s tern secti ons 65ye a rs later, Greece became part of the stron ger Eastern Rom a nE m p i re , wh i ch in va rious forms su rvived until the fifteen t hcen tu ry. For most of that ti m e , it was a strong player on thegeopo l i tical scene of s o ut h e a s tern Eu rope and Asia Mi n or,while pre s erving Greek cultu re there . The We s tern Rom a nE m p i re was we a k . In fact , a cen tu ry after the split, it wasdes troyed by advancing German tri be s . Because of its abi l i tyto prevent perm a n ent intru s i on and set t l em ent of Sl avic andG ermanic tri bes into Greece , the Eastern Roman Empire(k n own incorrect ly as the By z a n tine Empire) pre s erved


I n the fourth century A.D., Roman emperor Constantine establishedConstantinople (present-day Istanbul) as the Eastern Roman Empire’scapital. Over the next millennium, the city was not only the center of theGreek-speaking world but also was the richest and most powerful city inEurope during the Middle Ages. Pictured here is Hagia Sophia, which wasbuilt in the sixth century A.D. and is the city’s most famous structure.

Greek cultu ral dom i n a n ce and their nati onal iden ti ty on theAegean Pen i n su l a .

The rise of Constantinople also generated a power strugglebet ween the pope of Rome and the patri a rch (arch bi s h op) ofCon s t a n ti n op l e . This stru ggle con ti nu ed for cen tu ries unti lCh ri s ti a n i ty finally bro ke into two sep a ra te gro u p s , in 1054:Roman Catholic and Eastern Ort h odox . All lands underthe influ en ce of the Eastern Roman Empire , wh i ch inclu dedGreece , became a part of E a s tern Ort h odox Ch ri s ti a n i ty. Ifa nyone knows anything abo ut the history of s o ut h e a s ternEu rope , he or she cert a i n ly knows how important rel i gi on isto people living there . In the po l i tical con tex t , for ex a m p l e ,Ea s tern Ort h odox rel i gi on was of ten used as a tool for Ru s s i ato generate support from Greeks, Serbs, and others against itsen em i e s . In recent ye a rs , Greeks publ i cly su pported EasternOrthodox Serbs during the Yugoslav ethnic wars.

MIDDLE AGES AND TURKISH OCCUPATIONDuring the turbulent Middle Ages, when much of Europe

was in disarray for sev eral centuries, Greece was the placewhere successful preservation of knowledge took place. Duringits zenith, Constantinople was the richest and one of the largestcities in the worl d . At a time wh en Rome and Pa ris weresurrounded with swamps and peasantry, Greek cities managedto pre s erve ideas and te ach i n gs of great classical sch o l a rs .Cen tu ries later, this knowl ed ge even tu a lly found its way to It a lyand Western Europe, where it helped inspire the dawn of theRenaissance period. During much of the Middle Ages, prior tofalling under Turkish control, Greece and the Eastern RomanEmpire were the bellwether of European civilization.

By the eleventh century, another danger appeared. It camefrom the directi on from wh i ch Persian armies had march ed15 centuries earlier. Turks, a group of nomadic tribes originallyfrom Cen tral As i a , h ad begun migra ting we s t w a rd , a ll the wayto Asia Mi n or. F i rs t , Sel juk Tu rks and later Osman Tu rk s

38 G r e e c e

gradu a lly we a ken ed the Eastern Roman Empire until 1453, wh eneven Constantinople fell into Turkish hands and was renamedIs t a n bu l . Tu rks con ti nu ed marching we s t w a rd , u l ti m a telyoccupying all lands in southeastern Europe. All Greek lands,mainland and islands, became a part of the Turkish culturalsphere. Although Turks accepted many Greek cultural traits,the basic difference was religious. The Turks were Muslim andthe Greeks were Ch ri s ti a n . Muslims were hardly wel come in aCh ri s tian land, and being Ch ri s tian in the Ot toman Empire(as the Tu rkish state was known) was not wi t h o ut its difficulti e s ,either. As Christians, Greeks had to pay higher taxes and theirchildren had to serve in the Turkish army. There were manyother regulations that generated ill-feelings; after four centuriesof Turkish occupation, these grew to be substantial.

Under Turkish rule, Greek development remained ratherstagnant. As elsewhere in southeastern Europe, the economywas dwi n dling ra t h er than devel op i n g. Du ring this ti m e ,Western Europe was on the brink of the Industrial Revolution,an event that would once again move the center of civilizationwestward. Fortunately for Greeks in the eighteenth and thebeginning of the nineteenth centuries, the Ottoman Empirewas not the force it once was. Its power was rapidly declining,wh i ch made room for nati ons to push for indepen den ce .Foll owing the example of o t h er nati ons in their search forindepen den ce , Greeks started an uprising against Tu rk i s hrule in the 1820s. In 1832, after substantial bloodshed, theybroke free of Turkish rule. At that time, not all present-dayGreek lands were included in the new ly independent state.Although decades later, the Greeks had to fight new wars toregain portions of their former territory, it was the beginningof a modern Greek state.

INDEPENDENT GREECEThe goal of uniting all Greek territories into one state was

not an easy task. In this instance, geographical location was in


m a ny ways a curs e . World powers had alw ays wanted to ga i na foothold in this extremely volatile and strategic corner ofEurope. Great Britain and France did not want Russia to gainaccess to the Mediterranean region. Russia, meanwhile, wasco u n ting on its Greek fri ends to help them oust the Tu rk sfrom Con s t a n ti n op l e . Tow a rd the end of the nineteenth cen tu ry,Bulgaria and Serbia were both independent and eyeing theirown territorial expansion southward toward Greece. Conflictonce again loomed just over the horizon.

The early twentieth century brought exactly that—conflict.First Greece, Serbia, and Bulgaria went to war against the Turksand defeated them in 1912. A year later, Greeks and Serbsjoined forces against the Bulgarians, resulting in the acquisitionof additional territories. In 1914, World War I broke out withGreece and the Ot toman Empire on different side s . Va s tnumbers of ethnic Greeks still lived outside the Greek home-land, a majority of them residing in Asia Minor. For joininganti-German forces, Greece was promised western Anatolia,but instead it ended up in an unsuccessful war with Turkishrevo luti on a ry forces (under the command of Kemal At a tu rk )that lasted from 1918 until 1922. As a re sult of this con f l i ct , t h eGreeks lost an opportunity to incorporate their compatriotsf rom Asia into one co u n try. Most ethnic Greeks in Tu rkey(as well as Tu rks from Greece) ex peri en ced vo lu n t a ry and“recom m en ded ” rel oc a ti on that was little more than et h n i ccl e a n s i n g. Af ter the war with Tu rkey, Greece’s current geo-gra phic bo u n d a ri e s were establ i s h ed .

40 G r e e c e

41

All geog raphy is essentially cultural geograph y. Geographers,af ter all , s tu dy the spatial distri buti ons and patterns of wh o

is is doing what, where, and why. They also are interested inknowing and interpr eting the results of the human imprint onEarth’s surface, the cultural landscape. Why people do certain thingsin certain ways (wh i ch are of ten unique to the particular group) isa pri m a ry interest of c u l tu ral geogra ph ers . The most import a n taspects shaping the lifestyle of each cultural group are its peoples’sense of bel on ging (et h n i c i ty, rel i gi on , s oc i ety, and so fort h ) , l a n g u a ge ,edu c a ti on , d i et , and dem ogra phic factors (also, po l i tical sys tem sand economic activity, both of which are important enough to treatin separate chapters). Once you are familiar with major culturalcharacteristics of Greece’s residents, you can decide for yourself whatit is that makes Greeks similar to other people in some ways and

People and Culture

4

much different in others. It is these aspects of their way of lifethat make them a distinct culture.

ETHNIC GROUPSAs em ph a s i zed in the previous ch a pter, for a va ri ety of

his torical re a s ons Greece is a rel a tively hom ogenous co u n tryin ethnic terms (most of the people are from the same ethnicback gro u n d ) . Con s i dering that the Aegean Pen i n sula has servedas a bridge linking Europe and Asia since ancient times, onemight expect greater ethnic diversity. The tremendous ethnicdiversity of its northern neighbors in the former Yugoslavia iswell known. There, many groups share living space in closeproximity. In Greece, ethnic diversity occurs on a region-to-regi on basis. The Greeks have a very strong sense of n a ti on a l i s m(of “being Greek”). Because of this feeling, ethnic issues areoften a matter of heated political debate. Ninety-eight percentof the co u n try ’s people are ethnic Greeks (that is, of Gree kc u l tu ral heri t a ge ) . In order to pre s erve ethnic hom ogen ei ty int h eir co u n try, Greek public op i n i on of ten is very cri tical of o t h erpeople who ex press a de s i re to be som ething other than et h n i cGree k . Th ey are afraid that if people are all owed to assume an on - Greek (that is, t h eir own trad i ti onal) iden ti ty, it may causeprobl em s . Th ey may even seek to become po l i ti c a lly indepen-den t , as was the case with the many et h n i c i ties in the form erYu go s l avi a . Con s equ en t ly, trying to su ppress the recogn i ti on ofethnic Macedon i a n s , in the eyes of s ome peop l e , for ex a m p l e ,means not having to deal with potential ethnic separatism.

This view, of course, certainly is not uniquely Greek. Infact, it is found elsewhere in Europe. Just across the border inBulgaria, a similar “solution” was introduced to prevent thecountry’s Turkish minority from officially beco ming ethnicnon-Bulgarians. These forms of extreme nationalism are crueland discri m i n a tory. Yet it is important to understand whythey occur and how they affect a co u n try ’s citi zen s . This isp a rti c u l a rly true for Greece . A strong sense of n a ti on a l i s m

42 G r e e c e

43People and Culture

For a nation in which 98 percent of its citizens are ethnic Greek, the preservationof Greek culture is extremely important. For example, members of the Greekinfantry who guard the Monument of the Unknown Soldier in Athens’s SyntagmaSquare wear traditional Greek clothing.

(self-identity as a nation of peoples) should be expected in acountry that has a history of turbulence, civil wars, dictatorialgovernments, and territorial disputes with neighbors.

THE PEOPLESo who are the people living in Greece today? What is their

b ack ground? How do the co u n try ’s citi zens differ from on eanother in terms of culture and self-identity?

Ethnic GreeksTod ay, Greeks are re a lly a mixtu re of m a ny peoples wh o,

t h ro u gh o ut thousands of ye a rs , came to and left their mark onthe Aegean Pen i n su l a . O ri gi n a lly, h owever, Greeks were anIn do - Eu ropean tri be , a stock having ance s try com m on tom a ny peoples dispers ed thro u gh o ut mu ch of Eu ra s i a . Peop l ei den ti f i ed as In do - Eu ropeans are gen era lly bel i eved to havecome from Asia Mi n or (pen i n sular Tu rkey) du ring theNeolithic peri od (perhaps 7,000 B.C.) . From there , t h eym i gra ted in many directi on s , even tu a lly re aching the Ru s s i a nsteppes in the north and India in the east. S ch o l a rs were abl eto track these migra ti ons by fo ll owing the evo luti on ands pre ad of the In do - Eu ropean language . Even though no on es peaks ori ginal In do - Eu rope a n , of co u rs e , the linguistic roo t swere pre s erved . This is how Greeks were iden ti f i ed as peop l eof In do - Eu ropean stock . In tere s ti n gly, the Greeks are notet h n i c a lly rel a ted to any of t h eir nei gh bors , most of wh omm i gra ted to sout h e a s tern Eu rope long after the Greeks werea l re ady establ i s h ed there .

In i ti a lly, the languages spo ken by Greek tri bes settling theAegean Peninsula were used to identify common ancestry; t h esame met h od was used to iden tify non - Greek peoples livi n gin the regi on . Because they did not migra te as one singl egro u p, but thro u gh the series of m i gra ti ons over ti m e ,a n c i ent Greeks had to figure out who they re a lly were .An o t h er cultu ral indicator that hel ped iden tify Greeks was

44 G r e e c e

t h eir rel i gi on . O n ly Greeks wors h i ped the pantheon of god sl ed by Zeu s , the su preme god in ancient Greek myt h o l ogy.

Contemporary Greeks do not question their direct lineagef rom their ance s tors . Most Greeks wi ll argue, and ri gh tf u llys o, that they are direct de s cendants of a n ce s tors who fo u gh tPersian or Roman invaders 25 cen tu ries ago. Greeks take gre a tpri de in their heri t a ge and et h n i c i ty, no matter wh ere theyl ive . Ma ny Greeks have lived out s i de their hom eland forgen era ti on s , yet their sense of ethnic bel on ging remains ass trong as that of Greeks living in Greece . This strong attach m en tto their trad i ti onal cultu re can be seen in many large Nort hAmerican cities. One only needs to visit a Greek restaurant thathas been in the hands of a single family for several generationsto wi tness the strong attach m ent to the hom eland and itsc u l tu ral trad i ti on s .

Because of various circumstances, ranging from wars towidespread poverty, Greeks have long experienced one of thehighest emigration rates in Europe. In descending order basedon percentages of national population, Greeks, Irish, Italians,and Croats have produced the greatest number of migrants.Most of those sharing Greek ancestry today live in traditionalemigrants’ havens of the New World such as the United States,Canada, and Australia. After the military conflict with Turkeyended in 1923, large numbers of displaced Greeks found newhomes in the New World. Perhaps the best known of theserefugees was Aristotle Onassis. After leaving Turkey, his familymoved to Argentina, where he eventually became one of theworld’s richest men, with a fortune built primarily on shipping,oil, and the airline industry.

In the decades following World War II, thousands of ethnicGreeks left the country to search for better jobs in WesternEurope, primarily Germany. War-ravaged Germany demandedm ore labor than its own pop u l a ti on was able to su pport .For most immigra n t s , t h eir jobs were su ppo s ed to last on lytem pora ri ly. Tod ay, h owever, m a ny times two or even three


gen era ti ons of G erm a n - born Greeks re s i de in this co u n try.Th is is of ten the case among migrant gro u p s . Even thoughn o s t a l gia and a strong de s i re to retu rn home are import a n t ,the opportu n i ty for econ omic su ccess is an even stron germ o tiva ti on . In the regi on around Greece , most ethnic Gree k sl iving out s i de of t h eir hom eland re s i de in two co u n tri e s ,Albania and the island of Cypru s .

