Greece History

GREECE GREECE’S PAST AND PRESENT HISTORY The Aegean Sea was the first to see the emergence of Greek civilization due to immigration from Asia Minor in the third millennium. Two of the first immigrant groups to settle in the mainland were the Minoans and the Mycenaean’s. The Minoan civilization (c. 3000-c. 1100) developed in Crete after the mythical King Minos and was centered in the capitol of Knossos, where it was known as Helladic (c. 2700-c.1100). Nevertheless, it was not until the latter part of the late Minoan period, where many of the civilization’s palaces were destructed by severe earthquakes that thus began the “post palatial period.” Unfortunately, for the Minoans, earthquakes were not the only issues they had to face. During that same period the Mycenaean’s, who were the Minoans main rival in trade, began taking control of Crete’s Mediterranean commerce, ergo by 1200 B.C. the Minoan culture ceased to exist. The Mycenaean’s (c. 1600-c.1100) began to build their roots in the city state of Mycenae in the latter period of the Hellenic civilization. An Indo-European group, they were the first one’s to speak the Greek language and develop the Linear B form of syllabic writing. The writing itself is fascinating over the fact that unlike Linear A form( as was used by the Minoans) Linear B was used not for historical records rather for the registration of trade goods. The civilization, as much as it traded with other civilizations east of the Mediterranean such as the Hittites and Egyptians, were able to avoid any conflicts with these superpowers. However, it was not until 1250 and 1100 B.C. that with a combination of Dorian invasions, peasant revolts and internal conflicts that both Minoan and Mycenaean civilizations came to an end. The Rise of the Athenians and the Spartans The polis states began with the developing concept of the aristocratic clans taking over the chiefdoms. Two of the major polis (city- states) that arose were Sparta and Athens. Athens, one of the largest polis developed its social system based on wealth rather than patrician birth and it’s was there that citizens of various financial status were able to apportion power. Sparta, however, was completely different then the architects of The Golden Age. The Spartans originally developed as a militant polis with both a rigid government and society. The 5th Century, however, would be one of great challenges for both city states. The Persian Wars (490-479 B.C) saw the defeat of the Persian Empire by the Athenians, and the defeat of the Athenians by the Spartans with the Peloponnesian War (431-479 B.C). After the decline of the Athenians, present day Greece was basically under much of Spartan rule. All the same, its victory was to be short lived, for it was the combination of both external and internal problems that would take away its super power status in the Mediterranean Sea. That is why, due to these weaknesses’ that Macedonia would give rise not only to a new dominant state but also to one of the greatest military mindsAlexander the Great.

1

The Macedonians The polis inability to unite under a certain political standpoint eventually would led to the annexation of the city states under Macedonia’s king Phillip II in 338 B.C. Greece’s northern neighbor was completely different in both culture and politics. For a while the Greek polis had established themselves as individual city states, Macedonia had kept its chiefdom system. Nevertheless, it would be in the short span of twenty-five years that Macedonia would rise to become one of the largest empires of the Hellenic world due to the profound genius of Phillip II. When he arrived to power in 359 B.C. Phillip completely transformed Macedonia’s army in order for it to become his new military weapon in conquering the southern Balkans (338 B.C.) and eventually Asia. Unfortunately, for Phillip, his assassination put a stop to that ambition in 336 B.C., which left the task of extending the empire to his twenty year old son Alexander. While he only ruled for thirteen years it was in that period of time that Alexander was able to create the largest empire ever seen in the ancient world. He was able to put his stamp in western civilization by using both his militaristic and diplomatic skills. It was in assimilating to the conquered regions beliefs and ideals that he was able to unify the region into under the Macedonian Empire. For illustration, after invading Persia he kept many of the indigenous bureaucratic system intact under both Macedonian and Persian rule. Moreover, in order to integrate the various people he conquered and rule, Alexander founded many new cities (many named after himself) in order to encourage his man to marry into the local population. If there is one thing that Alexander the Great had was ambition. For ambition was and still is the main objective that has toppled many governments and been the downfall of so many leaders. This is why, after waging an ambitious thirteen year campaign in the east, (India and Afghanistan) his luck would finally give out and by the age of thirty-three Alexander would die of a malarial fever in 323 B.C. The Hellenistic Monarchies The power struggle that happened after Alexander’s death would eventually divide the empire into five separate mainlands which included Mesopotamia, Egypt, Syria, Macedonia and Greece. The Hellenistic kingdoms had integrated many elements of Grecian and Near Eastern traditions into its cultural system, that to speak Greek was to speak the language of culture, commerce, art and politics. However, because the old social city- state system had been discarded in the renewal of the Hellenistic monarchies, many of Greece’s towns were now establishing themselves not as polis, but rather as those of power. And because the new power elite was rising, while the common class was falling behind, constant internal warfare and economic issues paved the way for the Roman Empire to cease and conquer. The Roman Empire and the Conquest of Greece Many variables prepared the way for the conquest of Greece by Rome in the first Macedonian War of 146 B.C. The lack of nationality, the break up of Alexander the Great’s empire and a weak agricultural economy were in play. And while this was both a give and take situation for the citizens of Greece for 250 years-who were “free’’ as long

