Greece(Greek:Ελλάδα, officially the Hellenic Republic,is a country located inSoutheastern Europe. Its population is approximately 10.7 million as of 2021Athens is its largest and capital city, followed by Thessaloniki. Situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, Greece is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. It shares land borders with Albania to the northwest,North Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to the northeast. The Aegean Sea lies to the east of the mainland, the Ionian Sea to the west, the Cretan Sea and the Mediterranean Sea to the south. Greece has the longest coastline on the Mediterranean Sea Basin and the 11th longest coastline in the world at 13,676 km (8,498miles) in length, featuring many islands, of which 227 are inhabited. Eighty percent of Greece is mountainous, with mount Olympus being the highest peak at 2,918 metres (9,573 ft). The country consists of nine traditional geographic regions: Macedonia, Central Greece, the Peloponnese, Thessaly, Epirus, theAegean Islands(including the Dodecanese and Cyclades), Thrace, Crete, and the Ionian Islands.
Greece is considered the cradle of Western civilization, being the birthplace of democracy,Western philosophy,Western literature,historiography,political science,major scientific and Mathematical principles, theatre and the Olympic Games. From the eighth century BC, the Greeks were organised into various independent city-states, known as poleis(singular polis), which spanned the Mediterranean and the Black Sea.Philip II of Macedon united most of present-day Greece in the fourth century BC, with his son Alexander the Great rapidly conquering much of the ancient world, from the eastern Mediterranean to India. The subsequent Hellenistic period saw the height of Greek culture and influence in antiquity. Greece was annexed by Rome in the second century BC, becoming an integral part of the Roman Empire and its continuation, the Byzantine Empire, which was culturally and linguistically predominantly Greek. The Greek Orthodox Church, which emerged in the first century AD, helped shape modern Greek identity and transmitted Greek traditions to the wider Orthodox world. After falling under Ottoman rule in the mid-15th century, Greece emerged as a modern nation state in 1830 following a war of independence. The country’s rich historical legacy is reflected in part by its 18 UNESCO World Heritage Sites.
Greece is a unitary parliamentary republic, and a developed country, with an advanced high-income economy, and a high quality of life, ranking simultaneously very high in the Human Development Index. Its economy is one of the good in the Balkans, where it is an important regional investor. A founding member of the United Nations, Greece was the tenth member to join the European Communities (precursor to the European Union) and has been part of the Eurozone since 2001. It is also a member of numerous other international institutions, including the Council of Europe, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), the World Trade Organization(WTO), the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), and the Organisation internationale de la Francophonie(OIF). Greece’s unique cultural heritage, large tourism industry, Prominent shipping sector and geostrategic importance classify it as a middle power
The native name of the country in Modern Greek is Ελλάδα (Elláda, pronounced [eˈlada]). The corresponding form in Ancient Greek and conservative formal Modern Greek isἙλλάς(Hellas, classical:[hel.lás], This is the source of the English alternate name Hellas, which is mostly found in archaic or poetic contexts today.
The English namesv Greece and Greek are derived, via the Latin Graecia and Graecus, from the name of the Graeci (Γραικοί,Graikoí), who were among the first Ancient Greek tribes to settle Magna Graecia in southern Italy.
Located in Southernand Southeast Europe,Greece consists of a mountainous, peninsular mainland jutting out into the sea at the southern end of the Balkans, ending at the Peloponnese peninsula (separated from the mainland by the Canal of the Isthmus of Corinth) and strategically located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Due to its highly indented coastline and numerous islands, Greece has the 11th longest coastline in the world with 13,676km (8,498miles)its land boundary is 1,160km (721miles). The country lies approximately between latitudes34°and42° N, and longitudes19°and30° E, with the extreme points being:North:Ormenio village.South:Gavdos island.East Strongyli (Kastelorizo, Megisti) island.West:Othonoi island
Eighty percent of Greece consists of mountains or hills, making the country one of the most mountainous in Europe.Mount Olympus, the mythical abode of the Greek Gods, culminates at Mytikas peak 2,918 metres (9,573 ft),the highest in the country. Western Greece contains a number of lakes and wetlands and is dominated by the Pindus mountain range. The Pindus, a continuation of the Dinaric Alps, reaches a maximum elevation of 2,637 m (8,652ft) atMt. Smolikas (the second-highest in Greece) and historically has been a significant barrier to east–west travel.
The islands of the Aegean are peaks of underwater mountains that once constituted an extension of the mainland. Pindus is characterised by its high, steep peaks, often dissected by numerous canyons and a variety of other karstic landscapes. The spectacular Vikos Gorge, part of the Vikos-Aoos National Park in the Pindus range, is listed by the Guinness book of World Records as the deepest gorge in the world.Another notable formation are the Meteora rock pillars,which at their top have been built medieval Greek Orthodox monasteries.
Northeastern Greece features another high-altitude mountain range, the Rhodope range, spreading across the region of East Macedonia and Thrace this area is covered with vast, thick, ancient forests, including the famous Dadia Forest in the Evros regional unit, in the far northeast of the country.
Extensive plains are primarily located in the regions of Thessaly,Central Macedonia and Thrace. They constitute key economic regions as they are among the few arable places in the country. Rare marine species such as the pinniped seals and the loggerhead sea turtle live in the seas surrounding mainland Greece, while its dense forests are home to the endangered brown bear, the Eurasian lynx, the roe deer and the wild goat.
Greece also features avast number of islands– between 1,200 and 6,000, depending on the definition,227 of which are inhabited – and is considered a non-contiguous transcontinental country. Crete is the largest and most populous island,Evia, separated from the mainland by the 60m-wideEuripus Strait, is the second largest, followed by Lesbos and Rhodes.
The Greek islands are traditionally grouped into the following clusters: the Argo-Saronic Islands in the Saronic gulf near Athens, the Cyclades, a large but dense collection occupying the central part of the Aegean Sea, the North Aegean islands, a loose grouping off the west coast of Turkey, the Dodecanese, another loose collection in the southeast between Crete and Turkey, the Sporades, a small tight group off the coast of northeast Euvia, and the Ionian Islands, located to the west of the mainland in the Ionian Sea.
