Greeks (Έλληνες)
Ioannis Kapodistrias • Pericles • El Greco • Alexander the Great
Total population
approx. Count Ioannis Antonios Kapodistrias (Κόμης Ιωάννης Καποδίστριας - Komis Ioannis Kapodistrias in Giovanni Capo d'Istria Conte Capo d'Istria Pericles (also spelled Perikles) (c 495 – 429 BC Greek:, meaning "surrounded by glory" was a prominent and influential Statesman, orator El Greco' ("The Greek " 1541 &ndash April 7 1614 was a painter, sculptor, and architect of the Spanish Renaissance Alexander the Great ( or, Mégas Aléxandros; July 20 356 BC June 10 or June 11 323 BC also known as Alexander III of Macedon (el Ἀλέξανδρος Γ' 16,000,000
Regions with significant populations
Greece 10,196,539 (2001 census) [1]  United States 1,380,258a (2006 estimate) [2]  Cyprus 624,754 (2001 census) [3]  United Kingdom 400,000 (estimated) [4]  Australia 365,147 (2006 census) [5]  Germany 304,607 (2008 estimate) [6]  Canada 242,685b (2006 census) [7]  Albania 105,000 (2008 estimate) [8]  Russia 97,827 (2002 census) [9]  Ukraine 91,500 (2001 census) [10]  South Africa 55,000 (2008 estimate) [11]  Brazil 40,000 (2008 estimate) [12]  Belgium 15,742 (2007) [13]  Argentina 30,000 (2008 estimate) [14] Elsewhere see Greek diaspora
Languages
Greek
Religions
Predominantly Greek Orthodox[15]
Footnotes
a An estimated 3,000,000 claim Greek descent. Greece (Ελλάδα transliterated: Elláda, historically, Ellás,) officially the Hellenic Republic (Ελληνική Δημοκρατία The United States of America —commonly referred to as the Cyprus (Κύπρος transliterated: Kýpros,; Kıbrıs officially the Republic of Cyprus (Κυπριακή Δημοκρατία Kypriakī́ Dīmokratía The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom, the UK or Britain,is a Sovereign state located For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Australia topics. Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany ( ˈbʊndəsʁepuˌbliːk ˈdɔʏtʃlant is a Country in Central Europe. Country to "Dominion of Canada" or "Canadian Federation" or anything else please read the Talk Page This article is about the country in southern Europe For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Albania topics. Russia (Россия Rossiya) or the Russian Federation ( Rossiyskaya Federatsiya) is a transcontinental Country extending Ukraine (Україна Ukrayina, /ukrɑˈjinɑ/ is a country in Eastern Europe. The Republic of South Africa (also known by other official names) is a country located at the southern tip of the continent of Africa |utc_offset = -2 to -4 |time_zone_DST = BRST |utc_offset_DST = -2 to -5 |cctld The Kingdom of Belgium is a Country in northwest Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts its headquarters as well as those For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Argentina topics. The Greek diaspora (ελληνική διασπορά elliniki diaspora) is a term used to refer to the communities of Greek people living outside of the traditional Greek (el ελληνική γλώσσα or simply el ελληνικά — "Hellenic" is an Indo-European language, spoken today by 15-22 million people mainly The Eastern Orthodox Church is the second largest single Christian Communion in the world [16] b An additional 3,395 Cypriots live in Canada of undeclared ethnicity.

The Greeks (Greek: Έλληνες, IPA: [ˈelines]) are a nation and ethnic group, which historically populates Greece, the nearby regions of the Balkans and Cyprus. Greek (el ελληνική γλώσσα or simply el ελληνικά — "Hellenic" is an Indo-European language, spoken today by 15-22 million people mainly A nation is a Human Cultural and Social Community. In as much as most members never meet each other yet feel a common bond it may be considered Greece (Ελλάδα transliterated: Elláda, historically, Ellás,) officially the Hellenic Republic (Ελληνική Δημοκρατία Cyprus (Κύπρος transliterated: Kýpros,; Kıbrıs officially the Republic of Cyprus (Κυπριακή Δημοκρατία Kypriakī́ Dīmokratía Additionally, there are significant Greek populations throughout various countries due to the Greek diaspora. The Greek diaspora (ελληνική διασπορά elliniki diaspora) is a term used to refer to the communities of Greek people living outside of the traditional ^[17]

Greek colonies and communities have been historically established in most corners of the Mediterranean but Greeks have always been centered around the Aegean Sea, where Greek has been spoken since antiquity. Etymology In ancient times there were various explanations for the name Aegean. Greek (el ελληνική γλώσσα or simply el ελληνικά — "Hellenic" is an Indo-European language, spoken today by 15-22 million people mainly ^[18] Until the early 20th century Greeks were uniformly distributed between the Greek peninsula, the western coast of Asia Minor, Pontus, Cyprus and Constantinople, regions which coincided to a large extent with the borders of the Byzantine Empire of the late 11th century and the Eastern Mediterranean areas of the ancient Greek colonization. The twentieth century of the Common Era began on Anatolia (Anadolu Ανατολία Anatolía) or Asia minor, comprising most of modern Turkey, is the geographic region bounded by the Black Geography The Black Sea region loosely called Pontus by various scholars has a steep rocky coast with rivers that cascade through the gorges of the coastal ranges Istanbul (historically Byzantium and later Constantinople; see the other Names of Istanbul) is the largest city of Turkey Colonies in antiquity were City-states founded from a mother- City ^[19]

In the aftermath of the Greco-Turkish War (1919-1922), a large-scale population exchange between Greece and Turkey transferred and confined ethnic Greeks almost entirely into the borders of the modern Greek state and Cyprus. The 1923 population exchange between Greece and Turkey is the first large-scale population exchange, or agreed mutual expulsion in the 20th century Other ethnic Greek populations can be found from Southern Italy to the Caucasus and in diaspora communities in a number of other countries. Geography Southern Italy forms the lower "boot" of the Italian peninsula containing the ankle (Abruzzo and Molise and southern Lazio the toe (Calabria and the heel The Caucasus ( also referred to as North Caucasus) is a geopolitical region located between Europe Asia & Middle East Today, the vast majority of Greeks are at least nominally adherents of Greek Orthodoxy. The Greek Orthodox Church ( Greek: Ἑλληνορθόδοξη Ἐκκλησία Hellēnorthódoxē Ekklēsía) is formed by several autocephalous churches ^[20][15]

Contents 1 History 1.1 Mycenaean 1.2 Classical 1.3 Hellenistic 1.4 Roman 1.5 Ottoman 1.6 Modern 2 Identity 2.1 Polyonymy 2.2 Genetic origins 2.3 Modern and ancient 2.4 Demographics 2.5 Diaspora 2.5.1 Ancient 2.5.2 Modern 3 Culture 3.1 Language 3.2 Religion 3.3 Art 3.4 Science 3.5 Symbols 3.6 Surnames 3.7 Sea 4 Timeline 5 References 6 Further reading 7 External links

History

Part of the series on Greeks Greek culture Art · Cinema · Cuisine Dance · Dress · Literature Music · Philosophy · Religion Sport · Television By region or country Greece · Cyprus Greek diaspora Subgroups Antiochians Arvanites · Cappadocians Cypriots · Greek Muslims Hayhurums  · Karamanlides Maniots  · Pontians Romaniotes  · Sarakatsani Tsakonians · Urums Religion Greek Orthodox Church Roman Catholicism Greek Catholicism Greek Evangelicalism Judaism · Islam Neopaganism Languages and dialects Greek Calabrian Greek Cappadocian Greek Cretan Greek · Griko Cypriot Greek · Pontic Greek Tsakonian · Yevanic Meglenitic · Aromanian Arvanitika · Slavika Karamanlidika · Urum History v • d • e

Greek has been spoken on the Greek peninsula (i. The Culture of Greece has evolved over thousands of years with its beginnings in the Mycenaean and Minoan Civilizations, continuing most notably into Classical Greece Greece has a rich and varied artistic history spanning some 5000 years Greece has a long and rich cinematic history The country that gave rise to Western civilisation has produced many famous film actors and directors The Greek cuisine ( Greek: Ελληνική Κουζίνα is Greece's traditional Cuisine, a typical Mediterranean cuisine Contemporary Greek dance is a very old tradition being referred to by ancient authors such as Plato, Aristotle, Plutarch and Lucian. The Culture of Greece has evolved over thousands of years with its beginnings in the Mycenaean and Minoan Civilizations, continuing most notably into Classical Greece Greek literature refers to those writings autochthonic to the areas of Greek influence typically though not necessarily in one of the Greek dialects throughout the The musical legacy of Greece is as diverse as its history. Cypriot music has certain similarities to traditional Greek Music, and their Ancient Greek philosophy focused on the role of Reason and Inquiry. The Greek Orthodox Church ( Greek: Ἑλληνορθόδοξη Ἐκκλησία Hellēnorthódoxē Ekklēsía) is formed by several autocephalous churches The Culture of Greece has evolved over thousands of years with its beginnings in the Mycenaean and Minoan Civilizations, continuing most notably into Classical Greece Television broadcasting in Greece began in 1966 with the first network EPT (Ellinikí Radiofonía Tileórasi broadcasting out of Athens, as a state-owned Greece (Ελλάδα transliterated: Elláda, historically, Ellás,) officially the Hellenic Republic (Ελληνική Δημοκρατία Cyprus (Κύπρος transliterated: Kýpros,; Kıbrıs officially the Republic of Cyprus (Κυπριακή Δημοκρατία Kypriakī́ Dīmokratía The Greek diaspora (ελληνική διασπορά elliniki diaspora) is a term used to refer to the communities of Greek people living outside of the traditional Antiochian Greeks are the members of the Greek Orthodox Church of Antioch who have resided in the territory of contemporary Turkish province of Hatay. Cappadocian, also known as Cappadocian Greek or Asia Minor Greek is a dialect of the Greek language, formerly spoken in Cappadocia (Central Turkey Greek Cypriots ( Greek: Ελληνοκύπριοι Turkish: Kıbrıslı Rumlar are the ethnic Greek population of Cyprus. Greek Muslims, also known as Greek-speaking Muslims, are Muslims of Greek ethnic origin and are found primarily in Turkey, Cyprus Hayhurum is the name given to Armenian -speaking Christians who are members of Greek Orthodox Church. The Karamanlides ( Greek: Καραμανλήδες; Turkish: Karamanlılar) or simply Karamanlis, are a Greek Orthodox The Maniots (or Maniates; Greek Μανιάτες) are the Greek inhabitants of the Mani Peninsula (the middle leg of the Peloponnese located The term Pontic Greeks, Pontian Greeks, Pontians or Greeks of Pontus (Πόντιοι Ποντιακός Ελληνισμός or gr Έλληνες The Romaniotes ( Greek: Ρωμανιώτες, Rōmaniōtes are a Jewish population who have lived in the territory of today's Greece and The Sarakatsani (Σαρακατσάνοι are a group of Greek transhumant shepherds in Greece. Tsakonians ( Greek: Τσάκωνες Tsákones) are an ethnic Greek population group speakers of the Tsakonian dialect or more broadly Urums, singular Urum u'rum ( Greek: Ουρούμ Urúm, Turkish: Urum, Crimean Tatar: Urum) is a broad historical The Greek Orthodox Church ( Greek: Ἑλληνορθόδοξη Ἐκκλησία Hellēnorthódoxē Ekklēsía) is formed by several autocephalous churches The Roman Catholic Church in Greece is part of the worldwide Roman Catholic Church, under the spiritual leadership of the Pope and Curia in Rome The Greek Byzantine Catholic Church is a Sui iuris Particular Church within the Catholic Church and uses the Byzantine liturgical rite The Greek Evangelical Church ( Greek: Ελληνική Ευαγγελική Εκκλησία Elliniki Evangeliki Ekklisia) is a Protestant denomination in There have been organized Jewish communities in Greece for more than two thousand years Islam in Greece is represented by a number of autochthonous and immigrant communities Hellenic Polytheistic Reconstructionism (also Hellenic Reconstructionism) refers to various reconstructionist movements that revive ancient Greek religious practices Greek (el ελληνική γλώσσα or simply el ελληνικά — "Hellenic" is an Indo-European language, spoken today by 15-22 million people mainly Cappadocian, also known as Cappadocian Greek or Asia Minor Greek is a dialect of the Greek language, formerly spoken in Cappadocia (Central Turkey Cretan Greek ( Cretan dialect &mdash in Greek, Kritikí diálektos &ndash Κρητική διάλεκτος or Kritiká Κρητικά Griko, sometimes spelled Grico, is a Modern Greek dialect which is spoken by people in the Magna Graecia region in southern Italy, and it The Cypriot Dialect of Greek ( Cypriot Greek ( Κυπριακή διάλεκτος) or Kypriaka ( Greek: Κυπριακά Pontic Greek is a form of the Greek language originally spoken in the Pontus area on the southern shores of the Black Sea, and today mainly in Greece Tsakonian, Tzakonian or Tsakonic ( Greek Τσακωνικά) is a dialect of modern Greek spoken in the Tsakonian region Yevanic, otherwise known as Romaniote and Judeo-Greek, was the Dialect of the Romaniotes, the group of Greek Jews whose existence in Megleno-Romanian (known as Vlăheşte by speakers and Moglenitic, Meglenitic or Megleno-Romanian by linguists is a Romance language Aromanian ( limba armãneascã, armãneshce or armãneashti) also known as Macedo-Romanian, Arumanian or Vlach in most Arvanitika or Arvanitic ( Albanian: Arbërisht, Greek: αρβανίτικα arvanitika) is the variety of Albanian The Slavic dialects of Greece are the dialects of Bulgarian or Macedonian spoken by minority groups in the regions of Macedonia and Thrace Turkish ( tr Türkçe IPA) is a language spoken by over 63 million people worldwide making it the most commonly spoken of the Turkic languages. Urum is a Turkic language spoken by several thousand people who inhabit a few villages in the Southeastern Ukraine and in Diaspora communities world The History of Greece traditionally encompasses the study of the Greek people, the areas they ruled historically and the territory now composing the modern state of e. the southern Balkan region) for over 3,500 years and in western Asia Minor for a little less. ^[21] It has an almost unbroken literary history which makes it one of the oldest surviving branches of the Indo-European languages. From Ancient Greece the Greeks have inherited a sophisticated culture and language documented over three millennia. The term ancient Greece refers to the period of Greek history lasting from the Greek Dark Ages ca ^[22]

