Top Greece Resources

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

In May 1994, the Bank of Greece successfully managed a currency crisis triggered by the lifting of currency restrictions on short-term capital movements. The bank contained speculative attacks on the drachma by tightening its monetary policy and raising interest rates dramatically: For a few days, interest rates pushed as high as 180%. In less than 2 months, with speculation on the drachma no longer a threat, interest rates returned to normal levels. A similar wave of speculation was beaten back in the fall of 1997, following the Asian financial crisis.

Greek contributions to science continue in modern times. Mathematician Constantin Carathéodory worked in the fields of real analysis, the calculus of variations, and measure theory in the early 20th century. Professor John H. Argyris, a Greek mathematician and engineer, is credited with the invention of finite element analysis. Dr. Dimitris Nanopoulos is a noted theoretical physicist, having made significant contributions to the fields of particle physics and cosmology

It is certain that Greek philosophy, particularly Platonism, contributed to the early development of Christianity, which spread to Greece in the first century A.D. After the legalisation of Christianity by the Roman Emperor Constantine I in 313, the Christian faith became the dominant religion of the Roman Empire, of which Greece was a part. In the Great Schism of 1054, the Eastern and Western churches split, and Eastern Orthodox Christianity remains the predominant religion in Greece until this day. Since 1833, the Orthodox Church of Greece has remained an autocephalous church within the Eastern Orthodox Communion. The majority of modern Greeks (95 to 98 percent) remain at least nominally members of the Orthodox church.

Greece is located in southeastern Europe on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula. The Greek mainland is bounded on the north by Bulgaria, the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, and Albania; on the east by the Aegean Sea and Turkey; and on the west and south by the Ionian and Mediterranean Seas. The country consists of a large mainland; the Peloponnesos, a peninsula connected to the mainland by the Isthmus of Corinth; and more than 1,400 islands, including Crete, Rhodes, Corfu, and the Dodecanese and Cycladic groups. Greece has more than 14,880 kilometers (9,300 mi.) of coastline and a land boundary of 1,160 kilometers (726 mi.).

Despite the country's numerically small and ill-equipped armed forces, Greece made a decisive contribution to the Allied efforts in World War II. At the start of the war Greece sided with the Allies and refused to give in to Italian demands. Italy invaded Greece on 28 October 1940, but Greek troops repelled the invaders after a bitter struggle. This marked the first Allied victory in the war. Hitler then reluctantly stepped in, primarily to secure his strategic southern flank: troops from Germany, Hungary, Bulgaria and Italy successfully invaded Greece, overcoming Greek, British, Australian and New Zealand units.

Since the restoration of democracy the stability and economic prosperity of Greece have grown. Greece joined the European Union in 1981 and adopted the Euro as its currency in 2001. New infrastructure, funds from the EU and growing revenues from tourism, shipping, services, light industry and the telecommunications industry have brought Greeks an unprecedented standard of living. Tensions continue to exist between Greece and Turkey over Cyprus and the delimitation of borders in the Aegean Sea but relations have considerably thawed following successive earthquakes - first in Turkey and then in Greece - and an outpouring of sympathy and generous assistance by ordinary Greeks and Turks. Prime Minister Karamanlis recently attended the wedding of Turkish Prime Minister Erdogan's daughter as a guest of honour. The Greek Government supports Turkish entry into the EU although clearly it seeks key commitments on Cyprus. Polls show a small majority of Greek citizens support this position - giving greater support than several other EU member countries [1] (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/4100871.stm).

One minority possesses special rights (deriving mainly from the Treaty of Lausanne): the Muslim minority of Thrace.

The economy has improved steadily over the last few years, as the government tightened policy in the run-up to Greece's entry into the zone of the EU's single currency, the euro, on January 1, 2001. Average per capita GDP in 2003 comprised $20,000[3] (http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/fields/2004.html). Greece has an expanding services sector and telecommunications industry and has become one of the largest investors in her region. Moreover, Greece now operates as a net importer of labour and foreign workers (mainly from the Balkans, Eastern Europe, the Middle East and Pakistan) now account for 10% of the total population.