Ethnic Non-GreeksIn Greece’s nort hwe s tern provi n ce s , Albanians are the

main ethnic minori ty. Some of t h em have been living inmountainous areas for cen tu ri e s . Ot h ers arrived more recen t lyas immigrants searching for bet ter paying jobs than thoseava i l a ble in their hom el a n d . ( Albania is the poorest Eu rope a nco u n try.) Even though Albanians and Greeks are immed i a tenei gh bors , et h n i c a lly they are unrel a ted . Th eir on ly link isthat at some time in the distant past, both groups had In do -European ance s tors . Al b a n i a n s , h owever, a re one of s o ut h e a s ternEu rope’s oldest inhabi t a n t s . It is bel i eved that they de s cen dedf rom the Illyri a n s , who in a series of m i gra ti on waves set t l ed inwhat is now Albania around 1,200 B.C. In tern a lly, Al b a n i a n sa re divi ded into two main gro u p s . The Ghegs re s i de mainly i nthe north, whereas the Tosks are southern Albanians and makeup the majori ty of Albanians who live in Greece . Greece’s et h n i cAlbanian pop u l a ti on , e s pec i a lly those who have been living int he co u n try for gen era ti on s , is mostly Ort h odox Ch ri s ti a n . It ise s ti m a ted that perhaps a half-mill i on Albanians curren t ly live i nGreece . Precise nu m bers are difficult to determine because ofh i gh and con s t a n t ly rising ra tes of i ll egal immigra ti on .

Th ere are also ethnic Tu rks in Greece . The ance s tors ofm odern - d ay Tu rks came from near the Altai Mo u n t a i n s , aregion bordering Mongolia, Russia, China, and Kazakhstan.Turks were not just one ethnic group, either, but rather manygroups of related tribes. Over a span of several centuries duringthe medieval period, several different tribes migrated westward

46 G r e e c e

and even tu a lly establ i s h ed military con trol over local ru l ers .Th eir nu m bers were small at the begi n n i n g, but the Tu rk sm a n a ged to incorpora te many other peoples into thei rc u l tu re , t h ereby increasing their nu m erical strength thro u gha process known as acc u l tu ra ti on . People were wi lling tobecome “Tu rk s” because of rel i gi on and other perceivedc u l tu ral adva n t a ge s . Th ey do not share com m on ance s trywith Indo - Eu ropean peop l e s , but in Eu rope they are rel a tedto Hu n ga rians and Finns. In As i a , t h ey are rel a ted to mostet h n i c i ties in Cen tral As i a .

During the time of the Ottoman Empire, Turks were spreadt h ro u gh o ut the eastern Med i terranean and sout h e a s ternEurope. Once the empire declined in power, however, manyethnic Turks migrated back to Turkey. Between the time o fGreek independence in 1829 and the beginning of World War Iin 1914, a large Turkish minority lived in northeastern Greece.Pre s ent nu m bers are dra s ti c a lly lower, h owever, bec a u s eof both vo lu n t a ry and pre s su red pop u l a ti on migra ti on since1 9 2 3 . Al t h o u gh official nu m bers are va g u e , it is bel i eved thats ome 100,000 Tu rks sti ll live in the Th race regi on of Greece .Ethnic Greeks and Tu rks share — or, m ore re a l i s ti c a lly, do nots h a re!—the living space on the island of Cypru s . Al t h o u ghthis small island is now a sep a ra te co u n try, it long had beentrad i ti on a lly Greek in terms of et h n i c i ty and history. Af terTu rkish military interven ti on in the early 1970s, Cyprus wasd ivi ded into two ethnic and po l i tical zon e s , one Greek andone Tu rk .

For official govern m ent purpo s e s , Greece is the co u n tryof Greeks (cl a i m ed to repre s ent 98 percent of the pop u l a ti on ) .Ethnic minori ties are gen era lly ign ored , or of f i c i a lly decl a redto be Gree k s . This is the case with the many Macedonians wh ol ive in the nort h ern part of the co u n try. Some Macedon i a n sare of Slavic origin and related to those living in the country’snei gh bor to the nort h , the Form er Yu go s l av Rep u blic ofMacedonia. Because Greece does not recognize their minority


sta tu s , h owever, these citi zens “of f i c i a lly ” do not ex i s t . Inaddition, major urban centers are home to increasingly grow-ing numbers of immigrants (legal and illegal) from African andAsian countries. As a member of the European Union, Greeceis the first stopover on the road toward Western Europe. Thecountry is an attractiv e first destination for many of thoselooking for a better life.

RELIGIONMost people travel to Greece for three reasons. The first

group searches for a pleasant and scenic place to spend the irsummer vacations. The second group comes because of theirinterest in ancient Greek culture and its many artifacts. Finally,Greece is also a destination for those interested in religiouslandscapes and history, particularly those relating to GreekEastern Ort h odox Ch ri s ti a n i ty. The majori ty of Greeks con s i derthem s elves Eastern Ort h odox Ch ri s ti a n s . Th eir chu rch isindependent of any larger ruling body, although it is looselytied to other Orthodox faiths and the ecumenical patriarch ofCon s t a n ti n op l e . The patri a rch is the nominal leader of a llO rt h odox Ch ri s ti a n s . This is the pri m a ry differen ce bet weenOrthodox Christians and Roman Catholics, who recognize thepope of Rome as their spiritual leader.

The country’s cultural landscape displays a rich religiousheritage. Even the smallest village in the remote countrysidehas a place of worship with dom e - l i ke roof tops and Gree kc ro s s e s . Famous mon a s teries perch ed on top of s teep hills a n drocks in the provi n ce of Th e s s a ly are well known . Mon k sh ave occupied them for 1,000 years. Today, these humble yetspectacular mon a s teries are a main to u rist attracti on in thatp a rt of Greece . A mill en n ium ago, h owever, t h eir main ro l ewas to provi de solitu de - s e a rching monks with a ref u ge fromthe world. Monasteries of Meteora are tremendous architec-tural achievements. In early days, the only way to gain accesswas to wait for ladders to be brought down. Another option

48 G r e e c e


Religion is an important part of Greek culture; more than 95 percent of thenation’s citizens are members of the Eastern Orthodox Church. Pictured h e r eare worshippers making their way into a traditional Orthodox c h u r c h ,which ty p i cally includes a dome-like rooftop and Greek crosses.

was to attem pt to scale the steep cl i f fs , re su l ting in almostcertain death for all but the most experienced climbers.

In nort h ern Greece , a n o t h er famous Eastern Ort h odoxl an d s c a pe ex i s t s . The com p l ex of almost two dozen mon a s teri e sl oc a ted on the Mount Athos Pen i n sula is a rem a rk a ble scen e .These mon a s teries do not bel ong exclu s ively to the Gree kO rt h odox Chu rch . Some bel ong to other Eastern Ort h odoxfaiths su ch as Ru s s i a n , Serbi a n , or Rom a n i a n . Mount At h o s ,l oc a ted not far from Th e s s a l on i k i , is a major pilgri m a ge site .Here , one can of ten see dign i t a ries from other Ort h odox co u n-tri e s . In 2005, V l adimir Putin became the first Russian pre s i den tto visit this loc a ti on and pay his re s pects to Mount At h o s .

A small number of Greeks belong to the Greek CatholicChurch. All religious ceremonies and traditions in this churchare of Eastern Orthodox origin. Because of historical conflicts,h owever, this faith is of f i c i a lly affiliated with the Rom a nCatholic Church and looks to the pope of Rome for leadership.

Most Turks living in Greece are Muslims and follow theIslamic teachings of the Prophet Muhammad. In their case,practicing a different religion is a way of preserving their ownethnic identity. Some Albanians living in Greece are OrthodoxChristians, whereas others are Muslims. The latter group wasrelatively small throughout history, but in recent decades it hasbegun to grow rapidly because of increased immigration fromMuslim Al b a n i a . Ma ny Al b a n i a n s , e s pec i a lly those wh oa rrived from tribal areas of cen tral and nort h ern parts of t h ei rhomeland, are only nominally religious. Many of them followancient tribal codes of honor.

As is true el s ewh ere in Eu rope , Greece has become incre a s-i n gly secular du ring recent dec ade s . Most con tem pora ryGreeks ra rely visit a chu rch out s i de important rel i gi o u sh o l i d ays . Yo u n ger gen era ti ons appear to be less rel i gious thant h eir parents or gra n d p a ren t s . Urb a n i z a ti on , popular cultu re ,and growing indivi dualism are some of the re a s ons for theadva n ce of a gn o s ticism and athei s m . More and more peop l e

50 G r e e c e

s eem to con s i der rel i gi on more as a form of c u l tu ral heri t a geand cel ebra te it that way.

The Greek cultu ral heri t a ge is sign i f i c a n t ly sym bo l i zedby the many temples built by ancient Gree k s . Tod ay theseremnants are mainly of i n terest to arch aeo l ogists and to u ri s t s.Yet these temples remind us of pre - Ch ri s tian ti m e s , wh enGreeks practiced different religious beliefs. Their religion waspolyt h ei s ti c , meaning they bel i eved in many gods inste ad ofa single unifying god . Di f ferent gods had different roles thatpeople would respect and celebrate. Apollo was a sun god, Aresthe god of war, Aphrodite the goddess of love, and so forth.

POPULATION CHARACTERISTICSDemographic (demography is the statistical study of the

human pop u l a ti on) trends in Greece are the ref l ecti on ofgen eral trends shared by most Eu ropean co u n tri e s . Al t h o u ghmany countries in Africa, Asia, and Latin America experiencepop u l a ti on growt h , a majori ty of Eu ropean po s ti n du s tri a lsocieties face the prospect of population decline. In terms ofdem ogra phic ch a n ge s , co u n tries pass thro u gh several stage s .At the begi n n i n g, both bi rth- and death ra tes are high , wh i chkeeps populations from expanding rapidly. This is a character-istic of rural agricultural (preindustrial) societies. Then, whensociety enters the indu s trial ph a s e , death ra tes become mu chl ower, but birthrates remain high. This is the stage most of thedevel oping world is ex peri encing tod ay. F i n a lly, s oc i eties inthe postindustrial stage (developed countries) experience lowdeath ra tes and very low bi rt h ra te s . Wh en the final stage isre ach ed , pop u l a ti on growth is slow and can even decline ifm ore people die than are born .

Rapid urbanization, increased formal education of women,and change from an industrial to postindustrial (service- andinformation-based economy) are some of the factors influenc-ing Greece’s current demographic trends. Younger people tendto marry late, or not marry at all, and have fewer children than


previous gen era ti on s . L i fe s tyle ch a n ges from agri c u l tu ra l(where children were considered the form of family capital) topostindustrial (cash economy) are directly affecting Gr eece’sdem ogra phic pictu re . As el s ewh ere in the We s tern worl d ,pursuing edu c a ti on , c a reers , and econ omic opportu n i ti e s , ra t h erthan having larger families, are becoming a priority for females.

Young Greeks understand that in toda y’s world, havingmore children also means a greater economic burden. Anotherimportant factor is migration from the countryside. Birthratesin rural areas are traditionally much higher than those of urbancen ters . In urban cen ters su ch as At h ens and Th e s s a l on i k i ,population growth resulting from births has become stagnant.Ci ties grow because of m i gra ti on into them . Almost halfof Greece’s pop u l a ti on , for ex a m p l e , l ives in the At h en sm etropolitan are a , but nearly all of the growth has re su l tedf rom in-migra ti on .

The Greek pop u l a ti on , l i ke that in most of Eu rope , i sbecoming older. Tod ay, the con ti n en t’s life ex pectancy at bi rt his 80 ye a rs . If these trends con ti nue du ring the next couple ofdec ade s , Greece wi ll join those Eu ropean co u n tries that arebattling pop u l a ti on decl i n e . Cu rrent ferti l i ty ra tes (thenu m ber of ch i l d ren to wh i ch the avera ge woman wi ll givebirth) are bel ow 2.1, wh i ch is the minimum to prevent natu ra lpop u l a ti on decl i n e . It is obvi o u s , t h en , that in order to managepop u l a ti on issu e s , Greece must find a soluti on that wi ll all owit to avoid serious econ omic and po l i tical probl em s . Havi n gtoo few young people cre a tes a lack of l a borers to su pportecon omic growt h . One po s s i bi l i ty is to en co u ra ge immigra-ti on to the co u n try and to all ow large nu m bers of n on et h n i cGreeks to find homes and work there . This wi ll not be an easyt a s k , h owever, because of the Gree k s’ s trong de s i re to ret a i nt h eir co u n try ’s ethnic puri ty.

Life expectancy at the time of birth continues to increase,wh i ch is why nearly 20 percent of the current pop u l a ti onis over 65 ye a rs of a ge . Cu rren t ly, the avera ge age of l i fe

52 G r e e c e

ex pectancy is 79 ye a rs ; a l t h o u gh with furt h er improvem en t sin medicine and in gen eral qu a l i ty of l i fe , we can ex pect thatnumber only to keep climbing upward. As elsewhere, femaleslive a few years longer than males.

DIETIt has been said that people’s diet represents one of their

most important cultural indicators. What people eat and theway they eat can provide a tremendous amount of informationabout local lifestyles. People eat what they are. Many customsand manners are reflected in diet, especially in rural areaswhere changes occur slowly. Diet is a great example of cultural


Like many European countries, Greece has an aging population, but perhapsmore troubling is the nation’s low birthrate, which stood at 9.7 per every1,000 persons in 2005. If the birthrate continues to trend dow n w a r d ,Greece won’t have enough laborers to support economic growth in acountry that has had a difficult time developing its rural economy.

dif f u s i on ; that is, a spre ad of food preferen ces from on ec u l tu re group to another. In parts of Eu rope , Ch ri s tians wi lle a t different types of food than Muslims, who avoid pork. Insome areas, beer drinkers are in the majority, whereas in otherswine is the drink of ch oi ce . A similar situ a ti on exists in thedifference between coffee and tea consumption.

Those living in con ti n ental areas aw ay from the seacon sume mu ch more red meat and hearty meals. Th eMed i terranean diet , on the other hand, consists pri m a ri ly ofgra i n s , f resh veget a bl e s , fish and other seafood , and gen ero u samounts of o l ive oi l . This diet is very healthy; few Gree k sor o th er Med i terranean people have diet - rel a ted ill n e s s e sor su f fer from obe s i ty.

Greece is well known for its fabulous cuisine, and theWest is familiar with many Greek dishes. Most Am eri c a n s , forex a m p l e , would recogn i ze pita bre ad , c u c u m ber sauce , ri cero ll ed in gra pe leave s , kalamata olive s , va rious eggp l a n t - b a s eddishes including moussaka, and many other Greek del i c ac i e s .In ad d i ti on to fish and other seafood , lamb is con s i dered astaple meat. S h eeph erding is a mill en n i a - l ong trad i ti on onboth the mainland and Aegean islands, so it is not difficult tou n derstand why lamb is Greece’s favori te red meat.

One fine illustration of cultural association is baklava. Thisfamous de s s ert is popular thro u gh o ut sout h e a s tern Eu ropeand the eastern Mediterranean, as well as in the United States.Although basically a pastry of flaky structure covered with ahoney-based syrup, baklava is prepared in many different waysbased on regional differences and dietary preferences. It is awonderful example of how food shapes regional identities!

