Greece/Greeks: Development of a Nation
How Greece became Greece, and how the Greeks became Greek.

How Greeks as a people, and the country of Greece as a nation-state, evolved and materialized into current form, in terms of ancestral bloodlines, the Greek language, borders, culture, and even how they received their name.

Ancestral Background
Development of Language
Formation of Borders
Etymology (How Name Received)
Culture
Greece in 2008

Greek Ancestral Background:
 

1. 9000 BC – People from the Levant settle the island of Cyprus, giving Cypriots a Middle-Eastern/West Asian genetic component.
2. Greek culture and language originates on the Greek peninsula by 1500 BC. Greek culture primarily resided within most of modern Greece, pushed northward somewhat   to cover much of modern Albania and Macedonia. Greek settlements such as Troy also sprang up along the western Anatolian coast (modern Turkey). The numerous islands of the Aegean Sea, including the large island of Crete at the southern edge of the sea, were also settled by Greek peoples.
3. 1125 BC - Greeks invade Cyprus, establishing the first Greek presence on the island. The population of the island became primarily Greek, as previous inhabitants assimilated into Greek peoples, resulting in a permanent, Greek-dominated component to the genetic composition of Cypriots.
4. ~ 900 BC: The Classical Greek era began after the Greek Dark Ages, where city states were under attack by barbarians by land from the north, and by sea from the south, destroying vestiges of advanced, ancient-Greek society (marked by cities, intricate sophisticated trade networks, education/writing) . In the emergence from the Greek Dark Ages, writing was relearned, the Greek alphabet coded, and the first city-states established, forming the foundation of western civilization and culture. The culture that made Greeks a distinct people was rejuvenated, further cementing their sense of nationalistic identity.
5. By 800 BC, Greeks colonized the southern tip of Italy and Sicily, being called Magna Graecia by the Romans later in history, since it was so densely populated by Greeks. As a result, Southern Italians still retain a strong Greek genetic imprint to this day.
6. Persian Wars – 500 – 448 BC. Greek city states aligned to aid the east Greece cities to attain independence from the massive Persian Empire, halting further expansion toward Europe. By the end of the war, the Greeks successfully pushed the Persians out of Europe, back into Asia Minor (modern Turkey). Cooperation against this common threat would protect the integrity of the Greek bloodline, while further solidifying a sense of “Greek-hood”, paving the way for future consolidation of Greek peoples into single nation-state.
7. 346 BC – Macedon conquers other city-states, along with the Kingdom of Illyria to the northwest, to lay the foundation of the Greek Empire.
8. 336 – 323 BC – Reign of Alexander the Great (Hellenistic Period). The Greek Empire was expanded northward to the Danube River, while conquering the expansive Persian Empire to the east. Greek culture was thus exported throughout the known world, along with a trace of the Greek genetic imprint.
9. 323 BC – Hellenistic Period in Greece Begins. The empire was divided into Egypt (Ptomely), the Middle East (Seleucid) and Greece (Antigonid - Macedon). The Greek Empire would further break into independent city states and small kingdoms, once again becoming fragmented.
10. 217 BC – Beginning of Macedonian Wars, which result in the Roman conquest of Greece. Rome would conquer all of Greek people by 30 BC, including Crete and Cyprus. Rome would militarily defeat the Greeks, but Greek culture would dominate all of Rome, as it would be the basis for Roman culture. The Greek world would exist under Roman rule until the collapse of the Western Roman Empire in the 5^th century (AD). After that, they would carry on the banner of the Roman Empire, considering themselves to represent the continuation of the Roman Empire in the "east". Much later in history, this empire would be retroactively known as the Byzantine Empire. The Eastern Orthodox Church also rose to prominence among the Greeks, meshing with the legacy of Classical Greece to define Greek culture.
11. 1299 – 1453: Conquest of the Greek Byzantine Empire by the Muslim Ottoman Empire. The Ottoman Empire was a Turkic political entity that converted to Islam before rapidly expanding to rule the Middle East, North Africa and Southeast Europe. It would begin to methodically capture Greek peoples and lands in Anatolia (modern Turkey) in 1299, entering Europe by 1354, before terminating the Byzantine Empire with the capture of the capital of Constantinople in 1453. Greeks endured under Turkish rule for roughly 400 years. During this time, they would largely remain a distinct nationality, but would have a minor genetic cross-pollination with the ruling Turks, who populated Anatolia next door to the east, muddying the ethnic divisions somewhat, especially in the borderlands. In which case, there is a minor Turk component to the modern Greek genetic composition.
12. 1821 – Greek Orthodox Bishop proclaims Greek independence from the Ottoman Empire. Revolts were subsequently organized, and with the help of western powers, independence was attained in 1829.
13. 1919 – 1922 – Greco Turkish War, or Turkish War of Independence. As promised by Allies, Greece receives new lands in Asia Minor (modern Turkey). The Young Turks, who had overthrown the Ottoman Empire, fought to regain these lands. During and after the war, a population exchange was carried out, with Turkey receiving Muslim populations in Greek lands, and Greece receiving Christian populations in Turkish lands.

