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History of Greece
From antiquity to the modern era — the historical eras, key events, and narrative that shaped Greece.
Overview
At independence, Greece had an area of 47,515 square kilometers (18,346 square mi.), and its northern boundary extended from the Gulf of Volos to the Gulf of Arta. Under the influence of the "Megali Idea," the expansion of the Greek state to include all areas of Greek population, Greece acquired the Ionian islands in 1864; Thessaly and part of Epirus in 1881; Macedonia, Crete, Epirus, and the Aegean islands in 1913; Western Thrace in 1918; and the Dodecanese islands in 1947.
Greece entered World War I in 1917 on the side of the Allies. After the war, Greece took part in the Allied occupation of Turkey, where many Greeks still lived. In 1921, the Greek army marched toward Ankara, but was defeated by Turkish forces led by Ataturk and forced to withdraw. In a forced exchange of populations, more than 1.3 million refugees from Turkey poured into Greece, creating enormous challenges for the Greek economy and society.
Greek politics, particularly between the two world wars, involved a struggle for power between monarchists and republicans. Greece was proclaimed a republic in 1924, but George II returned to the throne in 1935. A plebiscite in 1946 upheld the monarchy, which was finally abolished by referendum on December 8, 1974.
Greece’s entry into World War II was precipitated by the Italian invasion on October 28, 1940. Despite Italian superiority in numbers and equipment, determined Greek defenders drove the invaders back into Albania. Hitler was forced to divert German troops to protect his southern flank and overran Greece in 1941. Following a very severe German occupation in which many Greeks died (including over 90% of Greece’s Jewish community) German forces withdrew in October 1944, and the government-in-exile returned to Athens.
After the German withdrawal, the principal Greek resistance movement, which was controlled by the communists, refused to disarm. A banned demonstration by resistance forces in Athens in December 1944 ended in battles with Greek Government and British forces. Continuing tensions led to the outbreak of full-fledged civil war in 1946. First the United Kingdom and later the U.S. gave extensive military and economic aid to the Greek government. In 1947, Secretary of State George C. Marshall implemented the Marshall Plan under President Truman, which focused on the economic recovery and the rebuilding of Europe. The U.S. contributed hundreds of millions of dollars to rebuilding Greece in terms of buildings, agriculture, and industry.
In August 1949, the Greek national army forced the remaining insurgents to surrender or flee to Greece’s communist neighbors. The insurgency resulted in 100,000 killed, 700,000 displaced persons inside the country, and catastrophic economic disruption. This civil war left Greek society deeply divided between leftists and rightists.
Greece became a member of NATO in 1952. From 1952 to late 1963, Greece was governed by conservative parties--the Greek Rally of Marshal Alexandros Papagos and its successor, the National Radical Union (ERE) of the late Constantine Karamanlis. In 1963, the Center Union Party of George Papandreou was elected and governed until July 1965. It was followed by a succession of unstable coalition governments.
On April 21, 1967, just before scheduled elections, a group of colonels led by Col. George Papadopoulos seized power in a coup d’etat. The junta suppressed civil liberties, established special military courts, and dissolved political parties. Several thousand political opponents were imprisoned or exiled to remote Greek islands. In November 1973, following an uprising of students at the Athens Polytechnic University, Gen. Dimitrios Ioannides replaced Papadopoulos and tried to continue the dictatorship.
Gen. Ioannides’ attempt in July 1974 to overthrow Archbishop Makarios, the President of Cyprus, brought Greece to the brink of war with Turkey, which invaded Cyprus and occupied part of the island. Senior Greek military officers then withdrew their support from the junta, which toppled. Leading citizens persuaded Karamanlis to return from exile in France to establish a government of national unity until elections could be held. Karamanlis’ newly organized party, New Democracy (ND), won elections held in November 1974, and he became Prime Minister.
