Greece (Hellas)
Our Country
Location of Greece
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Greece is a country
of Europe. It is
located in the
South East Europe,
part of the Balkan
peninsula.
Surface area–Population
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The total surface of Greece is
131.944 sqkm.
The population of it is 10.964.020
people, according to the latest
census of 2001.
Ethnic Composition

797.091 people in Greece are
foreigners who come from other
Balkan countries or countries of East
Europe, Africa and Asia.
Religion
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The dominant religion
in Greece, as
indicated in the
Greek Constitution, is
the Eastern Orthodox
Church of Christ. The
Greeks are Orthodox
Christians in 97% of
the population. The
remaining 3% are
Muslims, Jews,
Catholics
(photo:The dome and bell tower of an orthodox church
on the island of Santorini)
Flag of Greece
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The flag of Greece is based on nine
equal horizontal stripes of blue,
alternative with white. There is a
blue canton in the upper hoist side
corner bearing a white cross. The
cross symbolizes Greek Orthodoxy,
the established religion of the
people of Greece.
According to the popular tradition
the nine stripes represent the
letters of the word “freedom”
(Greek: Ελευθερία-Elefteria).
There is also a different theory
which says that the blue and white
symbolizes the colours of the famed
Greek sky and sea (combined with
the white clouds and waves).
The Greek Emblem
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The Emblem of Greek
Democracy consists of
a blue shield which
forms a peak in the
middle of the
underside of it. In the
middle of the shield
bears a white cross,
which is entirely
surrounded by two
laurel branches.
Political System
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The political system in
Greece is a
parliamentary
democracy. On top of
the state is the
President, the
executive power is
vested by the
Government and the
legislature is the
Parliament
(photo: The House of Parliament)
Currency
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The Euro is the official currency
of Greece which is a country
member of the Euro zone.
Drachma was replaced by Euro in
2002. All circulating coins have a
common side for all the sixteen
countries of E.C., showing the
denomination or value and a map
in back ground.
The coins also have a national
side showing an image
specifically chosen by the country
that issued the coin. Coins which
have a small value present Greek
ships while those of a bigger
value present people of Greek
history. The coin of 1 Euro
presents the ancient Greek
drachma. The coin of 2 Euro
presents the abduction of Europa
by Zeus in bull, according to
Greek mythology.
Horizontal and Vertical Unbundling
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About 80% of the territory
of Greece is mountainous.
The highest mountain is
Mount Olympus (2.917m.
height).
(photo: Mount Olympus)
The coastline of Greece
(15.021 km) is equal to
one fifth of the length of
the coast of Europe.
The Greece has 2.000
islands in the Aegean and
Ionian Sea. 225 islands οf
these are inhabited while
the rest are rocky.
(photo:Myrtos beach on the island of
Kefalonia in the Ionian Sea)
Climate
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The climate of Greece has all the
characteristics of Mediterranean
climate. It doesn’t rain much, it is
quite dry during the summer months
and the winters are quite mild, with
long periods of sunshine throughout
the year.
Flora and Fauna
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Τhere are more than 6.000 plant species in
Greece. 780 of these are found only in Greece.
There are coniferous forests (pine and fir), areas
with small bushes, olive groves, vineyards, fruit
trees.
There are over 1.200 types of animals in our
country. In the mountains of our country you can
see the wolf, the fox, the bear, the eagle, the
hawk. In coastal areas there are sea gulls and a
wide variety of fish. Near the lakes there are
many rare species of pelicans. There is also a
viper and the turtle and a lot of well-known
domestic animals.
Capital
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Athens is the capital and
the largest city of Greece.
In ancient Greek the name
of Athens was related to
the name of the goddess
Athena who was its
protector.
Its population is almost
one third of the total
population of Greece and
is, according to the census
of 2001, 3.361.806
inhabitants.
Our City
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Our city is Volos. Volos is
located in Central Greece in
Thessaly region and it is the
capital of the prefecture of
Magnesia. It has a population
of 150.000 inhabitants and it
is the most important port in
the region.
