Greece - Korina Miller [27]
1924–34 Greece is proclaimed a republic and King George II leaves the country. The Great Depression counters the nation’s return to stability. Monarchists and parliamentarians under Venizelos tussle for control of the country.
1935 The monarchy is restored and King George II is reappointed to the throne. Right-wing General Ioannis Metaxas adopts the role of prime minister while introducing dictatorial measures of governance.
1940 On 28 October Metaxas famously rebuffs the Italian request to traverse Greece at the beginning of WWII. The Italians engage Greek forces and are driven back into Albania.
1941–44 Germany invades and occupies Greece. Monarchists, republicans and communists form resistance groups that, despite infighting, drive out the Germans after three years.
1944–49 The end of WWII sees Greece descend into civil war, pitching monarchists against communists. The monarchists recover in 1946, but the civil war takes its toll and many Greeks emigrate in search of a better life.
1967–74 Right- and left-wing factions continue to bicker, provoking in April 1967 a right-wing military coup d’état by army generals who establish a junta. They impose martial law and abolish many civil rights.
1973 On 17 November tanks ram the gates of the Athens Polytechnio (Technical University) and troops storm the school buildings in a bid to quash a student uprising against the junta. More than 20 students die.
1974 A botched plan to unite Cyprus with Greece prompts the invasion of Cyprus by Turkish troops and results in the fall of the military junta. This acts as a catalyst for the restoration of parliamentary democracy in Greece.
1981 Greece joins the EU, effectively removing protective trade barriers and opening up the Greek economy to the wider world for the first time. The economy grows smartly.
1981–90 Greece acquires its first elected socialist government (PASOK) under the leadership of Andreas Papandreou. The honeymoon lasts nine years. The conservatives ultimately reassume power.
1999 Turkey and Greece experience powerful earthquakes within weeks of each other that result in hundreds of deaths. The two nations respond to each disaster by pledging mutual aid and support, initiating a warming of diplomatic relations.
2004 Greece successfully hosts the 28th Summer Olympic Games amid much muffled rumour that infrastructure would not be complete in time. Greece also wins the European football championship.
2007 Vast forest fires devastate much of the western Peloponnese as well as parts of Evia and Epiros, causing Greece’s worst ecological disaster in decades. Thousands lose their homes and 66 people perish.
2007 General elections are held in September and the conservative government of Konstandinos Karamanlis returns to power for a second consecutive term.
2008 Police shoot and kill a 15-year-old boy in Athens following an alleged exchange between police and youths. This sparks a series of urban riots nationwide.
2009 PASOK secures the vote in the European Parliamentary elections in early June. George Papakonstadinou heads the Greek contingency, represented by 22 members of the European Parliament (MEPs).
2009 On 20 June, the much-acclaimed new Acropolis Museum holds its official inauguration. A public-relations campaign still rages for the repatriation of the Parthenon Marbles from the British Museum.
2009 Greece raises concerns over Turkey’s intention to explore for oil and gas off the coasts of Kastellorizo and Cyprus. Diplomatic tension mounts when locals spot Turkish jets flying low over several eastern Aegean Islands.
2009 Konstandinos Karamanlis calls for an early general election. Socialist PASOK, under Georgios Papandreou, wins the October election with a landslide result against the conservatives.
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A Who’s Who of the Ancient Greek Pantheon
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ZEUS (JUPITER)
POSEIDON (NEPTUNE)
HERA (JUNO)
HADES (PLUTO)
ATHENA (MINERVA)
APHRODITE