2

as they behaved as clients and follow their patron’s conduits- it was one where the Athenians were able to establish their city as the center of learning, and one where many Romans traveled to in order to learn the Grecian language and culture. The embrace of Grecian language, art, rhetoric and other Hellenic roots from the ancient polis by Roman emperors such as Marcus Aurelius and Hadrian would be one that would give to the emergence of a Greco-Roman civilization that influenced the Roman Empire during the Pax Romana. Constantine and the Byzantine Empire There were many problems facing the empire that would lead to the separation of the empire in the fourth century. Economic issues were faced when the monetary system was devalued in order to pay the empire military forces. Plagues, tax increase and large military losses would separate the Latin West and the Greek East (the Grecian East fared better during the crisis then any other area in the empire). One of the Turing points of this arose when Constantine became emperor of Rome (305 A.D) and built the foundation that Rome would be divided into two major parts, ruled by separate emperors. The 313 Edict of Milan by Constantine the Great, would end up not only establishing Christianity as a tolerable religion, but laid the foundation to the separation of the eastern and western empire in 330 A.D. The establishment of Constantinople as his capital in the Byzantine Empire in 330 A.D. marked the beginning of the spilt that would happen until 364. It would be in that split that the western part of the empire would be ruled from Rome and eastern from Constantinople who would keep many of the Greek traditions for itself. Despite many challenged that the Byzantine Empire faced, it was able to survive for nearly a thousand years. It was during this time that it survived eleven centuries of attacks from the east (Persians), the west (Slavs) and the south (Islamic expansionism). But like all good things, they must come to an end and it was not until May 29, 1453, that Constantine XI, the last emperor of the Palaeologus Dynasty would fall and Constantinople would fall into the hands of the Ottoman Empire until the early 1800’s. The Ottoman Occupation The Ottoman’s theocracy would last until the early 19th century and would divide its subjects into two sections; the Muslims and the non-Muslims. Conversion to Islam, while it was not mandatory, was one that some would probably consider. Mainly to the fact that there were no Greek-Muslims or Christian Turks under the Ottoman Rule in addition the Muslims did not pay taxes. The non-Muslim community was divided into millets. While the millets gained much autonomy, the head of the orthodox millet was the ecumenical patriarch of Constantinople and was forced by Ottoman authorities to maintain order within its sphere, which would lead to much conservatism in the church. Nonetheless, while the church protected its role in the empire by isolating Greeks from the first Reformation, the Renaissance and then the Enlightment, it was one that