(photo: A view of the beach of Volos)
Our school is located on the
outskirts of Volos region. Agria
is just 7 km away from the
city of Volos, a town by the
sea with 12.000 inhabitants.
(photo: The Pagasitic Bay. In the
background the town of Agria)
Other Cities
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Thessaloniki is the second biggest city in Greece. Its population is
1.057.82 people. It is situated in the region of Macedonia.
(photo:The beach of Thessaloniki and in the background, the White
Tower)
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Patras is the third largest city of Greece with a population of more
than 200.000 people. It is located in Peloponnesus and is the
gateway to Europe as it is connected with Italy.
(photo: View of Patras)
Other Cities
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Chania is the second
largest city of Crete
island (80,000
inhabitants), but it is
considered to be the
most beautiful. Millions of
visitors from all around
the world have their
holidays there each year.
(photo: The lighthouse and the old
Venetian port of Chania)
Ioannina is an other big
city. It is located in Epirus
region. Its population is
70.203 people. It is
famous for its lake.
(photo: The lake of Ioannina)
Occupations of habitants
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12% of the working population in Greece
are employed in the primary sector
(agriculture, livestock, fishing). About
20% of the workforce are employed in the
secondary sector (industry and crafts) and
68% are employed in the tertiary sector
(employees). (Eurostat 2007)
Unemployment in Greece exceeded 12.5%
of the workforce last year. (National Statistical
Service )
Historical Facts
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Neolithic settlements
in Greece: Sesklo and
Dimini in Magnesia
(6800-3200 BC)
(photo: Neolithic settlement in
Dimini)
The Bronze Age in
Greece:Cycladic,
Minoan, Mycenaean
civilization, (3.000 1.100 BC)
(photo:The Minoan Palace of
Knossos on Crete)
Historical Facts
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Median Wars: The
Greek city-states
repel Persian
expansion into
Europe. Battles of
Marathon,
Thermopylae, at
Plataea, Seafight of
Salamis (490-479
BC)
Historical Facts
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The golden age of Athenian
Democracy. Major
monuments of art in the
city of Athens (second half
of the fifth century BC)
(photo:monuments on the Acropolis
Hill)
Macedonians Dynasty.
Alexander the Great
defeats the Persians and
spread Greek culture to
Asia 334-323 BC).
(photo:The battle of Issus between
Greeks and Persians)
Historical Facts
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146 BC: The Romans conquered
Greece.
330 AD: The capital of the Roman
Empire was moved from Rome to
Byzantium by Constantine the
Great. The city was renamed
Constantinople.
(photo: Constantine the Great, Mosaic from the
church of St. Sophia)
395 AD : The Roman Empire was
divided into East and West. The
first with its capital in
Constantinople flourished for
nearly 1100 years based on the
Greek language and culture and
Christian religion.
(photo: The Church of St. Sophia in
Constantinople)
Historical Facts
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29 May 1453:
Constantinople and
throughout the Byzantine
Empire fell to the Ottoman
Turks.
(photo: Siege of Constantinople by the
Ottoman Turks)
The Greek Revolution
against Ottoman Empire
starts in March 1821. After
nine years of war fighting
and diplomacy the modern
Greek state was founded.
(photo: Th. Vrizakis “The exodus of
Greeks besieged in Messonghi”)
Historical Facts
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1917-1918: Greece participates
in the First World War on the
side of the Entente.
(photo: Victorious Greek army parade in Paris)
1940-1941: Greece rejects the
Italian attack and enters the
Second World War. Forcing
Germany to intervene.
(photo:A. Alexandrakis: “Greek invasion“)
1941-1944: Period of occupation
by German, Italian and
Voulgarian troops.
Historical Facts
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1947: With the
addition of the
Dodecanese Greek
state reaches the
current borders.
(photo: Rodos, the capital of the
region of Dodecanese)
1.1.1981: Greece
becomes a full
member of the EEC
(Now EU)
(photo: The signing of the
Treaty of Accession to the EEC)
Famous Persons in Greek History
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Miltiades was the leader of
the Greeks against the
Persians at the Battle of
Marathon (490 BC). Genius
Athenian politician and
general.