Greece was the first modern state to be created in the Balkans when the Greeks liberated a part of their historic homelands from the Ottoman Empire. Greece (Ελλάδα transliterated: Elláda, historically, Ellás,) officially the Hellenic Republic (Ελληνική Δημοκρατία The Ottoman Empire (1299–1923 ( Old Ottoman Turkish: دولتْ علیّه عثمانیّه Devlet-i Âliye-yi Osmâniyye, Late Ottoman and Modern Turkish The large Greek Diaspora and merchant class were instrumental in transmitting the ideas of western Romantic nationalism and Philhellenism. Romantic nationalism (also National Romanticism, organic nationalism, identity nationalism) is the form of Nationalism in which the state derives Philhellenism ("the love of Greek culture" was the intellectual fashion at the turn of the 19th century that led Europeans like Lord Byron to lend their support for These, together with the conception of Hellenism formulated during the last centuries of the Eastern Roman Empire, formed the basis of the Greek Enlightenment. Diafotismos ( Greek: Διαφωτισμός "enlightenment" "illumination" from fos " Light " The Modern Greek ^[23]

Mycenaean

Further information: Mycenaean Greece

Kouros,Archaic period The proto-Greeks arrived in the area now referred to as 'Greece' (the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula) at the end of the third millennium BCE. Mycenaean Greece is a cultural period of ancient Greece taking its name from the archaeological site of Mycenae in northeastern Argolis, in the Peloponnese A kouros (plural kouroi) is a representation of a male youth especially those dating from the Archaic period in Greece (about 650 BC to about 500 BC and especially There they mingled with the native pre-Hellenic populations and by the 16th century BCE this fusion had created the civilization we call Mycenaean today. [24] The Mycenaeans were the first Greek speaking people, as attested by the Iliad and Odyssey and later the deciphering of their Linear B script. The Iliad ( Greek: Ἰλιάς (Ancient Ιλιάδα (Modern is together with the Odyssey, one of two ancient The Odyssey ( Greek: Ὀδύσσεια or Odússeia) is one of two major ancient Greek epic poems attributed to Homer. Linear B is a script that was used for writing Mycenaean, an early form of Greek. The language behind the script was found to be an early form of Greek. [25] The Mycenaeans quickly penetrated the Aegean and by the 15th century BCE had reached Rhodes, Crete, Cyprus and the shores of Asia Minor. Aegean civilization is a general term for the Bronze Age Civilizations of Greece and the Aegean. Anatolia (Anadolu Ανατολία Anatolía) or Asia minor, comprising most of modern Turkey, is the geographic region bounded by the Black From 1,200 BCE the Dorians, another Greek speaking people, followed from Epirus. The Dorians or Dorian Greeks ( Greek:, Dōrieis singular, Dōrieus were Epirus (from Ionic Greek Ήπειρος - Ēpeiros, Doric Greek: Ἅπειρος - Apeiros, in Albanian The Dorian Migration was followed by a poorly attested period of migrations, appropriately called the Greek Dark Ages, but by 800 BCE the landscape of Classical Greece was discernible. The Dark Ages (ca 1150 BC–800 BC refers to Greek history from the presumed Dorian invasion and end of the Mycenaean civilization in the 11th century There are some elements of cultural continuity between the Greek Dark Ages or Early Iron Age (1100 BCE - 750 BCE), and the Archaic and Classical Greece (750 BCE onwards) of the Polis. In the context of the art architecture and culture of Ancient Greece, the classical period corresponds to most of the 5th and 4th centuries A polis ( πόλις, pronunciation, in English-- plural poleis ( πόλεις, pronunciation, in English --is a City, a In the Odyssey and the Iliad, the Greeks of Prehistory are viewed as the forefathers of the early classical civilization of Homer's own time. Stone Age Paleolithic See also Paleolithic, Recent African Origin, Early Homo sapiens, Early human migrations "Paleolithic" [26] Achilles and Odysseus were viewed by Greeks as examples of the ideal citizen of a Polis. "Achilleus" redirects here For the emperor with this name see Achilleus (emperor. grc-Latn Odysseus or la Ulysses ( Greek grc-Latn Odysseus; Latin: la Ulixes or more commonly Ulysses) oʊˈdɪsiəs The Mycenaean pantheon included many of the divinities attested in later Greek religion including Zeus, Poseidon, Athena, Artemis, Ares-"Enyalios", Hermes, Dionysus and Eilithyia. Greek religion encompasses the collection of beliefs and rituals practiced in Ancient Greece in the form of both popular public religion and cult practices. Zeus (zjuːs in Greek: nominative: Zeús /zdeús/ genitive: Diós; Modern Greek /'zefs/ in Greek mythology In Greek mythology, Poseidon ( Greek:; Latin: Neptūnus) was the god of the Sea and as "Earth-Shaker" ATHENA was an Antimatter research project that took place at the AD Ring at CERN. In Greek mythology, Artemis language|Greek] ( Nominative), ( Genitive))] was the daughter of Zeus and Leto, and the twin sister In Greek mythology, Ares ( Ancient Greek:, Μodern Greek Άρης) is the son of Zeus and Hera. Hermes ( Greek,, ˈhɝmiːz in Greek mythology, is the Olympian god of boundaries and of the travelers who cross them of Shepherds and In Classical mythology, Dionysus or Dionysos (in Greek, Διόνυσος or Διώνυσος; associated with Roman It was also influenced by the Minoan pantheon. The Minoan civilization was a Bronze Age civilization which arose on the island of Crete. There was some continuity of religion and cult from the Late Bronze Age into later Greek times. The term Bronze Age refers to a period in human cultural development when the most advanced Metalworking (at least in systematic and widespread use included techniques for [27]

Classical

Main article: Ancient Greece

Further information: Ancient Greek dialects and Greek tribes

The classical period of Greek civilization covers a time span from the early fifth century BCE to the death of Alexander the Great, in 323 BCE. Classical antiquity (also the classical era or classical period) is a broad term for a long period of cultural History centered on the Mediterranean Alexander the Great ( or, Mégas Aléxandros; July 20 356 BC June 10 or June 11 323 BC also known as Alexander III of Macedon (el Ἀλέξανδρος Γ' It is so named because it set the standards by which Greek civilization would be judged in later eras. In that time Greeks contributed to the future development of arts and sciences by creating a legacy of influence upon Western civilization. ^[28] The ethnogenessis of the Greek nation is marked by the first Olympic Games in 776 BCE when the idea of a common Hellenism amongst the Greek speaking tribes was first translated into a shared cultural experience. ^[17] Hellenism was supremely a matter of common culture. ^[17]

Herodotus writes that the Athenians declared, before the battle of Plataea, that they would not go over to Mardonius, because in the first place, they were bound to avenge the burning of the Acropolis; and, secondly, they would not betray their fellow Greeks, to whom they were bound by:^[29]

• A common language (ομόγλωσσον homoglosson – the use of one of the dialects of the Greek language),
• Common blood (όμαιμον homaimon – descent from Hellen, son of Deucalion),
• Common shrines, statues and sacrifices (practice of the ancient Greek religion)
• Common habits and customs. Herodotus of Halicarnassus ( Greek: Hēródotos Halikarnāsseús) was a Greek Historian who lived in the 5th century BC ( 484 BC&ndash The Battle of Plataea was the final major Battle of the Greco-Persian Wars in southern Greece. This page is about the historical figure for the Millipede Genus, see Mardonius (genus Mardonius (d Acropolis (Gr akros akron edge extremity + polis city pl acropoleis Note Hellen was not the same person as Helen of Troy, or Helenus, son of King Priam of Troy. In Greek mythology, Deucalion (Δευκαλίων was a son of Prometheus and Pronoia. A shrine, from the Latin scrinium (‘box’ also used as a desk like the French bureau) was originally a container usually made of precious materials used A statue is a Sculpture in the round representing a person or persons an animal or an event normally full-length as opposed to a bust, and at least close to life-size Sacrifice (from a Middle English verb meaning "to make sacred" from Old French, from Latin sacrificium: sacr, "sacred" Greek religion encompasses the collection of beliefs and rituals practiced in Ancient Greece in the form of both popular public religion and cult practices.

As Thucydides observes the name of Hellas spread from a valley in Thessaly to the Greek-speaking populations sometime after the compositions of Homer (the Panellenes of Iliad 2. Thucydides ( C 460 BC &ndash C 395 BC) ( Greek Θουκυδίδης Thoukydídēs) was a Greek Thessalia redirects here For the Butterfly Genus, see Thessalia (butterfly. Homer ( Ancient Greek:, Homēros) is a legendary ancient Greek epic Poet, traditionally said to be the author of the epic poems the 530 are the troops of Thessaly,^[30] contrasting with the Achaeans) and not long before his own time. ^[31] Hellen, combined into one group the smaller tribes that participated in the Delphic Amphictyon, such as the Aeolians, the Achaeans, and the Dorians. The Amphictyonic League ( Amphictyony) was a form of Greek religious organization that was enjoined to support specific temples or sacred places and The Aeolians (Αἰολεῖς were one of the three ancient Greek tribes ^[32]

As early as the 5th century BCE, Isocrates, after speaking of common origin and religion, says: "the name Hellenes suggests no longer a race but a culture and education,. Pericles (also spelled Perikles) (c 495 – 429 BC Greek:, meaning "surrounded by glory" was a prominent and influential Statesman, orator Kresilas was a Greek sculptor from Kydonia. He lived in the 5th century BC. The Altes Museum ( German: Old Museum) is one of several internationally renowned museums on Berlin 's Museum Island in Berlin Berlin is the capital city and one of sixteen states of Germany. Isocrates ( Greek: Ἰσοκράτης 436–338 BC an Ancient Greek rhetorician, was one of the ten Attic orators. . . the title Hellenes is applied best to those who share our culture rather than to those who share our common blood". ^[33] Following Alexander the Great's conquests, Greek became the lingua franca of the Eastern Mediterranean and was widely spoken by educated non-Greeks. A lingua franca (from Italian, literally meaning Frankish language, see etymology under Sabir and Italian below is any Language widely

However, while the Greeks of the Classical era understood themselves to belong to a common Greek ethnicity their first loyalty was to their city and they saw nothing incongruous about warring, often brutally, with other Greek Polis'. A city-state is a Region controlled exclusively by a City, usually having Sovereignty. A polis ( πόλις, pronunciation, in English-- plural poleis ( πόλεις, pronunciation, in English --is a City, a The Peloponnesian War, a large scale Greek "civil" war between Athens and Sparta and their allies, is a notable such incident which highlights the lack of a common national (as opposed to ethnic) identity among Greeks. This local patriotism, (topikismos) remains a part of Greek culture. ^[34]

The feuding Greek city states were only united under the banner of Alexander the Great's Panhellenic ideals, though some might contend that Macedon’s overwhelming military strength might have played a role. Macedon or Macedonia ( Greek grc Μακεδονία grc-Latn Makedonía) was the name of a kingdom centered in the northern-most Regardless, the combined armies of Greece were pointed at the Greek's nemesis, the Persian Empire. ^[35] Following victories at the battles of Granicus, Issus and Gaugamela the Greeks toppled the world's largest empire. The Battle of the Granicus River in May 334 BC was the first of three major battles fought between Alexander the Great and the Persian Empire. The Battle of Issus (or more commonly The Battle at Issus) occurred in southern Anatolia, in November 333 BC. The Battle of Gaugamela (ˌgɔːgəˈmiːlə (Γαυγάμηλα took place in 331 BC between Alexander the Great of Macedonia and Darius III Greek armies advanced as far as modern day India and Tajikistan, setting up colonies and trade routes along the way. India, officially the Republic of India (भारत गणराज्य inc-Latn Bhārat Gaṇarājya; see also other Indian languages) is a country Tajikistan (təˈdʒɪkɨstæn or /təˈdʒiːkɨstæn/ Тоҷикистон tɔʤikɪsˈtɔn or, Persian تاجیکستان‎ taajikestaan officially the Republic of While the empire created did not survive Alexander’s death, the cultural implications of the spread of Hellenism across most of the known world were to prove long lived. Two thousand years later there are still communities like the Kalash in Pakistan and the Nuristani in Afghanistan who claim to be descended from Greek settlers. The Kalash ( Nuristani: Kasivo) or Kalasha, are an ethnic group of the Hindu Kush mountain range residing in the Chitral district The Nuristani people are an Ethnic group found mostly in Laghman Province and Nurestan Province of Afghanistan. ^[35][36]

