Greece Warning: You are not logged in. Your IP address will be publicly visible if you make any edits. If you log in or create an account, your edits will be attributed to your username, along with other benefits.Anti-spam check. Do not fill this in! ===Modern nation-state=== {{Main|History of modern Greece}} ==== Greek War of Independence (1821–1832) ==== {{Main|Greek War of Independence}} {{See also|Modern Greek Enlightenment|Wikisource:Greek_Declaration_of_Independence|label 2=Greek Declaration of Independence|First Hellenic Republic}} [[File:The sortie of Messologhi by Theodore Vryzakis.jpg|thumb|''The sortie (exodus) of [[Messolonghi]]'', depicting the [[third siege of Missolonghi]], painted by [[Theodoros Vryzakis]]]] In the late eighteenth century, an increase in secular learning during the [[Modern Greek Enlightenment]] led to the emergence among [[Westernization|Westernized]] Greek-speaking [[elite]]s of the diaspora of the [[Greek nationalism|notion of a Greek nation]] tracing its existence to [[ancient Greece]], distinct from the other Orthodox peoples, and having a right to [[political autonomy]]. One of the organizations formed in this intellectual milieu was the [[Filiki Eteria]], a secret organization formed by merchants in [[Odesa]] in 1814.<ref>{{harvnb|Hatzopoulos|2009|pp=81–3}}.</ref> Appropriating a long-standing tradition of [[Eastern Orthodox Church|Orthodox]] messianic prophecy aspiring to the resurrection of the [[eastern Roman empire]] and creating the impression they had the backing of [[Russian Empire|Tsarist Russia]], they managed amidst a crisis of Ottoman trade, from 1815 onwards, to engage the Greek Orthodox world in their [[liberal nationalism|liberal nationalist]] cause.<ref>{{harvnb|Hatzopoulos|2009}}. For the crisis of maritime trade from 1815 onwards, see {{harvnb|Kremmydas|1977}} and {{harvnb|Kremmydas|2002}}.</ref> The Filiki Eteria planned to launch revolution in the [[Peloponnese]], the [[Danubian Principalities]] and [[Constantinople]]. The first revolts began on 6 March 1821 in the Danubian Principalities, but it was soon put down by the Ottomans. The events in the north spurred the Greeks of the Peloponnese into action and on 17 March 1821 the [[Maniots]] declared war on the Ottomans.<ref name="Brewer, D. 2001, pp. 235">Brewer, D. ''The Greek War of Independence: The Struggle for Freedom from Ottoman Oppression and the Birth of the Modern Greek Nation.'' Overlook Press, 2001, {{ISBN|1-58567-172-X}}, pp. 235–36.</ref> By the end of the month, the Peloponnese was in open revolt and by October 1821 the Greeks under [[Theodoros Kolokotronis]] had captured [[Tripoli, Greece|Tripolitsa]]. The Peloponnesian revolt was quickly followed by revolts in Crete, [[Macedonia (Greece)|Macedonia]] and [[Central Greece]], which would soon be suppressed. Meanwhile, the makeshift Greek navy was achieving success against the Ottomans. In 1822 and 1824 the Turks and Egyptians ravaged the islands, committing wholesale [[Massacres during the Greek Revolution|massacres]] of the population.<ref name="Brewer, D. 2001, pp. 235" /><ref>{{cite book |last1=Tucker |first1=Spencer C. |title=A Global Chronology of Conflict: From the Ancient World to the Modern Middle East |date=2009 |publisher=ABC-CLIO |isbn=9781851096725 | page=1140 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=h5_tSnygvbIC&pg=PA1140}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.qgazette.com/news/2007-11-28/features/016.html|title=The Chios Massacre Of 1822|work=Queens Gazette|access-date=11 November 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181111173817/http://www.qgazette.com/news/2007-11-28/features/016.html|archive-date=11 November 2018|url-status=dead}}</ref> This galvanized opinion in western Europe in favour of the Greek rebels.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Klose|first1=Fabian|title=The Emergence of Humanitarian Intervention: Ideas and Practice...|date=2016|publisher=Clays|isbn=9781107075511|page=175|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=cMvZCgAAQBAJ&q=castlereagh+chios&pg=PA175|access-date=6 August 2017}}</ref> Tensions developed among Greek factions, leading to two consecutive civil wars. Meanwhile, the [[Ottoman Sultan]] [[Mahmud II]] negotiated with [[Mehmet Ali of Egypt]], who agreed to send his son [[Ibrahim Pasha of Egypt|Ibrahim Pasha]] with an army to suppress the revolt in return for territorial gain.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Willert|first=Trine Stauning|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=gB1tDwAAQBAJ&q=The+New+Ottoman+Greece+in+History+and+Fiction|title=The New Ottoman Greece in History and Fiction|date=4 September 2018|publisher=Springer|isbn=978-3-319-93849-3|pages=71–100|language=en}}</ref> Ibrahim landed in the Peloponnese in February 1825 and by the end of 1825, most of the Peloponnese was under Egyptian control. Although Ibrahim was defeated in [[Mani Peninsula|Mani]], he succeeded in suppressing most of the revolt in the Peloponnese, and Athens had been retaken.