1.
Culture of Greece
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In ancient times, Greece was the birthplace of Western culture and democracy. Modern democracies owe a debt to Greek beliefs in government by the people, trial by jury, the ancient Greeks pioneered in many fields that rely on systematic thought, including biology, geometry, history, philosophy, and physics. They introduced such important literary forms as epic and lyric poetry, history, tragedy, in their pursuit of order and proportion, the Greeks created an ideal of beauty that strongly influenced Western art. Ancient Greek architecture is best known through its temples and theatres, Byzantine architecture is the architecture of the Byzantine Empire. Byzantine architecture emphasized a Greek cross layout, the Byzantine capitol style of column, during the Ottoman conquest, the Greek architecture was concentrated mainly on the Greek Orthodox churches of the Greek diaspora. These churches, such as other intellectual centres built by Greeks in Diaspora, was influenced by the western European architecture. After the independence of Greece and during the century, the Neoclassical architecture was heavily used for both public and private building. Regarding the churches, Greece also experienced the Neo-Byzantine revival, in 1933 the Athens Charter, a manifesto of the modernist movement, was signed, and was published later by Le Corbusier. Architects of this movement were among others, the Bauhaus-architect Ioannis Despotopoulos, Dimitris Pikionis, Patroklos Karantinos and Takis Zenetos. After World War II and the Greek civil war, the construction of condominiums in the major Greek city centres, was a major contributory factor for the Greek economy. The first skyscrapers were constructed during the 1960s and 1970s, such as the OTE Tower. During the 1960s and 1970s, Xenia was a hotel construction program initiated by the Hellenic Tourism Organisation to improve the countrys tourism infrastructure. It constitutes one of the largest infrastructure projects in modern Greek history, the first manager of the project was the architect Charalambos Sfaellos and from 1957 the buildings were designed by a team under Aris Konstantinidis. Cinema first appeared in Greece in 1896 but the first actual cine-theatre was opened in 1907, in 1914 the Asty Films Company was founded and the production of long films begun. Golfo, a well known traditional love story, is the first Greek long movie, in 1931, Orestis Laskos directed Daphnis and Chloe, contained the first nude scene in the history of European cinema, it was also the first Greek movie which was played abroad. In 1944 Katina Paxinou was honoured with the Best Supporting Actress Academy Award for For Whom the Bell Tolls, the 1950s and early 1960s are considered by many as the Greek Golden age of Cinema. More than sixty films per year were made, with the majority having film noir elements, notable films were Η κάλπικη λίρα, Πικρό Ψωμί, O Drakos, Stella. Cacoyannis also directed Zorba the Greek with Anthony Quinn which received Best Director, Best Adapted Screenplay, finos Film also contributed to this period with movies such as Λατέρνα, Φτώχεια και Φιλότιμο, Η Θεία από το Σικάγο, Το ξύλο βγήκε από τον Παράδεισο and many more
2.