Hellenistic

Bust of the queen Cleopatra Thea Philopator of Egypt Further information: Hellenistic civilization When Alexander the Great's armies overthrew the Persian Empire and spread Greek culture from the Adriatic to the Indian Ocean they were laying the foundations for a new era. A bust is a sculpted or cast representation of the upper part of the human figure depicting a person's head and Neck, as well as a variable portion of Cleopatra VII Philopator (in Greek, Κλεοπάτρα Φιλοπάτωρ; January 69 BC &ndash 30 BC was a Hellenistic ruler of Egypt Ptolemaic Egypt began when Ptolemy I Soter declared himself Pharaoh of Egypt in 305 BC and ended with the death of queen Cleopatra This article focuses on the cultural aspects of the Hellenistic age for the historical aspects see Hellenistic period. Alexander the Great ( or, Mégas Aléxandros; July 20 356 BC June 10 or June 11 323 BC also known as Alexander III of Macedon (el Ἀλέξανδρος Γ' The Persian Empire was a series of Iranian empires that ruled over the Iranian plateau, the original Persian homeland and beyond in Western Asia The beginning of the Hellenistic age is usually placed at Alexander's death. This article focuses on the cultural aspects of the Hellenistic age for the historical aspects see Hellenistic period. This Hellenistic age, so called because it witnessed the partial hellenization of many non-Greek cultures and a combination of Greek, Middle Eastern and Indian elements, lasted until the conquest of Egypt by Rome in 30 BCE. Hellenization (or Hellenisation) is a term used to describe the spread of Greek culture. Ptolemaic Egypt began when Ptolemy I Soter declared himself Pharaoh of Egypt in 305 BC and ended with the death of queen Cleopatra This age saw the Greeks move towards larger cities and a reduction in the importance of the city-state. These larger cities were parts of the still larger Kingdoms of the Diadochi. The Diadochi (plural of Latin Diadochus, from Greek Διάδοχοι, Diadokhoi, "successors" were the rival successors Greeks however remained aware of their past, chiefly through the study of the works of Homer and the Classical authors. [37] An important factor in maintaining Greek identity was contact with barbarian (non-Greek) peoples which was deepened in the new cosmopolitan environment of the multi ethnic Hellenistic Kingdoms. "Barbarian" is a pejorative term for an uncivilized person either in a general reference to a member of a nation or Ethnos perceived This led to a strong desire among Greeks to organize the transmission of Hellenic paideia to the next generation. In Ancient Greek, the word Paideia (παιδεία means "education" or "instruction [38] In the religious sphere, this was a period of profound change. The spiritual revolution that took place saw a waning of the old Greek religion, whose decline beginning in the 3rd century BCE continued with the introduction of new religious movements from the East. [39] The cults of deities like Isis and Mithra were introduced into the Greek world. Isis is a goddess in Ancient Egyptian religious beliefs and is celebrated in their mythology as the ideal mother and wife patron of nature and magic friend of slaves sinners This article is about the Zoroastrian Yazata Mithra (Miθra For other divinities with related names see the general article Mitra. [40] In the Indo-Greek kingdoms of the East and the Greco-Bactrian a new Hellenized form of a local religion was spreading, Greco-Buddhism and Greco-Buddhist missionaries would play an important role in propagating it to China. The Indo-Greek Kingdom (or sometimes Graeco-Indian Kingdom) covered various parts of the northwest and northern Indian subcontinent during the last two centuries The Gr(aeco-Bactrian Kingdom was the easternmost part of the Hellenistic world covering Bactria and Sogdiana in Central Asia from 250 Greco-Buddhism, sometimes spelt Graeco-Buddhism, refers to the cultural Syncretism between Hellenistic culture and Buddhism, which developed [41] Further East, the Greeks of Alexandria Eschate who introduced the cultivation of grapes to the Far East, became known to the Chinese as the Dayuan. Alexandria Eschate ( Greek, Latin Alexandria Ultima English meaning "Alexandria the Furthest" was founded by Alexander the Great in August 329 BCE The Dayuan or Ta-Yuan ( lit “Great Yuan” were a people of Ferghana in Central Asia, described in the Chinese historical works of [42]

Roman

Main article: Byzantine Greeks

The 11th century Trebizond Gospel was commissioned by the Komnenoi. Byzantine Greeks or Byzantines or Romaioi, is a conventional term used by modern historians to refer to the medieval Greek or Hellenized citizens Trebizond Gospel, l 243 (Gregory-Aland is a Byzantine Illuminated manuscript with the text of Gospel Lectionary dating paleographically	Scenes of marriage and family life. Left illumination is a scene of marriage. The right illumination depicts a conversation among family members.

The new Eastern Religions introduced into the Greek world paved the way for the expansion of Christianity among Roman era Greeks. Early Christianity was profoundly shaped by the Greek world of ideas and the Greek speaking Christians (the so called εξ ελλήνων χριστιανοί or Hellenists) formed the majority of the Early Church and provided most of the Greek Fathers. Early Christianity is commonly defined as the Christianity of the three centuries between the Crucifixion of Jesus ( c Early Christianity is commonly defined as the Christianity of the three centuries between the Crucifixion of Jesus ( c The Church Fathers, Early Church Fathers, or Fathers of the Church are the early and influential theologians and writers in the Christian Church ^[40] Eventually the word Hellene came to mean a Hellenic polytheist or a pagan in general and Greek speakers referred to themselves as Rhomaioi (Romans in Greek, an ethnonym still in use today). Byzantine Greeks or Byzantines or Romaioi, is a conventional term used by modern historians to refer to the medieval Greek or Hellenized citizens Distinctions of ethnicity still existed in the Roman empire, but became secondary to religious considerations. The Roman Empire was the post-Republican phase of the ancient Roman civilization, characterised by an autocratic form of government and large territorial The renewed empire used Christianity as a tool to maintain its cohesion and promoted a robust Roman national identity. ^[43]

The Eastern Roman Empire (which was later misnamed by Western historians as the Byzantine Empire, a name that would have meant nothing to Greek speakers of the era^[44]) was dominated by Greek culture to such an extent that Emperor Heraclius (575 CE - 641 CE) finally decided to make Greek the Roman Empire's official language. Heraclius, or Herakleios (Flavius Heraclius Augustus;) (c 575 - February 11, 641) was a Byzantine Emperor, who ruled the East ^[45] From then on, the Roman and Greek cultures were virtually fused in the East into a single Greco-Roman world. In modern Olympic and amateur Wrestling, Greco-Roman wrestling is a particular style and variation By that time, the Latin West had began referring to the Eastern Roman Empire as Empire of the Greeks (Imperium Graecorum). ^[46] Greek speakers at the time however referred to themselves as Rhomaioi (Romans) and were conscious and proud of their Roman Imperial and Christian religious heritages. ^[44]

"At least three quarters of the ancient Greek classics that survived did so through Byzantine manuscripts. "

Michael H. Harris[47]

"Much of what we know about antiquity – especially Hellenic and Roman literature and Roman law - would have been lost forever, if it weren’t for the scholars and the scribes of Constantinople. "

J. J. Norwich[48]

The Roman Greeks contributed to Western Civilization by their preservation of the literature of the Classical era: Byzantine grammarians were those principally responsible for carrying, in person and in writing, ancient Greek grammatical and literary studies to early Renaissance Italy to which the influx of Greek scholars gave a major boost. Western culture (sometimes equated with Western Civilization) are terms which are used to refer to Cultures of European origin The Italian Renaissance began the opening phase of the Renaissance, a period of great cultural change and achievement in Europe that spanned the period from the end of the 14th The migration of Byzantine Greek scholars and other émigrés from Byzantium during the decline of the Byzantine empire (1203-1453 and mainly after the fall of ^[49] Roman Greeks never stopped teaching Homer and the Classics and cultivated the philosophical schools of Platonism and Aristotelism for over two millennia, until the Fall of Constantinople in the 15th century. Byzantine Greeks or Byzantines or Romaioi, is a conventional term used by modern historians to refer to the medieval Greek or Hellenized citizens Platonism is the Philosophy of Plato or the name of other philosophical systems considered closely derived from it Aristotelianism is a tradition of Philosophy that takes its defining inspiration from the work of Aristotle. The Fall of Constantinople refers to the capture of the Byzantine Empire's capital by the Ottoman Empire on Tuesday May 29, 1453 (Julian Calendar ^[50]

To the Slavic world Roman Greeks contributed by the dissemination of literacy and Christianity. The most notable example of the later was the work of the two Rhomaioi brothers Saints Cyril and Methodius from Thessalonica, who are credited today with inventing the first Slavic alphabet. Saints Cyril and Methodius (Κύριλλος και Μεθόδιος Old Church Slavonic: Кѷриллъ и Меѳодїи) were two Byzantine Greek brothers born Thessaloniki (Θεσσαλονίκη), Thessalonica, or Salonica is the second-largest city in Greece and the capital of Macedonia The Glagolitic alphabet or Glagolitsa is the oldest known Slavic Alphabet. ^[51]

A distinct Greek nationalism re-emerged in the 11th century within specific circles and became more forceful after the fall of Constantinople to the Crusaders of the Fourth Crusade in 1204, and the establishment of a number of Greek kingdoms (such as the Empire of Nicaea and the Despotate of Epirus). The Fourth Crusade (1202&ndash1204 was originally designed to conquer Muslim Jerusalem by means of an invasion through Egypt. The Empire of Nicaea ( Greek: Βασίλειον τῆς Νίκαιας Turkish: İznik İmparatorluğu) was the largest of the Byzantine The Principality of Epirus can also refer to the pashalik of Ali Pasha The Despotate or Principality of Epirus (Δεσποτάτο της ^[52] When the empire was revived in 1261, it became in many ways a Greek national state. Adherence to Greek Orthodox rites and the Greek language, became the defining characteristic of its people. The Greek Orthodox Church ( Greek: Ἑλληνορθόδοξη Ἐκκλησία Hellēnorthódoxē Ekklēsía) is formed by several autocephalous churches That new notion of nationhood engendered a deep interest in the classical past. There was a powerful secularist tradition in this, culminating in the ideas of the Neo-Platonist Byzantine philosopher George Gemistus Plethon who wished to revive the ancient Greek religion. Georgius Gemistos (or Plethon, Pletho) in Greek Γεώργιος Πλήθων Γεμιστός, (c However it was the combination of Orthodoxy with a specifically Greek identity that shaped the Byzantine Greeks notions of themselves in the empire's twilight years. ^[52]

Ottoman

Further information: Phanariotes

Under the Ottoman Empire's millet system, religion was the defining characteristic of "national" groups (milletler), so the exonym "Greeks" (Rumlar from the name Rhomaioi) was applied by the Ottomans to all members of the Orthodox Church, regardless of their language or ethnic origin. Phanariotes, Phanariots, or Phanariote Greeks ( Greek:Φαναριώτες Romanian: Fanarioţi, Bulgarian:Фанариоти Millet is an Ottoman Turkish term for a Confessional community in the Ottoman Empire. An exonym (from Greek el ἔξω exo = out el ὄνομα onoma = name is a name for a place that is not used within that place by the local The term Orthodox Christianity may refer to The Eastern Orthodox Church: the Eastern Christian churches of Byzantine Conversely, those who adopted Islam during that period were considered part of the same Muslim millet, regardless of their language or origin. For other meanings including people named 'Islam' see Islam (disambiguation. ^[23] The Greek speakers were the only ethnic group to actually call themselves Rhomaioi, (as opposed to being so named by others) and some even considered their ethnicity (genos) to be Hellenic. Greek (el ελληνική γλώσσα or simply el ελληνικά — "Hellenic" is an Indo-European language, spoken today by 15-22 million people mainly Byzantine Greeks or Byzantines or Romaioi, is a conventional term used by modern historians to refer to the medieval Greek or Hellenized citizens ^[53] For most Greek speakers however the Hellenes were an ancient, semi-mythical race of giants to whom they were inferior in strength and achievement. Greek (el ελληνική γλώσσα or simply el ελληνικά — "Hellenic" is an Indo-European language, spoken today by 15-22 million people mainly ^[54]

The roots of Greek success in the Ottoman Empire can be traced to the Greek tradition of education and the need of the Ottomans for skilled and educated negotiators as the power of their empire declined and they were compelled to rely on treaties more than force of arms. The Ottoman Empire (1299–1923 ( Old Ottoman Turkish: دولتْ علیّه عثمانیّه Devlet-i Âliye-yi Osmâniyye, Late Ottoman and Modern Turkish ^[55] However it was the wealth of the extensive Greek merchant class that provided the material basis for the intellectual revival that was the prominent feature of Greek life in the half century and more leading to the outbreak of the Greek War of Independence in 1821. The Greek War of Independence (1821–1829 also commonly known as the Greek Revolution (Ελληνική Επανάσταση Elliniki Epanastasi; Ottoman Impelled by the brand of local patriotism that has always been of feature of the Greek world they endowed libraries and schools. Not coincidentally, on the eve of 1821 the three most important centres of Greek learning, schools-cum-universities, were situated in Chios, Smyrna and Aivali, all three major centres of Greek commerce. Chios (Χίος pronounced ˈçio̞s alternative transliterations Khíos and Híos) is the fifth largest of the Greek islands, situated This article is on the Ancient Greek city of Smyrna principally in connection with the ruins remaining to this day Ayvalık ( Ancient Greek: Κυδωνίαι, Greek: Αϊβαλί aivali or Κυδωνίες) is a seaside town in the northwestern ^[56] Starting in the 15th century many Greeks sought better employment and education opportunities by leaving for the West, particularly Italy but also Central Europe and Germany as well as Russia. The term Western world, the West or the Occident ( Latin: occidens -sunset -west as distinct from the Orient) can have multiple meanings The Italian Renaissance began the opening phase of the Renaissance, a period of great cultural change and achievement in Europe that spanned the period from the end of the 14th The Greeks in Germany form a significant community numbering some 350000 people The Greek presence in southern Russia is dated to the 6th century BC