Because of t h eir Med i terranean diet , Greeks gen era llyavoid heavy meals that can cause high bl ood pre s su re andh eart disease, a leading cause of death in the West. Olive oil andwine are known for having substances that, while consumed i nm odera ti on , provi de su b s t a n tial health ben ef i t s . Greeks lovet h eir olive oil and wi n e , both of wh i ch are con su m ed du ri n g

54 G r e e c e

n e a rly every meal. Th ey also bel i eve that good food pro l on gsl i fe . S c i en tists who have stu d i ed the lon g - l iving pop u l a ti on ofthe island of Crete agree . Cretans boast one of Eu rope’s lon ge s tl i fe spans, wh i ch nutri ti onal scien tists attri bute to a good diet .Th ey bel i eve that there and on other Aegean islands, hu m a nl on gevi ty and low ra tes of h e a rt attacks are direct ly rel a ted towhat people eat and dri n k .

A typical Greek dinner includes delicious appetizers, salads,and a few main co u rses accom p a n i ed by a glass of wine ands om ething sweet to finish the meal. In the Med i terra n e a nregion, people tend to enjoy late dinners and not hurry whiledining. So many of us in the West consume food just to satisfyhunger, rapidly chewing large bites of deep-fried fast food ofquestionable nutritional quality, but Greeks “dine.” Dinner,most Greeks bel i eve , is a cultu ral and social ex peri en ce ; i tis a fe s tival for on e’s mout h , ra t h er than the fulfill m ent ofbi o l ogical need s .


Dem oc rac y, a term of Greek ori gin de s c ri bing the spec i f i cpo l i tical sys tem of rule by citi zen s , was som ething con tem-pora ry Greece acqu i red rel a tively late . It is ra t h er paradox i c al

that the cradle of dem oc racy was of ten the site of u n dem oc ra ti cregi m e s . The modern po l i tical history of Greece is ra t h er com p l ex .Af ter a len g t hy time of po l i tical tu rm oi l , fo ll owed by peri ods ofrel a tive calm, the co u n try is tod ay a rep u blic with a progre s s ivedem oc rac y. Lon gstanding geopo l i tical issu e s , p a rti c u l a rly wi t hGreece’s nei gh bors , s eem to have su b s i ded . In the past, Greece livedu n der the om n i pre s ent threat of ex tern a l , or even intern a l , m i l i t a rycon f l i ct . Tod ay, these con cerns are fading aw ay, and Greece cancon cen tra te its po l i tical atten ti on more on econ omic issues ando t h er ways of i m proving the life of its citi zen s . This is not to say thath a rdships of previous times are for go t ten . In this part of the worl d ,m em ories fade slowly wh en it comes to po l i ti c s .

Government and Politics

5

56

POSTWAR POLITICAL HISTORYGreece came out of World War II shaken , but gen era lly in

much better shape than many other countries that experiencedtrem en dous deva s t a ti on and loss of l i fe . Un fortu n a tely, t h eco u n try was ex peri encing mounting internal probl em sbet ween opposing po l i tical facti on s . S h ort ly after Greece hadbeen libera ted from German occ u p a ti on and the mon a rchyh ad been topp l ed , c ivil war eru pted . As was the case in nei gh-boring Yugoslavia, it was a confrontation between Communistsand Na ti on a l i s t s . E ach side bel i eved it could lead the co u n tryi n to a bet ter futu re ; a l t h o u gh in terms of po l i tical ori en t a ti on ,t h ey were va s t ly differen t . In Yu go s l avi a , the internal po l i ti c a lcon f l i ct and World War II occ u rred simu l t a n eo u s ly. In Greece ,the civil con f l i ct eru pted in 1946, a f ter the Na ti onalists wonthe majori ty of vo tes in the el ecti on s .

Both Greek facti ons received out s i de su pport . Th eCom munists were su pported by Yu go s l avia and the Sovi etUn i on , wh ereas the Na ti onalist govern m ent received hel pf rom the We s t . Com munist forces lost the civil war mainlybecause they received less internal su pport from the Gree k st h em s elve s . In ad d i ti on , the atten ti on of Yu go s l avia and theSovi et Un i on was diverted from Greece by their own seri o u spo l i tical con f ron t a ti on . In the aftermath of the 1946–1950c ivil war, Greece was left as the on ly non - Com munist co u n tryin sout h e a s tern Eu rope (if Tu rkey is con s i dered to be As i a n ) .Its nei gh bors — Al b a n i a , Yu go s l avi a , and Bu l ga ri a — a ll spen tthe next half cen tu ry under va rious Com munist regi m e s . No tsu rpri s i n gly, Na ti onalist su pporters of the Greek mon a rchye st a bl i s h ed strong ties to the We s t , wh i ch con ti nu ed toprovi de hel p. Soon after, in 1952, Greece joi n ed the newNorth At l a n tic Tre a ty Orga n i z a ti on (NATO ) , form ed on lyt h ree ye a rs earl i er.

The co u n try nevert h eless rem a i n ed som ewhat divi ded ,e s pec i a lly among those who had been direct ly invo lved in thec ivil war. Su ch po l a ri z a ti on affected Gree k s’ d a i ly lives du ri n g

57Government and Po l i t i c s

the 1950s and 1960s, c re a ting a difficult po l i tical situ a ti on .The probl em with civil wars is that their ef fects are felt for al ong ti m e . Ra rely does their outcome provi de su cce s s f u ll on g - term soluti ons that satisfy all parties invo lved . InGreece’s sequ en ce of govern m ents fo ll owing World War II,po l itical antagonisms prevailed, despite gradual improvementsin the co u n try ’s econ omic base. Gree k s , just as their It a l i a nn ei gh bors , of ten tend to reform govern m ents and exec utivebod i e s . Som etimes ch a n ges happen thro u gh el ecti ons ando t h er times thro u gh military co u p s .

Greece rem a i n ed a kingdom until 1967, wh en a group ofm i l i t a ry of f i cers or ga n i zed to resist el ectoral ch a n ge s . Th eyrem oved young King Con s t a n tine II from power, who provedto be the last king to rule over the Greek peop l e . The militarytook con trol of the govern m ent and ru l ed as a dict a tors h i pthat lasted until 1974. This dict a tors h i p, as any other, w a su n a ble to lead the co u n try in a po s i tive directi on for econ om i cgrowt h . Ra t h er, m i l i t a ry leaders su pported what they know thebe s t : prep a ra ti on for arm ed con f ron t a ti on in order to keep theco u n try and people “u n i ted .” In this case, it did not work .Even tu a lly, m i l i t a ry rule came to an en d , l e aving behind a sourn o te in Greek history and also a lon g - l a s ting po l i tical probl emrel a ting to the futu re of n ei gh boring Cypru s .

MODERN POLITICAL CHANGESAf ter gen era l s , co l on el s , and other of f i cers finally dec i ded

t hat it was time to retre a t , Greeks were eager to re s toredem oc rac y. Few people wanted a retu rn to mon a rchy, so soona f terward, a republic was proclaimed. One might question howa co u n try su ch as Greece could become invo lved in a militaryd i ct a tors h i p. The answer lies in placing dom e s tic events in agl obal con tex t .

During the 1960s, the Cold War was making many people,including the Greeks, a bit anxious and paranoid. The militarybel i eved the co u n try was being led in a directi on that was

58 G r e e c e

“s of t” on com mu n i s m . Some saw po l i tical interven ti on as theon ly way to en su re the co u n try did not drift furt h er to the lef t .Hi s tory has proven time and time again that military leaderswho become unel ected civil heads of s t a te ra rely if ever place thewell - being of the co u n try ’s people as their top pri ori ty, h owever.O f f i cers rule with force , m a ke poor po l i tical dec i s i on s , and of tena re rem oved by force . A leader of Greece’s military junta andl a ter (in 1973) the co u n try ’s pre s i den t , G eor gios Pap adopo u l o ss erves as an ideal example of su ch a leader. He tri ed to tra n s formthe co u n try into a rep u blic and become a pre s i den t , yet heeven tu a lly was overt h rown and impri s on ed for life .

As a new democratic republic in the 1970s, Greece rapidlybegan building a political structure that remains in place today.Distribution of power was divided among legislative, executive,and judicial bra n ches of govern m en t . Lef t - wing parties thatpreviously opposed each other emerged as serious contendersin a free electoral process. One of those was the PanhellenicSocialist Movement (PASOK), which dominated Greek politicsduring the 1980s and was led by Andreas Papandreou. Greeceach i eved one of its pri m a ry econ omic goals in 1981 wh enit joi n ed the Eu ropean Un i on (then call ed the Eu rope a nE con omic Com mu n i ty ) . That same ye a r, the soc i a l i s t gov-ern m en t , l ed by PA S O K , was el ected to power for the firs ttime. These changes were milestones in Greece’s politics andeconomy. For the last two decades, PASOK has remained thecountry’s most influential and powerful political party. It wonthe most elections and formed most governments in thisperiod, even after Papandreou’s death in 1996.

Distribution of PowerThe Parliament

As for distribution of power in the government, Greece isstructured similarly to most democracies, including the UnitedS t a te s . Legi s l a tive , exec utive , and judicial bra n ches basicallys ha re equal powers . The Hell enic Pa rl i a m ent repre s ents the


legislative branch; it creates new laws and expands existinglaws. Members of parliament serve as representatives of theirelectoral districts and are affiliated with political parties, whichnom i n a te them as el ectoral candidate s . The el ectoral procedu re ,however, is different than in the United States, because Greeksuse a type of proportional system. The U.S. system is designedon the winner-takes-all principle. That is, in order to win allseat s , a candidate needs on ly one more vo te than his com peti tor.Wh oever comes second receives no mandate wh a t s oever.The proportional system not only allows the winning party’scandidates to enter parliament, but also those parties whose

60 G r e e c e

The Hellenic Parliament represents the legislative branch of the Greekgovernment and meets in the parliament building in Athens. Constructedin the 18 30s, the building today also houses the offices of the presidentof parliament, the office of the prime minister, and the secretariat of thecabinet, among others.

m em bers received a small er nu m ber of vo te s . This sys tem all owsm a ny more voi ces to be heard , because parties with a small ernu m ber of m em bers can com pete , as well .

Al t h o u gh the sys tem may seem to be ide a l , because itprom o tes gre a ter parti c i p a ti on of s m a ll er parti e s , this is notn ece s s a ri ly the case. In the U. S . s ys tem , a nyone can become ac a n d i d a te for of f i ce rega rdless of the status of his or her po l i t-ical p a rty. The Eu ropean model does not all ow su ch flex i bi l i ty,because candidates are nominated by their party leaders andp ut on the long list of c a n d i d a te s . Cri teria for being nom i n a tedm ay be som ething less than fair and obj ective ; the re sult bei n gc a n d i d a tes are of ten sel ected on the basis of pop u l a ri ty, ra t h erthan ex perti s e . Proporti onal sys tems ra rely gen era te el ecti onvi ctories of m ore than 50 percen t . In order to form a gov-ern m en t , po l i tical parties most of ten form com prom i s i n gcoa l i ti on s , wh et h er at the nati onal or local level . In the 2004el ecti on s , the Nea Di m o k ra tia (New Dem oc racy) party won ,with 45 percent of the vo te s , just ahead of PA S O K , wh i ch had40 percen t .

As a member of the European Union, Greece also providesdel ega tes to its legi s l a tive body, the Eu ropean Pa rl i a m en t .Based on its population, each member country is permitted toprovide a certain number of delegates to this legislative body.Compared to German, British, or Italian delegations, Greecehas a relatively small, though nonetheless still influential, voicein shaping European political policies.

Executive BranchAlthough Greeks elect their president, the prime minister

holds the real executive power. Greeks still remember timeswhen power was held by a single individual. Therefore, theyprefer a sy stem of leadership in which the president holdsma i n ly cerem onial powers . These inclu de appoi n tm ent ofministers already confirmed by the legislature and call for newelections if the parliament needs to be dissolved in case of


political deadlock. Everyday operations are in the hands of thecountry’s prime minister, who nominates ministers and over-sees the work of various ministries.

In order to function properly and have a successful impacton the devel opm ent of the co u n try, Greece’s govern m ent cre a te smi n i s tries with the purpose of coord i n a ting their dom a i n s .The council of m i n i s ters pre s i ded over by the prime ministeris call ed a cabi n et . For ex a m p l e , the Mi n i s try of To u rism is inch a r ge of prom o ting to u rism and reg u l a ting po l i tical andecon omic dec i s i ons in that rega rd . All ministries report backto the prime minister, who then reports to parl i a m en t . Ifparliament is unsatisfied with the government’s performance, itcan cast a vote of confidence on the prime minister’s perfor-mance. If the vote is negative, the president may then call fornew elections. For such a procedure to be approved, parliamentmust be overwh el m i n gly against the prime minister. This isdifficult to accomplish, considering that prime ministers areusually the leaders of the party with the highest numbers ofdel ega te s . A vo te against the prime minister is, for manymembers, a vote against their own party.

Judicial BranchThe distri buti on of power is incom p l ete wi t h o ut a stron g

and ef f i c i ent judicial bra n ch . If co u rts are su ccessful inovers eeing the inequ a l i ties and abstracti ons of l aw, t h en al egal sys tem functi ons well . The judicial bra n ch is a body thatcan exercise con trol over the other bra n ches of govern m en tin order to limit their abi l i ty to overs tep their po l i ti c a la ut h ori ty. In daily po l i tical life , it is com m on for any gro u pto attem pt to “s h a pe” the understanding of the con s ti tuti onfor its own ben ef i t . The Su preme Co u rt serves as the mainreg u l a tor of correct interpret a ti on of Greek laws . On lowerl evel s , the judicial bra n ch is or ga n i zed thro u gh the stru ctu reof regular and appeals co u rt s , wh i ch provi de ex pertise onva rious issues not nece s s a ri ly rel a ted to the con s ti tuti on .

62 G r e e c e

FOREIGN AFFAIRSAs has been noted previously, Greece’s geographical and

historical circumstances have contributed to complications inforeign policy, some of which still linger today. Hopefully, allissues with Turkey will finally be resolved in peaceful ways.Although the two countries have not engaged in an open con-flict for a long time, the potential for conflict is always present.Both sides recognize the peril of conflict, but in this corner ofthe world, foreign policy is sometimes conducted with the fullflame of nationalistic feelings, rather than with compromisingtones. Turkey feels uneasy that Greece’s islands are only a fewmiles from the Turkish mainland, and Greece feels uneasy thatTurkey ’s terri tory is loc a ted on ly a few miles from Greece’s islands.