History of Greece
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The history of Greece encompasses the history of the territory of the modern nation-state of Greece, as well as that of the Greek people and the areas they inhabited and ruled historically. The scope of Greek habitation and rule has varied throughout the ages, and, as a result, at its cultural and geographical peak, Greek civilization spread from Greece to Egypt and to the Hindu Kush mountains in Afghanistan. Since then, Greek minorities have remained in former Greek territories, nowadays most Greeks live in the modern states of Greece and Cyprus. The Neolithic Revolution reached Europe beginning in 7000–6500 BC when agriculturalists from the Near East entered the Greek peninsula from Anatolia by island-hopping through the Aegean Sea. The first Greek-speaking tribes, speaking the predecessor of the Mycenaean language, little specific information is known about the Minoans, including their language, which was recorded on the undeciphered Linear A script). They were primarily a people engaged in extensive overseas trade throughout the Mediterranean region. Minoan civilization was affected by a number of natural cataclysms such as the eruption at Thera. In 1425 BC, the Minoan palaces were devastated by fire, the Minoan civilization which preceded the Mycenaean civilization on Crete was revealed to the modern world by Sir Arthur Evans in 1900, when he purchased and then began excavating a site at Knossos. Mycenaean civilization originated and evolved from the society and culture of the Early and it emerged in circa 1600 BC, when Helladic culture in mainland Greece was transformed under influences from Minoan Crete and lasted until the collapse of the Mycenaean palaces in c.1100 BC. Mycenaean Greece is the Late Helladic Bronze Age civilization of Ancient Greece and it is the setting of the epics of Homer and most of Greek mythology. The Mycenaean period takes its name from the archaeological site Mycenae in the northeastern Argolid, Athens, Pylos, Thebes, and Tiryns are also important Mycenaean sites. Mycenaean civilization was dominated by a warrior aristocracy, around 1400 BC, the Mycenaeans extended their control to Crete, center of the Minoan civilization, and adopted a form of the Minoan script called Linear A to write their early form of Greek. The Mycenaean-era script is called Linear B, which was deciphered in 1952 by Michael Ventris, the Mycenaeans buried their nobles in beehive tombs, large circular burial chambers with a high-vaulted roof and straight entry passage lined with stone. They often buried daggers or some form of military equipment with the deceased. The nobility were buried with gold masks, tiaras, armor. Mycenaeans were buried in a position, and some of the nobility underwent mummification. Around 1100–1050 BC, the Mycenaean civilization collapsed, numerous cities were sacked and the region entered what historians see as a dark age. During this period, Greece experienced a decline in population and literacy, the Greeks themselves have traditionally blamed this decline on an invasion by another wave of Greek people, the Dorians, although there is scant archaeological evidence for this view
3.
Greeks
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The Greeks or Hellenes are an ethnic group native to Greece, Cyprus, southern Albania, Turkey, Sicily, Egypt and, to a lesser extent, other countries surrounding the Mediterranean Sea. They also form a significant diaspora, with Greek communities established around the world, many of these regions coincided to a large extent with the borders of the Byzantine Empire of the late 11th century and the Eastern Mediterranean areas of ancient Greek colonization. The cultural centers of the Greeks have included Athens, Thessalonica, Alexandria, Smyrna, most ethnic Greeks live nowadays within the borders of the modern Greek state and Cyprus. The Greek genocide and population exchange between Greece and Turkey nearly ended the three millennia-old Greek presence in Asia Minor, other longstanding Greek populations can be found from southern Italy to the Caucasus and southern Russia and Ukraine and in the Greek diaspora communities in a number of other countries. Today, most Greeks are officially registered as members of the Greek Orthodox Church, the Greeks speak the Greek language, which forms its own unique branch within the Indo-European family of languages, the Hellenic. They are part of a group of ethnicities, described by Anthony D. Smith as an archetypal diaspora people. Both migrations occur at incisive periods, the Mycenaean at the transition to the Late Bronze Age, the Mycenaeans quickly penetrated the Aegean Sea and, by the 15th century BC, had reached Rhodes, Crete, Cyprus and the shores of Asia Minor. Around 1200 BC, the Dorians, another Greek-speaking people, followed from Epirus, the Dorian invasion was followed by a poorly attested period of migrations, appropriately called the Greek Dark Ages, but by 800 BC the landscape of Archaic and Classical Greece was discernible. The Greeks of classical antiquity idealized their Mycenaean ancestors and the Mycenaean period as an era of heroes, closeness of the gods. The Homeric Epics were especially and generally accepted as part of the Greek past, as part of the Mycenaean heritage that survived, the names of the gods and goddesses of Mycenaean Greece became major figures of the Olympian Pantheon of later antiquity. The ethnogenesis of the Greek nation is linked to the development of Pan-Hellenism in the 8th century BC, the works of Homer and Hesiod were written in the 8th century BC, becoming the basis of the national religion, ethos, history and mythology. The Oracle of Apollo at Delphi was established in this period, the classical period of Greek civilization covers a time spanning from the early 5th century BC to the death of Alexander the Great, in 323 BC. It is so named because it set the standards by which Greek civilization would be judged in later eras, the Peloponnesian War, the large scale civil war between the two most powerful Greek city-states Athens and Sparta and their allies, left both greatly weakened. Many Greeks settled in Hellenistic cities like Alexandria, Antioch and Seleucia, two thousand years later, there are still communities in Pakistan and Afghanistan, like the Kalash, who claim to be descended from Greek settlers. The Hellenistic civilization was the period of Greek civilization, the beginnings of which are usually placed at Alexanders death. This Hellenistic age, so called because it saw the partial Hellenization of many non-Greek cultures and this age saw the Greeks move towards larger cities and a reduction in the importance of the city-state. These larger cities were parts of the still larger Kingdoms of the Diadochi, Greeks, however, remained aware of their past, chiefly through the study of the works of Homer and the classical authors. An important factor in maintaining Greek identity was contact with barbarian peoples and this led to a strong desire among Greeks to organize the transmission of the Hellenic paideia to the next generation
4.