<ref>{{EB1911 |wstitle=Ibrahim Pasha |volume=14 |pages=223–224 |inline=1}}</ref> After years of negotiation, three [[great powers]], [[Bourbon Restoration in France|France]], [[Russian Empire]], and the UK, intervened in the conflict and each sent a navy.<ref>{{cite book |last=Woodhouse |first=Christopher Montague |year=1965 |title=The Battle of Navarino |pages=117–18, 137, 139}}</ref> Following news that combined Ottoman–Egyptian fleets were going to attack the Greek island of [[Hydra, Saronic Islands|Hydra]], the allied fleet intercepted the Ottoman–Egyptian fleet and destroyed it at the [[Battle of Navarino]]. The Greeks proceeded to the captured part of Central Greece by 1828. The [[First Hellenic Republic|nascent Greek state]] was finally recognised under the [[London Protocol (1830)|London Protocol]] in 1830.<ref>{{cite book |title=Η αντιπολίτευση κατά του κυβερνήτη Ιωάννη Καποδίστρια |first=Χρήστος |last=Λούκος |publisher=Θεμέλιο |year=1988 |location=Αθήνα, Ελλάδα |page=187 |language=el}}</ref> ====Kingdom of Greece==== {{Main|Kingdom of Greece}} [[File:Peter von Hess - The Entry of King Othon of Greece in Athens - WGA11387.jpg|thumb|upright=1.2|''The Entry of [[Otto of Greece|King Otto]] in Athens'', painted by [[Peter von Hess]] in 1839]] In 1827, [[Ioannis Kapodistrias]], was chosen by the [[Third National Assembly at Troezen]] as the first governor of the [[First Hellenic Republic]]. Kapodistrias established state, economic and military institutions. Soon tensions appeared between him and local interests. Following his assassination in 1831 and the [[London Conference of 1832|London conference]] a year later, the [[Great Power]]s of Britain, France and Russia installed Bavarian Prince [[Otto of Greece|Otto von Wittelsbach]] as [[Kingdom of Greece (Wittelsbach)|monarch]].<ref name="britannica otto">{{Cite encyclopedia |title=Otto |encyclopedia=Encyclopedia Britannica |url=https://www.britannica.com/biography/Otto-king-of-Greece |language=en |access-date=1 September 2018}}</ref> Otto's reign was [[despotism|despotic]], and in its first 11 years of independence Greece was ruled by a Bavarian oligarchy led by [[Joseph Ludwig von Armansperg]] and, later, by Otto himself, as King and Premier.<ref name="britannica otto" /> Greece remained under the influence of its three protecting great powers, [[July Monarchy|France]], Russia, and the United Kingdom, as well as [[Kingdom of Bavaria|Bavaria]].<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=fXfatJ1aQq0C&q=king%2520otto%2520german%2520language%2520administration%2520greece&pg=PA71 |title=The Theory and Practice of Institutional Transplantation: Experiences with the Transfer of Policy Institutions |last1=Jong |first1=M. de |last2=Lalenis |first2=K. |last3=Mamadouh |first3=V. D. |date=31 December 2002 |publisher=Springer Science & Business Media |isbn=9781402011085 |page=71 |language=en}}</ref> In 1843 an uprising forced Otto to grant a constitution and representative assembly. Despite the [[absolute monarchy|absolutism]] of Otto's reign, the early years proved instrumental in developing institutions which are still the bedrock of Greek administration and education.<ref name="encyclopedia imperialism">{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Y5zTkGKy4wEC&q=king%2520otto%2520german%2520language%2520administration%2520greece&pg=PA291 |title=Encyclopedia of the Age of Imperialism, 1800–1914 |last=Hodge |first=Carl Cavanagh |date=2008 |publisher=Greenwood Publishing Group |page=291 |language=en |access-date=9 September 2018|isbn=9780313043413 }}</ref> Important steps were taken in the education system, maritime and postal communications, effective civil administration and, most importantly, the [[legal code]].{{sfn|Great Greek Encyclopedia|page=50–51}} [[Historical revisionism]] took the form of de-[[Byzantine Empire|Byzantinification]] and de-[[Ottoman Empire|Ottomanisation]], in favour of promoting Ancient Greek heritage.<ref name="roudometof">{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=I9p_m7oXQ00C&q=king%2520otto%2520german%2520language%2520administration%2520greece&pg=PA102 |title=Nationalism, Globalization, and Orthodoxy: The Social Origins of Ethnic Conflict in the Balkans |last=Roudometof |first=Victor |date=2001 |publisher=Greenwood Publishing Group |isbn=9780313319495 |pages=101–113 |language=en}}</ref> In this spirit, the capital was moved from [[Nafplio]], where it had been since 1829, to [[Athens]], then a smaller town.