Modern

Main articles: Diafotismos and Greek War of Independence

This relationship between ethnic Greek identity and Greek Orthodox religion continued after the creation of the modern Greek state in 1830. Diafotismos ( Greek: Διαφωτισμός "enlightenment" "illumination" from fos " Light " The Modern Greek The Greek War of Independence (1821–1829 also commonly known as the Greek Revolution (Ελληνική Επανάσταση Elliniki Epanastasi; Ottoman According to the second article of the first Greek constitution of 1822 a Greek was defined as any Christian resident of the Kingdom of Greece, a clause removed by 1840. The Constitution of Greece (Σύνταγμα / Sýntagma) was created by the Fifth Revisional Parliament of the Hellenes and entered into force in 1975 ^[57] A century later, when the Treaty of Lausanne was signed between Greece and Turkey in 1923, the two countries agreed to use religion as the determinant for ethnic identity for the purposes of population exchange. The Treaty of Lausanne ( July 24, 1923) was a Peace treaty signed in Lausanne that settled the Anatolian part of the Partitioning ^[58]

While the majority of Greeks today are descended from Greek speaking Rhomioi there are sizeable groups of ethnic Greeks who trace their descent to Aromanian-speaking Vlachs, Albanian-speaking Arvanites and Slavic-speaking Greeks. Byzantine Greeks or Byzantines or Romaioi, is a conventional term used by modern historians to refer to the medieval Greek or Hellenized citizens Aromanian ( limba armãneascã, armãneshce or armãneashti) also known as Macedo-Romanian, Arumanian or Vlach in most Vlachs is a blanket term covering several modern Latin peoples descending from the Latinised population in Central, Eastern and Southeastern Europe Arvanitika or Arvanitic ( Albanian: Arbërisht, Greek: αρβανίτικα arvanitika) is the variety of Albanian Slavophone Greeks ( Greek: Σλαβόφωνοι Έλληνες are a population group in northern Greece, who traditionally speak Slavika, a dialect of ^[59] None of the latter groups were ever considered less Greek than the Rhomioi and their contribution to the liberation and foundation of the modern Greek state was decisive. Byzantine Greeks or Byzantines or Romaioi, is a conventional term used by modern historians to refer to the medieval Greek or Hellenized citizens ^[60]

In many important respects, the Greek state adhered from its founding to remarkably secular principles. Secularity ( adjective form secular) is the state of being separate from Religion. For instance, Jews were granted full citizens rights in 1830, the year Greece's independence was formally recognized, thus making Greece one of the first states in Europe with an emancipated Jewish community. Jewish question Jewish emancipation was the abolition of discriminatory laws as applied especially to Jews in Europe in the nineteenth century the recognition of Jews

Today, the deeper integration of Greece into the Western strategic system and the effects of migration (both emigration from Greece in the 1950s and 1960s, and immigration into Greece in more recent years) have led to a perception of multiculturalism similar to that of Western European nations. The term multiculturalism generally refers to a state of racial, cultural and ethnic diversity within the Demographics of a specified

Identity

The terms used to define Greekness have varied throughout history. By Western standards, the term Greeks has traditionally referred to any native speakers of the Greek language, whether Mycenaean, Byzantine or modern Greek. Greek (el ελληνική γλώσσα or simply el ελληνικά — "Hellenic" is an Indo-European language, spoken today by 15-22 million people mainly Mycenaean is the most ancient attested form of the Greek language, spoken on the Greek mainland and on Crete in the 16th to 11th centuries BC, before the Medieval Greek (Μεσαιωνική Ελληνική is a linguistic term that describes the fourth period in the history of the Greek language. Modern Greek (el Νέα Ελληνικά or el Νεοελληνική lit While Byzantine Greeks called themselves Rhomioi, they valued the classical tradition, considered themselves the political heirs of Rome, and deemed themselves the ethnic, cultural, and literary heirs of ancient Greece. Byzantine Greeks or Byzantines or Romaioi, is a conventional term used by modern historians to refer to the medieval Greek or Hellenized citizens The Roman Empire was the post-Republican phase of the ancient Roman civilization, characterised by an autocratic form of government and large territorial The term ancient Greece refers to the period of Greek history lasting from the Greek Dark Ages ca ^[61] The use of the older self-descriptive ethnic term Hellenes begun to be revived during the era following the Greco-Latin clashes between the Greeks and the Western Crusaders in the 12th century. The Crusades were a series of military campaigns of a religious character waged by much of Christian Europe against external and internal opponents It regained some popularity through its use by late Byzantine Emperors and scholars such as Gemistus Pletho and Ciriaco de' Pizzicolli. This is a list of the Emperors of the Eastern Roman Empire, commonly known as the Byzantine Empire by modern historians Georgius Gemistos (or Plethon, Pletho) in Greek Γεώργιος Πλήθων Γεμιστός, (c Ciriaco de' Pizzicolli or Cyriacus of Ancona ( 31 July 1391 — 1453/55 was a restlessly itinerant Italian humanist and Antiquarian ^[52] It became fairly common with the emergence, in the late 18th century, of the nation-state and its gradual consolidation, but it was not until the early 19th century that its popular use was firmly re-established. The 18th century lasted from 1701 to 1800 in the Gregorian calendar, in accordance with the Anno Domini / Common Era numbering system The 19th century of the Common Era began on January 1, 1801 and ended on December 31, 1900, according to the Gregorian calendar ^[23]

The Greeks today are a nation in the meaning of an ethnos, defined by possessing Greek culture and having a Greek mother tongue, rather than by citizenship, race, religion or by being subjects of any particular state. The Culture of Greece has evolved over thousands of years with its beginnings in the Mycenaean and Minoan Civilizations, continuing most notably into Classical Greece A first language (also mother tongue, native language, arterial language, or L1) is the language a human being learns from birth However, Greeks are also identified as a genos in the sense of sharing a common ancestry. Genos ( γένος) (plural gene ( γένη) "clan" was the ancient Greek term for small kinship groups which The term Greek also referred to the Eastern Orthodox Christian inhabitants of the Rum Millet of the Ottoman Empire. The Eastern Orthodox Church is the second largest single Christian Communion in the world The Ottoman Empire (1299–1923 ( Old Ottoman Turkish: دولتْ علیّه عثمانیّه Devlet-i Âliye-yi Osmâniyye, Late Ottoman and Modern Turkish ^[23]

Polyonymy

Main article: Names of the Greeks

Throughout the centuries, the Greeks have been known by a number of names, including:

• Hellenes (Έλληνες) - In Greek mythology, Hellen, son of Deucalion and Pyrrha (the Greek equivalents of Adam and Eve), received from the nymph Orseis three sons, Aeolus, Dorus and Xuthus. Since the time of Homer, some Greeks have called themselves Hellenes ( in Homer "Hellas" (Eλλάς and "Hellenes" were names of A stele (from Greek:, stēlē, ˈstiːli plural stelae,, stēlai, ˈstiːlaɪ also found Latinised singular stela The National Archaeological Museum of Athens (Εθνικό Αρχαιολογικό Μουσείο in Athens houses some of the most important artifacts from a variety Athens (ˈæθənz Αθήνα Athina,) the Capital and largest city of Greece, dominates the Attica periphery as one of the world's Greek mythology is the body of stories belonging to the ancient Greeks concerning their gods and Heroes the nature of the world and the origins and significance Note Hellen was not the same person as Helen of Troy, or Helenus, son of King Priam of Troy. In Greek mythology, Deucalion (Δευκαλίων was a son of Prometheus and Pronoia. In Greek mythology, Pyrrha was the daughter of Epimetheus and Pandora and wife of Deucalion Adam (אָדָם ʼĀḏām, "dust man mankind" آدم; Ge'ez: አዳ and Eve (חַוָּה Ḥawwā, "living In Greek mythology Orseis, ( Greek:) was the water-nymph ( Naiad) of a spring in Thessalia, Greece, and the mythical ancestor of the Greeks For the Click beetle Genus, see Aeolus (beetle. Aeolus ( Greek:, Ailos Modern Greek In Greek mythology, Dorus is the name of the son of Hellen who was the eponymous founder of the Dorians. In Greek mythology, Xuthus ( Ancient Greek:) was a son of Hellen and Orseis and founder (through his sons of the Achaean and Ionian nations Aeolus and Dorus, and two sons of Xuthus, Achaeus and Ion were the legendary founders, respectively, of the four principal Greek tribes, Aeolians, Dorians, Achaeans and Ionians. According to Greek mythology, Ion was the illegitimate child of Creüsa, daughter of Erechtheus and wife of Xuthus. The Aeolians (Αἰολεῖς were one of the three ancient Greek tribes The Dorians or Dorian Greeks ( Greek:, Dōrieis singular, Dōrieus were The Ionians ( Greek:, Iōnes singular) were one of the three populations into which the Ancient Greeks considered the population of Hellenes to have been Originally, only members of a small tribe in Thessaly were called Hellenes,^[62] but the term soon extended to the rest of the peninsula and came to encompass all Greek speakers. Thessalia redirects here For the Butterfly Genus, see Thessalia (butterfly. In early Christian times Hellene came to mean 'pagan'. Greek religion encompasses the collection of beliefs and rituals practiced in Ancient Greece in the form of both popular public religion and cult practices. It remains in Greece today, the primary national name. ^[52]
• Greeks (Γραικοί) - In mythology, Graecus was the brother of Latinus and nephew of Hellen. Graecus or Græcus ( Ancient Greek:) was according to Hesiod 's "Eoiae" ( Greek: Ηοίαι or Catalogue of Women Latinus or Latinos was a figure in both Greek and Roman Mythology. ^[63] It was the name of a Boeotian tribe (Graii lit. Boeotia, Beotia, or Bœotia ( Greek: Βοιωτία - English biːˈoʊʃiə formerly Cadmeis was a region of Ancient Greece, north of the gray)^[64] that migrated to the Italian peninsula in the 8th century BC and, probably through contact with natives there, the name Graeci came to represent all Greek speakers. Italy (Italia officially the Italian Republic, (Repubblica Italiana is located on the Italian Peninsula in Southern Europe, and on the two largest The 8th century BC started the first day of 800 BC and ended the last day of 701 BC. ^[65] Aristotle and Apollodorus mention that it was the name used by Greeks before adopting the name Hellenes. Aristotle (Greek Aristotélēs) (384 BC – 322 BC was a Greek philosopher a student of Plato and teacher of Alexander the Great. ^[66] It was later re-borrowed as an ethnonym by the Greeks themselves. ^[67]
• Rhomioi (Ρωμιοί) - Romans is the name by which the Byzantine Greeks called themselves during the Middle Ages while the term Byzantine would have been meaningless to them. Since the time of Homer, some Greeks have called themselves Hellenes ( in Homer "Hellas" (Eλλάς and "Hellenes" were names of Byzantine Greeks or Byzantines or Romaioi, is a conventional term used by modern historians to refer to the medieval Greek or Hellenized citizens The name in antiquity signified the inhabitants of the city of Rome in Italy, but after Caracalla's decree and the gradual formation of a Roman national identity among imperial subjects, it soon lost its exclusive connection with the Latins. Rome ( Roma ˈroma Roma is the capital city of Italy and Lazio, and is Italy's largest and most populous city with more than 2 The Constitutio Antoniniana ( Latin: "Constitution Edict of Antoninus" (aka Edict of Caracalla was an edict issued in 212, by the Roman Emperor Latin is the name of various peoples or ethnicities related to the Latium region in the Italian Peninsula, to the Latin language, or to its descendants Later, while in the West the term Roman acquired a new meaning in connection with the church and the Pope of Rome, the Greek form Romaioi remained attached to the Greeks of the Eastern Roman Empire who still call themselves by that name today. History See also History of the Papacy Catholics recognize the Pope as a successor to Saint Peter, who Jesus named as the "shepherd" and ^[68] The term Roman (Ρωμαίος) represented for the Greeks their Roman citizenship and the word Romaioi came to represent the Greek inhabitants of the Byzantine Empire. Among Greeks it remains the most often used national name after Hellene and it is used by Turkey to signify the Greek Orthodox minority. Turkey (Türkiye known officially as the Republic of Turkey ( is a Eurasian Country that stretches It is found also in the Koran; Sura 30 is entitled Ar-Rum, variously translated as The Romans, Byzantines or Greeks. The Qur’an ( القرآن, literally "the recitation" also sometimes transliterated as Qur’ān, Koran, Alcoran see Rûm for the Arabic term for the Byzantine empire itself Surat Ar-Rum (سورة الروم ( The Romans, referring to the
• Achaeans, Argives, and Danaans are names used interchangeably by Homer, to signify the Greek allied forces in the Trojan War. Argos ( Greek: Ἄργος, Árgos ˈaɾɣos is a city in Greece in the Peloponnese near Nafplio, which was its historic harbor Homer ( Ancient Greek:, Homēros) is a legendary ancient Greek epic Poet, traditionally said to be the author of the epic poems the In Greek mythology, the Trojan War was waged against the city of Troy by the Achaeans after Paris of Troy stole Helen from her Danaans is attested in the Aeneid phrase timeo Danaos et dona ferentes, (engl. For the group of nine Ancient Egyptian deities see Ennead. The Aeneid (əˈniːɪd in beware of Greeks bearing gifts)^[69]
• Javan or Yavana, traditionally in Hebrew, was the name of the tribe (and then the nation) which, according to the Torah, migrated from early Biblical times to establish the Balkan peninsula. This article is about the Biblical name Javan. For Katherine Kurtz 's fictional character see Javan of Gwynedd. term " Torah " ( Hebrew: תּוֹרָה "teaching" or "instruction" sometimes translated as "Law" most commonly refers to ^[70]
• Yona or Yavana (Ίωνες), were names used by Indians who encountered Alexander the Great and his successors who ruled areas of Central Asia. "Yona" is a Pali word used in ancient India to designate Greek speakers India, officially the Republic of India (भारत गणराज्य inc-Latn Bhārat Gaṇarājya; see also other Indian languages) is a country Alexander the Great ( or, Mégas Aléxandros; July 20 356 BC June 10 or June 11 323 BC also known as Alexander III of Macedon (el Ἀλέξανδρος Γ' Central Asia is a region of Asia from the Caspian Sea in the west to central China in the east and from southern Russia in the north to northern Pakistan in the south Originally from the Persian Yauna, itself a transliteration of the Greek Ionia, is the name by which the Greeks are known in the East today. Geography Physical Ionia was of small extent not exceeding 90 geographical miles in length from north to south with a breadth varying from 40 to 55 miles but to this The term became established in Asia by the Persians, who were in contact with the Ionian tribes in western Asia Minor from the 6th century BC and extended the name to all Hellenes. The 6th century BC started the first day of 600 BC and ended the last day of 501 BC. ^[71]

