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In reality, there was no sharp transition from one period to another. Forms of art developed at different speeds in different parts of the Greek world, and as in any age some artists worked in more innovative styles than others. Strong local traditions, conservative in character, and the requirements of local cults, enable historians to locate the origins even of displaced works of art.

The president is elected by parliament to a five-year term and can be reelected once. The president has the power to declare war and to conclude agreements of peace, alliance, and participate in international organizations; upon the request of the government a three-fifths parliamentary majority is required to ratify such actions, agreements, or treaties. The president also can exercise certain emergency powers, which must be countersigned by the appropriate cabinet minister. Changes to the constitution in 1986 limited the president's political powers. As a result, the president may not dissolve parliament, dismiss the government, suspend certain articles of the constitution, or declare a state of siege. To call a referendum, he must obtain approval from parliament.

Traditional dhimotiká are accompanied by clarinets, guitars, tambourines and violins, and include dance music forms like syrtó, kalamatianó, tsámiko and hasaposérviko, as well as vocal music like kléftiko. Many of the earliest recordings were done by Arvanites (ethnic Albanian) like Yiorgia Mittaki and Yiorgios Papasidheris. Instrumentalists include clarinet virtuosos like Yiorgos Yevyelis, Vassilis Saleas and Yiannis Vassilopoulos, as well as oud and fiddle players like Nikos Saragoudas and Yiorgos Koros.

Greek folk music is found all throughout Greece, as well as among communities in countries like the United States, Canada and Australia. The island of Cyprus and several regions of Turkey are or have recently been home to long-standing communities of ethnic Greeks with their own unique styles of music

In the Byzantine period, religious art was the dominate theme, with highly-decorated mosaics and icons adorning religious buildings. The Renaissance artist, El Greco (Domenikos Theotocopoulos), responded to Byzantine and 16th century Mannerist art, producing sculpture and paintings with a liberated form, light and colour that inspired 20th century artists such as Pablo Picasso and Jackson Pollock

To date, however, there has not been a final statement on behalf of the whole Orthodox Church, with regard to the status of Rome. This is not surprising, since such general, authoritarian statements are simply unheard-of within Eastern Orthodoxy, even upon issues with little to no internal disagreement. Therefore, a lack of a definitive, authoritarian, "Church-wide" statement cannot be taken to mean that the Eastern Orthodox Church necessarily espouses or rejects a specific belief. This sort of centralized communication is neither typical of nor appropriate to Eastern Orthodoxy. Because of its democratic nature, in order to make such a pronouncement, the Orthodox Church would be required to convene another ecumenical council, the last of which was held in 787 AD. There has been talk in recent years of doing exactly that in order to clarify the church's position on certain modern issues though nothing definite has been set.

After the fall of Constantinople, many church musicians fled to Crete, as did numerous Venetians. A French physician in 1547 (Pierre Bellon) reported warrior-like dances on Crete, and Sherley, an English traveller, reported in 1599 of wild dances performed late at night.

Pythagoras was also an ethical vegetarian. According to Ovid, Pythagoras once said, "As long as man continues to be the ruthless destroyer of lower living beings he will never know health or peace. For as long as men massacre animals, they will kill each other. Indeed, he who sows the seed of murder and pain cannot reap joy and love" (excerpt from the book The extended circle, by Jon Wynne-Tyson).

Major challenges remaining include the reduction of unemployment and further restructuring of the economy, including privatising several state enterprises, undertaking social security reforms, overhauling the tax system, and minimising bureaucratic inefficiencies. Forecasts predicted economic growth of 4 - 4.5 % in 2004. Reducing the government deficit also remains a major challenge, as it is currently running at nearly twice the Eurozone target (of 3% of GDP). The new conservative government revealed to Eurostat that the previous figures supplied, on which was the basis of Greek entry into the Eurozone, were incorrect.

Greece maintains full diplomatic, political, and economic relations with its south-central European neighbors. It provided a 250-man military contingent to IFOR/ SFOR in Bosnia and assigned a 1,200-man unit to KFOR in Kosovo. Diplomatic relations with Bulgaria were restored in 1965 after a 24-year break when Bulgaria renounced its claim to Greek territory in Thrace and Macedonia. Since the breakup of the Soviet Union, Greece has had good relations with Russia and has opened embassies in a number of the former Soviet republics, which it sees as potentially important trading partners.

Heraclitus is an excellent example of the Pre-Socratic philosopher. All of his existing fragments can be written in 45 small pages as poetry. (Brooks Haxton, a poet, has provided a very interesting translation of all of the fragments of Heraclitus titled "Fragments, the Collected Wisdom of Heraclitus.") Although he wrote twenty-five hundred years ago and very little of his work still exists, it is very appealing.

The shores of the Aegean Sea saw the emergence of the first civilizations in Europe, namely the Minoan and Mycenaean civilisations. After these subsided a Dark Age followed until around 800 BC a new era of Greek civilization emerged. This Greece of city-states established colonies along the Mediterranean and partially resisted Persian invasions. Greek culture would later become the basis of the Hellenistic civilisation that followed the empire of Macedonian King Alexander of Macedon.

Herodotus and Thucydides are often credited with developing the modern study of history into a field worthy of philosophical and scientific pursuit.

The temple was the most common and best-known form of Greek public architecture. The temple did not serve the same function as a modern church. Some temples housed the altar of the god or goddess to whom it was dedicated, but many did not. Temples served as storage places for the treasury associated with the cult of the god in question, as the location of a statue of the god (though this was not an idol in a religious sense), and a place for devotees of the god to leave their offerings, such as dedicated statues. The inner building of the temple, the cella, thus served mainly as a strongroom and storeroom. It was usually lined by another row of columns.

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