Then there is the extremely complex political issue ofCyprus; without a doubt the biggest political obstacle betweenGreece and Turkey and one that is a concern of the EuropeanUnion. Since the mid-1970s, when this previously independenteastern Mediterranean island was split p olitically on Greek( s o uth) and Tu rkish (north) side s , u n i ty was de s i ra ble butnever achieved. For all prac tical purposes, Greek and TurkishCyprus function independently and ethnic animosities haveplayed a large role in the island’s recent history.

Trad i ti on a lly, Cyprus has mainly been pop u l a ted by anethnic Greek majority, and Greek Nationalists have clung to thebelief that the island is an integral part of Greece. NeitherCyprus’s ethnic Turkish minority nor Turkey agrees. After threedec ade s , the island is sti ll divi ded into two po l i tical en ti ti e ssep a ra ted by a forti f i ed bu f fer zone under Un i ted Na ti on s’control. The Greeks have often asked for reunification, an ideathe Tu rks have repe a tedly rej ected . However, in recent ye a rs ,the Turks, under pressure from the European Union (it wantsCyprus unified ) , n ow su pport unificati on . Greeks recen t lyrejected this option, however—they do not want to share theland with the poverty-stricken Turkish north. The future ofCyprus continues to be uncertain.


The future relationship between Greece and the FormerYugoslav Republic of Macedonia is another ongoing problem.Greece has opposed its northern neighbor’s claim to use theterm Macedonia, because it has a northern p rovince of thesame name. More importantly, however, the name changecould create separatism and future land claims by the Republicof Macedonia against Greek territory.

There are also burning issues between Greece and Albania.The rapidly rising numbers of illegal Albanian immigrants andthe low status of the ethnic Greek minority in Albania areamong the reasons for a strained relationship between the twoco u n tri e s . Gree k s , bel i eving that they have learn ed a lesson from

64 G r e e c e

Cyprus is divided into Turkish and Greek sections: The Greek-controlledand internationally recognized Republic of Cyprus occupies the southerntwo-thirds of the island, while the Turkish Republic of Cyprus makes upthe northern one-third of the island (a map of which is displayed on thebuilding on the right). Pictured here is the boundary between the tw ostates at Lidras Street in Nicosia.

the events in Serbi a , a re wary abo ut the po ten tial po s s i bi l i tyfor futu re Albanian po l i tical demands against their terri tory.

The relationship between Greece and the United Sates isprodu ctive and wi t h o ut major difficulti e s . Di f feren ces anddisagreements do, of course, exist. Because of opposing publicopinion, Greece did not suppor t the United States–led wara gainst Ira q . On the other hand, Greece is a mem ber of NATOand high ly coopera tive with the Un i ted States and other We s ternpowers , e s pec i a lly in the preven ti on of terrorist activi ti e s .


Econ omy is an important el em ent of c u l tu re . In order to su rviveand progre s s , e ach co u n try must con s i der econ omy itshighest priority. We all want to live better than did previous

generations. Improving the quality of life of its people and trans-forming soc i ety from folk (trad i ti on a l , l a r gely ru ral) to pop u l a r(contemporary and largely urban) culture is, has been, and continuesto be a major task for the Greek govern m en t . The pathw ay toecon omic devel opm en t , h owever, is of ten full of ob s t acles that ared ifficult to overcom e . How did Greece accomplish its curren tl evel of devel opm ent? Wh i ch of the nati on’s goals were ach i evedand wh i ch were not? Questi ons su ch as these are answered in thefo ll owing overvi ew of Greece’s econ omic geogra phy.

DEVELOPING ECONOMYDe s p i te nu m erous po l i tical issues (see Ch a pter 5), Greece

Greece’sEconomy

6

66

ben ef i ted su b s t a n ti a lly from the Cold War con f ron t a ti onbetween the East and West. Western Europe did not want aregime change that would shift the balance of power in theeastern Mediterranean. It was firm in its stand against theSovi et Un i on gaining an exit to the Med i terra n e a n . Su pport-ing Greece economically meant better political ties as well.Pra gm a tists in the Eu ropean Un i on (at that time known asthe Eu ropean Econ omic Com mu n i ty, or EEC) dec i ded thatChristian Greece would be a more acceptable member thanMuslim Turkey. Even today, many of Western Europe’s officialsvalue potential membership on the basis of the “Europeaness”of potential candidates for membership.

Af ter a po l i ti c a lly tu rbu l ent peri od du ring the first part of t h e1 9 7 0 s , Greece finally ach i eved internal pe ace du ring the secon dh a l f of the dec ade . Soon after, in 1981, it became a full mem ber ofthe EEC. For the first time in its history, the EEC accepted a co u n-try that did not directly border any of its existing members. Atthe ti m e , Greece was sep a ra ted from its nearest mem ber, It a ly,by the Ionian Se a , and for all practical purposes it was on theEu ropean peri ph ery. In terms of geopo l i tical stra tegy, h owever, i twas in the ri ght loc a ti on . Before joining this or ga n i z a ti on , Greece’secon omy was stagn a ti n g. A series of a t tem pts at econ omic reformh ad been largely unprodu ctive . It took dec ades to tra n s form a tra-d i ti on a lly agri c u l tu ral soc i ety into a modern indu s trial soc i ety.

In the aftermath of World War II, Greece and other co u n tri e sin the region faced an awesome challenge. To avoid falling intoeven greater lack of development and resulting poverty, Greekshad to modern i ze . In i ti a lly, the econ omic growth ra te wass i gn i f i c a n t ly high er than that thro u gh o ut most of Eu rope(boo s ted pri m a ri ly by out s i de inve s tors ) , but this was som ewh a tmisleading. During the 1950s and 1960s, it was more a reflec-tion of the fact that the starting point itself was much lowerthan that of Western Europe. In order to provide an economicstimulus, the government relied on borrowing from interna-tional sources. This, combined with political unrest in the late

67Greece’s Economy

1960s and early 1970s, caused Greece to move dangerously farfrom the ri ght econ omic path. Fortu n a tely, this downw a rdspiral was reversed in 1981, when Greece became integratedwith most developed European economies.

What Greece needed was an open door (and open bo u n d-a ries) to a large market , but adequ a te direct land con n ecti on swith the rem a i n der of Eu rope were sti ll unava i l a bl e . Having anopportu n i ty to parti c i p a te in this econ omic (and now incre a s-i n gly po l i tical) integra ti on was qu i te a boost for the co u n try,yet mem bership was also som ewhat of a do u bl e - ed ged sword .On one hand, Greece’s econ omic produ ctivi ty incre a s ed , a n dthe servi ce sector ex p a n ded con s i dera bly. Su b s t a n tial financialsu pport was received from the Eu ropean Un i on for econ om i ci m provem en t s . On the other hand, because Greece hadborrowed heavi ly to fuel its econ omic growt h , its internal andex ternal debt incre a s ed su b s t a n ti a lly over several dec ade s .

ECONOMIC SECTORSFollowing World War II, agriculture gradually declined in

economic importance. Today, although it is still important, itaccounts for less than 10 percent of the gross domestic product(GDP). Primarily because of its rugged terrain, Greece is notideally suited to large-scale agricultural production, unless it isa typical Med i terranean type of f a rm i n g. Most of Greece’sagricultural land is owned by small landholders who inheritedtheir ancestral properties. The main products are fruits, oliveoil, wine, and vegetables, which can be cultivated on small plotsof land. In addition, because of the generally small scale of itsfarming opera ti on s , Greece is not in a po s i ti on to com petesuccessfully with Spain, Italy, and other Mediterranean agricul-tural competitors.

Agriculture has suffered for another reason. Young peopleare incre a s i n gly unwi lling to work in trad i ti onal ru ral (inclu d in ga gri c u l tu ral) ro l e s . Ra t h er, t h ey move to cities that of fer moreamenities and excitement, as well as jobs in serv ice-related

68 G r e e c e

industries. As a result, the amount of land under cultivation hasconstantly decreased since the mid-1900s. Among agriculturalproducts, only olives have increased in production during thepast decade. On the positive side, ongoing developments in thefood - processing indu s try may help revi t a l i ze at least some type sof agriculture.

Today, most countries strive to develop a strong postindus-trial or ser vice sector, an indicator of technological progressand econ omic stren g t h . Po s t - In du s trialism invo lves a majorecon omic tra n s i ti on : trad i ti onal econ omic activi ti e s su ch asf a rm i n g, f i s h i n g, fore s try, and mining aren’t as important ast h ey on ce were ; n ei t h er are the secon d a ry indu s tri e s , su ch


Olives are a staple among Greece’s agricultural products and over the lastdecade are the only crop whose production has increased. In recent years,Greece has supplied between 5 and 8 percent of the world’s olives;two-thirds of which is sent to European Union countries.

as manufacturing. Rather, most people are engaged in provid-ing services. The service sector mostly requires people who arewell educated, highly skilled, and able to work in a number ofh i gh ly spec i a l i zed fields su ch as te ach i n g, m a n a gem en t ,medicine, law, and many other “white collar” trades. Today,about two-thirds of the Greek workforce is employed in theservi ce sector, almost twi ce the nu m ber sti ll working in pri m a ryor secondary industries.

Greece is cu rren t ly moving tow a rd ach i eving its goa lof becoming a well - devel oped , po s ti n du s trial co u n try.Ob s t acles rem a i n , of co u rs e . One major probl em is the u n equ a ldevel opm ent of ru ral and urban are a s . Mu ch of the cou n try-s i de remains poorly devel oped and impoveri s h ed . But evenh ere , t h ere is hope . Ru ral Greece holds great po ten tial forf u rt h er devel opm ent of the co u n try ’s to u rist indu s try. Be a uti-ful scen ery, ru s tic landscape s , ru ral fo l k w ays and a s l owp ace of l i fe draw many vi s i tors aw ay from the hustle andbu s t l e of the co u n try ’s urban cen ters . Mi ll i ons of to u rists area l re ady attracted to the co u n try ’s coastal and island scen eryand its ri ch cultu ral heri t a ge . In recent dec ade s , to u rism hasbecome one of the leading sources of i n come from forei gnca p i t a l , wh i ch totals abo ut $10 bi ll i on annu a lly, or abo uton e - fo u rth of the servi ce sector econ omy. Greece is also tryi n gto capitalize on sport to u ri s m , in wh i ch it has had a long andsu ccessful ex peri en ce . For dec ade s , m a j or sporting even t s ,i n cluding the 2004 Su m m er Olym p i c s , h ave been con du ctedin Greece , u su a lly in At h en s .

As has been noted , both the pri m a ry and secon d a ry sectorsof the Greek econ omy are we a ken i n g. The co u n try has veryfew natu ral re s o u rce s , and mining and en er gy produ cti onf rom dom e s tic re s o u rces are unable to meet even Greece’s ownn eed s . However, one area of the secon d a ry econ omy is ex peri-encing growt h . The co u n try ’s need to expand and otherwi s ei m prove on its infra s tru ctu re has gen era ted con s i dera bl ei nve s tm ent in the con s tru cti on indu s try. Urban cen ters are in

70 G r e e c e

de s pera te need for the cre a ti on of bet ter tra n s port a ti on net-work s . Ru ral areas also requ i re bet ter tra n s port a ti on ro ute si f t h ey a re to capitalize on their to u rism po ten ti a l .

TRADE AND LABORMem bership in the Eu ropean Un i on hel ped incre a s e

Greek ex ports to We s tern Eu rope , wh i ch is the main con su m erof Greece’s produ ct s . Du ring the 1990s, c ivil con f l i cts in theterri tory of the form er Yu go s l avia severely disru pted thesu rf ace tra n s port a ti on of goods from Greece to We s ternEu rope . Fortu n a tely, the co u n try ’s shipping fleet ranks amon gthe worl d ’s large s t , and tra n s port a ti on by sea was not inter-ru pted . O ut s i de of Eu rope , Greece’s major econ omic partn er isthe Un i ted State s , wh i ch accounts for ro u gh ly 15 percent ofboth its ex ports and import s .

Every co u n try strives for a po s i tive trade balance byex porting more than it import s . Wh en the balance of trade ispo s i tive , the excess capital can be used to su pport govern m en tproj ects su ch as increasing public servi ce s , ( re ) building then a ti on’s infra s tru ctu re , or simply saving it for the futu re . O n eof the probl ems devel oped co u n tries of ten face , h owever, i sthat they som etimes spend more than they can afford . Th eyi mport more than they export and have to find ways to provideen o u gh cash to pay for that differen ce . This is call ed nega tivetrade balance .

Because countries can survive on credit, they often borrowm on ey from out s i de source s . Su ch a policy cre a tes govern-m ent and public debt that contributes to additional problems.Unfortunately, Greece suffers from a negative trade balance.The difference in 2004 was significant, with $15.5 billion ofexports compared to a whopping $54.28 billion of imports.The Gross Domestic Product (GDP) was $198 billion in 2004and experiencing steady growth. In the same year, however, theovera ll debt rose to over 10 percent high er than the actual GDP.The existing financial deficit is having a direct negative effect


on Greece. As a member of the European Union, the euro isGreece’s official currency and the country also must abide byEU ru l e s . The body stri ct ly con trols (and punishes) govern m en t sthat overspend and show a lack of fiscal discipline, and Greeceis no exception.

Greece has been affected by the econ omic slowdown thatmost of Eu rope has ex peri en ced in recent ye a rs . Over theye a rs , the co u n try had redu ced its unem p l oym ent ra te , butby 2005, it on ce again cl i m bed to a level of a bo ut 10 percent ofthe work force . By EU standard s , this is one of the Un i on’sh i ghest ra tes of u n em p l oym en t , but com p a red to all of Eu rope( i n cluding form er Sovi et bl oc East Eu ropean co u n tri e s ) , t h enu m ber is avera ge . O f p a rticular con cern is the gen der ga pin unem p l oym en t : For wom en , the figure stands at abo ut16 percen t , wh ereas it is on ly 5 percent for men . This dispari tycl e a rly points to the need for econ omic reforms that wi lli n c rease female repre s en t a ti on in Greece’s labor force .

Essentially, the wide gap in gender employment illustratesthe difficulties created by Greece’s traditional male-dominatedsociocultural system. Women remained at home and wer einvolved only in traditional domestic activities. On the otherhand, men worked outside the home to provide resources tosupport their family. Only during the twentieth century didthis system begin to change, yet such changes can be painfullyslow in happen i n g. Tod ay, wom en are sti ll paid less thanmen and have a harder time finding bet ter paid po s i ti ons (asitu a ti on com m on to many Eu ropean co u n tri e s ) . Why is gen derso important wh en analyzing a co u n try ’s econ omic indicatorsand labor for ce? The answer is simple: More than half ofGreece’s population and potential labor force are wom en.Theodore Schu l t z , a Nobel Pri ze – winning Am erican econ om i s t ,reminded us how investing in human capital is the single mostimportant investment any country can make. If Greece is toprosper, it must rid itself of male social dominance and fullyintegrate its women into the workforce.