Greek mythology
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It was a part of the religion in ancient Greece. Greek mythology is explicitly embodied in a collection of narratives. Greek myth attempts to explain the origins of the world, and details the lives and adventures of a variety of gods, goddesses, heroes, heroines. These accounts initially were disseminated in a tradition, today the Greek myths are known primarily from ancient Greek literature. The oldest known Greek literary sources, Homers epic poems Iliad and Odyssey, focus on the Trojan War, archaeological findings provide a principal source of detail about Greek mythology, with gods and heroes featured prominently in the decoration of many artifacts. Geometric designs on pottery of the eighth century BC depict scenes from the Trojan cycle as well as the adventures of Heracles, in the succeeding Archaic, Classical, and Hellenistic periods, Homeric and various other mythological scenes appear, supplementing the existing literary evidence. Greek mythology has had an influence on the culture, arts. Poets and artists from ancient times to the present have derived inspiration from Greek mythology and have discovered contemporary significance and relevance in the themes, Greek mythology is known today primarily from Greek literature and representations on visual media dating from the Geometric period from c. Mythical narration plays an important role in every genre of Greek literature. Nevertheless, the only general mythographical handbook to survive from Greek antiquity was the Library of Pseudo-Apollodorus and this work attempts to reconcile the contradictory tales of the poets and provides a grand summary of traditional Greek mythology and heroic legends. Apollodorus of Athens lived from c, 180–125 BC and wrote on many of these topics. His writings may have formed the basis for the collection, however the Library discusses events that occurred long after his death, among the earliest literary sources are Homers two epic poems, the Iliad and the Odyssey. Other poets completed the cycle, but these later and lesser poems now are lost almost entirely. Despite their traditional name, the Homeric Hymns have no connection with Homer. They are choral hymns from the part of the so-called Lyric age. Hesiods Works and Days, a poem about farming life, also includes the myths of Prometheus, Pandora. The poet gives advice on the best way to succeed in a dangerous world, lyrical poets often took their subjects from myth, but their treatment became gradually less narrative and more allusive. Greek lyric poets, including Pindar, Bacchylides and Simonides, and bucolic poets such as Theocritus and Bion, additionally, myth was central to classical Athenian drama
5.