Leonidas was the leader of
the Spartians. He was
“sacrificed” at
Thermopylae in 480 BC
along with 300 soldiers in
his effort not allow the
Persian army to conquer
Greece.
Famous Persons in Greek History
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Pericles: Ancient Athenian
politician. He laid the foundations
for Athenian democracy of the 5th
century BC. The monuments on
the Acropolis were created in the
period of his administration, called
"Golden Age".
Alexander the Great (356-323
BC): Macedonia leader and ruler
of all the ancient Greek citystates. A student of the
philosopher Aristotle (photo). With
his military campaign in Asia he
spread the Greek culture.
Famous Persons in Greek History
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Theodoros Kolokotronis
(1770-1843): He was
commander of the Greek
Revolution of 1821 and the
most popular hero for
today's Greeks.
Ioannis Kapodistrias
(1776-1831) was Foreign
Minister in Russia at the
time of the Greek
Revolution of 1821. By his
contribution to the
diplomatic field he helped
in the recognition of Greek
independence in 1830. He
was the first Governor of
the modern Greek state.
Famous Persons in Greek History
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Eleftherios Venizelos (1864-1936)
was the politician who has renewed
and modernized the political life of
Greece in the early 20th century.
Greece has multiplied in size and in
population after the successes in the
Balkan wars and the First World War
in the years Eleftherios Venizelos
was a Prime Minister. The Athens
airport has his name.
Constantine Karamanlis (1907-1998)
His name was associated to the
economic development of Greece
after World War II and the
restoration of democracy in 1974
after seven years of dictatorship. He
was the initiator of the policy that
led to the accession of Greece to EU.
He was Prime Minister and President
of the Republic for 24 years.
Greetings
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Good morning = καλημέρα (kalimera)
Good afternoon = καλησπέρα (kalispera)
Good night = καληνύχτα (kalinihta)
Hello = Γεια σας (gia sas)
How are you? = Πώς είσαι; (pos ise)
Good bye = Αντίο (adio)
Hi = Γεια (gia)
Landscape that I love
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Santorini (Thira) is a volcanic island in the Aegean Sea. It is
created from pieces of lava emerged from the sea and land tracks
of a prehistoric island, which were not sunk after a terrible
earthquake.
…Oh daughter of a top anger.
Nude, rising from the sea.
Open the brilliant gates of a man, the place to be scented with
health.
In thousands of colors to sprout again feeling
knocking off the wings.
And blow the freedom from everywhere…
"Ode to Santorini"
Odysseus Elytis - Nobel Prize for Literature (1979)
Proverbs
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Love your friend with his foibles.
(A tip for everlasting friendship)
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A lazy youth, when old, a beggar.
(The importance of hard work)
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Listen to all, say little.
(The ancient Greeks claimed that talking a little is a sample
of the philosopher)
Poem
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“ Tell me, O Muse, of the man of many devices, who
wandered full many ways after he had sacked
the sacred citadel of Troy.
Many were the men whose cities he saw and whose mind
he learned, aye,
and many the woes he suffered in his heart upon the sea,
seeking to win his own life and the return of his comrades.
Yet even so he saved not his comrades, though he desired
it sore,
for through their own blind folly they perished—fools, who
devoured the kine
of Helios Hyperion; but he took from them the day of their
returning. […]”
Homer's "Odyssey"
Poem
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Homer (photo) is the ancient Greek
(8th century BC) epic poet, author of
the epic poems the Iliad and the
Odyssey, the Homeric Hymns.
Homer's epics stand at the beginning
of the western canon of literature,
exerting enormous influence on the
history of fiction and literature in
general.
“Odyssey”: The poem mainly centers
on the Greek hero Odysseus and his
long journey home following the fall
of Troy. It takes Odysseus ten years
to reach Ithaca after the ten-year
Trojan War. In his absence, it is
assumed he has died, and his wife
Penelope and son Telemachus must
deal with a group of unruly suitors,
the Mnesteres competing for
Penelope's hand in marriage.
Famous Painter

El Greco (1541-1614) was a painter,
sculptor and architect.
