Greece is a country with an unusually entertaining history. It is not in vain that it is called the country of philosophy, the cradle of the greatest civilizations, the homeland of gods of different ranks.
In the process of the world history of Ancient Greece, a very important role is assigned. The foundations of the culture of Europe were laid in due time exactly here. The works of scientists and philosophers of that time served as the foundation for many areas of modern science. Elements of architecture are successfully used in construction and at present. Even now, literature and art are attracting great attention. Numerous sayings, common nouns and proper names, as well as catchphrases and sayings came to us from Ancient Greece.
Few people now know, but the term "Ancient Greece" refers not only to the territory of the modern state, but also to other territories where the ancient Greek peoples historically lived. For example, numerous settlements on the Mediterranean coast, Sicily and other islands.
Archaeologists have established that the very first settlements were created in the Paleolithic era (11-3 thousand years BC). In the second century BC. here the greatest civilizations were born - Minoan, Mycenaean and Cycladic.
The most crucial stage in the history of the country was the Golden Age (6-4 century BC). At this time, Greece gave the world a whole cohort of the greatest people of art and scientists who contributed to the development of such disciplines as philosophy, history, medicine, poetry, architecture, mathematics, drama.
The history of Ancient Greece knows a lot of invasions of enemy invaders, first they were the Persians, then the legionaries of the Roman Empire. The latter, by the way, recognized the culture of the country, and then consciously began to follow it. Gradually, the situation developed so that the Roman way of life fell victim to Greek culture. This became especially noticeable when the empire split. The breakaway eastern part, the so-called Byzantine Empire, acquired a pronounced national character thanks to the predominance of the Greek language. This continued until May 29, 1453, when Constantinople, the former capital of Byzantium, fell victim to the Ottomans. For almost four hundred years Greece eked out a miserable existence under the yoke, until in 1821, as a result of the national liberation war, the Greek people won independence.
The monarchy in Greece was established in 1833.
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The state made a lot of efforts when, in the middle of the 19th and the beginning of the 20th centuries, it was decided to annex to Greece those territories that were still in the power of the Ottoman Empire. The Balkan War and the First World War contributed to the partial fulfillment of this task. Later, the mistakes of the country's government led to tragic consequences. In 1922, the Asia Minor catastrophe broke out, as a result of which 353 thousand Pontic Greeks laid down their heads, and about 1.5 million people simply fled from the lands that belonged to their ancestors for three thousand years. Some of them settled in Greece, while others rushed to the coast of the Caucasus.
During the Second World War, Greece fully experienced the oppression of the Hitlerite coalition. But the exit from the occupation did not bring the desired freedom, the Civil War broke out here almost immediately, which lasted until 1949.
Greece entered NATO in 1952, 15 years later there was a coup d'état, as a result of which the monarchy was abolished and a military dictatorship was established.
The republic of Greece again became on December 8, 1974, based on a referendum. At that time, a constitution was established, which, with amendments established in 1986 and 2001, is still in force.
Greece joined the European Union in 1981, and 20 years later it joined the European Economic and Monetary Union.