Greek cuisine
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Greek cuisine is a Mediterranean cuisine. It has some characteristics with the traditional cuisines of the Balkans. Contemporary Greek cookery makes wide use of vegetables, olive oil, grains, fish, wine, other important ingredients include olives, cheese, eggplant, zucchini, lemon juice, vegetables, herbs, bread and yoghurt. The most commonly used grain is wheat, barley is also used, common dessert ingredients include nuts, honey, fruits, and filo pastry. Greek cuisine has a tradition of some 4,000 years and is a part of the history. Its flavors change with the season and its geography, Greek cookery, historically a forerunner of Western cuisine, spread its culinary influence - via ancient Rome - throughout Europe and beyond. It has influences from the different peoples cuisine the Greeks have interacted with over the centuries, as evidenced by several types of sweets and it was Archestratos in 320 B. C. who wrote the first cookbook in history. Ancient Greek cuisine was characterized by its frugality and was founded on the Mediterranean triad, wheat, olive oil and this trend in Greek diet continued in Roman and Ottoman times and changed only fairly recently when technological progress has made meat more available. Wine and olive oil have always been a part of it. Culinary advice was influenced by the theory of humors, first put forth by the ancient Greek doctor Claudius Aelius Galenus, Byzantine cuisine benefited from Constantinople’s position as a global hub of the spice trade. The most characteristic and ancient element of Greek cuisine is olive oil and it is produced from the olive trees prominent throughout the region, and adds to the distinctive taste of Greek food, however, they are also widely eaten. The basic grain in Greece is wheat, though barley is also grown, important vegetables include tomato, aubergine, potato, green beans, okra, green peppers, and onions. Honey in Greece is mainly honey from the nectar of fruit trees and citrus trees, lemon, orange, bigarade trees, thyme honey, mastic is grown on the Aegean island of Chios. Greek cuisine uses some flavorings more often than other Mediterranean cuisines do, namely, oregano, mint, garlic, onion, dill, other common herbs and spices include basil, thyme and fennel seed. Parsley is also used as a garnish on some dishes, many Greek recipes, especially in the northern parts of the country, use sweet spices in combination with meat, for example cinnamon, whole spice and cloves in stews. The climate and terrain has tended to favour the breeding of goats and sheep over cattle, fish dishes are common in coastal regions and on the islands. A great variety of types are used in Greek cuisine, including Feta, Kasseri, Kefalotyri, Graviera, Anthotyros, Manouri, Metsovone, Ladotyri, Kalathaki, Katiki-Tsalafouti. Too much refinement is generally considered to be against the hearty spirit of the Greek cuisine, dining out is common in Greece, and has been for quite some time
6.
Religion in Greece
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Religion in Greece is dominated by the Greek Orthodox Church, which is within the larger communion of the Eastern Orthodox Church. It represents the majority of the population and is recognized as the prevailing religion of Greece. Religions with smaller numbers of followers include Islam, Catholicism, Evangelicalism, since 1850, Greek Orthodoxy within Greece is handled by the Church of Greece. Its members comprise between 88% and 95-98% of the population, the most recent Pew report gave a percentage of 88. 1% as 2010 numbers, as a result, many attribute to the modern Greek nation an ethnoreligious identity. The Church of Greece is largely exempt from taxes, compared to religious organizations. Furthermore, the mainstream Orthodox clergys salaries and pensions are paid for by the State at rates comparable to those of teachers, in addition, the Constitution prohibits proselytism from other religions. Indigenous Catholic Greeks number approximately 50,000 and are all over Greece, the majority, however, live in the Cyclades. The presence of Catholics in the Greek islands is mostly a heritage from the time of the Venetian domination from the Middle Ages, the Roman Catholic community has increased in size in recent years due to immigration and today number over 200,000. Catholic Greeks of the Byzantine Rite number approximately 5,000, protestants, including Greek Evangelical Church and Free Evangelical Churches, stand at about 30,000. The Free Apostolic Church of the Pentecost was founded by Dr. Leonidas Feggos in 1965, the official church, Eastern Orthodox, and the State reluctantly gave permission for Pentecostal churches to operate legally. The process of receiving permission from the Ministry of Education and Religion to operate as a church is becoming easier, assemblies of God, the International Church of the Foursquare Gospel and other Pentecostal churches of the Greek Synod of Apostolic Church have 12,000 members. The Independent Free Apostolic Church of Pentecost is the biggest Protestant denomination in Greece with 120 churches, there are no official statistics about Free Apostolic Church of Pentecost, but the Orthodox Church estimates the followers at 20,000. The presence of Armenians in Greece dates back centuries, when Armenians settled in Thessalia, Macedonia, Thrace, the Armenians in Greece acquired the character of a community after the 1920s, when 70,000 to 80,000 survivors of the Armenian Genocide fled to Greece. Today, emigration to North America has diminished the Armenian population of Greece, the number now counts for roughly 20, 000-35,000 Greco-Armenians. Some thousands people are members of the Supreme Council of Ethnic Hellenes, indigenous Turks and Muslims in Greece are mostly of Turkish origin though a community of Greek Muslims exists as well. The number of followers of Islam is estimated to be at 97,604 people or 0. 95% of the total population, immigrant Muslims are estimated between 200, 000-300,000. The number of the followers is not so high amongst the Greeks, today there are three religious centers, in Athens, Thessaloniki and Corinth. Hinduism in Greece has a small following, there is a small Hindu community in Athens
7.
