Greece/ˈɡriːs/ⓘ (Greek: Ελλάδα, Ellada), officially the Hellenic Republic (Ελληνική Δημοκρατία, Elliniki Dimokratia), and historically Hellas (Ancient Greek: Ἑλλάς, Hellas; Modern Greek: Ελλάς, Ellas), is a country in the southeast of Europe on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula. Bounded on land by Bulgaria, North Macedonia, and Albania to the north, to the east by Turkey and the waters of the Aegean Sea and to the west and south by the Ionian and Mediterranean Seas. Regarded by many as the cradle of Western civilisation, Greece has a long and rich history during which it spread its influence over three continents. Read more...
Guy or Guido Pallavicini, called Marchesopoulo by his Greek subjects, was the first marquess of Bodonitsa in Frankish Greece from 1204 to his death in or shortly after 1237. He was one of the most important Frankish rulers in Greece, and played a major role in the short-lived Kingdom of Thessalonica: in 1208–1209 he supported the Lombard rebellion against King Demetrius of Montferrat, but by 1221 he was the kingdom's regent (bailli), and was left to defend the city against the ruler of Epirus, Theodore Komnenos Doukas. Left unsupported by the Latin Empire, and with a projected crusade to relieve the city delayed, he surrendered the city in December 1224. The belated arrival of the crusade helped to save his own fief from falling to the Epirotes, however, and he was soon able to return there, dying on or shortly after 1237. (Full article...)
Image 2Shards of pottery vases on the street, after being thrown from the windows of nearby houses. A Holy Saturday tradition in Corfu. (from Culture of Greece)
Image 59The most famous artist born in Greece was probably Doménikos Theotokópoulos, better known as El Greco (The Greek) in Spain. He did most of his painting there during the late 1500s and early 1600s. (from Culture of Greece)
Image 60A page from a 16th-century edition of the 10th century Byzantine encyclopaedia of the ancient Mediterranean world, the Suda. (from Culture of Greece)
Image 66The I Battalion of the Army of National Defence marches on its way to the front, 1916. Greece joined united with the Allies side in summer 1917. (from History of Greece)
Image 73The ancient theatre of Epidaurus continues to be used for staging ancient Greek plays. (from Culture of Greece)
Image 74Alexander the Great also known as Alexander III, king of Macedon, was one of the most successful military commanders in history. (from Culture of Greece)
...that the Greco-Buddhist art is an artistic manifestation of Greco-Buddhism, a cultural syncretism between the Greek culture and Buddhism, which developed in Central Asia after the conquests of Alexander the Great?
...that the country's highest mountain, Mount Olympus was said to be the home of the Greek Gods in ancient Greek religion?
...that the Olympic Games, originated in Greece 3000 years ago, and that the 1st games of the modern Olympics were held in Greece in 1896, as a revival of the Games?
...that the Greek state comprises only the centre of the ancient Greek world, which comprised also Southern Italy, the coastal areas of modern Turkey and the Black Sea, as well as some colonies in North Africa, Southern France and Spain?
...that even though the modern Greek state was established in 1832, some areas of Greece were not liberated until after the Balkan Wars and WW2?
In Greece, from ancient times down to the present, has been produced countless world-famous poetry in addition to philosophers like Socrates, Plato and Aristotle and historians like Herodotus and Thucydides. Notable figures of modern Greek literature include Odysseas Elytis and Constantine Cavafy.
Sing, O goddess, the anger of Achilles son of Peleus, that brought countless ills upon the Achaeans. Many a brave soul did it send hurrying down to Hades, and many a hero did it yield a prey to dogs and vultures, for so were the counsels of Zeus fulfilled from the day on which the son of Atreus, king of men, and great Achilles, first fell out with one another.
Greek art began in the Cycladic and Minoan prehistorical civilization. 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 and architecture. In the West, the art of the Roman Empire was largely derived from Greek models. In the East, Alexander the Great's conquests initiated several centuries of exchange between Greek, Central Asian and Indian cultures. During the Renaissance , the humanist aesthetic and the high technical standards of Greek art inspired generations of European artists.Read more...
A short video of the main sites at the ancient sanctuary of Delphi in Central Greece. Delphi was considered to be the center of the world by the Greeks and the most important oracle in the Greek world.