Following the 1974 referendum, the Parliament approved a new constitution and elected Constantine Tsatsos as president of the republic. In the parliamentary elections of 1977, New Democracy again won a majority of seats. In May 1980, the late Prime Minister Karamanlis was elected to succeed Tsatsos as president. George Rallis was then chosen party leader and succeeded Karamanlis as Prime Ministe
Historical Eras
The major periods of {country}’s history at a glance.
Bronze Age & Antiquity
3000 BCE – 800 BCE
The Bronze Age saw the flourishing of the Minoan civilization on Crete and the Mycenaean culture on the mainland, the latter associated with the legendary Trojan War around 1200 BCE. A prolonged Dark Age followed the collapse of Mycenaean society circa 1100 BCE, marked by depopulation and the loss of writing. Recovery brought the Geometric period and the gradual emergence of the polis, or city-state, as the defining Greek political form.
Classical Greece
800 BCE – 323 BCE
The Archaic and Classical periods witnessed the rise of Athens, Sparta, and other powerful city-states, the development of democracy under Cleisthenes, and the repulsion of Persian invasions at Marathon and Salamis. The 5th century BCE golden age produced Socrates, Plato, Sophocles, and the Parthenon. Prolonged conflict, particularly the Peloponnesian War between Athens and Sparta, ultimately weakened the city-states and prepared the way for Macedonian dominance under Philip II and Alexander the Great.
Hellenistic & Roman
323 BCE – 330
Following Alexander the Great's death in 323 BCE, his generals divided his vast empire, spreading Greek language and culture across the Near East and Central Asia. Rome gradually absorbed the Greek world, making Macedonia a province in 146 BCE and ultimately incorporating all of Greece. Greek culture profoundly influenced Roman civilization, and cities such as Athens and Corinth remained important intellectual and commercial centers under Roman rule.
Byzantine Era
330 – 1453
With the founding of Constantinople in 330 CE, Greece became a core territory of the Eastern Roman, or Byzantine, Empire, where Orthodox Christianity, Greek language, and Roman administration were fused into a distinctive civilization. The empire endured centuries of pressure from Slavic migrations, Arab raids, and Crusader interference, including the sack of Constantinople in 1204. The final fall of Constantinople to the Ottoman Turks in 1453 ended Byzantine rule and inaugurated centuries of Ottoman domination over Greek lands.
Ottoman Rule
1453 – 1821
Under Ottoman rule, Greek Orthodox communities maintained their religious and cultural identity through the millet system, with the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople serving as a key institutional anchor. Enlightenment ideas spreading from Western Europe in the 18th century, combined with growing nationalist sentiment and the influence of the merchant diaspora, gave rise to a Greek national consciousness. Revolutionary societies such as the Filiki Etaireia, founded in 1814, organized the uprising that ignited the War of Independence in 1821.
Modern Greece
1821 – present
Greece secured independence from the Ottoman Empire by 1830, gradually expanding its territory through the Balkan Wars and World War I to encompass Macedonia, Crete, and Thrace. The 20th century brought catastrophic upheaval: the Asia Minor Disaster of 1922, brutal Axis occupation during World War II, and a devastating civil war ending in 1949. A military junta ruled from 1967 to 1974, after which democracy was restored, the monarchy abolished, and Greece joined the European Community in 1981, anchoring itself firmly within the Western democratic order.
Timeline Preview
The first 7 key events. View the full chronology on the timeline page.
8000 BCE – 7000 BCE
Mesolithic Period.
Mesolithic Period.
7000 BCE – 3000 BCE
Neolithic Period.
Neolithic Period.
3000 BCE – 2000 BCE
Aegean Bronze Age or Early Bronze Age.
Aegean Bronze Age or Early Bronze Age.
2600 BCE – 1900 BCE
Minoan Prepalatial Period.
Minoan Prepalatial Period.
2000 BCE – 1550 BCE
Middle Helladic Period or Middle Bronze Age.
Middle Helladic Period or Middle Bronze Age.
1500 BCE – 1100 BCE
Late Helladic Period.
Late Helladic Period.
1400 BCE – 1150 BCE
Minoan Postpalatial Period.
Minoan Postpalatial Period.