72 G r e e c e

Another serious obstacle to economic development is thelack of full privatization of industry. Many large companiesremain state owned, and they operate under str ict control.When governments control businesses and industries, progressand expansion are often blocked by bureaucratic barriers. Inthe United States, nearly all business is owned by the privates ector. By con tra s t , Eu ropean co u n tri e s , i n cluding Greece ,tend to have a tighter control over some industries. The reasonEu ropeans practi ce su ch a policy is because of the regi on’sdedication to a welfare state. Governments, rather than privateen terpri s e s , provi de many public servi ce s .

Abo ut two - t h i rds of the co u n try ’s 4.3-mill i on - pers on work-force hold jobs in the service sector. It is hardly surprising that


Although Greece’s unemployment rate stood at 10 percent in 2004, therate for women was much higher (16 percent). Another ongoing problemis that Greek women are paid substantially less and are often not integra t e dinto a workforce still largely dominated by males. Pictured here arefemale Greek workers in Athens protesting the rate of unequal pay.

more than a mill i on of t h em are em p l oyed in profe s s i ons rel a tedto to u ri s m , h o tel managem en t , trade , and lei su re activi ti e s.With the ex p a n s i on of to u rism in the fore s ee a ble futu re , t h e s enumbers will certainly rise.

ENERGY, TECHNOLOGY, AND TRANSPORTATIONPer-capita energy consumption is the main indicator of a

country’s economic strength. The United States, for example,has only 5 percent of the world’s population but consumes aquarter of the world’s overall energy, far more than any othercou n try. The U. S . econ omy is also the worl d ’s large s t , by aconsiderable margin.

Greece’s en er gy con su m pti on has grown hand-in-handwith its econ omic devel opm en t . The co u n try, h owever, f ace ss ome serious en er gy - rel a ted ob s t acl e s . The recent skyrocketi n gfo s s i l - f u el pri ces are gen era ting serious con s equ en ces worl d -wi de . Greece has few en er gy re s o u rces and must import over90 percent of its petro l eum from intern a ti onal su pp l i ers .Cu rren t ly, most of it is obt a i n ed from the Mi d dle East, but thef utu re pro s pect of receiving oil and gas from the form er Sovi etUn i on appe a rs bri gh t . Ru s s i a , a natu ral ga s - producing gi a n t ,has been working on a Eu ropean natu ral gas distri buti onn et work in order to become a leading su pp l i er thro u gh o ut thecon ti n en t . Trad i ti on a lly fri en dly with Ru s s i a , Greece seeks toease its depen den ce on Arab oi l , d iversify its source s , a n dbecome less vu l n era ble to unex pected disru pti ons in su pp ly.

Russian natu ral gas is alre ady flowing to Tu rkey thro u gha pipeline loc a ted deep in the Bl ack Se a . Oil from the Ca s p i a nSea is being tra n s ported thro u gh another pipeline to Tu rkey ’sport , Ceyh a n . In both cases, Greece seeks an ex ten s i on of t h e s ero utes to its soi l , wh et h er by pipeline or tanker. Ad d i ti on a lp ipelines also are being built to con n ect Greece with itsnort h ern nei gh bors , Bu l ga ria and Macedon i a . One of t h eproj ects in the works is a pipeline con n ecti on with It a ly, ac ro s sthe Ionian Se a .

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Most electricity is produced by plants powered by coal ornatural gas. Greece has little if any hydroelectric potential andthe govern m ent is not intere s ted in ven tu ring into nu cl e a ren er gy. Ma ny Eu ropean co u n tri e s , i n cluding Greece , a researching for ways to implement large-scale alternative meansof gen era ting el ectri c i ty. In Greece , h owever, proj ects todevelop solar and wind power are still in their infancy.

In the areas of transportation and technology, Greece lagsfar behind most of Western Europe and much of the rest of theworld: Railroads and most highways are in need of upgradesand expansion, large urban centers suffer from massive trafficcon ge s ti on , and in many com mu n i ti e s , p u blic tra n s port a ti onis inadequ a te . Here , on ce aga i n , the pri m a ry ob s t acle is theslow transformation of governmental bureaucracy and state-con tro ll ed business opera ti on s . In tel ecom mu n i c a ti on s , t h eco u n try ’s net works are in serious need of u pgrading andexpansion. If this trend continues, the information networkcould become well devel oped . In s te ad of trying to upgradeoutdated networks, the emphasis is now on laying new fiber-optic cables and building a mobile telephone infrastructure.However, this is not an easy or inexpensive task in a countrywith so many islands and isolated places.


As a co u n try of rel a tively small size and inhabi ted by peop l ewh o, for the most part , s h a re the same ethnic and rel i gi o u s

b ack gro u n d , Greece is cert a i n ly less diverse than manyo t h er Eu ropean co u n tri e s . Regi onal differen ces here perhaps are notas sharp, yet they are noti ce a bly sign i f i c a n t . To many re aders , it mays eem odd that a co u n try the size of an avera ge U. S . s t a te can actu a llyh ave any notewort hy regi onal differen ce s . In Eu rope , h owever, t h ea rray of c u l tu ral ch a racteri s tics can ch a n ge gre a t ly from one sideof a mountain to another. The ex p l a n a ti on lies in a long historyand the acc u mu l a ti on of c u l tu ral traits over a span of thousands ofye a rs . In Ch a pter 4, for ex a m p l e , it was noted that diet and cuisinecan ref l ect regi onal differen ces and ch a n ge s . Perhaps the gre a te s tregi onal differen ces stem from the va rying ra te of s oc i oecon om i cch a n ge occ u rring in the co u n try. Ch a n ge comes slowly in ru ral are a sthat are dom i n a ted by people sti ll practicing folk cultu re . Urb a n

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a re a s , on the other hand, ex peri en ce a more modern way ofl i fe . These cultu ral differen ces are soc i a l , econ om i c , po l i ti c a l ,and dem ogra ph i c .

EASTERN MACEDONIA AND THRACEEastern Macedonia and Thrace is located in the extreme

northeastern part of the country. It represents one of the latestadditions to Greece’s territory. Located closer to Istanbul,Tu rkey, than to At h en s , this provi n ce has trad i ti on a lly beenculturally linked more so to the former than the latter. At leastthat was the case until Greece and Tu rkey swapped som eterritory and exchanged ethnic populations in the years imme-diately following World War I. At one point in ancient history,Thrace was a kingdom that spread across much of southeasternEu rope (including pre s en t - d ay Bu l ga ria and the Eu rope a npa rt of Tu rkey ) . Ma ny ancient Greek sources men ti on edTh racians and their kingdom . Th ey, h owever, even tu a llybecame acculturated (assimilated) into Greek culture.

Tod ay, Th race occupies the pictu re s que eastern peri ph eryof the provi n ce . ( It is important to add that Ea s ternMacedonia is the provi n ce’s we s tern part and ad jacent toCen tral Macedonia.) It lies bet ween Bu l ga ria and the shore sof the Aegean Sea and is the co u n try ’s “f l a t te s t” provi n ce ,a lt h o u gh even here some mountain landscapes rise abovethe plains. In the past, a gri c u l tu re and fishing were the maineconomic activities. Today, however, it is a region of emigration( o ut - m i gra ti on ) , as many people migra te to cities in search ofbet ter jobs and high er wage s .

Thrace is also one of the most et h n i c a lly diverse regi on sof Greece . Even here , Greeks are predom i n a n t , but Tu rks andPomaks (a Sl avic pop u l a ti on who are Muslims but speak aBu l ga rian language) are also pre s ent in large nu m bers . Interms of c u l tu ral geogra phy, this is import a n t , because thec u l tu ral landscape of ru ral Th race reminds one of the lon gh i story of the local peop l e . Vi s i tors can noti ce differen ces in

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cu s tom s , m a n n ers , rel a ti on s h i p s , and so fort h , just by takinga walk in et h n i c a lly mixed vi ll a ge s . Even though Th raceh ad previ o u s ly ex peri en ced its fair share of c u l tu ra lly baseda troc i ti e s , tod ay ethnic harm ony predom i n a te s .

CENTRAL AND WEST MACEDONIAO n ly in this ch a pter on regi ons does the re ader becom e

aw a re of the import a n ce of the name Macedonia in this part ofthe worl d . Macedonia(s) exists on several different po l i ti c a lbo u n d a ri e s . Gree k s , FYR (Form er Yu go s l avian Rep u bl i c )Macedon i a n s , and Bu l ga rians all bel i eve that t h eir Macedon i ais the ri ght on e . The re a l i ty is that they are all the ri ght on e sand could not exist wi t h o ut each other. Greece divi ded itsMacedonia into three provi n ce s ; Cen tral Macedonia is thel a r gest and best devel oped . Previ o u s ly the core of Al ex a n derthe Gre a t’s kingdom and an important cen ter of the EasternRoman Empire, today this region is Greece’s northern counter-pa rt to At h en s . Its physical landscape is a com bi n a ti on ofh i lls and the river va ll eys of t wo of the largest streams flowi n gto the Aegean Se a , the Axios and Stri m on .

Geogra phic loc a ti on played a vital role in the cultu ra levo luti on of Cen tral Macedon i a . Both Greeks and Sl avs lef tan impressive cultural imprint on the region. Nowhere is thisimprint more obvious than in Thessaloniki, the cosmopolitancapital of northern Greece and, with a half-million residents,the country’s second-largest city. Located on the shores of theAegean, not far from the mouth of the Axios River, the city’slocation played a large role in helping it develop as a politicaland econ omic cen ter in ancient ti m e s . Because of this ro l e ,however, the city was always a target for invaders. Romans,Slavs, Turks, and others plundered the city and left their owncultural imprint. Their presence can still be seen in the city’sarchitecture and in displays in its many museums.

Today, Thessaloniki is an important seaport and trans-portation center of goods for northern Greece and neighboring

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areas of the former Yugoslavia and even central Europeancountries. Economic prospects and other opportunities drovemany rural Central Macedonians to Thessaloniki, where thema j ori ty of t h em re s i de . The co u n trys i de is less devel oped ,with only a few larger urban areas, all of them remote fromTh e s s a l on i k i . A good part of Cen tral Macedonia is underagricultural cultivation, especially in lowlands created by thetwo rivers. There, one can see fields covered with fruit trees ortobacco plants, much of which is exported.

The West Macedonia provi n ce , a predom i n a n t ly hilly andru ral co u n trys i de of n ort hwe s tern Greece , is the we s ternex ten s i on of Cen tral Macedon i a . It is one of the less devel oped

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A n important industrial and commercial center, Thessaloniki is the second-largest city in Greece. The city’s harbor opened in 19 01 and it serves as adistribution point for Greek agricultural products and raw materials.

are a s , with small er mu n i c i p a l i ti e s , most notably Koz a n i , a n da stagn a ting econ omic base. Some of the major ob s t acles inits devel opm ent were its distance from leading Greek urb a ncen ters and prox i m i ty to even less produ ctive regi ons ofAlbania and FYR of Macedon i a . It has on ly abo ut 300,000re s i den t s , one of the lowest pop u l a ti ons of a ny Greek regi on .

THESSALYFa rt h er south from West Macedonia is wh ere the “re a l ”

Greece begi n s . Th e s s a ly has been a well - k n own and impor-tant regi on since ancient ti m e s . It lies close en o u gh to At h en sto have ben ef i ted from its cultu ral and po l i tical re ach . It smountains were the home of god s : Mount Olym p u s , t h eh i ghest mountain in Greece , was a vital place in ancient Gree kmyt h o l ogy, because it was the place wh ere the su preme god ,Zeu s , and his fell ow gods re s i ded . Mo u n t a i n s , h owever, a ren’tthe on ly geogra phic fe a tu re of Th e s s a ly. Actu a lly, this area ofGreece is known for i t s p l a i n s , wh i ch attracted set t l ers fromthe dawn of m a i nl and Greek civi l i z a ti on s . Mountains canbest be thought of as defining the provi n ce’s borders ,wh ereas plains form the cen tral core .

These plains are well su i ted for agri c u l tu re , wh i ch is ani m portant con tri butor to the local econ omy. Because of i t sgeogra phic loc a ti on in cen tral Greece , the flatlands of Th e s s a lyreceive above - avera ge prec i p i t a ti on in the su m m er, an essen-ti a l f actor for cultiva ting fruit and gra i n . The regi on is bet terdevel oped than its nort hwe s tern nei gh bors , West Macedon i aa nd Ep i ru s . An o t h er ben efit of its geogra phic loc a ti on is thati t s erves as a tra n s port a ti on cro s s road bet ween Greece’ss o ut h ern and nort h ern regi on s . Main highw ays and ra i l road sf rom At h ens to Th e s s a l oniki pass thro u gh Th e s s a ly. This ise s pec i a lly ben eficial for Lari s s a , the regi on’s capital, econ om i chu b, and largest city and its 140,000 re s i den t s , or abo ut halfof the provi n ce’s pop u l a ti on . The we s tern bo u n d a ry fo ll owsthe Pindus Mo u n t a i n s , wh i ch form a natu ral bo u n d a ry

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bet ween Th e s s a ly and Ep i ru s . Th ere , in the pe aceful co u n try-si de , is one of Greece’s main to u rist de s ti n a ti on s , Meteora ,with its famous mon a s teri e s .

EPIRUSIn terms of acce s s i bi l i ty, the provi n ce of Ep i rus lies fart h er

f rom At h ens than any other regi on of Greece . It is sep a ra tedf rom the capital by the Pindus Mountains and histori c a llyhas been rel a tively isolated from At h en s . Cu l tu ra lly, of co u rs e ,it was alw ays Gree k . In fact , it was home to Greece’s secon d -most important oracl e , a f ter Del ph i . The regi on’s pictu re s qu el a n d s c a pe holds many rem a i n s , te s ti f ying to its histori c a li m port a n ce . Mu ch of the provi n ce is mountainous and it isalso the co u n try ’s most fore s ted are a . The com bi n a ti on ofru gged terra i n , ample moi s tu re , and forests has produ cedbe a utiful natu ral landscapes that many Greeks and forei gn erscome to ad m i re . Because of its high er el eva ti on s , Ep i rus hasalso become a wi n ter to u rist de s ti n a ti on , wh ere vi s i tors canen j oy down h i ll skiing.

In terms of c u l tu ral landscape s , the provi n ce is predom i-n a n t ly ru ra l , with a few small urban cen ters . Recent econ om i cem phasis has been on the devel opm ent of to u rist fac i l i ti e s ,a l t h o u gh it wi ll take time to catch up with the rest of Greece .The life s tyle in Ep i rus is very provi n c i a l , e a s ygoi n g, and laid-b ack—in a very ref reshing and po s i tive way.

