History of Greece

Greece, officially Hellenic Republic, with its capital Athens, is a sovereign

country, member of the European Union.
The history of Greece can be traced back to Stone Age hunters. Later came
early farmers and the Minoan and Mycenaean civilizations. This was
followed by a period of wars and invasions, known as the Middle Ages.
Around 1100 BC, the people of the Dorians invaded from the north and
spread along the west coast.
At the beginning of the nineteenth century the peoples who formed part of
the Ottoman Empire began their struggle for independence; in the case of
Greece the revolution began in 1821, with the support of Germans and
Englishmen, who sought to revive the spirit of ancient Greece, an illustrious
fighter was Lord Byron.
The European powers imposed in Greece a monarchical regime: Otn I of
Bavaria and later Jorge I, coming from Denmark.
The new Greek state grew with the annexation of Crete, Macedonia (Balkan
wars), the Dodecanese. In 1922 the Greeks tried to annex the coastal cities
of Turkey, but were defeated; the Greek population of Turkey had to leave
the country and emigrate to Greece or to other parts of the world. During
World War II, Greece was invaded by Italy and Germany. After the world
war there was a bloody civil war. In 1967 there was the military coup of the
colonels, which led to a repression dictatorship and motivated the exile of
King Constantine. In 1981, Greece joined NATO after Germany was
defeated and the war ended. Greece is now a member of the European Union.