<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vb2xAAAAIAAJ&q=otto+move+capital+athens |title=Planning and Urban Growth in Southern Europe |last=Wynn |first=Martin |date=1984 |publisher=Mansell |isbn=9780720116083 |page=6 |language=en}}</ref> Religious reform took place, and the [[Church of Greece]] was established as Greece's [[national church]]. 25 March, the day of [[Annunciation]], was chosen as the anniversary of the [[Greek War of Independence]] to reinforce the link between Greek identity and [[Orthodoxy]].<ref name="roudometof" /> [[Pavlos Karolidis]] called the Bavarian efforts to create a modern state in Greece as "not only appropriate for the peoples' needs, but also based on excellent administrative principles of the era".{{sfn|Great Greek Encyclopedia|page=50–51}} Otto was deposed in the [[23 October 1862 Revolution]]. Multiple causes led to his deposition and exile, including the Bavarian-dominated government, heavy taxation, and a failed attempt to annex [[Crete]] from the [[Ottoman Empire]].<ref name="britannica otto" /><ref name="encyclopedia imperialism" /> A year later, he was replaced by Prince Wilhelm of Denmark, who took the name [[George I of Greece|George I]] and brought with him the Ionian Islands as a coronation gift from Britain. A [[Greek Constitution of 1864|new Constitution in 1864]] changed Greece's form of government from [[constitutional monarchy]] to the more democratic [[crowned republic]].{{sfn|Great Greek Encyclopedia|page=239|loc="Διὰ τοῦ Συντάγματος τοῦ 1864 καθιερώθει ὡς πολίτευμα διὰ τὴν Ἑλλάδα ἡ κοινοβουλευτικὴ μοναρχία, ἣ, ὅπως ἄλλως ἐχαρακτηρίσθη, ἡ «βασιλευομένη δημοκρατία» ἣ «δημοκρατικὴ βασιλεία»" [Through the Constitution of 1864, constitutional monarchy, or, as it had been described, "crowned democracy", or "democratic monarchy", was consolidated as the form of government in Greece]}}<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.hellenicparliament.gr/en/Vouli-ton-Ellinon/To-Politevma/Syntagmatiki-Istoria/ |title=Constitutional History |publisher=Hellenic Parliament |website=hellenicparliament.gr |access-date=4 September 2018 |quote=The revolt marked the end of constitutional monarchy and the beginning of a crowned democracy with George-Christian-Wilhelm of the Schleswig-Holstein-Sønderburg-Glücksburg dynasty as monarch.}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=RekVT4GnyYIC&q=crowned%2520republic%2520greece&pg=PA132 |title=Greece Country Study Guide: Strategic Information and Developments |publisher=International Business Publications, US |date=3 March 2012 |isbn=978-1-4387-7447-3 |page=131 |quote=In 1862, however, a revolt brought about important changes in the political system that led to the so-called "crowned democracy", i.e. a kingdom with a democratic government. }}{{Dead link|date=June 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> In 1875 the concept of [[parliamentary majority]] as a requirement for the formation of a government was introduced by [[Charilaos Trikoupis]],<ref name="constitutional history">{{cite web |url=https://www.hellenicparliament.gr/en/Vouli-ton-Ellinon/To-Politevma/Syntagmatiki-Istoria/ |title=Constitutional History |publisher=Hellenic Parliament |website=hellenicparliament.gr |access-date=4 September 2018 }}</ref> curbing the power of the monarchy to appoint [[minority government]]s of its preference. [[File:Map Greece expansion 1832-1947-en.svg|thumb|upright=1.2|The territorial evolution of the [[Kingdom of Greece]] from 1832 to 1947]] Corruption, coupled with Trikoupis' increased spending to fund infrastructure like the [[Corinth Canal]],<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.aedik.gr/frontend/articles.php?cid=44&scid=51 |title=The Countdown |access-date=18 May 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120328044804/http://www.aedik.gr/frontend/articles.php?cid=44&scid=51 |archive-date=28 March 2012 |url-status=dead}}</ref> overtaxed the weak economy and forced the declaration of [[Sovereign default|public insolvency]] in 1893. Greece accepted the imposition of an [[International Financial Commission]] to enforce the repayment of the country's debtors. Greeks were united, however, in their determination to liberate the [[regions of ancient Greece|Hellenic lands]] under Ottoman rule. Especially in Crete, a [[Cretan Revolt (1866–1869)|prolonged revolt in 1866–1869]] had raised nationalist fervour. When war broke out between [[Russo-Turkish War (1877–1878)|Russia and the Ottomans in 1877]], Greek popular sentiment rallied to Russia's side, but Greece was too poor and concerned about British intervention, to officially enter the war. Nevertheless, in 1881, [[Thessaly]] and small parts of [[Epirus (region)|Epirus]] were ceded to Greece as part of the [[Treaty of Berlin, 1878|Treaty of Berlin]], while frustrating Greek hopes of receiving Crete.