Genetic origins

Modern studies have constructed Greek genetic trees revealing a strong degree of homogeneity between Greeks from different geographical locations. Genetics (from Ancient Greek grc-Latn genetikos, “genitive” and that from grc-Latn genesis, “origin” a discipline of Biology, is Median networks revealed that most of the Greek haplotypes are clustered to the five known haplogroups and that a number of haplotypes are shared among Greeks and other European and Near Eastern populations. In the study of Molecular evolution, a haplogroup, from "ἁπλο-" (Greek haplo-: simple or single + "group" is a group of similar Haplotypes The term haplotype is a contraction of the term " haploid Genotype. Within the loci studied, the genetic composition of the Greeks indicates a significantly low level of heterogeneity compared with other European populations. ^[72][73] The levels of the R1a1 haplotype, associated by some with Slavic migrations,^[74] have been found to be less than 12% (by way of comparison the relevant percentage for Syria is 10% and Poland 60%). A Subclade of R1, R1a is a Y-chromosome haplogroup found at high frequency in the extreme north of India among the Kashmiri Pandits ^[75] This confirms other studies that disprove the thesis that the Greeks have mingled substantially with Slavic people. ^[76][77] A 7%–22% contribution of Y chromosomes by Greeks to Southern Italy was estimated by admixture analysis in the same study. ^[76] Yet other studies point out the significant frequency drop of the R1a marker over the short geographic distance between Greece and its slavic northern neighbours. ^[78]

Modern scholars and scientists have supported the notion that there is a racial connection to the ancient Greeks. Luigi Luca Cavalli-Sforza, Paolo Menozzi, and Alberto Piazza, have found evidence of a genetic connection between the ancient and modern Greeks. Luigi Luca Cavalli-Sforza (born January 25, 1922) is an Italian population geneticist born in Genoa, who has been a professor at ^[79] Recent genetic analyses of Greek populations have provided evidence of statistically significant continuity between ancient and modern Greeks (low admixture attributed to genetic isolation due to physical barriers). ^{[80][81][82][83]}

Modern and ancient

Some authors in the West and Turkey^[84] have posited that the Greeks of today are not culturally or demographically related to the Greeks of classical antiquity. Turkey (Türkiye known officially as the Republic of Turkey ( is a Eurasian Country that stretches Classical antiquity (also the classical era or classical period) is a broad term for a long period of cultural History centered on the Mediterranean Notable among them was the 19th century Austrian historian Jakob Philipp Fallmerayer. The 19th century of the Common Era began on January 1, 1801 and ended on December 31, 1900, according to the Gregorian calendar Austrians (Österreicher are a nation and an ethnic group originating from the Republic of Austria and its historical predecessor states ( March of Austria, Jakob Philipp Fallmerayer ( 10 December 1790 &ndash 26 April 1861) was an Tyrolean traveller journalist politician and historian Fallmerayer, in his work Geschichte der Halbinsel Morea während des Mittelalters, averred that demographic continuity in Greece was interrupted brutally by successive waves of invasion and migration between the 6th and 8th century by Slavs, and later, in the second half of the 14th century by Albanians^[85] who occupied and settled mainly in the Peloponnese. The 6th century is the period from 501 to 600 in accordance with the Julian calendar in the Christian / Common Era. The 8th century is the period from 701 to 800 in accordance with the Julian calendar in the Christian / Common Era. } Albanians (Shqiptarët are an Ethnic group and a Nation, in the sense of sharing a common Albanian culture speaking the Albanian language The Peloponnese or Peloponnesus ( Greek: Πελοπόννησος Pelopónnisos; see also List of Greek place names) is a large Peninsula ^[86] According to this narrative, the centre of gravity of the ancient Greek ethnos was shifted outside the boundaries of modern Greece, and so the "demographic evidence is at best tenuous, at worst non-existent". ^[86] The traditional view is that the Fallmerayer thesis, rooted in 19th century racialism,^[87] provoked an "outraged" Greek response, of which Constantine Paparrigopoulos was the spearhead;^[88] however, modern scholarly opinion tends to see both Fallmerayer and Paparrigopoulos as taking positions influenced by and intelligible only within the political and intellectual decline of Western philhellenism. Racialism is an emphasis on race or racial considerations Racialism entails a belief in the existence and significance of racial categories but not necessarily in a Constantine Paparrigopoulos (Κωνσταντίνος Παπαρρηγόπουλος (1815-1891 is considered the founder of modern Greek Historiography. Philhellenism ("the love of Greek culture" was the intellectual fashion at the turn of the 19th century that led Europeans like Lord Byron to lend their support for ^[88]

Fallmerayer's controversial (some say racist)^[88][87] views were later incorporated in Nazi theoretician Alfred Rosenberg's Der Mythus des 20es Jahrhunderts and found adherents in the Third Reich who echoed them in their writings. Nazism, which was a short name for National Socialism (Nationalsozialismus refers primarily to the Ideology and practices of the National Socialist German (12 January 1893 16 October 1946 was an early and intellectually influential member of the Nazi Party. Nazi Germany and the Third Reich are the common English names for Germany under the regime of Adolf Hitler and the National Socialist German Workers ^[89][90][91] They were also actively promoted by the Axis occupation authorities in Greece who hoped to extinguish any sympathy their troops might feel for the Greeks. The Axis occupation of Greece during World War II ( Η Κατοχή, I Katochi, meaning "The Occupation" began in April ^[89] Other Western authors say that it is Westerners who are the "true heirs" of Greece, since Greeks today, whom they label "modern Greeks", are the product of "genetic dissonance" and "mingling with slaves". ^[92] While the point of demographic continuity has been contested by several authors in the West and Greece, ideas of race have never been such a prominent feature in the Greek world, either ancient,^[93] or later. The medieval Greek mythological hero Digenis Acritas was so named because of his dual, Greek and Syrian, parentage. Digenis Acritis (Διγενῆς Ἀκρίτης) known in Folksongs as Διγενῆς Ἀκρίτας ( is the most famous of the Acritic Songs. Syrians today are an overall indigenous Levantine people closely related to their immediate neighbours like the Lebanese and (to a lesser extent Jordanians ^[94]

The most obvious link between modern and ancient Greeks is their language, which has a documented tradition from at least the 14th century BC to the present day, albeit with a break during the Greek Dark Ages. The Dark Ages (ca 1150 BC–800 BC refers to Greek history from the presumed Dorian invasion and end of the Mycenaean civilization in the 11th century The Byzantinist Robert Browning, compares its continuity of tradition to Chinese alone. ^[22] At its inception, Hellenism was a matter of common culture^[17] and the national continuity of the Greek world is more certain than its demographic. ^[86] Even during the Slavic migrations, in Ionia and Constantinople there was a Hellenic revival in language, philosophy and literature and on classical models of thought and scholarship. Geography Physical Ionia was of small extent not exceeding 90 geographical miles in length from north to south with a breadth varying from 40 to 55 miles but to this Constantinople (Κωνσταντινούπολις Konstantinoúpolis, or gr ἡ Πόλις hē Polis, Latin: la CONSTANTINOPOLIS Such revivals would manifest again in the 10th and 14th century providing a powerful impetus to the sense of cultural affinity with ancient Greece and its classical heritage. ^[86] The cultural changes undergone by the Greeks are, despite a surviving common sense of ethnicity, undeniable. ^[86] At the same time the Greeks have retained their language and alphabet, certain values, a sense of religious and cultural difference and exclusion, (the word barbarian was used by 12th centuryhistorian Anna Komnene to describe non-Greek speakers),^[95] a sense of Greek identity and common sense of ethnicity despite the many political and social changes of the past two millennia. The Greek alphabet (Ελληνικό αλφάβητο is a set of twenty-four letters that has been used to write the Greek language since the late 9th or early "Barbarian" is a pejorative term for an uncivilized person either in a general reference to a member of a nation or Ethnos perceived Anna Komnene or Comnena (Greek Άννα Κομνηνή Anna Komnēnē December 1, 1083 &ndash1153 was a Byzantine princess and scholar daughter of

Demographics

Main articles: Demographics of Greece and Demographics of Cyprus

Today Greeks are the majority ethnic group in the Hellenic Republic^[1] where they constitute 93% of that country's population and the Republic of Cyprus^[3] where they comprise 78% of the island's population (excluding Turkish settlers in the occupied part of the country). The Demographics of Greece refer to the Demography of the population that inhabits the Greek peninsula a region where the Greek language has been continuously spoken Cypriots share many customs but maintain distinct identities based on religion language and close ties with their respective motherlands Greece (Ελλάδα transliterated: Elláda, historically, Ellás,) officially the Hellenic Republic (Ελληνική Δημοκρατία Cyprus (Κύπρος transliterated: Kýpros,; Kıbrıs officially the Republic of Cyprus (Κυπριακή Δημοκρατία Kypriakī́ Dīmokratía Greek populations have not traditionally exhibited high rates of growth; nonetheless the population of Greece has shown regular increase since the country's first census in 1828. Most of the population growth since the state's foundation has resulted from annexation of new territories and the influx of 1. 5 million Greek refugees following the 1923 population exchange between Greece and Turkey. The 1923 population exchange between Greece and Turkey is the first large-scale population exchange, or agreed mutual expulsion in the 20th century ^[96] About 80% of the population of Greece is urban^[97] with 28% concentrated in the city of Athens. ^[98]

Greeks from Cyprus have a history of emigration, usually to the English speaking world as a result of the island's colonization by the British Empire. The British Empire was the largest empire in history and for over a century was the foremost global power. Waves of emigration followed the Turkish invasion of Cyprus in 1974, while the population decreased between mid-1974 and 1977 as a result of emigration, war losses and a temporary decline in fertility. "Emigrant" redirects here For the Butterflies, see Catopsilia. The Turkish invasion of Cyprus, launched on July 20 1974, was a Turkish Military operation against a coup which had been staged by the Cypriot After the ethnic cleansing^{[99][100][101]} of a third of the Greek population of the island in 1974 there was also an increase in the number of Greek Cypriots leaving, especially for the Middle East. Ethnic cleansing is a Euphemism referring to the persecution through imprisonment expulsion or killing of members of an ethnic minority by a majority to achieve ethnic homogeneity This contributed to a decrease in population which tapered off in the 1990s. More than two thirds of the Greek population in Cyprus is urban. ^[102]

There is a sizeable Greek minority of about 60,000 people, in Albania. ^[8] The Greek minority of Turkey which numbered upwards of 200,000 people after the 1923 exchange has now dwindled to a few thousand, following the 1955 Istanbul Pogrom and other state sponsored violence and discrimination. The Istanbul Pogrom (also known as Istanbul Riots; Σεπτεμβριανά (Events of September 6–7 Eylül Olayları (Events of September 6–7 was a Pogrom There are also smaller Greek minorities in the rest of the Balkan countries, the Levant and the Black Sea states, remnants of the Old Greek Diaspora (pre-19th century). See also Names of the Levant The Levant (lə'vænt is a geographical term that denotes a large area in Western Asia, roughly bounded on the north by the The Black Sea is an inland Sea bounded by southeastern Europe, the Caucasus and the Anatolian peninsula ( Turkey The Greek diaspora (ελληνική διασπορά elliniki diaspora) is a term used to refer to the communities of Greek people living outside of the traditional ^[103]

The New Greek Diaspora (post-19th century) has mainly been towards the Western, in particular the English-speaking, World. The word Anglosphere describes a concept of a group of Anglophone ( English -speaking nations which share historical political and cultural characteristics rooted The Greek population outside Greece and Cyprus is around 5 million, though estimates vary. ^[103] The trend towards migration to the (modern) West began in the 15th century and continues to this day as Greeks are attracted to the educational and professional opportunities available in the Western World. After Greece the second largest concentration of Greeks in one country is in the United States, while New York City and Melbourne are among the largest "Greek" cities. The United States of America —commonly referred to as the The City of New York Melbourne ( is the second most populous city in Australia, with a Metropolitan area population of approximately 3

Diaspora

Main article: Greek diaspora

The total number of Greeks living outside Greece and Cyprus today is a contentious issue. The Greek diaspora (ελληνική διασπορά elliniki diaspora) is a term used to refer to the communities of Greek people living outside of the traditional Where Census figures are available it shows around 3 million Greeks outside of Greece and Cyprus. Greece (Ελλάδα transliterated: Elláda, historically, Ellás,) officially the Hellenic Republic (Ελληνική Δημοκρατία Cyprus (Κύπρος transliterated: Kýpros,; Kıbrıs officially the Republic of Cyprus (Κυπριακή Δημοκρατία Kypriakī́ Dīmokratía Estimates provided by the Council of Hellenes Abroad {SAE} put the figure at around 7 million worldwide. According to George Prevelakis of Sorbonne University the number is closer to just below 5 million. The historic University of Paris (Université de Paris first appeared in the second half of the 13th century ^[103] Integration, intermarriage and loss of the Greek language also influence the definition and self-definition of Greeks of the Diaspora. The Greek diaspora (ελληνική διασπορά elliniki diaspora) is a term used to refer to the communities of Greek people living outside of the traditional Important centres of the New Greek Diaspora today are Chicago, London, New York, Melbourne and Toronto. Toronto (təˈrɒntoʊ colloquially pronounced or) is the largest city in Canada and is the provincial capital of Ontario ^[103] Recently a law was passed by the Hellenic Parliament that enables Diaspora Greeks to vote in the elections of the Greek state.