3

contributed to the way that Greeks identify themselves even today. The millet system is one that contributed to the identification of Greeks as Orthodox for the fact that it segregated the various people within the Ottoman Empire based on religion. It helped the Greeks of all geographic areas to preserve their ethnic, cultural and linguistic heritage until liberation would come in 1829. The Modern Greek State The significance of the Greek War of Independence is one that will live in infamy. The liberation was one of the most successful since the American Revolution and one that is considered the first nationalistic revolution. Moreover, the Greek War of Independence is one that will forever be remembered in both European literature and art as the most romantic, thanks to authors such as Lord Byron with his poem On This Day I Complete My Thirty-Sixth Year and Eugene Delacroix’s painting The Massacre of Chios. Realistically, however, the war, as any other war in history, was a long and bloody one no matter how romantics view it. The war for liberation in 1821 was the result of two variables. The first was the nationalistic bent that many Greeks had developed in the late 1800’s and early 19th century, with the help of Adamantios Korais and Rigas Velestinalis. The second being the economy, for the fact that the Ottoman’s-due Bonaparte’s defeat in 1815- was on the verge of depression and near famine conditions in the Balkans was gaining resentment from the populace. This struggle for Greece’s independence drew supporters from all over Europe and while at many times the Ottoman’s seemed on the verge of victory, it was only the intervention of the Great Powers ( Great Britain, Russia and France), who were protecting their own geopolitical interests that helped these insurgents find a new Greek State. The European powers after Bonaparte’s final defeat in 1815, moved cautiously and with care in supporting the Greek’s. First, of all because they knew that should the Ottoman’s be defeated a very powerful vacuum would be opened over a major region. This was seen as threat of course, for both the French and the British, who while had aligned themselves with Russia in the Napoleonic Wars, were leery over the fact that Russia laid just north of the Ottoman Empire, and had never ceased to dream of a warm Russian port. Nonetheless, it was Egypt’s own intervention in 1825, that the war took a turning point. Because the British, the Russians and the French saw Egypt’s control of Peloponnesus as a military threat, thus defeating the Turkish-Egyptian naval forces at Navarino in 1827. The British leading the Great Powers took Greece under their protection with the Treaty of Adrianople in September of 1829 and Constantinople in July of 1832. Post-Revolution Greece and Otto’s Rule The paternalistic care of Britain, France and Russia was the cause of the ruling years of Otto of Wittgenstein. The installation of the second son of Ludwig I of Bavaria in 1832 was the cause of Greece’s first Presidential assassination of Ioannis Kapodistrias in 1831. Kapodistrias, a former member of Tsar Alexander I privy council had been elected as the fledging state’s first president for the factors that first, he had had a long career in an

4

ally’s cabinet, second, the Great Powers knew him and trusted him, and third, Kapodistrias had never associated himself with any factions during the war. Unfortunate, the new leader would face not only a series of foreign problems during his reign (1832-1844 A.D.) but also domestic. When Otto and his three advisors ascended to the job of taking over Greece, they faced a series of economic disasters that were the result of the ruin of agricultural infrastructure, many villages due to the warfare were devastated, groups who had supported the war then demanded repayment, military leaders who had lead and financed the war demanded more power and land. But of course satisfying all these claims at once was literally impossible. Otto’s second reign, however, would never have happened if he had not been forced to draft a constitution by a bloodless military coup. It was in March of 1844 that after such pressure that Otto’s administration would establish a new government where the leader would first, reign as a constitutional monarch, second, issue executive decrees, third, veto legislation, fourth, dismiss or appoint government ministers and fifth, dissolve parliament. The government, would, moreover, be as democratic as it could in Europe with a bicameral legislature elected by all property holding males over the age of twentyfive. Nevertheless, if there was one thing that Otto could not have anticipated was the tide of war in the Crimean. During the Crimean War 1854-1856, the administration thought, would allow Greece with enough opportunity to side with Russia and receive territorial concessions after the war. However, this was never to happen. When Otto sent troops to occupy Ottoman territory with the pretense of protecting Christians in the Balkans, the Great Powers frowned upon this and sided instead with Porte. Otto, then humiliated and forced to give up his “Christian Cause” in the Balkans, was finally forced to abdicate in 1862. Greece Attempts at Expansionism The Great Powers who had founded Greece at the beginning of the 19th Century were also the one’s who would eventually elect Prince William George of Denmark, second son of future King Christian IX of Denmark, who would rule as King George I of Greece until his assignation at Thessaloniki in 1913. Before is death, however, seeing how both the Orthodox population and feelings of nationalism were growing in Crete, King George pushed for the reunification of Cretan factions, factions that would enforce the Grecian claims on Crete. Now, while the Paris peace talks in 1869 would end up with Greeks agreeing that Crete would remain part of the Ottoman Empire, with the conditions that the government in the island would allow its citizens have status in the empire, the Megali Idea, (Concept founded by Ioannis Kolettis which stated that Greeks must and should reunite by annexing the Ottoman territory adjacent to the republic) would remain until present day Greek policies. It would be eventually during part of the 19th century that Greece would add more territories along the way; starting with the Balkan Wars (1912-1913) against Macedonia