Greek art
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Greek art began in the Cycladic and Minoan civilization, and gave birth to Western classical art in the subsequent Geometric, Archaic and Classical periods. Greek art is mainly five forms, architecture, sculpture, painting, artistic production in Greece began in the prehistoric pre-Greek Cycladic and the Minoan civilizations, both of which were influenced by local traditions and the art of ancient Egypt. There are three divisions of the stages of later ancient Greek art that correspond roughly with historical periods of the same names. These are the Archaic, the Classical and the Hellenistic, the Archaic period is usually dated from 1000 BC. Of course, different forms of art developed at different speeds in different parts of the Greek world, there was no sharp transition from one artistic period to another. The art of ancient Greece has exercised an influence on the culture of many countries from ancient times until the present. In the West, the art of the Roman Empire was largely derived from Greek models, following the Renaissance in Europe, the humanist aesthetic and the high technical standards of Greek art inspired generations of European artists. Pottery was either red with black designs or black with red designs, Byzantine art is the term created for the Eastern Roman Empire from about the 5th century until the fall of Constantinople in 1452. It can also be used for the art of people of the former Byzantine Empire under the rule of Ottoman Empire after 1453, in some respects the Byzantine artistic tradition has continued in Russia and other Eastern Orthodox countries to the present day. Byzantine art grew from the art of ancient Greece and, at least before 1453, never lost sight of its classical heritage, the most profound of these was that the humanist ethic of ancient Greek art was replaced by the Christian ethic. If the purpose of art was the glorification of man. One of the most important forms of Byzantine art was, and still is, like the Cretan school it combined Byzantine traditions with an increasing Western European artistic influence, and also saw the first signiand the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D. C. The Heptanese School of painting succeeded the Cretan School as the school of Greek post-Byzantine painting after Crete fell to the Ottomans in 1669. Like the Cretan school it combined Byzantine traditions with an increasing Western European artistic influence, the school was based in the Ionian Islands, which were not part of Ottoman Greece, from the middle of the 17th century until the middle of the 19th century. Modern Greek art, after the establishment of the Greek Kingdom, after centuries of Ottoman rule, few opportunities for an education in the arts existed in the newly independent Greece, so studying abroad was imperative for artists. Munich, as an important international center for the arts at that time, was the place where the majority of the Greek artists of the 19th century chose to study, later on, they would return to Greece and pass on their knowledge. Both academic and personal bonds developed between early Greek painters and Munich artistry giving birth to the Greek Munich School, nikolaos Gysis was an important teacher and artist at the Munich Academy and he soon became a leading figure among Greek artists. Many of these Munich School artists chose subjects such as everyday Greek life, local customs, several important painters emerged at this time
8.