<ref>{{cite journal |doi=10.1080/13602000903411408 |title=The "New" Muslim Minorities in Greece: Between Emigration and Political Participation, 1881–1886 |first=Nicole |last=Immig |journal=Journal of Muslim Minority Affairs |year=2009 |volume=29 |issue=4 |pages=511–522|s2cid=143664377}}</ref> Greeks in Crete continued to stage revolts, and in 1897, the Greek government, bowing to popular pressure, declared war on the Ottomans. In the ensuing [[Greco-Turkish War (1897)|Greco-Turkish War of 1897]], the badly trained and equipped Greek army was defeated. Through the intervention of the Great Powers, however, Greece lost only a little territory, while Crete was established as an [[Cretan State|autonomous state]] under [[Prince George of Greece]]. With state coffers empty, fiscal policy came under [[International Financial Control]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.lemonde.fr/economie/article/2015/07/16/quand-la-france-et-l-allemagne-mirent-la-grece-sous-tutelle-en-1898_4685561_3234.html |website=Lemonde.fr |title=Quand la France et l'Allemagne mirent la Grèce sous tutelle… en 1898 |date=16 July 2015 |access-date=17 May 2022}}</ref> Alarmed by the abortive [[Ilinden uprising]] of the [[Autonomism (political doctrine)|autonomist]] [[Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organization]] (IMRO) in 1903, the Greek government, aiming to quell [[Komitadjis]] (IMRO bands) and detach the [[Slavic speakers in Ottoman Macedonia|Slavophone peasants of the region]] from [[Bulgarian Macedonians|Bulgarian]] influence, sponsored a [[guerrilla warfare|guerrilla]] campaign in Ottoman-ruled [[Macedonia (region)|Macedonia]], led by Greek officers and known as the [[Macedonian Struggle]], which ended with the [[Young Turk Revolution]] in 1908.<ref>{{harvnb|Livanios|1999|pp=195–6}}, {{harvnb|Koliopoulos|Veremis|2002|pp=280–1}}, {{harvnb|Kostopoulos|2011}}.</ref> ==== Expansion, disaster, and reconstruction ==== {{See also|Greece in the Balkan Wars|Greece in World War I|National Schism|Second Hellenic Republic}} [[File:Greek Parade Paris 1919.jpg|thumb|left|Hellenic Army formation in the [[World War I]] Victory Parade in [[Arc de Triomphe]], Paris, July 1919]] Amidst general dissatisfaction with the seeming inertia and unattainability of [[Megali Idea|national aspirations]] under the premiership of the cautious reformist [[Georgios Theotokis|Theotokis]], military officers organised a [[Goudi coup|coup]] in 1909 and shortly thereafter called on Athens [[Cretan State|Cretan]] politician [[Eleftherios Venizelos]], who conveyed a vision of national regeneration. After winning [[Greek legislative election, August 1910|two]] [[Greek legislative election, November 1910|elections]] and becoming prime minister in 1910,<ref>{{harvnb|Mazower|1992|pp=886, 890–3, 895–900, 904}}</ref> Venizelos initiated wide-ranging fiscal, social, and [[Greek Constitution of 1911|constitutional reforms]], reorganised the military, made Greece a member of the [[Balkan League]], and led the country through the [[Balkan Wars]]. By 1913, Greece's territory and population had almost doubled, annexing [[Crete]], [[Epirus (region)|Epirus]], and [[Macedonia (Greece)|Macedonia]]. In the following years, the struggle between [[Constantine I of Greece|King Constantine I]] and charismatic Venizelos over the country's foreign policy on the eve of First World War dominated the country's political scene and divided the country into [[National Schism|two opposing groups]]. During parts of WW1, Greece had two governments: A royalist [[Central Powers|pro-German]] one in [[Athens]] and a [[Venizelism|Venizelist]] pro-[[Triple Entente|Entente]] one in [[Thessaloniki]]. The two governments united in 1917, when Greece officially entered the war on the side of the Entente. [[File:Map of Great Greece (Megali Hellas) Venizelos c1920.jpg|thumb|Map of Greater Greece after the [[Treaty of Sèvres]], when the ''[[Megali Idea]]'' seemed close to fulfillment, featuring [[Eleftherios Venizelos]] as its supervising genius]] In the aftermath of World War I, Greece attempted further expansion into [[Asia Minor]], a region with a large native Greek population at the time, but was defeated in the [[Greco-Turkish War (1919–1922)]], contributing to a massive flight of [[Ottoman Greeks|Asia Minor Greeks]].