Greece [x ī là]
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2023-04-20 14:19:47
Greece [x ī là]
Greece [x ī là]
The Hellenic Republic, abbreviated as Greece, has its capital Athens and is located at the southernmost point of the Balkan Peninsula in Europe. It borders Bulgaria, Macedonia and Albania to the north, Türkiye to the northeast, the Ionian Sea to the southwest, the Aegean Sea to the east and the Mediterranean Sea to the south. Belongs to a subtropical Mediterranean climate. The terrain is mainly mountainous, with narrow plains and abundant mineral resources. The total area is 131957 square kilometers, with a coastline of approximately 15021 kilometers. The country is divided into 13 administrative provinces (regions) and 325 administrative cities. As of September 2022, the total population is 10.432 million, with over 98% being Greeks and the rest being Muslims and other ethnic minorities. The official language is Greek, and the Eastern Orthodox Church is the state religion，sports fitness .
Greece is the birthplace of Western civilization and has a long history. The Minoan culture appeared on the island of Crete from 3000 BC to 1100 BC, and the Mycenaean culture appeared on the Peloponnese Peninsula from 1600 BC to 1050 BC. In 800 BC, a slave city-state was formed, and the 5th century BC was its heyday. In 146 BC, it was incorporated into the Roman Empire. In the 15th century, it was ruled by the Ottoman Empire in the mid-19th century. In 1821, a war for independence broke out. In 1832, the Kingdom was established. In 1974, it was changed into a republic through a referendum. Afterwards, the New Democratic Party and the Pan Greek Socialist Movement (referred to as the Pan Greek Socialist Movement) took turns in power. Greece is the birthplace of democracy, Western philosophy, the Olympic Games, western literature, history, political science, scientific and mathematical principles and western drama. Its civilization has a strong influence on world history.
Greece is a moderately developed country with a weak economic foundation, underdeveloped industrial manufacturing, and developed maritime and agricultural industries. It is a founding member of the United Nations, a member of the European Union, NATO, and OECD. Greece is an important country in Southeast Europe and has significant influence in the Balkans. The gross domestic product in 2021 is 182.1 billion euros.
The Hellenic Republic is the main city of Athens, the European capital of the continent to which Greece belongs. Thessaloniki, Patre, Elaklion, Larissa, Wallos, Rhode Island and other major cities celebrate the National Day March 25. The national anthem "Ode to Freedom" country code GRC official language Greek currency Euro time zone UTC+2 political system National leader of parliamentary republic Katrina Sakalopru (President) Kyrgiakos Mizotakis (Prime Minister) has a population of 10.432 million (as of September 2022), a population density of 82.7 people/km2 (2021), a major ethnic group, a major religion, the Orthodox Church, a land area of 131957 km ² (15% of which are islands) GDP totals 182.1 billion euros (2021)
Historical evolution
prehistoric civilization
Around 7000 BC, the Neolithic Revolution began to affect the Balkan Peninsula and Greece at that time. The Indo European nations from northern Europe, the Ionians, Achaea, Dorians, etc., called themselves the Greeks. They entered the Aegean Sea area and moved here to learn from and absorb their culture and knowledge from the peoples along the Aegean Sea. As a result, the Greeks gradually became civilized and drove away the peoples originally living along the Aegean Sea, becoming the ancestors of the Greeks.
From 3000 BC to 1100 BC, the Minoan civilization appeared on the island of Crete, and from 1600 BC to 1050 BC, the Mycenaean civilization appeared on the Peloponnese Peninsula. The Greeks gradually expanded towards the islands of the Aegean Sea (including Crete).
Around 1200 BC, the invasion of the Dorians destroyed the Mycenaean civilization. Some Greek speaking tribes living in the late Primitive Society entered the Greek Peninsula from the north, causing many Greek tribes to migrate in different directions in Thesalia and its south. The disappearance of Mycenaean civilization was followed by the "Homer Age", in which social organizations and lifestyles at the end of the Primitive Society dominated the Greek peninsula, the Aegean islands and the regions inhabited by the Greeks in Asia Minor.
City-state period
Greece from the 8th century BC to the 6th century BC
From the early 8th century BC to the end of the 6th century BC, most parts of the ancient Greek world were in a peaceful environment and were not seriously threatened by foreign tribes. Due to the increasingly close connection with other civilization centers in the ancient world, the Greeks learned a lot of beneficial things from Egypt and West Asia.
Iron tools have become widely used in agriculture and handicrafts. Although the main economic sector in all regions is agriculture, there has been significant development in commercial and handicraft industries such as oil extraction, brewing, metal processing, pottery making, and weapon manufacturing in some geographically advantageous regions, such as Corinth, Egina, Miletus, Athens, Halkis, Eretria, and Theos. Shipbuilding technology and the maritime industry have also made significant progress, with the emergence of three rowed battleships.