A serious ob s t acle to econ omic growth in Ep i rus is thatn ei gh boring Albania remains econ om i c a lly underdevel oped .This not on ly limits econ omic coopera ti on but also incre a s e sthe nu m ber of i m m i grants crossing the border in search ofj ob s . A su b s t a n tial Albanian ethnic minori ty has lived inEp i rus for cen tu ri e s , adding to the cultu ral divers i ty ofn ort hwe s tern Greece . With the sharp increase in Al b a n i a ni m m i gra n t s , h owever, the regi on’s econ omy is being stretch ed .Ma ny re s i dents are also becoming con cern ed abo ut what theyperceive to be unwel come social ch a n ge s . The leading city is

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Ioa n n i n a , a regi onal econ omic and edu c a ti onal cen ter with al ong and ri ch cultu ral heri t a ge .

CENTRAL AND WESTERN GREECEMoving sout hw a rd from Ep i ru s , one noti ces the land-

s c a pe ch a n ge to stri ct ly Med i terranean limeston e - dom i n a tedmountainous terrain of t wo provi n ce s — Cen tral and We s ternGreece . Here , mountains rise abru pt ly from the sea, re su l ti n gin sharp ch a n ges in cl i m a te and eco s ys tems within very shortd i s t a n ce s . Cen tral Greece is a tra n s i ti onal zone that re ach e sf rom the Ionian Sea to the Aegean coa s t , t h ereby divi d i n gthe co u n try into two part s . To the north lies slower pacedn ort h ern Greece , and to the south is the Greek cultu ral heart hof At h ens and su rrounding are a s .

Cen tral Greece even functi ons as a tra n s i ti onal place ins ome re s pect s . For ex a m p l e , l i ke the North Am erican Gre a tP l a i n s , people usu a lly pass thro u gh en ro ute to som ewh ereel s e . One re a s on to stop is the regi on’s arch aeo l ogical tre a-su re s . The provi n ce is best known for having one of the mosts i gnificant arch aeo l ogical sites in Greece , the ruins of t h efamous Oracle of Del ph i . In ancient Greece , people would goto the Oracle of Del phi to hear advi ce abo ut their futu re . Th es i te was high ly re s pected and pro tected by gods and hu m a nru l ers , t hus being a place of pe ace . Ma ny em perors wo u l dcome to ask the Oracle abo ut their de s ti ny. Som eti m e sa n s wers were po s i tive and som etimes they were not, bec a u s eit depen ded on interpret a ti on .

The most famous story abo ut a misinterpreted messageh a ppen ed wh en Lydian em peror Croe sus asked for advi cea bo ut the war against the Pers i a n s . Lydia at that time was apowerful em p i re in pre s en t - d ay Tu rkey. The message hereceived said that in the event of an attack on Pers i a , one gre a tem p i re could end up being de s troyed . E n co u ra ged with theadvi ce , Croe sus attacked the Pers i a n s , and ulti m a tely a gre a temp i re was, i n deed , de s troyed—his own . Af ter the introdu cti on

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of Christianity to Greece, the Oracle was terminated, becausethe tradition was considered an element of pagan culture. If, bysome miracle, the Oracle of Delphi had remained in businessuntil the present day, without any doubt its largest customerswould be Am erican stock - m a rket spec u l a tors lining up tohear good news. At the same time, they would greatly increaseGreece’s income from tourism!

G en era lly spe a k i n g, this part of Greece is one of ru ra ll a n d s c a pe s , with small and wi dely scattered small urban are a sthat serve as local econ omic cen ters . Here , as in otherprovi n ce s , it was difficult to escape At h en s’s econ omic andpol i tical dom i n a n ce and indepen den t ly devel op a stron g

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Lo cated in the province of Central Greece on Mount Parnassus, theruins of Delphi were designated a World Heritage Site by the UnitedNations E d u cational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNES CO )in 19 87. A c cording to legend, Delphi was the home to the Oracle ofApollo, which ancient Greeks consulted to learn of their future.

econ omy. Unless they are loc a ted on main traffic ro ute s ,regi onal cen ters grow slowly. The leading city is Lamia, t h eregi on’s econ omic cen ter, with a pop u l a ti on of a bo ut 75,000.

We s tern Greece differs little from Cen tral Greece , both interms of physical geogra phy and cultu ral landscape . If one isi n tere s ted in ex p l oring the remnants of folk cultu re , this is thep l ace to go. The co u n trys i de is a tape s try that reveals mu cha bo ut the historical past and cultu ral pre s ent of the loc a lpop u l a ti on . Ti ny roads leading to pictu re s que vi ll a ges wi n dl az i ly around the hills that sep a ra te quaint set t l em ents thatin some cases are thousands of ye a rs old. These ch a rm i n gl a n d s c a pes so ri ch in history are parti c u l a rly abundant on thePel opon n e sus side of We s tern Greece .

PELOPONNESUSAt one point in history, when the Greek city-state of Sparta

was a tremendous military power, the island of Peloponnesuswas the place to be. That was 2,500 years ago. Since then, mostof Peloponnesus has fal len into provincial obscurity. Rapidindustrialization and urbanization in the post-World War IIperi od byp a s s ed most of the provi n ce , and many people lef tthe region. Although it is not far from Athens, Peloponnesusappears to have benefited from this progress less than it shouldhave, at least in theory. It often seems as though the four-mile-long Corinth Canal, which separates Peloponnesus (thereforemaking it an island) from the rest of Greece, is more than justa physical barrier. Clearly, being close to Athens, but not closeenough, can mean stagnation rather than growth in Greece.Only one city, Patra, has 100,000 residents.

Nevert h el e s s , Pel opon n e sus has plen ty to of fer, e s pec i a llyto u ri s m , but com peti ti on with other provi n ces is keen .De s p i te having many ancient city - s t a te s , fortre s s e s , a n da rch aeo l ogical site s , to u rist fac i l i ties are poorly devel oped onthe island. With careful planning and inve s tm en t , this regi onm i ght become a significant to u rist de s ti n a ti on , h en ce , a

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gre a ter con tri butor to Greece’s econ omy. The coastal zone is am a rine parad i s e , and ru ral to u rism in rem o te vi ll a ge s , wh erepeople can wander thro u gh orch a rd s , o l ive tree s , and vi n e-ya rd s , can be equ a lly prof i t a bl e .

One ob s t acle to devel opm ent is the trad i ti on of con s er-va ti s m . Ma ny people on Pel opon n e sus cling to the past anda re relu ctant to ch a n ge their way of l i fe . This situ a ti on iscom m on in areas wh ere the tra n s i ti on from folk to pop u l a rc ul tu re has been slow. Ru ral people of ten fear ch a n ges tothe ex i s ting cultu ral sys tem , because ch a n ge thre a tens the“trad i ti on a l ” l i fe s tyl e . In Greece , this con s erva tism hinderseconomic development. This is not exclusively a Greek culturaltrai t , h owever. It is com m on to most trad i ti on a lly ru ral place s.To pictu re this con s erva tism in the Un i ted State s , we canthink of the ch a racteri s tics of “s m a ll town Am eri c a .”

ATTICADuring antiquity, it was said that “all roads lead to Rome,”

even those in Greece. In present-day Greece, the same can besaid about Athens. To Greeks, Athens is a city of overwhelmingi m port a n ce , both histori c a lly and tod ay. Its sprawl i n gmetropolitan area is home to half of a ll Gree k s . The city isalso Greece’s econ om i c , po l i ti c a l , and social hu b, as well as itscenter of popular culture. Athens and the port city of Piraeusmake up most of Attica Province.

Athens has a very long and celebrated history. Establishedalmost 3,000 ye a rs ago, the city has en j oyed an influ en ti a lpo l i tical and econ omic prom i n en ce thro u gh o ut most of i t sex i s ten ce . That ex i s ten ce was en d a n gered many times by va r-ious invaders, yet Athens survived. During the PeloponnesusWars against Sparta in the fourth century B.C., it was almostdestroyed, but Sparta eventually lost and disappeared from themain stage of history. This is one reason why Peloponnesusdeclined in importance, whereas Attica rose to become Greece’sleading region.

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In recent ti m e s , e s pec i a lly after World War II, At h en sboom ed in terms of pop u l a ti on and econ omic growt h .S hi pping links with the out s i de world are thro u gh the portof P i raeu s , the artery thro u gh wh i ch goods are su pp l i ed toAt h ens or ex ported from the city to worl dwi de de s ti n a ti on s .Wh en most people think of At h en s , t h o u gh , the city ’s gl ori o u spast is what is most apt to come to mind.

This en ti re book could easily be devo ted to At h en s’scultural heri t a ge and other aspects of its ri ch historical past.Wh ereas history is ex trem ely import a n t , in order to under-s tand con tem pora ry Greece , it is more important to thinkgeogra ph i c a lly, that is, s p a ti a lly. At h ens is a node (core) of af u n cti onal regi on . Its role in Greece is even more import a n tthan what Los An geles means to So ut h ern Ca l i fornia or Dall a smeans to Tex a s . E con omy, edu c a ti on , po l i ti c s , and all othera s pects of c u l tu re affecting At h ens tod ay wi ll influ en ce the re s tof Greece tom orrow.

Having su ch a prom i n ent capital city can be co u n ter-produ ctive to the rest of the nati on , s i m p ly because the cityreceives the majori ty of a t ten ti on . Po l i tical ben ef i t s , econ om i cben ef i t s , edu c a ti onal opportu n i ti e s , and social amen i ties foc u son At h en s . In a co u n try with limited re s o u rce s , little is left tos h a re with out lying provi n ce s . At h ens cert a i n ly ranks amon gthe worl d ’s great capital citi e s . This was con f i rm ed du ring the2004 Su m m er Olympic Games hosted by the Greek capital inm a gn i f i cent fashion . In prep a ra ti on for the even t , du ring thepreceding dec ade the city underwent dra s tic improvem ent andm odern i z a ti on thro u gh large con s tru cti on proj ect s . Th e s e , ofco u rs e , f u rt h er diverted re s o u rces from the co u n trys i de .

THE GREEK ISLANDSIn some re s pect s , the Greek islands define the co u n try, a t

least in the mind of m a ny non - Gree k s . Hu n d reds of i s l a n d s ,e ach of t h em som ewhat uniqu e , su rround the mainland. Toan intern a ti onal travel er, island hopping is perhaps the most

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i n tere s ting way to ex peri en ce Greek cultu re . Even tod ay, onma ny islands one can step back in time by leaving to u ri s tvi ll a ges and vi s i ting small com mu n i ties that have ex peri en cedl i ttle ch a n ge for cen tu ries except , perh a p s , for paved road sand el ectri c i ty. Cu s toms and manners are sti ll part of t h es l owly ch a n ging cultu ral sys tem de s i gn ed in ancient ti m e s . Ad ay or two later, a ferry takes you to another island andan o t h er vi ll a ge , wh i ch almost cert a i n ly wi ll have its ownch a racteri s tics and ch a rm .

Greece’s islands have been popular de s ti n a ti ons for manygen era ti ons of We s tern artists and wri ters in search of i n s p i ra-ti on . Th ey were drawn to the islands by their idyllic landscape sand the genuine simplicity of the Med i terranean life s tyl e .These spect acular yet quaint landscapes are pe aceful andbre a t h t a k i n g, but they also ref l ect cen tu ries of econ om i ch a rdship and cultu ral isolati on en du red by previous gen era-ti ons to wh om the isolated islands were hom e . In his famousn ovel Zo rba the Gre e k, Ni kos Ka z a n t a k i s , one of the gre a te s tGreek wri ters , de s c ri bes the cumu l a tive ex pre s s i on of l i fe onthe island of Crete and its good and bad aspect s .

Po l i ti c a lly, the Greek islands do not bel ong to a single ad m i n-i s tra tive provi n ce . Ra t h er, s ome of t h em bel ong to mainlandprovi n ce s , but most others , su ch as Crete , the North and So ut hAegean Islands, and the Ionian Islands, are self-administered.

The first major island group re ach ed on the ferry tri pf rom Piraeus (At h en s’s port) are the Cycl ade s . In this gro u pis the famous volcanic island of Sa n torini (Th era ) , wh o s ec al dera (cra ter) sti ll reminds us of the vi o l ent and catastroph i ceru pti on that took place there more than 3,000 ye a rs ago. Th eCycl ade s , occ u pying the main water ro ute bet ween Greeceand Asia Mi n or, were among the first Aegean islands to bein h a bi ted . Con ti nuing sout hw a rd from Cycl ades is Crete , t h eea s tern Med i terra n e a n’s largest island, standing alone in thes e a and reminding everyone of the bo u n d a ries of the Gree kc u l tu ral sph ere .

87Regions of Greece

Continuing eastward from the Cyclades, one encountersthe Dodecanese island group. Geographically, the islands are inimmediate proximity to Turkey and Asia, but culturally theyare Greek. At one point in history, the largest island in thegroup, Rhodes, was the headquarters of the Knights of St. John,who fled Palestine in the aftermath of the Crusades and settledthere. Later, the Turks kept control of this easternmost island inGreece. During their long occupation, they tried unsuccessfullyto destroy Greek culture and replace it with their own.

Traveling nort h , almost all islands from Rh odes into theNorth Aegean and up to Th race’s coast are under Greek po s-s e s s i on . Some are loc a ted just a few miles from the Tu rk i s hcoa s t , and the majori ty of t h em were incorpora ted intoGreece du ring the 1940s. The prox i m i ty of Tu rkey ’s coa s ta ll ows for firs t - ra te ex p l ora ti on into different life s tyl e s . Bre a k-fast in a Greek cof fee shop in Eu rope can be fo ll owed bya Tu rk i s h d in n er in Asia after a short ferry ri de . What am a gn i f i cen t c u l tu ral ex peri en ce! The nort h ern Aegean Se ahas fewer islands, but they are equ a lly intri g u i n g, e s pec i a llyS porades and the large island of Ev vi a . The form er has a lon gh eri t a ge and to u rism trad i ti on , wh ereas the latter is knownfor its u n ref i n ed be a uty, l eft rel a tively undistu rbed by them odern age of to u ri s m .

F i n a lly, of ten for go t ten is the Ionian group of s evera lislands loc a ted of f Greece’s we s tern coa s t . E s pec i a lly wellkn own is Corf u , a first stop on the ferry voya ge from Greeceto It a ly and vi ce vers a . In this re s pect , it is as import a n ttod ay as it was du ring ancient times wh en the Ionian Is l a n d ss erved as bases for the Greek co l onial ex p a n s i on thro u gh theMed i terra n e a n . One of these islands, It h ac a , was home to thel egen d a ry Odys s eu s . According to the Hom eric legen d ,O dys s eus parti c i p a ted in the war against Troy, a f ter wh i ch hes pent ten ye a rs on a seaborne odys s ey en ro ute to his hom e .