Ancient

In ancient times the trading and colonising activities of the Greek tribes and city states spread people of Greek culture, religion and language around the Mediterranean and Black Sea basins, especially in Sicily, southern Italy, Spain, the South of France and the Black sea coasts. A city-state is a Region controlled exclusively by a City, usually having Sovereignty. Sicily ( Italian and Sicilian: Sicilia) is an autonomous region of Italy. Under Alexander the Great's Empire Greek ruling classes were established in the Middle East, India and in Egypt. The Indo-Greek Kingdom (or sometimes Graeco-Indian Kingdom) covered various parts of the northwest and northern Indian subcontinent during the last two centuries The Ptolemaic dynasty (sometimes also known as the Lagids, from the name of Ptolemy I's father Lagus) was a Hellenistic Macedonian royal family The Hellenistic period is characterized by a new wave of Greek colonization which established Greek cities and Kingdoms in Asia and Africa. This article focuses on the historical aspects of the Hellenistic age for the cultural aspects see Hellenistic civilisation. Under the Roman Empire movement of people spread Greeks across the Empire and in the eastern territories Greek became the lingua franca rather than Latin. A lingua franca (from Italian, literally meaning Frankish language, see etymology under Sabir and Italian below is any Language widely Latin ( lingua Latīna, laˈtiːna is an Italic language, historically spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. The Roman Empire became Christianized in the fourth century AD, and in the Byzantine period practice of the Greek Orthodox form of Christianity became a defining hallmark of Greek identity. ^[104]

Modern

During and after the Greek War of Independence, Greeks of the Diaspora were important in establishing the fledgling state, raising funds and awareness abroad. The Greek War of Independence (1821–1829 also commonly known as the Greek Revolution (Ελληνική Επανάσταση Elliniki Epanastasi; Ottoman Greek merchant families already had contacts in other countries and during the disturbances many set up home around the Mediterranean (notably Marseilles in France, Livorno in Italy, Alexandria in Egypt), Russia (Odessa and Saint Petersburg), and Britain (London and Liverpool) from where they traded, typically in textiles and grain. Marseille, ( English alt Marseilles mɑrˈseɪ — French: maʁsɛj locally — Provençal Occitan: Marselha maʀˈsijɔ The Greek community in France is numbering around 35000 people "Leghorn" redirects here For the breed of chicken see Leghorn chicken. Greek presence in Italy is dated to the time of the Old Greek Diaspora in the 8th century BC Alexandria ( Egyptian Arabic: اسكندريه Eskendereyya; Standard Arabic: ar الإسكندرية Al-Iskandariyya; Ἀλεξάνδρεια The Greeks had a thriving presence in Egypt from the Hellenistic period up to today The Greek presence in southern Russia is dated to the 6th century BC ODESSA which stands for the German phrase O rganisation d er e hemaligen SS - A ngehörigen which in turn translates Saint Petersburg ( tr: Sankt-Peterburg,) is a city and a federal subject of Russia located on the Neva River Greek Britons or Bogo (s are people of Greek or Greek Cypriot ancestry who were born or were raised in the United Kingdom. London ( ˈlʌndən is the capital and largest urban area in the United Kingdom. Liverpool ( is a City and Metropolitan borough of Merseyside, England along the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary Businesses frequently comprised the whole extended family, and with them they brought schools teaching Greek and the Greek Orthodox church. The Greek Orthodox Church ( Greek: Ἑλληνορθόδοξη Ἐκκλησία Hellēnorthódoxē Ekklēsía) is formed by several autocephalous churches ^[105] As markets changed and they became more established, some families grew their operations to become shippers, financed through the local Greek community, notably with the aid of the Ralli or Vagliano Brothers. Shipping is arguably the oldest form of occupation of the Greeks The five Ralli Brothers, Zannis aka John (1785 &ndash 1859 Augustus (1792 &ndash 1878 Pandia a Panayis Athanase Vagliano Παναγής Βαλλιάνος a With economic success the Diaspora expanded further across the Levant, North Africa, India and the USA. See also Names of the Levant The Levant (lə'vænt is a geographical term that denotes a large area in Western Asia, roughly bounded on the north by the North Africa or Northern Africa is the Northernmost Region of the African Continent, separated by the Sahara from Sub-Saharan India, officially the Republic of India (भारत गणराज्य inc-Latn Bhārat Gaṇarājya; see also other Indian languages) is a country ^[106]

In the twentieth century many Greeks left their traditional homelands for economic reasons resulting in large migrations from Greece and Cyprus to the United States, Great Britain, Australia, Canada, Germany, and South Africa, especially after the Second World War (1939-45), the Greek Civil War (1946-49), and the Turkish Invasion of Cyprus in 1974. Greece (Ελλάδα transliterated: Elláda, historically, Ellás,) officially the Hellenic Republic (Ελληνική Δημοκρατία Cyprus (Κύπρος transliterated: Kýpros,; Kıbrıs officially the Republic of Cyprus (Κυπριακή Δημοκρατία Kypriakī́ Dīmokratía A Greek American (Ελληνοαμερικανοί Ellinoamerikani) is a citizen of the United States, who is of Greek heritage or origin See also Kingdom of Great Britain Great Britain (Breatainn Mhòr Prydain Fawr Breten Veur Graet Breetain is the larger of the two main islands Greeks are the seventh-largest ethnic group in Australia, after those declaring their ancestry simply as "Australian" Greek Canadians are Canadian citizens of Greek origin According to the 2001 Canadian Census, there were 215105 Canadians who claimed The Greeks in Germany form a significant community numbering some 350000 people The Greek community in South Africa numbers 120000 people Notable Greek-South Africans George Bizos World War II, or the Second World War, (often abbreviated WWII) was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including The Greek Civil War (ο Eμφύλιος, "the Civil War" fought from 1946 to 1949 by the Governmental forces receiving logistical support by the United Kingdom The Turkish invasion of Cyprus, launched on July 20 1974, was a Turkish Military operation against a coup which had been staged by the Cypriot ^[107]

Culture

Main article: Culture of Greece

The Greek culture has evolved over thousands of years, with its beginning in the Mycenaean civilization, continuing in Ancient Greece and the Byzantine Empire, profoundly affected by Christianity. The Culture of Greece has evolved over thousands of years with its beginnings in the Mycenaean and Minoan Civilizations, continuing most notably into Classical Greece The Culture of Greece has evolved over thousands of years with its beginnings in the Mycenaean and Minoan Civilizations, continuing most notably into Classical Greece Mycenaean Greece is a cultural period of ancient Greece taking its name from the archaeological site of Mycenae in northeastern Argolis, in the Peloponnese The term ancient Greece refers to the period of Greek history lasting from the Greek Dark Ages ca Christianity ( Greek Χριστιανισμός from the word Xριστός ( Christ)is a monotheistic Religion centered on the life and teachings When the Ottoman Empire emerged, it had to endure through several centuries of adversity which nevertheless included some cultural exchanges. The Ottoman Empire (1299–1923 ( Old Ottoman Turkish: دولتْ علیّه عثمانیّه Devlet-i Âliye-yi Osmâniyye, Late Ottoman and Modern Turkish The Modern Greek Enlightenment is credited with revitalizing Greek culture and giving birth to the synthesis of ancient and medieval elements that characterize it today. Diafotismos ( Greek: Διαφωτισμός "enlightenment" "illumination" from fos " Light " The Modern Greek Their heritage makes the Greeks a part of the European, Balkan and Mediterranean worlds. ^[108]

Language

Main article: Greek language

The Greeks speak the Greek language, an Indo-European language which forms a branch itself, with its closest relations being Armenian (see Graeco-Armenian) and the Indo-Iranian languages (see Graeco-Aryan). Greek (el ελληνική γλώσσα or simply el ελληνικά — "Hellenic" is an Indo-European language, spoken today by 15-22 million people mainly The Iliad ( Greek: Ἰλιάς (Ancient Ιλιάδα (Modern is together with the Odyssey, one of two ancient The Biblioteca Ambrosiana is a historical Library in Milan, also housing the Pinacoteca Ambrosiana art gallery Milan (Milano Milan (listen) is one of the largest cities in Italy, located in the plains of Lombardy. Greek (el ελληνική γλώσσα or simply el ελληνικά — "Hellenic" is an Indo-European language, spoken today by 15-22 million people mainly The Armenian language (hy հայերեն լեզու hajɛɹɛn lɛzu —, conventional short form) is an Indo-European language spoken by the Armenian Graeco-Armenian (also Helleno-Armenian) refers to the hypothesis that the Greek language and the Armenian language share a common ancestor post-dating the The Indo-Iranian language group constitutes the easternmost extant branch of the Indo-European family of languages Graeco-Aryan refers to a hypothesis that the Proto-Greek and the Proto-Indo-Iranian languages share a common history separate from the remaining Indo-European ^[109] It has the longest documented history of any language in the branch. ^[110] Greek literature has a continuous history of nearly 3,000 years, and has been written in the Greek alphabet since the 9th century BC. Greek literature refers to those writings autochthonic to the areas of Greek influence typically though not necessarily in one of the Greek dialects throughout the The Greek alphabet (Ελληνικό αλφάβητο is a set of twenty-four letters that has been used to write the Greek language since the late 9th or early The 9th century BC started the first day of 900 BC and ended the last day of 801 BC ^[111] Several notable works have been originally written in Greek, including the Odyssey, the Iliad and the New Testament among others. The Odyssey ( Greek: Ὀδύσσεια or Odússeia) is one of two major ancient Greek epic poems attributed to Homer. The Iliad ( Greek: Ἰλιάς (Ancient Ιλιάδα (Modern is together with the Odyssey, one of two ancient

Greek demonstrates several linguistic features that are shared with other Balkan languages, such as Albanian, Bulgarian and Romanian (see Balkan sprachbund), and has absorbed numerous foreign words, primarily of Western European and Turkish origin. This is a list of languages spoken in the Balkans. With the exception of several Turkic languages Hungarian and Circassian all of them belong to the Indo-European family Albanian (sq ''Gjuha shqipe'' ˈɟuha ˈʃcipɛ is an Indo-European language spoken by nearly 6 million peoplewhile others claim that it derives from Daco - Bulgarian (български език IPA: ɛzˈik is an Indo-European language, a member of the Slavic linguistic group Romanian or Daco-Romanian ( dated: Rumanian or Roumanian; self designation limba română, ˈlimba roˈmɨnə is a Romance The Balkan Sprachbund or linguistic area is the ensemble of Areal features —similarity in grammar syntax vocabulary and phonology—among languages of Turkish ( tr Türkçe IPA) is a language spoken by over 63 million people worldwide making it the most commonly spoken of the Turkic languages. Due to the movements of Philhellenism and the Diafotismos in the 19th century, which emphasized the modern Greeks' ancient heritage, these foreign influences were excluded from official use via the creation of Katharevousa, a somewhat artificial form of Greek purged of all foreign influence and words, as the official language of the Greek state. Philhellenism ("the love of Greek culture" was the intellectual fashion at the turn of the 19th century that led Europeans like Lord Byron to lend their support for Diafotismos ( Greek: Διαφωτισμός "enlightenment" "illumination" from fos " Light " The Modern Greek The 19th century of the Common Era began on January 1, 1801 and ended on December 31, 1900, according to the Gregorian calendar Katharevousa (Καθαρεύουσα, lit "the purified one" is a form of the Greek language conceived in the early 19th century by Greek intellectual In 1976, however, the Hellenic Parliament voted to make Dimotiki (based on the dialect of the Peloponnese) the official language, making Katharevousa obsolete. The Hellenic Parliament ( Βουλή των Ελλήνων; transliterated Vouli (also Boule) ton Ellinon; literally 'Will of the Greeks' from the Dimotiki (δημοτική, " of the people" or Demotic is the modern Vernacular form of the Greek language. The Peloponnese or Peloponnesus ( Greek: Πελοπόννησος Pelopónnisos; see also List of Greek place names) is a large Peninsula ^[112]

Modern Greek has, along with Standard Modern Greek or Dimotiki, a wide variety of dialects of varying levels of mutual intelligibility, including Cypriot, Pontic, Cappadocian, Griko and Tsakonian (the only surviving representative of ancient Doric Greek). Modern Greek (el Νέα Ελληνικά or el Νεοελληνική lit The linguistic varieties of Modern Greek can be classified along two principal dimensions The Cypriot Dialect of Greek ( Cypriot Greek ( Κυπριακή διάλεκτος) or Kypriaka ( Greek: Κυπριακά Pontic Greek is a form of the Greek language originally spoken in the Pontus area on the southern shores of the Black Sea, and today mainly in Greece Cappadocian, also known as Cappadocian Greek or Asia Minor Greek is a dialect of the Greek language, formerly spoken in Cappadocia (Central Turkey Griko, sometimes spelled Grico, is a Modern Greek dialect which is spoken by people in the Magna Graecia region in southern Italy, and it Tsakonian, Tzakonian or Tsakonic ( Greek Τσακωνικά) is a dialect of modern Greek spoken in the Tsakonian region For the modern Doric dialect of Scotland see Doric dialect (Scotland Doric was a dialect of ancient Greek. ^[113] Yevanic is the language of the Romaniotes, and survives in small communities in Greece, New York and Israel. Yevanic, otherwise known as Romaniote and Judeo-Greek, was the Dialect of the Romaniotes, the group of Greek Jews whose existence in The Romaniotes ( Greek: Ρωμανιώτες, Rōmaniōtes are a Jewish population who have lived in the territory of today's Greece and New York ( is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States and is the nation's third most populous For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Israel topics.