In the 8th century BC, the Greeks recreated their own writing based on the transformation of the Phoenician alphabet. Among the Greeks on the Greek Peninsula, the Aegean Islands, and the coast of Asia Minor, a state began to form again. Within one or two hundred years, a group of small states called "city states" by historians emerged one after another. However, some tribes still stay in the late Primitive Society.
In the mid 6th century BC, coins began to be minted in places such as Egina, Corinth, and Athens. With the development of productivity, the increase of population, and the emergence and development of cities.
Ancient Greek city-states
At the end of the 6th century BC, the extensive immigration activities of the Greeks were an important factor in the socio-economic transformation. Merchants go out to trade, bankrupts make a living overseas, and losers in political struggles gradually occupy some colonies overseas. With the growth of the Greek population and socio-economic development, the colonial scope expanded. Starting from the eastern coast of the Black Sea to Marseille in France, including the southern part of the Italian Peninsula and a part of Sicily, the mouth of the South Nile and Libya, and reaching the vast area along the Adriatic coast of present-day Albania to the north, dozens of Greek city states (far from all city states participating in immigration) successively established a total of over 100 immigration zones. Among them, the most famous ones include Syracuse established by the Lins, Pagoda established by the Spartans, Byzantium established by the Magalans, and Orbia established by the Militans. The main reasons for most urban immigration are population growth and insufficient arable land. The main characteristic of immigrants during this period was that the vast majority of immigrant areas became independent city-states. Their relationship with their mother state is mainly limited to the worship of a common god. The establishment of numerous immigrant areas in a vast area is close, and there are also military conflicts. At the same time, many regions have experienced the phenomenon of immigrant enslavement and exploitation of their original residents.
While the Greeks were expanding outward, they also continuously developed exchanges between various regions within themselves. The establishment of many "near neighbor alliances" with religious activities as the main content, as well as the emergence and development of religious and competitive centers with global significance such as Olympia and Delphi, have promoted mutual understanding and economic and cultural exchanges among Greeks. There have also been wars of different natures between the city states, including the wars where the Greeks enslaved them, such as the Spartan conquest of Mesenia.
In 546 BC, the Persian Empire eliminated Lydia and took the opportunity to attack the Greek city states located in Asia Minor. Its first target is the various Greek city states in the Ionian region, where the economy is very developed, and its politics are also more advanced democracy. The Persian king then made unreasonable demands to the Greek city states in the Iania region to change democracy into monarchy, so as to find an excuse to declare war on them. The cities of Ionia were unable to accept it, so they led a movement against Persia led by Miletus. Miletus, knowing that he could not resist Persia, sought help from Sparta, but Sparta refused to send troops. Instead, the city-states of Athens and Avia sent troops to rescue him. Although the two city-states sent a large number of soldiers and warships to rescue them, after several years of perseverance, they still lost to the Persian army.
In 494 BC, Persia completely conquered the Ionian region. During this period, many outstanding figures from Ionia fled to other parts of Greece, broadcasting the civilization that was still limited to Ionia to other parts of the Greek world.
In 492 and 480 BC, the Persian Empire launched two large-scale invasions into the Greek world, both of which were defeated, known as the Greek Persian War, and ancient Greek civilization reached its peak.
Classical Era
The democratic reform in Athens was officially completed in the era of Pericles, and business, craft, philosophy, science and art developed unprecedentedly. The famous Socrates, Plato, Aristotle, Heraclitus, Parmenides, Democritus, Herodotus, Thucydides, Xenophon, Sophocles, Euripides, Aristophanes, and Sophocles are all figures of this period.
From 431 BC to 404 BC, a war broke out again between the Delian League led by Athens and the Peloponnesian League led by Sparta, which is known as the Peloponnesian War in history. The end of democracy in Athens was replaced by an oligarch government supported by Spartans. But the hegemony of the Spartans did not last long, and hundreds of Greek city-states were involved in an unprecedented scale of the "Greek World War", which almost spread to the entire Mediterranean civilization world at that time.
In 335 BC, King Alexander the Great of Macedonia flattened Thebes, and all Greek city-states except Sparta surrendered. The classical era ended and the Hellenistic era began.
Ptolemaic dynasty
In 334 BC, the Macedonian King Alexander the Great began his expedition, which was in essence an invasion of Asia and North Africa by the Macedonian and Greek armies dominated by Macedonians.
In 323 BC, after the death of Alexander the Great, Greek history entered the "Hellenistic Age". After decades of war, a group of "Hellenized countries" emerged in the vast territories of Europe, Asia, and Africa, mainly consisting of the Kingdom of Ptolemy, the Kingdom of Seleucia, and the Kingdom of Macedonia. In the Hellenistic era, most Greek city-states became local autonomous units under the rule of kings or tyrants to varying degrees, holding certain autonomy rights. In the Greek mainland, only the Aetolian League, the Ahaia League and Sparta have maintained political independence for a relatively long time.
In 299 BC, Roman forces began to invade the Balkan Peninsula. As the Hellenized kingdoms gradually perished, the Romans gradually became the masters of the fate of the Greeks.
