Greece Politics

POLITICAL SYSTEM OF GREECE

2004

POLITICAL SYSTEM OF GREECE

The shores of the Aegean Sea - the territory of modern Greece - witnessed the emergence , development and decline of the first European civilizations (the Minoan and Mycenaean , and , therefore , Greece is reasonably considered to be the cradle of European culture . There is hardly any other country across the world , history of which would be as eventful as history of Greece , there is definitely no other country cultural heritage of which would be as rich as that of Greece , and there are

not many countries political development of which would be as continuous , complex , and controversial as political development of Greece

The Minoan and Mycenaean civilizations emerged and declined during the second millennium BC . They were followed by the so-called `Dark Age which lasted several centuries until emergence of a New Greek civilization around 800 BC . A number of city-states emerged around the country with Athens and Sparta being the most powerful among them . These city-states established numerous colonies along the Mediterranean , waged wars with Persian state in the 6th-5th centuries BC , and their cultural and political heritage became a cornerstone of famous Hellenistic civilization that followed the empire of Alexander the Great , one of the best military leader in the history of mankind (Clogg 1988

Militarily power of Greece slowly but steadily declined after Alexander the Great died , and in 168 BC the country was conquered by the Romans However , Greek culture , which was apparently superior at those days very soon conquered Roman culture : although Greek remained a province of the huge Roman Empire , Greek culture dominated not only the eastern Mediterranean , but also significantly influenced the heart of the Roman Empire

When the Empire split into the Eastern (Byzantine ) and Western Empire Greek influence on the Eastern Empire became even more significant Byzantine , with center in Constantinople , was Greek in nature . During the next thousand years from the 4th century to the 15th century , the Eastern Empire survived numerous attacks from the west and east , and finally , on May 29 , 1453 Constantinople fell to the Ottoman Empire . Over the next decades , Greece gradually conceded to the Ottomans , and by the end of 15th century turned into a part of their empire

For more than three centuries Greece had been suffering from rigorous and violent opression : only in 1821 the Greeks rebelled and threw down Ottoman rule . In 1822 , the rebels declared independence of the country but only in ten years the war with the declining Ottoman Empire was over . With the support of Britain , France , and Russia , a monarchy was established : Otto , a prince of Bavaria , was proclaimed king of Greece in 1833 . His rule lasted for nearly 30 years , and a prince of the Danish House of Glucksberg named George I , King of the Hellions upon crowning became the next monarch of Greece (Glogg 1988

Despite rule of foreign monarchs , independence movement in Greece gradually grew stronger . The Great Idea , a vision of uniting all lands of the declining Ottoman...