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Development of Greek Language:
 

1. The basis for the modern Greek language is a direct sub-branch off of the genesis language for most of Europe: Proto-Indo-European. The Greek language came into existence around 1500 BC among the people that inhabited the southern Balkan peninsula and the numerous islands of the Aegean Sea, approximating the modern territory of Greece. Greek peoples, along with their Greek language, spread to the Asiatic side of the Mediterranean Sea into Anatolia (modern Turkey).
2. Classical Greek evolved from the Proto-Greek language, becoming the dominant form of the Greek language beginning with conclusion of Greek Dark Ages around 900 BC.
3. Hellenistic Greek was the Macedonian dialect that was carried throughout the known world by Alexander the Great and his armies. It was this dialect that would grown to dominate the Greek-speaking world from which subsequent variations would adapt.
4. Medieval or Byzantine Greek. The evolution of the language among the Greeks in the Byzantine Empire (the continuation of the Roman Empire by the Greeks, after the fall of Rome in the late 5th century).
5. During the Ottoman occupation and after independence, Modern Greek would emerge, influenced by the Turkic language spoken by the Ottoman Turks. After independence in 1829, Greek scholars recreated an alternative Greek language that more closely resembled Classical Greek, in an effort to conjure ties to the golden age of Greece (before the lengthy period of time under Ottoman rule). This recreated version was primarily used as a “high” speech, in literature and scholastics. In recent years, the two variations (Modern Greek and High Speech) have merged to form Standard Modern Greek, the Greek language as it is known today.

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Formation of Greece's Borders:
 