<ref name=Gibney>{{cite book |author=Matthew J. Gibney, [[Randall Hansen]]. |title=Immigration and Asylum: from 1900 to the Present, Volume 3 |publisher=ABC-CLIO |year=2005 |page=[https://archive.org/details/immigrationasylu00matt/page/377 377] |isbn=978-1-57607-796-2 |quote=The total number of Christians who fled to Greece was probably in the region of I.2 million with the main wave occurring in 1922 before the signing of the convention. According to the official records of the Mixed Commission set up to monitor the movements, the Greeks who were transferred after 1923 numbered 189,916 and the number of Muslims expelled to Turkey was 355,635 (Ladas I932, 438–439), but using the same source Eddy 1931, 201 states that the post-1923 exchange involved 192,356 Greeks from Turkey and 354,647 Muslims from Greece. |url=https://archive.org/details/immigrationasylu00matt/page/377 }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Sofos |first1=Spyros A. |last2=Özkirimli |first2=Umut |author2-link=Umut Özkirimli |title=Tormented by History: Nationalism in Greece and Turkey |publisher=C Hurst & Co Publishers Ltd |year=2008 |pages=116–117 |isbn=978-1-85065-899-3 }}</ref> These events overlapped, with both happening during the [[Greek genocide]] (1914–1922),<ref>{{Cite journal | doi = 10.1080/14623520801950820 | last1 = Schaller | first1 = Dominik J | last2 = Zimmerer | first2 = Jürgen | year = 2008 | title = Late Ottoman genocides: the dissolution of the Ottoman Empire and Young Turkish population and extermination policies – introduction | journal = Journal of Genocide Research | volume = 10 | issue = 1| pages = 7–14| s2cid = 71515470 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite news | url = http://news.am/eng/news/16644.html | title = Genocide Resolution approved by Swedish Parliament | publisher = News.AM}}, containing both the IAGS and the Swedish resolutions.</ref><ref>Gaunt, David. ''[https://web.archive.org/web/20140102130735/http://books.google.com/books?id=4mug9LrpLKcC Massacres, Resistance, Protectors: Muslim-Christian Relations in Eastern Anatolia during World War I]''. Piscataway, [[New Jersey|NJ]]: Gorgias Press, 2006.</ref><ref>{{cite news | author-link = Chris Hedges| last = Hedges | first = Chris | date = 17 September 2000 | url = https://www.nytimes.com/2000/09/17/nyregion/a-few-words-in-greek-tell-of-a-homeland-lost.html | title = A Few Words in Greek Tell of a Homeland Lost | newspaper = [[The New York Times]]}}</ref> a period during which, according to various sources,<ref>{{Cite journal | first = RJ | last = Rummel | author-link = R. J. Rummel | year = 1998 | title = The Holocaust in Comparative and Historical Perspective | journal = Idea Journal of Social Issues | volume = 3 | number = 2}}</ref> Ottoman and Turkish officials contributed to the death of several hundred thousand Asia Minor Greeks, along with similar numbers of [[Assyrian genocide|Assyrians]] and a rather larger number of [[Armenian genocide|Armenians]]. The resultant Greek exodus from Asia Minor was made permanent, and expanded, in an official [[population exchange between Greece and Turkey]]. The exchange was part of the terms of the [[Treaty of Lausanne]] which ended the war.<ref>{{cite magazine|author=Annette Grossbongardt|url=http://www.spiegel.de/international/christians-in-turkey-the-diaspora-welcomes-the-pope-a-451140.html|title=Christians in Turkey: The Diaspora Welcomes the Pope|magazine=[[Der Spiegel]]|date=28 November 2006}}</ref> The following era was marked by instability, as over 1.5 million propertyless Greek refugees from Turkey had to be integrated into Greek society. Some refugees could not speak the language and were from unfamiliar environments to mainland Greeks. The refugees made a dramatic post-war population boost, as the refugees were more than a quarter of Greece's prior population.<ref>Howland, Charles P. [http://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/68710/charles-p-howland/greece-and-her-refugees "Greece and Her Refugees"], ''Foreign Affairs'', [[The Council on Foreign Relations]]. July 1926.</ref> Following the catastrophic events in Asia Minor, the monarchy was abolished [[Greek republic referendum, 1924|via a referendum]] in 1924 and the [[Second Hellenic Republic]] was declared.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.et.gr/idocs-nph/search/pdfViewerForm.html?args=5C7QrtC22wFDWqVnkvhsTndtvSoClrL8BI7vRxXKg8ztIl9LGdkF53UIxsx942CdyqxSQYNuqAGCF0IfB9HI6hq6ZkZV96FIfmAIHno4xZaiebsKTXkZGFzZyd4dunA0LfOa-Yg4kaY. |title=Newspaper of the Government – Issue 64 |date=25 March 1924 |work=Government Newspaper of the Hellenic State |access-date=18 May 2022}}</ref> In 1935, a royalist general-turned-politician [[Georgios Kondylis]] took power after a coup and abolished the republic, holding [[Greek monarchy referendum, 1935|a rigged referendum]], after which [[George II of Greece|King George II]] returned to Greece and was restored to the throne. ==== Dictatorship, World War II, and reconstruction ==== {{See also|4th of August Regime|Balkans campaign (World War II){{!}}Balkans campaign|Axis occupation of Greece|Hellenic State (1941–1944){{!}}Hellenic State|Greek Civil War}} An agreement between Prime Minister [[Ioannis Metaxas]] and the head of state [[George II of Greece|George II]] followed in 1936, which installed Metaxas as the head of a dictatorial regime known as the [[4th of August Regime]], that would last, with short breaks, until 1974.