El Greco was a nickname, a
reference to his Greek origin. His full
name was Domenikos
Theotokopoulos.
He was born in Crete. At the age 26
he travelled to Italy, where he
enriched his style in painting with
elements of Mannerism and of
Renaissance.
In 1577 he moved to Toledo, Spain,
where he lived and worked until his
death.
He is best known for tortuously
elongated figures and fantastic
pigmentation.
(photo: “The Adoration of the Shepherds”)
Recipe
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Fasolada (φασολάδα)/ Bean soupe: Plate of traditional Greek
cuisine. It is a soup made after cooking the following material in a
saucepan: dry beans, carrot, celery, parsley, onion, olive oil and
tomato paste. Traditional sausage and red pepper can be also
added.
It was the national food of the Greeks in the years of rural
economy. Each family could produce those materials so, it could
feed a sufficient number of people in a hygenic manner.
Sports
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Football and basketball are
the most popular sports in
Greece. There are thousands
of clubs and millions of people
engaged in a business or
hobby with them.
In football the greatest
success was the winning of
the European Championship
in 2004 by our National Team
(photo).
In basketball there are
successes in national and club
level. The national team was
European champion in 1987,
2005 (photo) and second in the
World Championship in 2006.
Panathinaikos, a famous
Greek club, is five times
European champion in last
fourteen years.
Famous Greeks
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Maria Callas (1923-1977) was a
famous singer. She was a soprano
and the most famous opera diva.
Aristotle Onassis (1900-1975) was
one of the richest people in the
world. His involvement with the
companies made him famous as
well as his personal life.
Callas and Onassis were a couple for
many years (photo).
Dr George Papanicolaou (18831962) was a Greek pioneer in
cytology and early cancer detection,
and the inventor of the “Pap smear".
Millions of women around the world
owe their salvation from cervical
cancer in his own scientific methods
and discoveries (photo).
Famous Monument
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Parthenon is probably the most
famous and most visited monument
in the world from the Antiquity
times. Is the symbol of the Ancient
Greek civilization. It was built on the
rock of Acropolis, where there are
several monuments from the Golden
Era of Athens. The temple of
Parthenon was dedicated to Goddess
Athena, protector of the ancient city
of Athens. It was built under Pericles
administration by the architects
Iktinos and Kalikrates. There was a
magnificent statue of Goddess
Athena inside it, made by Phidias,
inside. The external pillars of the
Parthenon are not exactly straight,
they are slightly curved so they give
an optical illusion as if they were
straight for every ankle you will look.
The “International” Greek Language
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“Pause,
telephone, enthusiasm, dialogue, call, method,
episode, organization, economic, idea, synthesize, problem,
melancholy, phenomenon, characteristic, epoch, program,
practice, chaos, parallel, climate, basic, apologize, ironic,
strategic, magic, butter, paper, scheme, pirate, channel, devil,
diplomat, anemia, oxygen, peptic, stomach, symptom, organ,
biology, gastronomic, magnet, pole, electronic, algebra,
geometry, mathematics, archeology, astronomy, geography,
pedagogical, political, democracy, anarchy, philosophy,
orthodoxy, catholic, …”
Only a few examples from the traces of Greek culture and Greek
language in the world community. Not only words that come from
Greece, but also a whole world of ideas and science with Greek
roots. We can be proud for all these ...
The music of the presentation comes from the Greek
composer Stamatis Spanoudakis and it has the title
“Sea”.
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The students of E class who cooperated for the
presentation of the country are:
Stefanos Akrivogiannis, Maria Vlahou,
Matoula Gerovasili, Laura Giakou, Liana Diavitidi,
Katerina Zafiriou, Elisabeth Theohari,
Paris Kalafatakis, Kalie Kafasi,
Thanasis Kostanasios, Georgia Makri,
Rosalinda Moutso, Phanis Moutso, Donald Skouka,
Anna Tselikou, Alkis Tsetsilas
with the help of the teachers of our school:
Tenia Goutzoulia, Sophia Vasiliou, Xanthoula Danilopoulou.