5

and First World War (1914-1918) against the Central Powers, where the Turks would eventually end up giving the Aegean Islands and territory around the city of Smyrna. Metaxas Era The Metaxas Era would be a very repressive one that would eventually lead to the political polarization after the Second World War (1939-1945). Nevertheless, when General Ioannis Metaxas took power in 1936, it was done “allegedly” to make sure that no communist political leader would take power in Greece. He, however, during major labor unrest and strikes would suspend civil rights and model his regime as those of Adolf Hitler and Benito Mussolini, where political opponents were arrested, censorship prevailed and unions and political parties ceased to exist. If there was one major issue that the Metaxas administration faced during its regime was its foreign affairs. In illustration, even though Metaxas considered the Axis Powers at the beginning of the Second World War as its natural allies, as the war approached in Europe by October of 1940, he found it difficult to really align itself with one power. Considering that Italy demanded that Greece allow occupation for strategic locations on Greek soil, Greece’s national security remained closely tied with Great Britain, considering the fact that its fleet remained a very dominant force in the Mediterranean. Depending on which view is taken, Greece towards the beginning decided to align itself with the Allies and refused to give to the Italians demands, which would result unfortunately, to the fall of Crete and fortunately to delay Germany’s invasion campaign to the Soviet Union until winter. A Country Divided The origins of the civil war lie in the occupation of Greece by Nazi Germany and Bulgaria from 1941 to 1944. King George II and his government escaped to Egypt, where they proclaimed a government-in-exile, recognized by the Central Allies, but not the Soviet Union. The Central Allies actively coerced, the King to appoint moderate ministers, for only two of his ministers were members of the dictatorial government that had governed Greece before the Nazi occupation. Nonetheless, some leftist of the resistance would exclaim that the government would be illegitimate on account of its Metaxas roots. Whatever its pretensions, in the minds of its citizens the administration in governance in Greece was irrelevant, for its incompetence and inability to influence its power. The Germans, however, wouldn’t have such an easy time either in setting up a respectable governmental system in Athens, for they too lacked the support of the people. The Nazi regime in Greece was undermined when economic mismanagement in wartime conditions created inflation, food shortages, and even famine, amongst the Greek population. In 1943, this government started creating paramilitary forces, made up of fascists, convicts, and sympathetic POW’s, in order to fight the communist partisans and reduce the strain on the German army. These forces of 14,000 men in 1944 never were used against the Central Allies, but only against the pro-communist guerillas.

6

The Civil War that would leave Greece in ruins- and in even greater economic mess than it had been after the end of WWII and the end of the German and Italian occupation (1944-1949).The war between the then current government and the Communist supported National Liberation Front divided the Greek’s for the following four decades. Many thousands of Greek citizens either went into exile in Communist countries, or immigrated to Australia, Germany, or the United States. Moreover, the polarization and instability in the 1960’s of Grecian politics would be a direct result from feelings from ideologies still left from the civil war. In the meantime however Greece tried to get on its track, first with voting back the once exiled royal family in 1946, joining NATO for the first time in 1952 and adjusting to a new constitution that same year. Post Civil war and Present Right-wing extremist organizations played a part in the 1960’s politics by instigating conflict leading to the murder of the left-wing politician Gregoris Lambrakis in 1963. On April 21, 1967, a group of right-wing army officers succeeded in seizing power from the government, using as an excuse the political instability of the time. The leader of the coup, George Papadopoulos, was a member of the extra-military organization IDEA. (Ieros Desmos Ellinon Axiomatikon or Sacred Bond of Greek Officers) In 1973, in addition, after the fall of the military junta, Greece was made a republic and Papadopoulos, who was president during the time, would eventually be overthrown by officers after a violent student uprising. A conservative centre-right wing government under Constantine Karamanlis legalized the KKE (Kommunistikon Komma Ellados or the Communist Party of Greece) and established a constitution which guaranteed political freedoms, individual rights, and free elections. Thus, in June 19, 1975, a parliament would elect Konstanitinos Tsatsos as president, under a parliamentary republic. In 1981, the central left-wing government of PASOK (Panhellinion Socialistiko Kinima or the Panhellenic Socialist Movement ) which was elected with the largest majority, voted to give all ELAS (Ethnikos Laikos Apeleftherotikos Stratos or the National People’s Liberation Army) warriors a pension for their service during the German occupation. PASOK, under Andreas -son of the former Prime Minister George Papandreou, claimed that this law diminished the consequences of the civil war in Greek society. Nonetheless, the same party repeatedly has come under fire for allegedly inflaming civil-war era instigations with divisive rhetoric used for its own political gain. Furthermore, in a promise to get Greece out of the European Community in November of 1982, Papandreou refused to allow any Greek participation in the NATO military exercise in the Aegean Sea. As the government began to loose power in the late 1980’s, Papandreou in 1985 decided to withdrew his support for President Karamanlis’s bid for a second five year period term and began pushing for amendments to the nation’s constitution, one that would give more power to the legislative branch and the Prime Minister. After a serious of personal problems, however, Papandreou’s power would grow even weaker, and in 1989 after a

