Greece information

Greece (Ελλάδα eˈlaða or Ελλάς eˈlas), officially the Hellenic Republic (Ελληνική Δημοκρατία eliniˈkʲi ðimokraˈtia), is a country in Southeastern Europe, situated on the southern end of the Balkan Peninsula. It borders Albania, the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to the east. The Aegean Sea lies to the east and south of mainland Greece, while the Ionian Sea lies to the west. Both parts of the Eastern Mediterranean basin feature a vast number of islands.
Greece lies at the juncture of Europe, Asia, and Africa. It is heir to the heritages of ancient Greece, the Byzantine Empire, and nearly four centuries of Ottoman rule. Greece has a particularly long and eventful history and a cultural heritage that both shaped and has been shaped by cultures throughout the Middle East, Northern Africa, and Europe. It is usually regarded as the birthplace of the first major democracy, Western philosophy, the Olympic Games, Western literature, political science, major scientific and mathematic principles, and Western drama including both tragedy and comedy.
Modern Greece is a developed country, a member of the European Union since 1981, a member of the Economic and Monetary Union of the European Union since 2001, NATO since 1952, the OECD since 1961, the WEU since 1995, and ESA since 2005. Athens is the capital; Thessaloniki, Patras, Heraklion, Volos and Larissa are some of the country's other major cities. (...) more....

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