<ref>{{cite book|last=Hagen|first=Fleischer|title=Totalitarian and Authoritarian Regimes in Europe: Legacies and Lessons from the Twentieth Century|chapter=Authoritarian Rule in Greece (1936–1974) and Its Heritage|year=2006|location=New York/Oxford|publisher=Berghahn|page=237}}</ref> Although a dictatorship, Greece remained on good terms with Britain and was not allied with the [[Axis powers|Axis]]. [[File:Triple Occupation of Greece.png|thumb|upright=1.2|The [[Axis occupation of Greece]].<br/>{{legend-inline|#d09313|[[Kingdom of Italy|Italian]]}} {{legend-inline|#e4001f|[[Nazi Germany|German]]}} {{legend-inline|#32c714|[[History of Independent Bulgaria|Bulgarian]]}}<br />{{legend-inline|#8a500f|Dodecanese, [[Italian Islands of the Aegean|Italian possession]] since 1912}}]] On 28 October 1940, [[Kingdom of Italy|Fascist Italy]] demanded the surrender of Greece, but it [[Ohi Day|refused]], and, in the [[Greco-Italian War]], Greece repelled Italian forces into Albania, giving the [[Allies of World War II|Allies]] their first victory over Axis forces on land. The Greek victory against the Italians received exuberant praise.<ref name="Fafalios and Hadjipateras, p. 157">Fafalios and Hadjipateras, p. 157</ref>{{cnf}} French general [[Charles de Gaulle]] praised the fierceness of the Greek resistance. In an official notice released to coincide with the Greek national celebration of the Day of Independence, De Gaulle expressed his admiration:<blockquote>In the name of the captured yet still alive French people, France wants to send her greetings to the Greek people who are fighting for their freedom. The 25 March 1941 finds Greece in the peak of their heroic struggle and in the top of their glory. Since the Battle of Salamis, Greece had not achieved the greatness and the glory which today holds.<ref name="Fafalios and Hadjipateras, p. 157" /></blockquote> The country would eventually fall to urgently dispatched [[Nazi Germany|German]] forces during the [[Battle of Greece]]. [[File:Αθηναίοι γιορτάζουν την απελευθέρωση της πόλης τους, Οκτώβριος 1944.jpg|thumb|upright=.8|left|People in [[Athens]] celebrate the liberation from the Axis powers, October 1944. Postwar Greece would soon experience a [[Greek civil war|civil war]] and political polarization.]] The Nazis proceeded to administer Athens and Thessaloniki, while other regions of the country were given to Nazi Germany's partners, Fascist Italy and Bulgaria. The occupation brought terrible hardships for the civilian population. Over 100,000 civilians died of starvation during the winter of 1941–42, tens of thousands more died because of reprisals by Nazis and [[Collaboration with Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy#Greece|collaborators]], the economy was ruined, and most [[History of the Jews in Greece|Greek Jews]] (tens of thousands) were deported and murdered in Nazi concentration camps.<ref>{{Cite encyclopedia | url = https://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/244154/Greece/26430/Greek-history-since-World-War-IGreece | title = Greek history since World War I | encyclopedia = [[Encyclopædia Britannica]]| date = 14 June 2023 }}</ref><ref name="Mazower 2001, p. 155">Mazower (2001), p. 155</ref> The [[Greek Resistance]], one of the most effective resistance movements, fought vehemently against the Nazis and their collaborators. The German occupiers committed [[German war crimes#Greece|atrocities, mass executions, and wholesale slaughter of civilians and destruction of towns and villages]] in reprisals. Hundreds of villages were systematically torched and almost 1 million Greeks left homeless.<ref name="Mazower 2001, p. 155" /> The Germans executed around 21,000 Greeks, the Bulgarians executed 40,000, and the Italians executed 9,000.<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/423851310 |title=Die Wehrmacht eine Bilanz |date=2009 |others=Guido Knopp, Mario Sporn |isbn=978-3-442-15561-3 |edition=Taschenbuchausg., 1. Aufl |location=München |oclc=423851310}}</ref><!-- Does this include the 60,000-70,000 Jews mentioned at [[History_of_the_Jews_in_Greece#World_War_II,_Resistance_and_the_Holocaust]] ?--> Following liberation, Greece annexed the [[Dodecanese Islands]] from Italy and regained [[Western Thrace]] from Bulgaria. The country almost immediately descended into [[Greek Civil War|a bloody civil war]] between [[Communism|communist]] forces and the anti-communist Greek government, which lasted until 1949, with the latter's victory. The conflict, one of the earliest struggles of the [[Cold War]],<ref name= Noam&Chomsky>{{cite book|last= Chomsky|first= Noam|title= ''World Orders, Old And New''|publisher= Pluto Press London|year= 1994}}</ref> resulted in further economic devastation, mass population displacement and political polarisation for the next thirty years.