1. 9000 BC – People from the Levant settle the island of Cyprus.
2. Minoan Civilization exists on the island of Crete from 2700 – 1450 BC.
3. Greek culture and language originates on the Greek peninsula by 1500 BC. Greek culture primarily resided within most of modern Greece, pushed northward somewhat   to cover much of modern Albania and Macedonia. Greek settlements such as Troy also sprang up along the western Anatolian coast (modern Turkey). The numerous islands of the Aegean Sea, including the large island of Crete at the southern edge of the sea, were also settled by Greek peoples.
4. 1125 BC - Greeks invade Cyprus, establishing the first Greek presence on the island. The population of the island became primarily Greek, as previous inhabitants assimilated into Greek peoples, resulting in a permanent, Greek-dominated component to the genetic composition of Cypriots.
5. ~ 900 BC: The Classical Greek era began after the Greek Dark Ages, where city states were under attack by barbarians by land from the north, and by sea from the south, destroying vestiges of advanced, ancient-Greek society (marked by cities, intricate sophisticated trade networks, education/writing) . In the emergence from the Greek Dark Ages, the first city-states were established.
6. By 800 BC, Greeks colonize the southern tip of Italy and Sicily.
7. 750 – 600 BC – Greeks colonize the southeast shores of Iberia and the southern shores of France.
8. 709 BC – Assyrians capture the island of Cyprus, which later gains independence in 669 (independent from both Assyrians and mainland Greeks).
9. 550 BC – Greek city-states expand along the shores of the Black Sea, and the western coast lines of Anatolia (modern Turkey).
10. 546 BC – Persian Achaemenid Empire conquers Anatolia.
11. 545 BC – Persians conquer Cyprus.
12. Persian Wars – 500 – 448 BC. Greek city-states align to help Greece cities in the east to win independence, and to halt further expansion. By the end of the war, the Greeks successfully pushed the Persians out of Europe, into Asia Minor.
13. 346 BC – Macedon conquers other city-states, along with the Kingdom of Illyria to the northwest, to lay the foundation of the Greek Empire.
14. 336 – 323 BC – Reign of Alexander the Great (Hellenistic Period). The Greek Empire was expanded northward to the Danube River, while conquering the expansive Persian Empire to the east. Greek culture was thus exported throughout the known world, along with a trace of the Greek genetic imprint.
15. 323 BC – Hellenistic Period in Greece Begins. The empire was divided into Egypt (Ptomely), the Middle East (Seleucid) and Greece (Antigonid - Macedon). The Greek Empire would further break into independent city states and small kingdoms, once again becoming fragmented.
16. 321 BC – Ptomely gains Cyprus, achieving the Hellenization of the Cypriots.
17. 217 BC – Beginning of Macedonian Wars, in which the Greece city-states fall to Roman rule.
18. 197 BC – Macedon surrenders to Rome, soon followed by nearly all city states.
19. 146 BC – Macedon/Greece is officially a Roman province.
20. 133 – 63 BC – Rome acquires Asian Minor province, then expands further east to establish Asian provinces. Syria and Jerusalem were brought under the Roman Empire by 63 BC, defeating the Seleucid Empire (Greek-ruled Middle East since Alexander the Great's Hellenist Empire was partitioned following his death in 323 BC), bringing the Seleucid Empire to an end.
21. 69 BC – Romans conquer the Greek island of Crete.
22. 58 BC – Cyprus becomes a Roman province.
23. 30 BC – End of Ptolemie Empire (Greek-ruled Egypt since Alexander the Great's Hellenist Empire was partitioned following his death in 323 BC). All of the Greeks are now under Roman rule.
24. 292 AD – Diocletian becomes emperor of entire Roman empire, splitting it into two divisions: Western Roman Empire (based in Rome) and Eastern Roman Empire (based in Constantinople). He had determined that the entire empire could no longer be administered by one emperor. Until the end of the Western Empire, there would be several succession crises, but the east-west split would be of great significance, as the Eastern Empire would carry on after the collapse of the Western Empire (becoming known as Byzantine Empire). This gave rise to the idea of an “Eastern Empire”, which was known as the Greek-speaking portion of the Roman Empire, while the West was Latin-speaking.
25. 330 – Roman Emperor Constantine re-established the east-west boundary of Rome, which had been temporarily dissolved, residing himself to the eastern empire, naming the city of Byzantium after himself (Constantinople), the long-standing capital of the Eastern Roman Empire.
26. 395 – Theodosius became the last emperor to rule over entire Roman Empire (east & west). Upon his death in 395, he divided the empire between his two sons, along the east-west divide established originally by Diocletian, with the west going to Honorius, and the east going to Arcadius. The empires would remain partitioned until the collapse of the West, with the East surviving another millennium under Greek rule.
27. 476 – Official end of Western Roman Empire. Roman general Orestes persuaded Germanic people in and around Italy to join his side to usurp the emperor’s throne, for promise of larger tracts of land. Germanic chieftain Odoacer rose to throne in Italy. The Roman Empire lived on as the Eastern Roman Empire (later known retroactively as the Byzantine Empire), which was able to avoid the same fate by having greater financial resources to pay off Germanics, while fortifying Constantinople with massive walls, making it impenetrable.
    