In addition to Greek, many Greeks in Greece are bilingual in other languages or dialects such as Arvanitika, Aromanian, Slavika, Russian and Turkish. Arvanitika or Arvanitic ( Albanian: Arbërisht, Greek: αρβανίτικα arvanitika) is the variety of Albanian Aromanian ( limba armãneascã, armãneshce or armãneashti) also known as Macedo-Romanian, Arumanian or Vlach in most The Slavic dialects of Greece are the dialects of Bulgarian or Macedonian spoken by minority groups in the regions of Macedonia and Thrace Russian ( transliteration:,) is the most geographically widespread language of Eurasia, the most widely spoken of the Slavic languages ^[114] In the Greek diaspora, Greeks also speak the languages of the areas in which they live. The Greek diaspora (ελληνική διασπορά elliniki diaspora) is a term used to refer to the communities of Greek people living outside of the traditional Some members of the diaspora cannot speak Greek, but are still considered Greeks by ethnic origin or descent. ^[115]

Religion

The majority of Greeks are Eastern Orthodox Christians, belonging to the Greek Orthodox Church. The Eastern Orthodox Church is the second largest single Christian Communion in the world The Greek Orthodox Church ( Greek: Ἑλληνορθόδοξη Ἐκκλησία Hellēnorthódoxē Ekklēsía) is formed by several autocephalous churches During the first centuries after Jesus Christ, the New Testament was originally written in Koine Greek, which is mutually intelligible with modern Greek to a great extent, as most of the early Christians and Church Fathers were Greek-speaking. Jesus of Nazareth (7–2 BC / BCE —26–36 AD / CE) Koine Greek (Κοινὴ Ἑλληνική, "common Greek" or, ciˈni ðiˈale̞kto̞s "the common dialect" is the popular form of Greek which emerged in While the Orthodox Church was always intensely hostile to the ancient Greek religion, it did help Greeks retain their sense of identity during the Ottoman rule through its use of Greek in the liturgy and its modest educational efforts. Greek religion encompasses the collection of beliefs and rituals practiced in Ancient Greece in the form of both popular public religion and cult practices. ^[116] There are also small groups of ethnic Greeks adhering to other Christian denominations like Greek Catholics, Greek Evangelicals and Jehovah's Witnesses, and groups adhering to other religions including Romaniotes and Greek Muslims. Christianity ( Greek Χριστιανισμός from the word Xριστός ( Christ)is a monotheistic Religion centered on the life and teachings The Roman Catholic Church in Greece is part of the worldwide Roman Catholic Church, under the spiritual leadership of the Pope and Curia in Rome The Greek Evangelical Church ( Greek: Ελληνική Ευαγγελική Εκκλησία Elliniki Evangeliki Ekklisia) is a Protestant denomination in Jehovah's Witnesses is a restorationist, millenialist Christian denomination The Romaniotes ( Greek: Ρωμανιώτες, Rōmaniōtes are a Jewish population who have lived in the territory of today's Greece and Greek Muslims, also known as Greek-speaking Muslims, are Muslims of Greek ethnic origin and are found primarily in Turkey, Cyprus About 2,000 people are members of Hellenic Polytheistic Reconstructionism congregations. Hellenic Polytheistic Reconstructionism (also Hellenic Reconstructionism) refers to various reconstructionist movements that revive ancient Greek religious practices ^{[117][118][119]}

Art

Main article: Greek art

Greek art has a long and varied history. Greeks have made several contributions to the visual, literary and performing arts. ^[120] In the West ancient Greek art was influential in shaping the Roman and later the modern Western artistic heritage. The art of ancient Greece has exercised an enormous influence on the culture of many countries from ancient times until the present particularly in the areas of Sculpture Roman art includes the visual arts produced in Ancient Rome, and in the territories of the Roman empire. Also see articles History of painting, Western painting Western Art' redirects here Following the Renaissance in Europe, the humanist aesthetic and the high technical standards of Greek art inspired generations of European artists. The Renaissance (from French Renaissance, meaning "rebirth" Italian: Rinascimento, from re- "again" and nascere Well into the 19th century, the classical tradition derived from Greece played an important part the art of the Western World. ^[121] In the East, Alexander the Great's conquests initiated several centuries of exchange between Greek, Central Asian and Indian cultures, resulting in Greco-Buddhist art, whose influence reached as far as Japan. Alexander the Great ( or, Mégas Aléxandros; July 20 356 BC June 10 or June 11 323 BC also known as Alexander III of Macedon (el Ἀλέξανδρος Γ' Central Asia is a region of Asia from the Caspian Sea in the west to central China in the east and from southern Russia in the north to northern Pakistan in the south Greco-Buddhist art is the artistic manifestation of Greco-Buddhism, a cultural Syncretism between the Classical Greek culture and Buddhism For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Japan topics. ^[122]

Byzantine Greek art, which grew from classical art, provided a stimulus to the art of many nations. Mummy portraits or Fayum mummy portraits (also Faiyum mummy portraits) is the modern term for a type of realistic painted Portraits on wooden boards Its influences can be traced from Venice in the West to Kazakhstan in the East and Byzantine art is one of the most striking features of that civilization. Venice ( Italian: Venezia, Venetian: Venesia or Venexia) is a city in Northern Italy, the capital of the Kazakhstan, also Kazakstan ( Қазақстан, Qazaqstan, qɑzɑqˈstɑn Казахстан, Kazakhstán,) officially the Byzantine art is the term commonly used to describe the artistic products of the Byzantine Empire from about the 4th century until the Fall of Constantinople ^[123][124]

In turn Greek art was influenced by Eastern Civilizations in Classical Antiquity and the new religion of Orthodox Christianity during Byzantine times while modern Greek art is heavily influenced by Western art. Modern Greek Art is the term used to describe Greek art during the period between the emergence of the new independent Greek state and the 20th century Also see articles History of painting, Western painting Western Art' redirects here ^[125] Notable Greek artists include Renaissance painter El Greco, soprano Maria Callas, and composer Vangelis. The Renaissance (from French Renaissance, meaning "rebirth" Italian: Rinascimento, from re- "again" and nascere El Greco' ("The Greek " 1541 &ndash April 7 1614 was a painter, sculptor, and architect of the Spanish Renaissance Evangelos Odysseas Papathanassiou (Born March 29, 1943 in Volos, Greece) ( Greek: Ευάγγελος Οδυσσέας Παπαθανασίου Greek Alexandrian Constantine P. Cavafy and Nobel laureates George Seferis and Odysseas Elitis are among the most important poets of the twentieth century. Alexandria ( Egyptian Arabic: اسكندريه Eskendereyya; Standard Arabic: ar الإسكندرية Al-Iskandariyya; Ἀλεξάνδρεια Constantine P Cavafy, also known as Konstantin or Konstantinos Petrou Kavafis, or Kavaphes (Greek Κωνσταντίνος Π The Nobel Prize (Nobelpriset (Nobelprisen is a Swedish prize established in the 1895 will of Swedish chemist Alfred Nobel; it was first awarded in Peace, Literature Giorgos Seferis (Γιώργος Σεφέρης ( March 13, 1900, or February 29 according to the Julian calendar then in use September 20 Odysseas Elytis (Οδυσσέας Ελύτης (November 2 1911—March 18 1996 is a legendary Greek poet,regarded as one of the most important representatives

Science

Further information: Greek mathematics, Medicine in ancient Greece, and Byzantine science

The Greeks of the Classical era made several notable contributions to science and helped lay the foundations of modern scientific principles. Greek mathematics, as that term is used in this article is the Mathematics written in Greek, developed from the 6th century BC to the 5th century The first known Greek medical school opened in Cnidus in 700 BC Byzantine science played an important role in the transmission of classical knowledge to the Islamic world and to Renaissance Italy, and also in the transmission Nicholas Negroponte (born December 1, 1943) is a Greek-American Architect and Computer scientist best known as the founder and Chairman The scholarly tradition of the Greek academies was maintained during Roman times with several academic institutions in Constantinople, Antioch, Alexandria and other centres of Greek learning. Constantinople (Κωνσταντινούπολις Konstantinoúpolis, or gr ἡ Πόλις hē Polis, Latin: la CONSTANTINOPOLIS Antioch on the Orontes (Ἀντιόχεια ἡ ἐπὶ Δάφνῃ Ἀντιόχεια ἡ ἐπὶ Ὀρόντου or Ἀντιόχεια ἡ Μεγάλη Antiochia ad Orontem also Alexandria ( Egyptian Arabic: اسكندريه Eskendereyya; Standard Arabic: ar الإسكندرية Al-Iskandariyya; Ἀλεξάνδρεια Byzantine science was essentially classical science. ^[126]

The Greek world has a long tradition of valuing and investing in padeia (education). Paideia was one of the highest societal values in the Greek and Hellenistic world while the first European institution described as a university was founded in 9th century Constantinople and operated in various incarnations until the city's fall to the Ottomans in 1453. The Fall of Constantinople refers to the capture of the Byzantine Empire's capital by the Ottoman Empire on Tuesday May 29, 1453 (Julian Calendar ^[127] The University of Constantinople was also Christian Europe's first secular institution of higher learning since no theological subjects were taught. The University of Constantinople, sometimes known as the University of the palace hall of Magnaura in the Byzantine Empire was recognised as a University ^[128]

As of 2007 Greece had the eighth highest percentage of tertiary enrolment in the world (with the percentages for female students being higher than for male) while Greeks of the Diaspora are equally active in the field of education. ^[129] Hundreds of thousands of Greek students attend Western universities every year while the faculty lists of leading Western universities contain a striking number of Greek names. ^[130] Notable Greek scientists of modern times include Georgios Papanikolaou (inventor of the Pap test), Nicholas Negroponte, Constantin Carathéodory, Michael Dertouzos, and Dimitri Nanopoulos. Georgios N Papanikolaou (or George Papanicolaou; Γεώργιος Παπανικολάου) ( May 13, 1883 &ndash February 19, The Papanicolaou test (also called Pap smear, Pap test, cervical smear, or smear test) is a screening test used in Gynecology Nicholas Negroponte (born December 1, 1943) is a Greek-American Architect and Computer scientist best known as the founder and Chairman Constantin Carathéodory (or Constantine Karatheodoris ( Greek: Κωνσταντίνος Καραθεοδωρή ( September 13, 1873 &ndash February Michael Leonidas Dertouzos ( Greek: Μιχαήλ Λεωνίδας Δερτούζος ( November 5, 1936 - August Dimitri Nanopoulos (born 13 September, 1948 in Athens) is a Greek physicist.

Symbols

National flag of Greece.	National emblem of Greece.
Double-headed eagle flag of the Greek Orthodox Church.	The pre-1978 flag of Greece.

The most widely used symbol used by Greeks is the flag of Greece, which features nine equal horizontal stripes of blue alternating with white representing the nine syllables of the Greek national motto Eleftheria i thanatos (freedom or death), which was also the motto of the Greek War of Independence. The Flag of Greece ( Σημαία της Ελλάδος, popularly referred to as the Γαλανόλευκη or the Κυανόλευκη Eleftheria i thanatos (Ελευθερία ή θάνατος pron The Greek War of Independence (1821–1829 also commonly known as the Greek Revolution (Ελληνική Επανάσταση Elliniki Epanastasi; Ottoman The blue square in the upper hoist-side corner bears a white cross, which represents Greek Orthodoxy. The Greek Orthodox Church ( Greek: Ἑλληνορθόδοξη Ἐκκλησία Hellēnorthódoxē Ekklēsía) is formed by several autocephalous churches The Greek flag is also widely used by the Greek Cypriots, although Cyprus has officially adopted a neutral flag so as to ease ethnic tensions with the Turkish Cypriot minority – see flag of Cyprus), and by the Greek minority in Albania, which has led to ethnic clashes with the ethnic Albanian majority). Greek Cypriots ( Greek: Ελληνοκύπριοι Turkish: Kıbrıslı Rumlar are the ethnic Greek population of Cyprus. Cyprus (Κύπρος transliterated: Kýpros,; Kıbrıs officially the Republic of Cyprus (Κυπριακή Δημοκρατία Kypriakī́ Dīmokratía Turkish Cypriots ( Turkish: Kıbrıs Türkleri or Kıbrıslı Türkler Greek: Τουρκοκύπριοι are the ethnically Turkish inhabitants of the The Flag of Cyprus came into use on August 16, 1960 under the Zürich and London Agreements whereby a constitution was drafted and Cyprus was Greek minority In Albania, Greeks are considered a "national minority" This article is about the country in southern Europe For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Albania topics. } Albanians (Shqiptarët are an Ethnic group and a Nation, in the sense of sharing a common Albanian culture speaking the Albanian language ^[131]

The pre-1978 (and first) flag of Greece, which features a Greek cross (crux immissa quadrata) on a blue background, is widely used as an alternative to the official flag, and they are often flown together. A cross is a geometrical figure consisting of two lines or bars perpendicular to each other dividing one or two of the lines in half The national emblem of Greece features a blue escutcheon with a white cross totally surrounded by two laurel branches. The National Emblem of Greece ( Εθνόσημο της Ελλάδας, Ethnósimo tis Elládas) consists of a blue escutcheon with a white Escutcheon (ɪ'skʌtʃən (also called scutcheon) is the term used in Heraldry for the Shield displayed A common design involves the current flag of Greece and the pre-1978 flag of Greece with crossed flagpoles and the national emblem placed in front. ^[132]

Another highly recognizable and popular Greek symbol is the double-headed eagle, the imperial emblem of the Byzantine Empire and a common symbol in Eastern Europe. The Flag of Greece ( Σημαία της Ελλάδος, popularly referred to as the Γαλανόλευκη or the Κυανόλευκη Eastern Europe is a general term that refers to the Geopolitical region encompassing the easternmost part of the European continent. It is not currently part of the modern Greek flag or coat of arms, although it is officially the insignia of the Greek Army and the flag of the Church of Greece. Mission The Hellenic Army's objective is to defend Greece's independence borders and terrain and also to guarantee the country's defense The Church of Greece ( Greek: Ekklēsía tês Helládos, ekliˈsia tis eˈlaðos is one of the fifteen Autocephalous Eastern Orthodox churches It had been incorporated in the Greek coat of arms between 1925 and 1926. ^[133]

Surnames

See also: Surnames#Greece

Greek surnames are most commonly patronymics. A surname is a name added to a Given name and is part of a Personal name. A patronym, is a component of a Personal name based on the name of one's father Occupation, characteristic and location/origin-based surnames names also occur. Prior to the introduction of written records in the 19th century, surnames were not formally maintained and could be changed by occupation or characteristic. After the advent of widespread written records, surnames have remained constant handed down from father to children. A surname is a name added to a Given name and is part of a Personal name.