<ref>[[Mark Mazower|Mazower, Mark]]. ''After the War was Over''.</ref> Although the post-war decades were characterised by social strife and widespread marginalisation of the left in political and social spheres, Greece nonetheless experienced [[Greek economic miracle|rapid economic growth]] and recovery, propelled in part by the U.S.-administered [[Marshall Plan]].<ref>{{cite book|title=A History of the Global Economy. From 1500 to the Present|date=2016|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=978-1-107-50718-0|page=51, Figure 2.3 "Numeracy in selected Balkan and Caucasus countries", based on data from Crayen and Baten (2010)|author=Baten, Jörg}}</ref> In 1952, Greece joined [[NATO]], reinforcing its membership in the [[Western Bloc]] of the Cold War.<ref name="Chourchoulis Kourkouvelas 2012 pp. 497–514">{{cite journal | last1=Chourchoulis | first1=Dionysios | last2=Kourkouvelas | first2=Lykourgos | title=Greek perceptions of NATO during the Cold War | journal=Southeast European and Black Sea Studies | publisher=Informa UK Limited | volume=12 | issue=4 | date=26 November 2012 | issn=1468-3857 | doi=10.1080/14683857.2012.741848 | pages=497–514| s2cid=153476225 }}</ref> [[Constantine II of Greece|King Constantine II]]'s [[Apostasia of 1965|dismissal]] of [[George Papandreou (senior)|George Papandreou]]'s centrist government in July 1965 prompted political turbulence, which culminated in a coup in April 1967 by the [[Greek military junta of 1967–1974|Regime of the Colonels]]. Under the junta, civil rights were suspended, political repression was intensified, and human rights abuses, including state-sanctioned torture, were rampant. Economic growth remained rapid before plateauing in 1972. The brutal suppression of the [[Athens Polytechnic uprising]] in November 1973 set in motion the fall of the Papadopoulos regime, resulting in a counter-coup which overthrew [[Georgios Papadopoulos]] and established brigadier [[Dimitrios Ioannidis]] as the new junta strongman. On 20 July 1974, [[Turkish invasion of Cyprus|Turkey invaded the island of Cyprus]] in response to a Greek-backed Cypriot coup, triggering a political crisis in Greece that led to the regime's collapse and the restoration of democracy through [[Metapolitefsi]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=34. Cyprus (1960–present) |url=https://uca.edu/politicalscience/dadm-project/europerussiacentral-asia-region/cyprus-1960-present/ |access-date=2 June 2023 |website=uca.edu |language=en-US}}</ref> ==== Third Hellenic Republic ==== {{Main|Third Hellenic Republic}} [[File:Accession of Greece to the European Union.png|thumb|Signing at [[Zappeion]] by [[Constantine Karamanlis]] of the documents for the accession of Greece to the [[European Union|European Communities]] in 1979]] The former prime minister [[Konstantinos Karamanlis]] was invited back from Paris where he had lived in self-exile since 1963. The [[Greek legislative election, 1974|first multiparty elections]] since 1964 were held on the first anniversary of the Polytechnic uprising. A democratic and republican [[Constitution of Greece|constitution]] was promulgated in 1975 following a [[Greek republic referendum, 1974|referendum]] which chose to not restore the monarchy. Meanwhile, [[Andreas Papandreou]], George Papandreou's son, founded the [[Panhellenic Socialist Movement]] (PASOK) in response to Karamanlis's conservative [[New Democracy (Greece)|New Democracy]] party, with the two political formations dominating government over the next four decades. Greece rejoined NATO in 1980.{{Refn | group = lower-alpha | name="integrated1974" | On 14 August 1974 Greek forces withdrew from the integrated military structure of [[NATO]] in protest at the Turkish occupation of northern Cyprus; Greece rejoined NATO in 1980.}}<ref name="AdamHartDavis">History, Editorial Consultant: Adam Hart-Davis. [[Dorling Kindersley]]. {{ISBN|978-1-85613-062-2}}.</ref> Greece became the tenth member of the [[European Communities]] in 1981, ushering in sustained growth. Widespread investments in industrial enterprises and heavy infrastructure, as well as funds from the [[European Union]] and growing revenue from tourism, shipping, and a fast-growing service sector raised the [[standard of living]] to unprecedented levels. In 1981, the election of [[Andreas Papandreou]] resulted in reforms over the 1980s. He recognised the national resistance during WW2, civil marriage, the dowry was abolished, while education and foreign policy doctrines changed. However, Papandreou's tenure has been associated with corruption, high inflation, stagnation and budget deficits that later caused problems.<ref>{{Cite web |date=5 February 2019 |title=The ideal Greek everyman: Andreas Papandreou at 100 |url=https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/europpblog/2019/02/05/the-ideal-greek-everyman-andreas-papandreou-at-100/ |access-date=9 May 2023 |website=EUROPP}}</ref> The country adopted the euro in 2001 and successfully hosted the [[2004 Summer Olympics|2004 Summer Olympic Games]] in Athens.