28. 533/534 – Byzantine conquered the Germanic Vandal Kingdom in North Africa. Vandals were sold into slavery or absorbed into the Eastern Roman populace.
29. 535 – 553 – Goth War between Ostrogoths (Germanic rulers of Italy) and Byzantine. Byzantine prevailed by 553, but the war was terribly devastating to both sides. Byzantine was only able to maintain control over the city of Rome and parts of Southern Italy.
30. 541 – Bubonic Plague of Justinian, affecting Byzantine in particular, but also the rest of Europe. It may have killed up to about half the European population, further propelling Europe toward the Dark Ages. Byzantine, with its legendary emperor Justinian, was well on its way to restoring the glory of the Roman Empire, but the plague took so many lives, with many of the Byzantine troops dying, that his army had to be recalled back to Constantinople. As a result, Byzantine lost its grip on much of Italy and other regions around the Mediterranean. This would allow barbarians to conquer most of Italy, and would cause the Byzantine Empire to go into a decline. It would also lose its eastern and African territories to Arab Muslim Caliphates in the 7th century. Therefore, the Bubonic Plague of Justinian contributed to the rise of Islamic expansion.
31. 554 – Byzantines conquered southern Spain.
32. 568 – Lombards, a Germanic tribe, migrated from the east, through the Alps into the Italian peninsula, where Byzantine rule was weak or non-existent, displacing Byzantine rule in northern and central Italy. Byzantine retained Rome and Ravenna, pockets of central Italy, while retaining portions in the south (Mostly a diagonal swath of land from Ravenna to Rome and south to Naples).
33. 610 – Byzantine loses its Mesopotamian province to the Persian Sassanid Empire.
34. 624 – Visigoths reconquer southern Iberia from the Byzantines, ruling nearly all of the peninsula.
35. 634 – 641 – Byzantine loses Syria, Israel (middle east) and Egypt to the Muslim Arab armies (Rashidun Caliphate – Muslim Empire).
36. 638 – Byzantine loses Jerusalem to the Arabs, a shocking development for Christians throughout Europe.
37. 680 – Bulgars defeat Byzantines, officially recognized by Byzantine as an independent kingdom.
38. 688 – Arabs invade Cyprus, forcing an agreement with Byzantine to divide the island between Byzantine and Arab rule, which would result in constant warfare for the next 300 years.
    
39. 697 – Byzantine Carthage (North Africa) falls to the Umayyad Caliphate (Muslim Dynasty that succeeded the Rashidun Caliphate). Africa would become an unknown region to Europeans until the Age of Exploration beginning in 15^th century, since Europeans would not dare enter Muslim territory until then, prevented in doing so by more dominant Muslim Caliphates.
40. By 700, Slavs inhabit most of Balkan Peninsula, pushing the Greek Byzantine northern border southward, down to Albania and Macedonia.
41. 751 – Byzantines quarrel with the Roman Papacy over religious questions, allowing the Lombards to take advantage in Italy, expelling Byzantine from central Italy. Lombards took control of Byzantine lands except Rome and surrounding lands, as the Bishop of Rome (now known as the Pope) and his armies hold out, carving out an independent territory.
42. 824 – Muslim Arabs (Aghlabids) conquer Crete from the Byzantines.
43. 838 – 841 – Saracens (Muslim Arabs) from North Africa capture parts of southern Italy, while Lombards and Byzantines also retain parts of Italy.
44. 900 – 917 – First Bulgarian Empire expands to Bosnia in the west, eastern Hungary in the north. Encompasses all of modern Bulgaria and Romania. Would also grow to encompass Albania and Macedonia by 904. In another battle with Byzantine in 917, they would gain nearly the whole of the Balkan peninsula.
45. 927 – Slavs in Yugoslavia area break free from the Bulgarian Empire, establishing the Serbian Empire, which soon became a client state to Byzantine.
46. 960 – Byzantines gain control of Doclea (Montenegro). Byzantines reconquer Crete from the Arab Muslims.
47. 965 – Byzantine conquers the island of Cyprus from the island.
48. 968 – Byzantine begins to push back against the Bulgarian Empire, taking eastern Bulgaria.
49. 975 – Byzantine conquers Syria, Lebanon, and much of Palestine back from the Arab Muslims.
50. 990 – By the late 10^th century, Byzantine conquers most of Bosnia.
51. 1002 – 1018 – Byzantine carries out series of invasions against Bulgaria, incorporating them into the empire by 1018, establishing Danube as northern border of the Byzantine Empire. By extending borders north again, preserving Greece, and reviving Greek cities, the empire enters a period of rapid growth and economic prosperity.
52. 1016 – Byzantines conquer southern Kiev, consisting of Kiev and modern south-central Ukraine.
53. 1042 – Montenegro revolts against Byzantine, becoming the independent Principality of Doclea (roughly modern Montenegro).
54. 1045 – Bosnia is separated from Byzantine, coming under control of Kingdom of Croatia.
55. 1086 – Serbs revolt against the Byzantines, becoming independent. The Serbs wrest control of Bosnia & Herzegovina away from the Byzantines. Serbs conquer Albanian lands from Byzantine as well. Albania would be passed back and forth between the Serbs, Venetians, Normans and Byzantines until the 13^th century.
56. 1097 – 1176 – Byzantine conquers the southern coast of Anatolia (modern Turkey).
57. 1166 – Byzantine reconquers Bosnia and Herzegovina.
58. 1180 – Albanians are conquered by the Serbs (North and Eastern portions). Still officially under rule of Byzantine, but by now, Serbia largely operated independently.
59. 1185 – Bulgarians revolt against a weakening Byzantine Empire, beginning Second Bulgarian Empire.
60. 1185 – Cyprus separates from Byzantine.
61. 1189 – Serbs and Hungarians help Bosnia escape Byzantine rule.
    