7

June vote 146 of the 300 seats in the government, the center conservative New Democracy party began investigating Papandreou’s administration. The investigated party later on continued to resign and in April 1990 elections, the New Democracy party triumphed victoriously. Despite a history of personal and political scandals, Papandreou was once again elected prime minister in October of 1993 when the PASOK won 171 seats in parliament. Two years later in 1995, however, Papandreou after becoming ill and not able to perform his duties would step down. In January of 1996, Costas Simitis would be named Prime Minister by the PASOK, while in June of that same year, 77 year old Andreas Papandreou would finally pass away, ergo ending a long and arduous political career in postwar Greece. The diplomatic accomplishments of the Simitis administration are somewhat long, and while not perfect, they accomplished to warm up relations with its European neighbors. For demonstration, at the outbreak of the Kosovo War while the majority of Greece’s population opposed any dealings with the war, the Simitis administration kept its close ties with NATO and allies. Furthermore, 1999 would be the year that Greco-Turkish relations would show significant improvement. Following the August earthquake that killed more then 20, 000 people in Turkey, Greece would be the first to show a helping hand to the devastated country. Moreover, in December of that same year when Turkey applied for EU membership in Helsinki, it would be Greece again who would show its support towards its eastern neighbor. Ergo, it would be in 2003 when talks of the continuing Cyprus dispute would show some warming up. In April 2003 talks were held by Greek and Turkish leaders in Cyprus in order to unify the island. But while the talks failed, Greece did sign the treaty recognizing the Cyprian government internationally. And Rauf Denktash, the Turkish-Cypriot leader, opened its northern borders to Greeks in May of 2003 when for the first time in years, hundreds of thousands of Greek and Turkish Cypriots would visit each others side.

THE GOVERNMENT It would be the 1975 constitution that would put end an to not only a 146 year old monarchy as the head of state, but also one that would structure itself to many western democracies as France and Germany. Thus Greece is a unitary government where its parliamentary representation system is separated into three parts; the executive, the legislative and the judicial. Executive The head of government title goes to the prime minister, while the president is the head of state. Nevertheless, the prime minister does play a central role in the political process, while the president performs some governmental functions in addition to ceremonial duties. The president is elected to a five-year term and can be reelected twice. The president has the power to declare war and to conclude treaties, alliances, and participate

