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GREECE REVISITED 2006 - Prologue |
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Our last visit to Greece in 2004 was spent mainly in the Peloponnese and Central Greece (see Greece 2004 web); there was no time then to explore the northern areas of Macedonia and Thrace, bordering Albania, the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM), Bulgaria and Turkey. This trip, after spending Easter at Mycenae, we plan to devote most of our time to the less well-known northern provinces - fascinating new places. As a prelude to the trip, a snap-shot profile of Greek geography, economy, politics and history is given below. Geography, Economy and Government of Greece: Ελλας is the southernmost country of the Balkan peninsula, covering 51,000 square miles of mountainous terrain, with an archipelago of some 2,000 islands. Greece's homeland population is around 11 million of whom 3.5 million live in the Athens conurbation; additionally some 5.5 million descendents of Greek economic emigrants now live in USA, Australia, Canada and elsewhere. Immigrants (largely illegal from Albania) make up 20% of the work-force, mainly in menial jobs. Within Greece's capitalist economy, tourism accounts for 15% of GDP, services 56%, industry 22% and agriculture 7%. Greece has been an EU member state since 1981, and joined the Euro in 2001. But despite strong economic growth in recent years, public debt, inflation and unemployment remain significantly above that of leading euro-zone economies. The country is a major beneficiary of EU aid, equal to 3.3% of annual GDP. Military expenditure however amounts to $5.9 billion (4.3% of GDP), reflecting continuing tensions with Turkey. The Hellenic Republic is a parliamentary democracy with President Karolos Papoulias as Head of State. Executive power rests with the 300 seat unicameral Parliament; the current main political parties are centre-right New Democracy (ND) and the Panhellenic Socialist Movement (PASOK).  Ancient History: the first Greek-speaking
peoples migrated into mainland Greece
around 2,000 BC. These Bronze Age warlike peoples built mighty palace-citadels such
as
those at Pylos, Tiryns and particularly Agamemnon's Mycenae, giving the civilisation
its name - Mycenaean. The Mycenaeans increasingly
dominated the Mediterranean world, protecting their trading interests with ruthless military
and naval power. Legends of the Trojan War, narrated later by Homeric
bards, reflect such trade rivalry. Mycenaean palace archives, recorded on clay tablets in Linear B early Greek script,
reveal Mycenaean wealth. But archaeology
shows the Mycenaean citadels were violently destroyed around 1,100
BC by Dorian invaders, who introduced knowledge of iron-working. The succeeding 'Dark Age' saw significant political and
cultural changes which led to the emergence of independent city-states (polis
in Greek, derivation of politics), ruled by
land-owning aristocrats. The Archaic Age (8~6th centuries BC) saw the
development of the Greek
alphabet,
 still used today, the beginnings of
literature, the establishment of the Olympic Games and the Oracle at Delphi,
and the foundation of colonies around the Mediterranean. In 490 BC, the
Persians attempted invasion of Greece, but were repulsed by the
Athenians at Marathon, a victory still celebrated with today's 26 mile
race. Ten years later, the Persians returned in vengeful force, but were
delayed at the pass of Thermopylae by the 300 Spartans' last stand led by
King Leonidas. The 5th century BC Classical Age saw Athens rise as a
super-power under Pericles, with the blossoming of arts,
literature and democratic government, and the building of the Parthenon as a symbol of political prestige. But
the inevitable clash with militaristic Sparta led to the protracted Peloponnesian
War, related by the historian Thucydides, and the eventual downfall of
Athens in 404 BC. During the Hellenistic Age of the 4th century BC, the
Macedonians under King Philip II controlled Greece. His son, Alexander the
Great, conquered much of Asia during his brief 33 year life. Meanwhile,
the Romans were expanding their empire in the west and from 146 BC
conquered Greece which for the next 300 years became the Roman province
of Achaea.