88 G r e e c e

89

Greece is a fascinating co u n try. It of fers a unique bl end oftrad i ti on and modern i ty, con s erva tivism and libera l i s m ,Eu rope and As i a . In this final ch a pter, we wi ll make an

attempt to see what the future holds for Greece and its people.Politically, the hardships of past times, when the country was

governed by dictators or the military, appear to have come to an end.Intern a lly, Greece is prep a red to face the ch a ll en ges of the twen ty - f i rs tcentury. Externally, however, a number of political issues involvingneighboring countries, particularly Turkey, remain unresolved. WithTurkey ’s de s i re for mem bership in the Eu ropean Un i on , t h e s echallenges will need to be met soon. In reality, many of these issues,such as a politically divided Cyprus, exist because of the longstand-ing mistrust between Greeks and Turks.

Traditions change slowly in this part of the world. To achieve thestatus of a highly developed country, Greece will have to transform

Greece Looks Ahead

8

its cultural system. Too many people expect the government tosupport them in a cradle-to-grave welfare system. Although thewelfare state is an important part of European political tradi-tion , it imposes a trem en dous econ omic bu rden on the co u n tryand its people. In order to provide welfare, the governmentmust collect more taxes. Eventually, the tax burden can limiteconomic growth and cause a perilous rise in unemployment.

Future socioeconomic changes must focus on adjustingunequal employment rates. The current gender imbalance iscounterproductive: Female unemployment rates are twice thatof Greek males. Working at the same jobs, women also earnmuch lower salaries than their male counterparts. This imbal-ance results from a slowly changing cultural system in which amale-dominated society is not willing to accept the fac t thattimes are changing: Women are as capable as men in manyareas. They deserve equal compensation for equal work, andthey should be en ti t l ed to ch oose their own life profe s s i on s .In rural areas, women are still expected to engage only in tradi-tional female professions, or to dedicate themselves exclusivelyto being wives and mothers.

Rural areas are not transforming rapidly enough. In thefuture, wealth and power must be spread throughout urbanand rural areas. The country can no longer allow the majorurban centers, Athens and Thessaloniki, to develop at theirexpense. The countryside, although beautiful and inviting,requires serious attention. Greece cannot afford to allow itsrural peoples and environments to languish as living museumsof times past. Futu re proj ects de s i gn ed to revi t a l i ze ru ral Greeceshould emphasize its two most important potentials: agricul-ture and tourism. Both activities can be highly c ompetitive;Greece simply has to further develop its potential and find waysto promote them in today’s world. Unfortunately, many ruralpeople, because of their folk culture, strongly resist change. Itmay be difficult, for example, to introduce and implement thelatest technologies of organic agriculture. Even though it would

90 G r e e c e

be far more profitable than traditional agriculture, changes infarming practices would require doing things differently in thecontext of a deeply entrenched lifestyle.

Elements of a traditional lifestyle are rapidly vanishing inAthens, where popular culture dominates. Cultural diffusionfrom the West has affected Greece’s capital city, and it dom i n a te sthe country’s economy. Its citizens enjoy new technologies andeconomic practices, and the service sector has been g reatlyexpanded. Because of this rapid expansion, however, Athenswi ll face difficulties com m on to many other metropo l i t a ncen ters . Po lluti on and traffic probl em s , in parti c u l a r, a re aprice that must be paid. In order to prevent pollution, whichranks among Eu rope’s wors t , At h ens wi ll need to implem en ts tri n gent envi ron m ental reg u l a ti on s . More high - s peed highw ayswill provide better and faster intra- and intercity connections.In order to revi t a l i ze the co u n trys i de and bring At h ens som epopulation relief, the government will have to improve livingconditions in and accessibility to rural areas.

Demographic issues are be coming increasingly alarmingthroughout aging Europe. Greece, no doubt, will follow the restof Europe with a declining birthrate, resulting in an aging andultim a tely shrinking pop u l a ti on . If , i n deed , this occ u rs , the on lyoption is for the country to open its doors to immigration. Thisposes a serious political and potential social problem, however,in a country that is 98 percent ethnically homogeneous. Fewimmigrants share Greek ethnicity; rather, they come fromAfrica, Asia, or neighboring Albania.

Immigrants are willing to take jobs that are less desirableand pay less. Th ey also tend to re s i de in nei gh borh ood ssurrounded with others of their race and ethnicity. How anincrease in immigration and the creation of such neighbor-hoods wi ll affect Greece po l i ti c a lly, econ om i c a lly, and soc i a llyis anyon e’s guess. The on ly cert a i n ty is that under ex i s ti n gdemographic conditions, changes will undoubtedly occur inthe foreseeable future.

91Greece Looks Ahead

A growing population (even if by migration) means alarger labor force for the growing economy. Assuming socialissues can be resolved, the positive impact of immigration willbe continued economic growth. Despite its many regulations,integration into the European Union will continue to stimulateeconomic growth in Greece. With future EU expansion east-ward, Greece will be in a splendid position to further benefitecon om i c a lly. If Tu rkey is accepted into the Un i on , it wi lladd 70 million consumers to the common European market.This wi ll be ben eficial to many Greek companies and perh a p swi ll also help improve rel a ti ons bet ween the two co u n tri e s .E s t a blishing a good econ omic rel a ti onship is a gi ga n tic step

92 G r e e c e

Children wave Greek flags in anticipation of the arrival of the Olympictorch, shortly before the opening of the Athens Olympics in August2004. Like many European countries, Greece’s low birthrate and agingpopulation have led to minimal population growth, which ultimately mayforce Greece to open its doors to immigrants to fill available jobs.

towa rd en su ring a su ccessful po l i tical rel a ti on s h i p. The pri m a ryeconomic challenge in the near future is for Greece to balanceits budget. Past governments have borrowed much more thanthey earned. A budget deficit burdens a nation’s economy andcan lead toward potential crisis and destabilization.

One of the best ways to fulfill budget obligations is throughincome from to u ri s m . Greece’s to u rism has incre a s ed ste ad i lyduring recent decades. With properly managed expansion ofthe tourist sector, the country can easily become one of theworl d ’s leading to u rist de s ti n a ti on s . It of fers unmatch ed natu ra land cultural landscapes. A marvelous heritage, spectacularislands and seascapes, and rugged terrain can attract tourists.So, too, can sharp ly con tra s ting folk and popular cultu re s ,quaint ru ral vi ll a ge s , and a worl d - class capital city. Th e s e , p lu swon derful cuisine on ly add to the co u n try ’s to u ri s t - lu ri n gpotential. On the other hand, Greece is on a long trip betweenthe past and the future. Today, the country is at a crossroads. Itcan continue its journey into a modern and prosperous future,or turn back to the obscurity of the European periphery. It willbe interesting to see which route Greece follows.

93Greece Looks Ahead

Facts at a Glance

Physical Geography

Country name Long form: Hellenic Republic; Short form: GreeceCapital city Athens

Location Southeastern Europe; the southernmost country on theBalkan Peninsula. Shares boundaries with four Europeancountries: Albania, 175 miles (282 kilometers); Bulgaria,306 miles (494 kilometers); Turkey, 128 miles (206 kilo-meters); Macedonia, 152 miles (246 kilometers). Totalborders with other countries: 763 miles (1, 228 kilometers).Coastal boundaries: 8,497 miles (13,676 kilometers)

Area Total: 51,146 square miles (131,468 square kilometers)Climate and ecosystem Mediterranean: hot, dry summers; mild, wet winters

Terrain Mountainous interior with coastal plains; 2,000-plusislands

Elevation extremes Mount Olympus reaches 9,570 feet (2,917 meters); the lowest elevation is sea level

People

Population 10,668,354 (July 2005 est.); males, 5,237,413(July 2005 est.); females, 5,430,941 (July 2005 est.)

Population Density 80 per square kilometerPopulation Growth Rate 0.19%

Net Migration Rate 2.34 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.)Fertility Rate 1.33 children born/woman (2005 est.)

Life expectancy at birth Total population: 79 years; male, 77 years; female, 82 years (2005 est.)

Median Age 40.5 yearsEthnic groups Greeks 98%, others 2% (Turks, Albanians, Macedonians)

Religions Greek Orthodox, 98%; Islam, 1.3%; other, 0.7%Language Greek 99%

Literacy (age 15 and over can read and write) Total population,97.5%; males, 98.6%; females, 96.5% (2003 est.)

Economy

Land Use Arable land, 21.1%; permanent crops, 8.78%; other, 70.12%

94

95

Irrigated Land 5,490 sq. miles (14,220 sq. km) (1998 est.)Natural Hazards Earthquakes, volcanoes

Environmental Issues Air pollution; water pollutionCurrency Euro

GDP (purchasing $242.8 billion (2005 est.)power parity) PPP

GDP per capita (PPP) $22,800 (2005 est.)Labor Force 4.72 million (2005 est.)

Unemployment 10.8%Labor force by occupation 68% services, 20% industry, 12% agriculture

Industries Tourism, food and tobacco processing, textiles, chemicals, metal products, mining, petroleum

Leading trade partners Exports: Germany, 13.1%; Italy, 10.3%; UK, 7.5%;B u l g a r i a , 6.3%; U.S., 5.3%; Cyprus, 4.6%; Turkey, 4.5%;France, 4.2% (2004)Imports: Germany, 13.3%; Italy, 12.8%; France, 6.4%;Netherlands, 5.5%; Russia, 5.5%; U.S., 4.4%; UK, 4.2%;South Korea, 4.1% (2004)

Exports $18.54 billion (2005 est.)Export Commodities Manufactured goods, food and beverages, petroleum

products, cement, chemicalsImports $48.2 billion (2005 est.)

Import Commodities Basic manufactures, food and animals, crude oil, chemicals, machinery, transport equipment

Transportation H i ghw a y s : 72 ,700 miles (117,000 kilometers); 66,738 miles( 107,406 kilometers) paved; R a i l ro a d s : 1, 597 miles( 2, 571 kilometers); 474 miles (764 kilometers) electrified;Waterways: 3.72 miles (6 kilometers) of Corinth Canal;Airports: 80

Government

Type of government Republican parliamentary democracyHead of State Prime Minister Kostas KaramanlisIndependence 1829, from the Ottoman Empire

Administrative divisions 51 prefectures and 1 autonomous regionCommunications TV stations: 36 (1995); Phones (including cellular):

14,141,300 (2003); Internet users: 1,718,400 (2003)

H i s t o ry at a Glance

96

6,000—4,000 B.C. Evidence found of a significant presence of population in present-day Greece.

2,000—1,500 B.C. Minoan civilization on Crete is at its zenith.

1,000—900 B.C. Most recent wave of migration of Greek peoples.

776 B.C. First Olympic Games are held.

700—500 B.C. Mediterranean cultural realm is colonized extensively during this period.

667 B.C. Colonists from Megara establish Byzantium, a colony onBosporus that later becomes Constantinople.

Fifth century to Greece wages victorious wars against Persians; Athens risesfourth century B.C. to power.

Third century B.C. Alexander the Great makes Greece part of his MacedonianEmpire.

Second century B.C. to Greece is a part of Roman (later Eastern Roman) Empire.fifteenth century A.D.

330 A.D. Constantine I moves capital of the Roman Empire toC o n s t a n t i n o p l e .

1054 After the Great Schism, Greece is integrated into the EasternOrthodox world.

1453—1821 Fall of Constantinople in 1453 marks the beginning of theOttoman Empire’s nearly 400-year occupation of Greece.

1829 Greece becomes independent from the Ottoman Empire.

1896 First modern Olympic Games begin in Athens.

1912 First Balkan War is waged against the Ottoman Empire.

1913 Second Balkan War is waged against Bulgaria.

1914 Greece enters World War I.

1918—1922 Greece enters conflict with the Turks.

1923 Tr e a ty of Lausanne serves as basis for territorial exchange,as well as forced migrations of Greeks from Turkey andTurks from Greece.

1939—1945 Greece is involved in World War II.

1946—1950 Royalist and Communist factions in Greece wage a civil war; the Communists lose.

1952 Greece joins North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).

1967 Greek military organizes a coup to overthrow the government.

1967—1974 The country is led by military junta.

1980 The Panhellenic Socialist Movement (PASOK) wins electionsand holds power for most of 1980s and 1990s.

1981 Greece joins the European Economic Community, which is later renamed the European Union.

2001 Greece enters Eurozone; the euro replaces drachma as official currency.

2004 Summer Olympic Games held in Athens for second time.

97

B i b l i o g raphy and Further Reading

Campbell, John Kennedy, and Philip Sherrard. Modern Greece. New York:Praeger, 1968.

Central Intelligence Agency. World Factbook: Greece. 2005.http://www.odci.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/gr.html.

Curtis, G.E., ed. Greece: A Country Study. Washington, D.C.: Library ofCongress, 1994.

Dubin, Marc S. The Greek Islands. New York: DK Publishing, 1997.

Fra n k l a n d , E . G en e . Gl obal Studies: Eu rope. Gu i l ford , C T: Du s h k i n / Mc Graw -Hi ll , 2002.

Harrington, Lyn. Greece and the Greeks. New York: Thomas Nelson andSons, 1962.

Jordan-Bychkov, Terry G., and Bella Bychkova-Jordan. The EuropeanCulture Area. New York: Rowman and Littlefield, 2001.

National Statistical Service of Greece (NSSG). Greece in Figures. Pireas:NSSG, 2005.

Pavlovic, Zoran. Turkey. Philadelphia: Chelsea House Publishers, 2004.

Stanislawski, Dan. “Dionysus Westward: Early Religion and the EconomicGeography of Wine.” The Geographical Review, 65, no. 4 (1975), 427–44.

Toynbee, Arnold J. Greeks and Their Heritage. New York: Oxford UniversityPress, 1981.

Tozer, Henry Fanshawe. Geography of Ancient Greece. Chicago: AresPublishers, 1974.

U.S. Department of State. Background Notes. 2005.http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/3395.htm.