Some surnames are prefixed with Papa-, indicating ancestry from a priest. Archi- and Mastro- signify "first" and "tradesman" respectively. Prefixes such as Konto-, Makro-, and Chondro-, describe body characteristics, such as "short", "tall/long" and "fat". Gero- and Palaio- signify "old" or "wise". Other prefixes include Hadji- which was an honorific deriving from the Arabic Hadj or pilgrimage, and indicate that the person had made a pilgrimage (in the case of Christians to Jerusalem) and Kara- which is attributed to the Turkish word for "black" deriving from the Ottoman era. Hajji (الحجّي al-ḥağğī Hadžija Pilgrim) or El-Hajj, is an honorific title given to a Muslim person who has successfully completed The Hajj (حج is a pilgrimage to Mecca (Makkah It is the largest annual pilgrimage in the world A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, a monotheistic Religion centered on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth Jerusalem (יְרוּשָׁלַיִם, he-Latn Yerushaláyim; Arabic: ar القُدس, ar-Latn al-Quds) is the Turkish ( tr Türkçe IPA) is a language spoken by over 63 million people worldwide making it the most commonly spoken of the Turkic languages. The Ottoman Empire (1299–1923 ( Old Ottoman Turkish: دولتْ علیّه عثمانیّه Devlet-i Âliye-yi Osmâniyye, Late Ottoman and Modern Turkish ^[134]

Most Greek patronymic suffixes are diminutives, which vary by region. The most common Hellenic patronymic suffixes are -poulos /-poulou (from Peloponessus, a suffix which means "the little", representing "the son of " i. The Peloponnese or Peloponnesus ( Greek: Πελοπόννησος Pelopónnisos; see also List of Greek place names) is a large Peninsula e. "Michalopoulos", the "son of Michael" or "Papadopoulos", the "son of the priest"). The suffix -akis /-aki is associated primarily with Crete but also Mani, where it is rendered -akos /-akou, and the Aegean islands, is a patronymic signifying "little" and "son of". Crete ( Greek: Κρήτη transliteration: Krētē, modern transliteration Kriti) is the largest of the Greek islands and the The Mani Peninsula ( Μάνη in Greek) also long known as Maina or Maïna, is a region in Greece. The Aegean Islands (Νησιά Αιγαίου Nisiá Aigaíou; Ege Adaları are a group of Islands in the Aegean Sea, with mainland Greece ^[135] It became almost universal by the mid 20th century in Crete, but was only adopted there in the 19th century. Crete ( Greek: Κρήτη transliteration: Krētē, modern transliteration Kriti) is the largest of the Greek islands and the The suffix -idis-ides /-idou or -iadis /-iadou is the oldest last name and clan form in use and is associated with Greeks originating in Asia Minor and the Pontus. Anatolia (Anadolu Ανατολία Anatolía) or Asia minor, comprising most of modern Turkey, is the geographic region bounded by the Black Geography The Black Sea region loosely called Pontus by various scholars has a steep rocky coast with rivers that cascade through the gorges of the coastal ranges It is also analogous to the English -son. English is a West Germanic language originating in England and is the First language for most people in the United Kingdom, the United States Zeus, for example was also referred to as Cronides ("son of Cronus"). Zeus (zjuːs in Greek: nominative: Zeús /zdeús/ genitive: Diós; Modern Greek /'zefs/ in Greek mythology ^[136]

Sea

Main article: Greek shipping

The traditional Greek homelands have been the Greek peninsula and the Aegean, the Black Sea and Ionian coasts of Asia Minor, the islands of Cyprus and Sicily and the south of the Italian peninsula. Geography Physical Ionia was of small extent not exceeding 90 geographical miles in length from north to south with a breadth varying from 40 to 55 miles but to this Sicily ( Italian and Sicilian: Sicilia) is an autonomous region of Italy. In Plato's Phaidon Socrates remarks that "we (Greeks) live like ants or frogs around a pond". Plato 's Phaedo (ˈfiːdoʊ Greek: Φαίδων, Phaidon) is one of the great Dialogues of his middle period along with ^[137] This image is attested by the map of the Old Greek Diaspora, which corresponded to the Greek world until the creation of the Greek state in 1832. Greece (Ελλάδα transliterated: Elláda, historically, Ellás,) officially the Hellenic Republic (Ελληνική Δημοκρατία The sea and trade were natural outlets for Greeks since the Greek peninsula is rocky and does not offer good prospects for agriculture. This article is about the body of water For other uses see SEA and Seas. ^[17]

The sea has always been a defining feature of Greek culture, with numerous songs and poems about the sea and seascapes attested in Greek art. In war among the many battles that the Greek Nation was called to fight the most decisive one was the sea battle at Salamis which has been described as one of the most important battles in history. The Battle of Salamis ( Ancient Greek:) was a decisive naval battle between the Greek City-states and Persia in September 480 BC in the A notable Greek explorer was the 6th century merchant and later monk Cosmas Indicopleustes ("Cosmas who sailed to India"). Cosmas Indicopleustes (literally "who sailed to India" of Alexandria was a Greek Merchant and later Monk probably of Nestorian ^[138] In later times the Rhomioi plied the sea-lanes of the Mediterranean and controlled trade until an embargo imposed by the Roman Emperor on trade with the Muslims opened the door for the later Italian pre-eminence in trade. This is a list of the Emperors of the Eastern Roman Empire, commonly known as the Byzantine Empire by modern historians

The Greek shipping tradition recovered during the Ottoman rule when a substantial merchant middle class developed, aided in part by the Treaty of Küçük Kaynarca (21 July 1774) between the Ottoman Empire and the Russian Empire. The Treaty of Küçük Kaynarca (also spelled Kuchuk Kainarji) was signed on July 21, 1774, in Küçük Kaynarca Dobruja (today Kaynardzha Events 356 BC - Herostratus sets fire to the Temple of Artemis in Ephesus, one of the Seven Wonders of the World Year 1774 ( MDCCLXXIV) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a The Russian Empire ( Pre-reform Russian: Pоссійская Имперія Modern Russian: Российская Империя translit: Rossiyskaya It granted Russia some economic and political rights in the Ottoman Empire, such as allowing Ottoman Eastern Orthodox Christians to sail under the Russian flag. The Eastern Orthodox Church is the second largest single Christian Communion in the world This was in effect a Russian guarantee on all Greek ships that flew the Russian flag, spurring the creation of a merchant marine on the three nautical islands of Hydra, Spetses and Psara. Hydra (Ύδρα ˈiðra is one of the Saronic Islands of Greece, located in the Aegean Sea between the Saronic Gulf and the Argolic Spetses (Modern Greek: Σπέτσες, Ancient/ Katharevousa: Σπέτσαι, Spetsai) is an island of Greece For the Genus of crambid Moths see Psara (moth. Psara (Ψαρά is a Greek island in the ^[34] These sailors also played an important part in the Greek War of Independence.

Today, Greek shipping continues to prosper to the extent that Greece has the largest merchant fleet in the world, and many more ships under Greek ownership fly flags of convenience. ^[139] The most notable shipping magnate of the 20th century was Aristotle Onassis,^[140][141] others being Yiannis Latsis, George Livanos, and Stavros Niarchos. Magnate, from the Late Latin magnas, a great man itself from Latin magnus 'great' designates a noble or other man in a high social position Aristotelis (also Ari or Aristo) Sokratis Onassis (Αριστοτέλης Ωνάσης (January 15 1906 &ndash March 15 1975 was one Yiannis Latsis ( September 14, 1910 &ndash April 17, 2003) aka John S Georges P Livanos (1926 &ndash 1 June 1997) was born in 1926 in New Orleans. Stavros Spyros Niarchos ( 3 July 1909 &ndash 16 April 1996) was a Billionaire Greek shipping A famous Greek poet of the 20th century was the Chinese-born seaman Nikos Kavvadias who expressed the spirit of Greek cosmopolitanism and effortless and unpretentious multiculturalism. Nikos Kavvadias (Νίκος Καββαδίας ( January 11, 1910 – February 10, 1975) was a Greek poet and writer currently one The term multiculturalism generally refers to a state of racial, cultural and ethnic diversity within the Demographics of a specified ^[142]

Timeline

The history of the Greek people is closely associated with the history of Greece, Cyprus, Constantinople, and Asia Minor. The History of Greece traditionally encompasses the study of the Greek people, the areas they ruled historically and the territory now composing the modern state of During the Ottoman rule of Greece, a number of Greek enclaves around the Mediterranean were cut off from the core, notably in Southern Italy, the Caucasus, Syria and Egypt. By the early 20th century, over half of the overall Greek-speaking population was settled in Asia Minor (now Turkey). Greek (el ελληνική γλώσσα or simply el ελληνικά — "Hellenic" is an Indo-European language, spoken today by 15-22 million people mainly During the 20th century, a huge wave of migration to the United States, Australia, Canada and elsewhere created a Greek diaspora.

Some key historical events have also been included for context, but this timeline is not intended to cover history not related to migrations. There is more information on the historical context of these migrations in History of Greece. The History of Greece traditionally encompasses the study of the Greek people, the areas they ruled historically and the territory now composing the modern state of

References

Indo-European topics
Indo-European languages
Albanian · Armenian · Baltic Celtic · Germanic · Greek Indo-Iranian (Indo-Aryan, Iranian) Italic · Slavic   extinct: Anatolian · Paleo-Balkans (Dacian, Phrygian, Thracian) · Tocharian
Indo-European peoples
Albanians · Armenians Balts · Celts · Germanic peoples Greeks · Indo-Aryans Iranians · Latins · Slavs historical: Anatolians (Hittites, Luwians) Celts (Galatians, Gauls) · Germanic tribes Illyrians · Italics  · Sarmatians Scythians  · Thracians  · Tocharians Indo-Iranians (Rigvedic tribes, Iranian tribes)
Proto-Indo-Europeans
Language · Society · Religion
Urheimat hypotheses
Kurgan hypothesis · Anatolia Armenia · India · PCT
Indo-European studies

Further reading

• Paul Cartledge, The Greeks: Crucible of Civilization, 2000, T. V. Brooks, ISBN 1575000938
• Humphrey Davy Findley Kitto, The Greeks, 1991, Penguin Books, ISBN 0140135219
• Per Bilde , Conventional Values of the Hellenistic Greeks, 1997, Aarhus University Press, ISBN 8772885556
• Michael Grant, The Hellenistic Greeks: From Alexander to Cleopatra, 1990, Weidenfeld & Nicolson, ISBN 0297820575
• John Pentland Mahaffy, William Alexander Goligher, Hellenistic Greeks, 1928
• Stephen Xydis, Medieval Origins of Modern Greek Nationalism, Balkan Studies, Vol. 9 (1968), 1-20.
• Michael Herzfeld, Ours Once More: Folklore, Ideology, and the making of Modern Greece, 1982. ISBN 0292760183
• Victor Roudometof, From Rum Millet to Greek Nation: Enlightenment, Secularization, and National Identity in Ottoman Balkan Society, 1453-1821, Journal of Modern Greek Studies 16:1 (May 1998), pp. 11-48.
• Peter Mackridge, Eleni Yannakakis, eds. , Ourselves and Others : The Development of a Greek Macedonian Cultural Identity since 1912, 1997. ISBN 1-85973-133-3.
• Peter Bien, Inventing Greece, Journal of Modern Greek Studies 23:2 (October 2005), pp. 217-234.
• John Koliopoulos, Thanos Veremis, Greece: The Modern Sequel : from 1831 to the Present,2002, ISBN 1850654638
• David Holden, Greece Without Columns: The Making of the Modern Greeks, 1972,ISBN 0397007795

External links

• Greeks on Greekness: The Construction and Uses of the Greek Past among Greeks under the Roman Empire, a conference on how Greeks imagined Greekness in relation to the past during the first two centuries of the Roman Empire.
• Transnational Communities Programme at the University of Oxford, includes papers on the Greek Diaspora
• World Council of Hellenes Abroad (SAE), Umbrella Diaspora Organization

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