Important historical information and data

The Greeks influenced the history of all of Europe and the whole of the West through considerable cultural achievements in antiquity.

With the division of the Roman Empire in 360 AD, Greece became part of the Eastern Roman Empire, the so-called Byzantium, and then came under Turkish rule in 1453. Following the liberation struggles against the Turks (1821-1832), Greece gained its sovereignty as an independent kingdom.

After internal political unrest as a result of World War I, the monarchy was abolished for a short time (1-1924). During World War II, German and Italian troops occupied Greece, which was liberated again by the Allies in 1932. In the subsequent Greek Civil War (2-1944), the communists did not succeed in seizing power.

Renewed domestic political disputes in 1967 led to an officer coup led by Georgios Papadopoulos. After a failed counter-coup, King Constantine had to flee abroad. It was not until 1974 that the country found its way back to democratic conditions. Under Konstantinos Karamanlis (until 1980) a final orientation towards the West took place.