<ref name="europa.eu">{{cite web|url=http://europa.eu/about-eu/countries/member-countries/greece/index_en.htm|publisher=European Union|access-date=7 April 2007|title=Greece}}</ref> Beginning in 2010, Greece suffered from the [[Great Recession]] and related [[European sovereign debt crisis]]. Due to the adoption of the euro, Greece could no longer [[Devaluation|devalue]] its currency to regain competitiveness. [[Youth unemployment]] was especially high.<ref>{{cite book|title=A History of the Global Economy. From 1500 to the Present|date=2016|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=978-1-107-50718-0|page=66|author=Baten, Jörg}}</ref> In the elections of May and June 2012, there was a major political change, with new parties emerging from the collapse of the two main parties, PASOK and New Democracy.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Konstantinidou |first=Diana |date=28 June 2012 |title=Elections 2012: the Greek political system in flux? |url=https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/greeceatlse/2012/06/28/elections-2012-the-greek-political-system-in-flux/ |access-date=9 May 2023 |website=Greece@LSE}}</ref> In 2015, [[Alexis Tsipras]] was elected as prime minister, the first outside the two main parties.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Syriza's historic win puts Greece on collision course with Europe {{!}} Greece {{!}} The Guardian |url=https://amp.theguardian.com/world/2015/jan/25/syriza-historic-win-greece-european-union-austerity |access-date=9 May 2023 |website=amp.theguardian.com}}</ref> The [[Greek government-debt crisis]], and subsequent austerity policies, resulted in social strife. The crisis ended around 2018, with the end of the bailout mechanisms and return of growth.<ref name="Bailout exit Reuters" /> Simultaneously, Tsipras, and the leader of North Macedonia, [[Zoran Zaev]], signed the [[Prespa Agreement]], solving the [[Macedonia naming dispute|naming dispute]] that had strained the relations and eased the latter's way to become a member of the EU and NATO.<ref>{{Cite web |title=After the Prespa Agreement: Why North Macedonia's Accession to EU won't happen in the near future {{!}} Ústav mezinárodních vztahů – Expertise to impact |url=https://www.iir.cz/after-the-prespa-agreement-why-north-macedonia-s-accession-to-eu-won-t-happen-in-the-near-future |access-date=9 May 2023 |website=www.iir.cz |language=cs}}</ref> In 2019, [[Kyriakos Mitsotakis]] became Greece's new prime minister, after his centre-right New Democracy won the [[2019 Greek legislative election|election]] over ruling leftist Syriza.<ref>{{cite news |title=New era as Mitsotakis is sworn in as Greece's new PM |url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2019/7/8/kyriakos-mitsotakis-sworn-in-as-greeces-new-prime-minister |work=www.aljazeera.com |language=en}}</ref> In 2020, Greece's parliament elected a non-partisan candidate, [[Katerina Sakellaropoulou]], as the first female [[President of Greece]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2020/3/13/greeces-first-female-president-sworn-in|title=Greece swears in first female president|website=www.aljazeera.com}}</ref> During the 2020s, the Greek economy continues to rebound, as a result of post-Covid recovery, robust investments, and an increase in tourism and consumer spending.<ref>{{Cite news |date=10 January 2023 |title=Greek economy to slow in 2023 as energy costs, Ukraine war hit spending -OECD |language=en |work=Reuters |url=https://www.reuters.com/markets/europe/greek-economy-slow-2023-surging-energy-costs-ukraine-war-hit-spending-oecd-2023-01-10/ |access-date=9 May 2023}}</ref> In February 2024, Greece became the first Orthodox Christian country to recognise same-sex marriage and adoption by same-sex couples.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Smith |first1=Helena |title=Greece becomes first Orthodox Christian country to legalise same-sex marriage |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/feb/15/greece-becomes-first-orthodox-christian-country-to-legalise-same-sex-marriage |work=The Guardian |date=15 February 2024 |access-date=16 February 2024}}</ref> Summary: Please note that all contributions to Christianpedia may be edited, altered, or removed by other contributors. If you do not want your writing to be edited mercilessly, then do not submit it here. You are also promising us that you wrote this yourself, or copied it from a public domain or similar free resource (see Christianpedia:Copyrights for details). Do not submit copyrighted work without permission! Cancel Editing help (opens in new window) Discuss this page