8

in international organizations. Nonetheless, by special request a three-fifths parliamentary majority is required to ratify or veto such actions, agreements, or treaties. The president also can exercise certain emergency powers though they must be countersigned by the appropriate cabinet minister and appoint the prime minister Changes to the constitution in 1986 limited the president's political powers. As a result, the president can not dissolve parliament, dismiss the government, suspend certain articles of the constitution, or declare a state of siege anymore. Moreover, to call a referendum, he must obtain approval from parliament. Legislative A unicameral body of 300 elected deputies makes up the assembly of the legislative branch. Each member is elected every four years through a secret ballot, except during a time of war when their duration is extended. The Assembly is convened from the first Monday of October for a yearly session that lasts at least five months. At the beginning of each session, each committee is forced to examine and review bills. And when the Assembly goes to recess its legislative and legal work can and usually is conducted by a legislative section that is made up of proportional representation according to the strength of the political parties in the legislative. The passage of a bill in a section requires approval by the majority of those present and the majority have to be at least two fifths of the complete sectional membership. For a bill to be introduced, however, it has to be done so by a member of the Assembly or by the government. And a bill that goes to be rejected by either section cannot be reintroduced in the same yearly session and must wait until the next session. Voting in general for Grecian citizens was made compulsory in the 1974 elections. Now all people aged 21-70 have the right to vote as long as they are 124 miles from their constituencies, suffrage is universal and compulsory once the person reaches the age of eighteen. Judicial The Constitution of Greece or the Syntagma in the Greek language is resolved by the Fifth Reversionary Parliament of the Hellenes and entered into force in 1975. It has been revised twice since then, in 1985 and in 2001. The current legal system is basically a codified Roman civil law that owes a lot to its classical Greek precedents. Justice is divided into civil, criminal, and administrative courts and are administered by an independent judiciary. The Judicial council is comprised into three main parts that make up the highest courts of the land; the Supreme Court (Areios Pagos) for the civil and criminal cases, the Council of State for administrative cases, the Comptrollers Council for fiscal cases or matters. Finally, the fourth court is usually reserved for special, final and transitory provisions.

9

POLITICAL PARTIES Greek has always had a two-party system, nevertheless, political parties in Greece have been more about its leaders rather then the party platform itself. Furthermore, because Greeks tend to promote their political ideologies on a patron-client system rather then developing them to the masses many political parties don’t make it that long in politics. Nonetheless, over the course of modern Greek politics five political parties have risen to rule the nation that founded democracy those being; the PASOK, New Democracy, Political Spring, the KKE, and the Synaspismos (SYN-Coalition). When general elections were held in Greece on March 7, 2004, 300 seats in the Greek Parliament (The Vouli) were at stake. PASOK was led into the elections by George Papandreou, who succeeded retiring Prime Minister Costas Simitis as party leader in February of that year, but in the end it was the New Democracy party of Costas Karamanlis won a decisive victory in the elections, ending eleven years of rule by PASOK. What made these past elections so fascinating were not only the parties’ platforms but also its leaders. For Costas Karamanlis was the nephew of Constantine Karamanlis, who was three times Prime Minister, twice President of Greece, and founder of New Democracy in 1974. George Papandreou was the son of Andreas Papandreou, twice Prime Minister and founder of PASOK, and the grandson of George Papandreou who was also twice Prime Minister. Papandreou's election to the party leadership allowed PASOK to regain ground after opinion polls showed in January that the rival party- the New Democracy was leading PASOK by 7%. But During February Papandreou campaigned on "the need for change" in Greece which helped PASOK by late February, when polls showed New Democracy's lead had been cut to 3%. On the evening of March 4th, Karamanlis addressed an estimated 200,000 at the ND's concluding rally. PASOK claimed that twice that number attended their rally on the 6th of March. In the New Democracy’s rally, Karamanlis stated that PASOK had been in power far too long and had grown lazy and corrupt. At the PASOK rally, Papandreou brought up the memory of his father but exclaimed that he would lead a government dedicated to reform and change, as well as action against corruption. The result of the election was not as close as observers expected. It seems that New Democracy gained back its lead over PASOK in the two weeks after the last polls, and that the election of George Papandreou as PASOK leader was not sufficient to overcome the electorate for a change after a long period of PASOK rule.

10

LOCAL GOVERMENT Greece is divided into 51 prefectures, each headed by a prefect (nomoi), who is elected by direct popular vote. Moreover, the Greek countryside is divided into thirteen regional administrative districts (peripheries), each including a number of prefectures and which is headed by a regional governor (periferiarch), appointed by the Minister of the Interior. There are also about 272 municipalities (Demoi) administered by mayors and communes each governed by a president and a community council. Finally, in northern Greece and in greater Athens, three areas have an additional administrative position between the nomoi and periferiarch. This official, known as the president of the prefecture local authorities is elected by direct popular vote. Although municipalities and villages have elected officials, they do not have a competent independent tax and have to ask the central government for a large part of their finances.

11