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I n d e x

Ac ropo l i sa rch aeo l ogical monu m en t s , 8religious and municipal buildings,

9Aegean Pen i n su l a , 1 0 , 1 2 , 3 8 ,

4 2 , 4 4Aegean Se a , 1 5 , 1 7 , 8 2

islands in, 1 8 – 1 9 , 2 9 , 3 1 – 3 2 ,5 4 – 5 5 , 7 7 – 7 8 , 8 7 – 8 8

Agri c u l tu re , 2 3 , 3 2 , 5 2produ ct s , 6 7 – 6 9 , 7 9 – 8 0 , 9 0 – 9 1

Al b a n i a , 2 1 , 5 7 , 8 0 – 8 1and Greece , 6 4 – 6 5i m m i gra n t s , 5 0 , 9 1

Al ex a n der the Gre a t , 3 4 – 3 5 , 7 8An c i ent Greece

a rti f act s , 2 9 , 4 8 , 5 1dom i n a ti on of , 8 , 1 5 , 2 9 , 3 1 , 3 8i n f lu en ce of , 8 , 4 4 , 7 7 – 7 8i nven ti on s , 8m i l i t a ry, 3 5 , 4 5s ch o l a rs , 1 0s c i en tific disciplines, 8 – 1 0 , 2 9s et t l em en t s , 1 5 , 1 9 , 2 9 , 3 5

Arch i m ede s , 1 0Ari s to t l e , 1 0 , 3 5At a tu rk , Kem a l , 4 0At h en s , 3 1 , 7 7 – 7 8 , 8 1

air po lluti on , 2 5 , 9 1capital city, 8 – 9 , 1 7 , 3 5 – 3 6 ,

6 0 , 7 3c u l tu re and econ omy of , 2 4 ,

8 2 – 8 3 , 8 5 – 8 6 , 9 0e a rt h qu a ke , 2 6Olym p i c s , 7 0po l i ti c s , 8 0 , 8 5 , 9 2pop u l a ti on , 5 2Sy n t a gma Squ a re , 4 3

At l a n ti s , 1 9At ti c a , 8 5 – 8 6Axios (Va rdar) River, 2 7 , 7 8

Balkan Pen i n su l a , 1 5 – 1 6Ba s ketb a ll , 1 0

Bu l ga ri a , 2 7 , 5 7 , 7 4ethnic gro u p s , 4 2i n depen den ce , 4 0 , 7 7 – 7 8

Caspian Se a , 7 4Ch ri s ti a n i ty

in Greece , 3 6 , 3 8 – 3 9 , 4 6 , 4 8 , 5 4 ,6 7 , 8 3

Civil wars , 5 7 – 5 8Cold Wa r, 5 8 , 6 7Con s t a n ti n e , 3 6 – 3 7Con s t a n tine II, 5 8Con s t a n ti n op l e , 3 3 , 3 7 – 4 0Corf u , 8 8Crete , 1 9 , 2 9 – 3 0 , 5 5 , 8 7Croe su s , 8 2Cu l tu re

cel ebra ti on of l i fe and family,1 2 , 4 5

ch a n ges and con tra s t s , 1 0 – 1 2 ,4 5 , 7 7 , 8 8 – 8 9 , 9 3

ch a racteri s ti c s , 4 1 , 7 6 – 7 7d i et , 5 3 – 5 5 , 7 6ethnic gro u p s , 4 2 – 4 8 , 7 6ex p a n s i on , 3 2 – 3 5geogra phy, 4 1 , 7 7 , 8 4i n f lu en ce s , 2 2 , 2 9 – 3 0 , 3 3 , 3 5 – 3 6 ,

3 8 – 3 9l a n g u a ge , 3 5 , 4 4and rel i gi on , 3 3 , 4 5 – 4 6 , 4 8 – 5 1 ,

5 4 , 7 6s tru ggl e s , 1 0 , 2 5trad i ti on a l , 1 1 , 1 5 , 4 5 , 7 6 , 8 5 , 8 7 ,

8 9 – 9 1 , 9 3Cycl ade s , 8 7 – 8 8Cypru s , 4 6 – 4 7 , 5 8 , 6 3 – 6 4 , 8 9

D a nu be River, 1 5D a rk Age , 3 2Di n a ric Al p s , 2 0 – 2 1Di onysu s , 3 3Dodecanese island gro u p, 8 8

E a rt h qu a ke s , 2 5 – 2 6 , 3 0

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I n d e x

E con omy, 1 2devel opm en t , 2 4 , 3 5 , 4 6 , 5 6 ,

5 9 , 6 6 – 6 8 , 7 4 , 7 9 – 8 1 , 8 3 – 8 5 ,9 0 , 9 3

en er gy, tech n o l ogy and tra n s-port a ti on , 7 1 , 7 4 – 7 5 , 8 4 , 9 0

gaps in growt h , 1 1 , 5 2 – 5 3 , 5 8 ,7 0 – 7 1 , 8 1 – 8 2 , 8 6 – 8 7

reform , 6 7 , 7 6s ectors , 6 8 – 7 1trade and labor, 2 9 , 3 1 – 3 3 ,

7 1 – 7 4 , 9 1 – 9 2u n em p l oym en t , 7 2 – 7 3 , 9 0

Egypt , 2 8 , 3 1 , 3 5Ei n s tei n , Al bert , 1 3Ep i ru s , 2 1 , 8 0 – 8 2E ra to s t h en e s , 9 – 1 0Eu ropean Un i on

and Greece , 5 9 , 6 1 , 6 3 , 6 7 – 6 8 ,7 1 – 7 2 , 8 9 , 9 2

Ev vi a , 8 8

Fra n ce , 4 0Futu re , 8 9 – 9 3

geogra phy, 1 2

G erm a ny, 4 5 – 4 6 , 5 7G overn m ent and po l i ti c s , 1 2 , 7 5 , 7 7

con f l i ct s , 1 1 , 3 3 , 4 2 , 4 4 , 5 2 ,5 6 – 5 8 , 6 3 , 6 6 – 6 8 , 8 9 , 9 1

con s erva ti on progra m s , 2 4 , 8 5con s ti tuti on , 6 2dem oc rac y, 5 6 , 5 8 – 5 9d i s tri buti on of power, 5 9 – 6 2forei gn affairs , 6 3 – 6 5 , 7 0 , 8 9m odern ch a n ge s , 5 8 – 6 2 , 8 7 , 9 3postwar history, 5 7 – 5 8power, 1 5 , 3 6 , 3 8 , 7 3 , 9 0

Great Bri t a i n , 4 0Greece

cen tral and we s tern , 8 2 – 8 4f acts at a gl a n ce , 9 4 – 9 5h i s tory at a gl a n ce , 9 6 – 9 7i n depen den ce , 1 1 , 3 9 – 4 0 , 4 2 , 4 7

i n trodu cti on , 8 – 1 3n a ti on a l i s m , 4 2 – 4 4 , 6 3t h ro u gh ti m e , 2 8 – 4 0w a rs , 1 1 , 5 7 – 5 8 , 8 2

Greek islands, 8 6 – 8 8

Ha gia Soph i a , 3 7Hell enic Pa rl i a m en t , 5 9 – 6 2Herodo tu s , 1 0 , 3 4Hi m a l aya Mo u n t a i n s , 8

In du s trial Revo luti on , 3 9Ionian Se a , 1 5 , 6 7 , 7 4 , 8 2

islands in, 1 8 – 1 9 , 8 7 – 8 8It h ac a , 8 8

Ka z a n t a k i s , Ni ko sZo rbo the Gre e k, 8 7

Kn o s s o s , 2 9 – 3 0Koz a n i , 8 0

Lyc a bet tus Hi ll , 9Lyd i a , 8 2

Macedon i a , 2 7cen tra l , 2 0 – 2 1 , 7 7 – 8 0e a s tern , 7 7 – 7 8em p i re , 3 4 , 3 6and Greece , 4 2 , 4 7 , 6 4 , 7 4we s t , 7 8 – 8 0

Ma ra t h on , Battle of , 3 3Med i terranean Se a , 1 0 , 1 7

islands in, 1 8 – 1 9 , 8 8s et t l em ents alon g, 1 5 , 2 0 , 2 9 ,

3 2 – 3 3 , 3 6 , 4 0Me s opo t a m i a , 2 8Meteora , 8 1Mi n oan civi l i z a ti on

decl i n e , 3 0 – 3 1devel opm en t s , 3 0 – 3 1n av y, 2 9

Mount Athos Pen i n su l a , 5 0Mount Olym p u s , 1 1 , 2 0 , 8 0

gods of , 1 0

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Mount Pa rn a s su s , 8 3Mycen aean civi l i z a ti on , 3 1 – 3 2Myt h o l ogy

god s , 8 , 1 0 , 4 5 , 5 1 , 8 0 , 8 3

North At l a n tic Tre a ty Orga n i z a ti on( NATO ) , 5 7 , 6 5

O n a s s i s , Ari s to t l e , 4 5Ot toman Empire , 3 8 – 4 0 , 4 7 , 8 2

Pa n h ell enic Socialist Movem en t( PA S O K ) , 5 9 , 6 1

Pa p adopo u l o s , G eor gi o s , 5 9Pa p a n d reo u , An d re a s , 5 9Pa tra , 8 4Pel opon n e sus Pen i n su l a , 1 9 – 2 0 ,

8 4 – 8 5Peop l e , 4 1 – 5 5

cl o t h i n g, 4 3ethnic Gree k s , 4 4 – 4 6 , 6 3 – 6 4 ,

7 6 , 7 8 , 9 1ethnic non - Gree k s , 4 6 – 4 8 ,

5 2 , 8 6h o s p i t a l i ty, 1 2l i fe s tyl e , 1 1 – 1 2 , 5 2 , 5 7 , 8 5 ,

8 7 – 8 8 , 9 1pop u l a ti on , 2 8 , 3 2 , 5 1 – 5 3 , 8 6

Persian Empire , 3 3 – 3 4 , 3 8 , 4 5 ,8 2

Philip II, 3 4 – 3 5P hysical landscape s , 1 4 – 1 6 , 4 8

be a uty of , 1 1 , 7 0 , 8 1 , 8 3 , 8 7 ,9 0

cl i m a te , 1 5 , 2 0 – 2 2eco s ys tem s , 2 2 – 2 4l a n d , 1 7 – 2 0 , 7 7 , 8 2pre s erva ti on and hazard s ,

2 4 – 2 7P i n dus Mo u n t a i n s , 2 0 – 2 1 , 8 0 – 8 1P i raeu s , 8 6P l a to, 1 0 , 1 9 , 3 5Puti n , V l ad i m i r, 5 0Pyt h a gora s , 1 0

Regi on sAt ti c a , 8 5 – 8 6Cen tral and We s tern Greece ,

8 2 – 8 4Cen tral and West Macedon i a ,

7 7 – 8 0d ivers e , 1 2 , 7 6 – 7 7E a s tern Macedonia and Th race ,

7 7 – 7 8i s l a n d s , 8 6 – 8 8

Ren a i s s a n ce peri od , 3 8Rh ode s , 8 8Roman Empire , 3 6 – 3 7 , 3 9 , 4 5 , 7 8 , 8 5Ro s t lu n d , E rh a rd , 1 2

Sa l a m i n a , Battle of , 3 3Sa n torini (Th era ) , 1 9 , 8 7Sava River, 1 5S chu l t z , Th eodore , 7 2Serbi a , 4 0 , 6 5Soccer, 1 0S p a rt a , 3 1 , 3 5 , 8 4 – 8 5S porade s , 8 8S t a n i s l aws k i , D a n , 3 3S tra i ght of G i bra l t a r, 8S tri m on (Struma) River, 2 7 , 7 8

Th e s s a l on i k i , 5 2 , 7 8 – 8 0 , 9 0Th e s s a ly, 2 1 , 4 8 , 8 0 – 8 1Th race , 7 7 – 7 8 , 8 8To u ri s m , 1 1 , 2 2

i n com e , 2 3 , 7 0 – 7 1 , 7 4 , 8 1 ,8 3 – 8 5 , 8 7 , 9 0 , 9 3

m on a s teri e s , 4 8 , 5 1Tu rkey, 5 7 , 7 4 , 7 7 , 8 8

a n c i en t , 3 8 – 4 0 , 4 7 , 8 2con f l i cts with Greece , 4 5 ,

6 3 – 6 4 , 8 9Tu rk s , 4 6 – 4 7 , 8 8

Mu s l i m s , 5 0 , 5 4 , 6 7

Un i ted Na ti on s , 6 3 , 8 3

Vo l c a n oe s , 1 7 , 1 9 , 2 5 , 3 0 , 8 7

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I n d e x

Wi l d f i re s , 2 6 – 2 7World War I, 4 0 , 4 7 , 7 7World War II

ef fect on Greece , 4 5 , 5 7 – 5 8 ,6 7 – 6 8 , 8 4 , 8 6

Yu go s l avi a , 4 2 , 5 7 , 7 1 , 7 9

Zo rbo the Gre e k ( Ka z a n t a k i s ) ,8 7

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Picture Credits

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9: New Millennium Images16: © Lucidity Information Design18: © Lucidity Information Design21: New Millennium Images26: BlackStar Photos/NMI30: New Millennium Images34: New Millennium Images37: EPA/NMI43: KRT/NMI49: KRT/NMI

53: KRT/NMI60: New Millennium Images64: Gamma Presse/NMI69: KRT/NMI73: Fayez Nureldine/AFP/

Getty Images/NMI79: New Millennium Images83: Zuma Press/NMI92: AFP/NMI

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About the Contributors

ZO RAN “ZOK” PAV LO V IC is a cultu ral geogra ph er curren t ly working atO k l a h oma State Un ivers i ty in Sti llw a ter. Gre e ce is Zo k’s seventh boo ka ut h ored or coa ut h ored for the Ch elsea House geogra phy series MO D E R N

WO R L D NAT I O N S. He also aut h ored Eu rope for the MO D E R N WO R L D CU LT U R E S

s eri e s . Within the field of geogra phy, his interests are cultu re theory,evo luti on of geogra phic though t , and geogra phy of vi ti c u l tu re . Wh en notwri ti n g, Zok en j oys go u rm et cooking and lon g - d i s t a n ce motorc ycle travel .He was born and ra i s ed in sout h e a s tern Eu rope .

CH A RL ES F. “FRI TZ” GRI TZ NER is Di s ti n g u i s h ed Profe s s or of G eogra phy atSo uth Dakota State Un ivers i ty in Broo k i n gs . He is now in his fifth dec adeof co ll ege te ach i n g, s ch o l a rly re s e a rch , and wri ti n g. In ad d i ti on to te ach i n g,he en j oys travel i n g, wri ti n g, working with te ach ers , and sharing his loveof geogra phy with stu dents and re aders alike . As Con su l ting Editor andf requ ent aut h or for the Ch elsea Ho u s e MO D E R N WO R L D NAT I O N S a n dMO D E R N WO R L D CU LT U R E S s eri e s , he has a won derful opportu n i ty tocom bine each of these “h obbi e s .”

Profe s s i on a lly, Gri t z n er has served as both pre s i dent and exec utived i rector of the Na ti onal Council for Geogra phic Edu c a ti on . He hasreceived nu m erous aw a rds in recogn i ti on of his ac ademic and te ach i n gach i evem en t s , i n cluding the Na ti onal Council for Geogra phic Edu c a ti on’sGeor ge J. Mi ll er Aw a rd for Di s ti n g u i s h ed Servi ce to geogra phy andgeogra phic edu c a ti on .

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Greece (Modern World Nations)

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