In 30 BC, Rome destroyed the last Hellenized country - the Ptolemaic dynasty that ruled Egypt, and the history of ancient Greece came to an end.
Ancient Roman Empire
The decline in Greek military power led the Romans to conquer this land, despite becoming Roman territory, but with an unprecedented period of peace. Many Greeks believed that the Romans ended the turmoil of the Hellenistic era, and their rule brought peace, while Greek culture in turn conquered the lives of the Romans.
In 395 AD, Emperor Theodosius of the Roman Empire passed away. He divided the empire into two parts, with the east to his eldest son Arcadius and the west to his youngest son Honorius. From then on, Greece came under the jurisdiction of the Eastern Roman Empire.
Byzantine period
The history of the Byzantine Empire was summarized by scholar August Heisenberg as the history of the "Roman Empire of Greeks who converted to Christianity". Since the Roman Empire split into two parts, the East and the West, and the collapse of the Western Roman Empire, Egypt, Palestine, and Syria, which were originally ruled by the Eastern Roman Empire, were invaded and occupied by Arabs in the seventh century, Greece became the main part of the empire, and the Greeks became the main citizens of the empire, ultimately equating these two identities. Constantine the Great made Byzantine architecture the capital of the empire (henceforth known as Constantinople), placed it at the center of the empire, and served as a beacon to guide the Greek sense of national belonging throughout history until modern times.
Greece was a core component of the Roman Empire and its successor state, the Byzantine Empire, with the latter being dominated by the Greek language and culture. The establishment of the Greek Orthodox Church in the first century AD shaped the cultural identity of modern Greece and spread the Greek tradition to the Orthodox world.
In 1204, the most significant event in imperial history marked the beginning of the late Byzantine period. The Greeks lost Constantinople for the first time in history, and the empire was conquered by the Latin Crusaders and replaced by the Latin Empire for 57 years. In addition, the Latin occupation period greatly affected the internal development of the empire, as the feudal system of enfeoffment was introduced into Byzantine life.
In 1261, the Greek Empire was divided into the hands of members of the former Byzantine Comunian dynasty (Epirus) and the hands of the Balliolian dynasty (the last dynasty during the fall of Constantinople). The internal decline of the Greek Byzantine Empire and the invasion of the Ottoman Empire gradually led to the decline of the empire.
In 1453, the Byzantine Empire fell into the hands of the Ottomans, and the Byzantine period in Greece came to an end.
On May 29, 1453, Muhammad II captured Constantinople and the Eastern Roman Empire perished.
The Ottoman Empire
In 1460, Greece was ruled by the Ottoman Empire, a feudal Islamic military empire that emerged in western Asia. The Ottoman Empire adopted Albanian provincial governors to rule Greece, and Greek bureaucrats to rule Romanians and Slavs.
On March 25, 1821, Greece broke out in the War of Independence against the invading army and declared independence. British poet Byron devoted himself to the Greek independence movement. It lasted until 1829.
The First Republic of Greece
After suppressing Ali's rebellion, the Ottoman Empire turned back to attack Greece, and the Allied Forces of Britain, France, and Russia defeated the Turkish Egyptian forces. After Greece's independence, there was a situation of local factional struggle.
In 1828, led by Ionis Capotis Dias, Greece advanced towards independence and was elected as the first President of the First Republic. However, he was assassinated in 1831. Afterwards, the whole country fell into chaos; The great powers decided to intervene and plan to establish a kingdom.
Kingdom of Greece
In 1832, at the London Conference, Britain, France and Russia appointed Prince Otto, who ruled the Wittelsbach dynasty in Bavaria and was only 17 years old, as the first monarch of Greece. As Otto was not yet of age at the time, he was assisted by a regent group. In 1835, Prince Otto ruled in person.
In 1862, after Otto I was deposed, he was enthroned by Prince William of Denmark as George I. He reigned for a total of fifty years. During this period, Greece's territory expanded significantly (shortly after his coronation, Britain ceded Ionia to Greece); At the same time, there has been significant economic growth.
In 1913, just as Greece was about to win the First Balkan War, George I was assassinated and killed in Thessaloniki. After the death of George I, he was succeeded by his son Constantine I. He received education in Germany and also married Sophia, the daughter of the German emperor. Therefore, he can also be considered a German and refused the proposal of Prime Minister Elif Cerios Venizelos to participate in the Three Kingdoms Treaty. Keep Greece neutral from the beginning during World War I. However, this move has sparked opposition from some individuals, with conflicting views on both sides. The establishment of governments in Athens and Thessaloniki resulted in a split.
In 1917, Greece still joined the Three Kingdoms Treaty camp; Constantine I was forced to abdicate to his son Alexander. After the war, Greece obtained some land from Asia Minor as compensation.
In 1920, King Alexander passed away after being bitten by a monkey, and Constantine I succeeded him to the throne. But in the second Greek Turkish War that later occurred, the Greek army suffered a disastrous defeat, leading to his dismissal and resignation. Soon passed away in exile on Sicily