62. 1204 – Byzantine conquers central/south portions of Albania.
63. 1204 – Crusaders conquer Constantinople to establish the Western Roman Catholic Empire, otherwise known as the Latin Empire. Bulgarians take the opportunity to conquer Macedonia and large parts of Thrace from the compromised Byzantine Empire. It is the first time the Eastern Empire is ruled by Latins rather than Greeks. Byzantine aristocrats would set up successor states, so Latins did not control entire Byzantine empire, just Constantinople and surrounding areas. Venetians captured Crete from the Byzantine Empire in disarray.
    
64. 1261 – Greeks reconquer Constantinople, but the damage was done, setting off a period of decline.
65. 1299 – Beginning of the Ottoman Empire (a Muslim empire), as Osman I (after whom Turkic empire named) captures a small amount of territory in western Anatolia (modern Turkey). It would enlarge territory throughout western Anatolia, taking territory from other Turkic tribes and the Byzantines. All of Byzantine Anatolia was conquered by the Ottomans by 1330.
66. 1354 – Ottomans capture Gallipoli, a Byzantine city on the European side of modern Turkey, marking their first advance into Europe.
67. 1450 – Macedonia is conquered by the Ottoman Empire, with the heavily fortified city of Constantinople the last holdout of the nearly-extinct Byzantine Empire.
68. 1453 – The Ottoman Empire conquers Constantinople, ending the Greek Byzantine/Roman Empire. All of modern Greece is now under Ottoman rule.
69. 1669 – The Ottomans capture Crete from the Venetians.
70. 1821 – The Greek Orthodox Bishop proclaims Greek independence from the Ottoman Empire. Revolts were subsequently organized, and with help of western powers, independence was attained in 1829.
71. 1864 – The United Kingdom ceded the Ionian Islands to Greece.
72. 1881 – A weakened Ottoman Empire is forced to cede the territory of Thessaly to the Greeks.
73. 1898 - After decades of insurrection following Greece’s independence from the Ottomans, the Ottomans are finally driven from the island of Crete. Crete would continue to operate as an autonomous province of Greece, until officially being ceded by the Ottoman Empire to Greece at the conclusion of the Balkan Wars in 1913.
74. 1912 – 1913 – Balkan Wars. Serbia, Bulgaria, Montenegro and Greece initiate war against the Ottoman Turks with the objective of gaining more Balkan lands, and consolidating more of their peoples into their respective kingdoms. Initially they are victorious, but then fight against one another over the spoils, allowing the Ottomans to gain a portion of Balkan lands back (roughly equivalent to modern Republic of Turkey on European side). Greece retained the rest of its initial gains.
75. 1919 - Since Bulgaria joined the Central Powers in World War II, West Thrace was taken from Bulgaria, and awarded to Greece by the Allied Powers, giving Greece possession of the entire coast along the north end of the Aegean Sea.
76. 1919 – 1922 – Greco Turkish War, or Turkish War of Independence. As promised by the Allies, Greece receives new lands in Asia Minor (modern Turkey). The Young Turks, who had overthrown the Ottoman Empire, fought to regain these lands. Greece initially makes gains, but Turks drive them back to Greece, establishing the modern border between the two nations.
77. WWII – Greece resisted invasion by Italy, but by 1941 all of Greece had fallen under Axis occupation (including Crete) after the Nazis joined the previously unsuccessful Italians in conquering the region. Greece drove them out by 1944, but immediately descended into civil war between democratic proponents and communists. The democrats prevailed in 1949. In post-war resolutions, Italy ceded various Aegean and Mediterranean Sea islands to Greece in 1947, setting Greece's modern borders.