Byzantine Empire, Turkish rule and Independence:
in 324 AD, the Roman Emperor Constantine
converted to Christianity and founded Constantinople (Byzantium) on the Bosphorus; the
Empire split and the western Roman world went into terminal decline. The Eastern Empire however, including Greece,
flourished under Byzantine rule for the next
700 years. Conflict between
the Eastern Orthodox and Western Papal Churches led finally in 1054 AD
to the Great Schism between the 2 opposing brands of Christianity, not
healed for another 1000 years. The Eastern Empire came under threat when in 1204 AD, Franks and Venetians sacked
Byzantium at the time of the Fourth Crusade, and
built
fortresses in Greece to control occupied lands. In the mid-13th century,
Byzantine power shifted to Mystras in the Peloponnese, which
for the next 200 years flourished economically and
artistically, a major centre of scholarship. Commercial
interchange with Western trading centres encouraged
the spread of learning: Italy's influential families such
as the Medici attracted scholars from Mystras, bringing knowledge of Classical literature and philosophy. It is therefore to Mystras, with the blossoming of learning during the Byzantine Empire's
dying years, that we owe the origins of the Renaissance which so changed
the face of Western Europe. But the expanding Ottoman Turkish Empire
posed a new threat to Byzantine Greece: Constantinople fell in 1453, and
abandoned by the Christian west, Greece succumbed to 350 years of
oppressive Muslim rule. Scholars and artists emigrated
westwards, with Greek culture and identity kept alive by the Orthodox
Church. By the late 18th/early 19th century, armed resistance to Turkish
rule grew among bands of klephts (brigands) in the mountains of Greece.
Secret societies among Greek merchants and intellectuals gave financial
and ideological backing to the struggle for independence. The
insurrection was launched on 25 March 1821 (still celebrated as
Independence Day) by Germanos, Patriarch of Patras, and the revolt
spread, aided by western Philhellenes such as Lord Byron. The Greeks'
heroic action, and barbaric Turkish reprisal massacres, forced the
European Powers to intervene; in 1827 a combined squadron of British,
French and Russian warships destroyed the Turkish fleet in Navarino Bay,
ensuring successful outcome to the War of Independence. In 1831, the
Great Powers officially recognised the independent state of Greece,
albeit limited to the south/central mainland and some islands, and
imposed a Bavarian prince as King Otto I. His autocratic rule however so
offended the Greeks, who in 1862 forced Otto into exile, to be replaced
by another western royal as George I, King of the Hellenes; at this time
Britain ceded the Ionian Islands to Greece. A revised constitution
established a democratically elected parliament, making Greece a
'Crowned Democracy'. The last quarter of the 19th century, under Prime
Minister Trikoupis, was a period of intense development, with land
reform, road and rail building, population expansion, and further
territorial gain with Thessaly and SE Epiros prized from Ottoman
control. 1896 marked the new state's coming of age with the first modern
Olympic Games, held in Athens.
The
Republic of Greece since 1974: lacking any legitimacy or support, the
Colonels' 7 year junta was consigned to the dustbin of history.
Konstantinos Karamanlis was called upon to reinstate democratic government and his
newly formed centre-right New Democracy Party (ND) secured a large
parliamentary majority in the November 1974
Sheila and Paul Published: Sunday 5 February 2006
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GREECE
REVISITED 2006 - PROLOGUE - Γειά σας:
elections over Andreas
Papandreou's Panhellenic Socialist Movement (PASOK). In that year also,
a plebiscite voted by 70% against restoration of the monarchy: Greece
became a Democratic Republic with a new constitution,
and King Constantine retired to luxurious exile in Rome. With inflation
running at 25% and a feeling of unfulfilled government pledges, the 1981
election returned PASOK as the first socialist government in Greek
history. In spite of a declining economy, Papandreou won a 2nd term in
1985, but was forced to embark on a severe austerity programme, amid
personal and financial scandals. After inconclusive elections in 1989,
ND were returned to government under Prime Minister Mitsotakis in 1990,
intent on redressing the country's economic problems. Amid allegations
of government corruption, the 1993 election gave PASOK a huge majority,
and with Papandreou's declining health and death in 1996 at aged 77, Costas Simitis led PASOK to further election victories in 1996 and 2000.
The March 2004 general election returned New Democracy to government
with 165 seats, a majority of 30 over PASOK (117 seats) and left-wing
parties (18 seats); the current Prime Minister is
New Democracy leader Kostas Karamanlis. His noted achievement
has been the success of the 2004 Athens Olympic Games, an economic triumph
for Greece.<