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Etymology (How Name Received):

Greece/Greek. "Greek" is derived from the Latin word "Graecus", referring to one of the Greek Gods. It is thought that one of the first Greek tribes to settle southern Italy was given the name Graecus by the local Latin speakers. Thus, those that spoke the “Greek” language became collectively known as the Graecus by the Latins, and the name clearly stuck.

Hellenes. This is the name by which Greeks referred to themselves in ancient and classical times (until the conquest by the Romans). After which, they begin to more commonly refer to themselves as Graecus, or Romioi (Greek Romans). "Hellenes" is derived from the Greek Goddess of Hellen.

Greek Culture:

The ancient Greeks spawned Western Thought and Culture. The Roman Empire, and later European civilization would be based on the philosophies, and artistic and scientific advances born by the ancient Greeks. Classical Greek culture is renowned for critical analysis of complex phenomena, and applying a rigorous scientific method to solve mysteries, as opposed to relying on supernatural attributions.

Greek culture would change after the Greek peoples became Christianized toward the end of the Roman Empire. When Rome collapsed in the late 5th century, the Greeks carried on the banner of Rome as the "Empire of the Romans by the Greeks". As one of the most powerful empires during the Middle Ages, the "Byzantines" (as they were known retroactively) were often viewed as the protectors of Christianity, especially in Eastern Europe, which came under the domination of the Greek/Eastern Orthodox Church, which eclipsed the Roman Catholic Church in the east during the Medieval times.

Christianity changed Greek culture, adding the concept of revelation, faith and prophecy to the strict pragmatism so fiercely championed by the ancient Greeks. The Byzantines were feverishly proud of their heritage, but cautious not to hold it up higher than their Christian faith.

Christianity became more crucial to the Greeks during the four centuries during which they toiled under Muslim Ottoman rule, as it was the force that bound the Greeks while persevering within the shadow of Islam.

When they became independent in 1829, it was their Christian heritage that far outweighed their Classical Greek ideals propagated by famed thinkers such as Socrates, Aristotle and Plato. As a result, the Greeks are among the most religious peoples in modern Europe. Although highly religious, the modern Greeks nonetheless attempt to maintain their link to the Classical period, by placing great value and emphasis on the sciences and other intellectual pursuits, to the extent that it does not undermine religious faith.

Greece in 2008:

Economy: Fairly strong economy, especially for east/central Europe, which features under-developed economies compared to the west. With a multitude of excellent ports, relies heavily on the transportation industry, as well as the tourism industry.
Government: Democratic Republic
Religion: Greek Orthodox 98%, Muslim 1%. Survey: 81% believe in God, 16% in some other intelligent design, 3% atheist/agnostic. Constitution recognizes Greek Orthodox as prevailing religion, but guarantees freedom of religion. Extremely religious for Europe, 3rd most religious next to Malta and Cyprus. Greeks are a people especially proud of heritage, due to important link to history-altering events and civilizations. Could explain why they identify with the Greek Orthodox religion with such near-unanimity, as it has long been viewed as a protector of “Greekness”. As a result, Greece (due to high religious affiliation and activity) is highly religious, especially compared to Europe in general.
Demographics: Greek 93%.
Foreign Policy: Strained relationship with Turkey, over the Turkish invasion and occupation of northern Cyprus, which had a large Greek population. Persists to this day, as northern third of island remains the Turkey-friendly nation of Northern Cyprus, recognized by Turkey alone as a sovereign nation. Greece and Turkey also disagree on the dividing point in the Aegean Sea, which includes several islands. It also has issues with Macedonian over the name of the country, which is historically associated with the Greek people (beginning with the ancient kingdom of Macedon). Harbors issues with Albania over the treatment of one another’s foreign nationals.
Population: 10,722,816 (2008)

 

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