Greek literature
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Greek literature refers to writings composed in areas of Greek influence throughout the period in which the Greek-speaking people have existed. Ancient Greek literature refers to literature written in an Ancient Greek dialect and this literature ranges from the oldest surviving written works until works from approximately the fifth century CE. This time period is divided into the Preclassical, Classical, Hellenistic, Preclassical Greek literature primarily revolved around myths and include the works of Homer, the Iliad and the Odyssey. The Classical period saw the dawn of drama and history. Three philosophers are especially notable, Socrates, Plato, during the Roman era, significant contributions were made in a variety of subjects, including history, philosophy, and the sciences. Byzantine literature refers to literature of the Byzantine Empire written in Atticizing, Medieval, chronicles, distinct from historics, arose in this period. Encyclopedias also flourished in this period, Modern Greek literature refers to literature written in common Modern Greek. The Cretan Renaissance poem Erotokritos is one of the most significant works from time period. Adamantios Korais and Rigas Feraios are two of the most notable figures, Ancient Greek literature refers to literature written in Ancient Greek dialects. These works range from the oldest surviving works in the Greek language until works from the fifth century CE. The Greek language arose from the language, roughly two-thirds of its words can be derived from various reconstructions of the tongue. The Greeks created poetry before making use of writing for literary purposes, poems created in the Preclassical period were meant to be sung or recited. Most poems focused on myths, legends that were part folktale, tragedies and comedies emerged around 600 BCE. At the beginning of Greek literature stand the works of Homer, the Iliad, though dates of composition vary, these works were fixed around 800 BCE or after. Another significant figure was the poet Hesiod and his two surviving works are Works and Days and Theogony. During the classical period, many of the genres of western literature became more prominent, the two major lyrical poets were Sappho and Pindar. Of the hundreds of written and performed during this time period. These plays are authored by Aeschylus, Sophocles, and Euripides, the comedy arose from a ritual in honor of Dionysus. These plays were full of obscenity, abuse, and insult, the surviving plays by Aristophanes are a treasure trove of comic presentation
9.
Music of Greece
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The music of Greece is as diverse and celebrated as its history. Greek music separates into two parts, Greek traditional music and Byzantine music, with more eastern sounds, Music is a significant aspect of Hellenic culture, both within Greece and in the diaspora. Greek musical history extends far back into ancient Greece, since music was a part of ancient Greek theater. Later influences from the Roman Empire, Eastern Europe and the Byzantine Empire changed the form, in the 19th century, opera composers, like Nikolaos Mantzaros, Spyridon Xyndas and Spyridon Samaras and symphonists, like Dimitris Lialios and Dionysios Rodotheatos revitalized Greek art music. In ancient Greece, men usually performed choruses performed for entertainment, celebration, Instruments included the double-reed aulos and the plucked string instrument, the lyre, especially the special kind called a kithara. Music was an important part of education in ancient Greece, due to Romes reverence for Greek culture, the Romans borrowed the Greek method of enchiriadic notation to record their music, if they used any notation at all. In his lexicographical discussion of instruments, the Persian geographer Ibn Khurradadhbih cited the lūrā as an instrument of the Byzantines along with the urghun, shilyani. These genres have certainly reached a degree of evolution. They were forms of a music that had many elements of ancient Greek origin but also. By the beginning of the 20th century, music-cafés were popular in Greek cities like Constantinople and Smyrna, the bands were typically led by a female vocalist and included a violin. The improvised songs typically exclaimed amán amán, which led to the name amanédhes or café-aman, Greek musicians of this period included Marika Papagika, Rosa Eskenazi and Rita Abatzi. This period also brought in the Rebetiko movement, which had local Smyrnaic, Greek folk traditions are said to derive from the music played by ancient Greeks. There are said to be two musical movements in Greek folk music, Acritic songs and Klephtic songs, akritic music comes from the 9th century akrites, or border guards of the Byzantine Empire. Following the end of the Byzantine period, klephtic music arose before the Greek Revolution, developed among the kleftes, Klephtic music is monophonic and uses no harmonic accompaniment. Many of the earliest recordings were done by Arvanites like Yiorgia Mittaki, instrumentalists include clarinet virtuosos like Petroloukas Halkias, Yiorgos Yevyelis and Yiannis Vassilopoulos, as well as oud and fiddle players like Nikos Saragoudas and Yiorgos Koros. Nisiotika is a term denoting folk songs from the Greek islands. Among the most popular types of them is Ikariótiko traghoúdhi, song from Ikaria, ikariótikos is a traditional type of dance, and also the name of its accompanying type of singing, originating in the Aegean island of Ikaria. At first it was a slow dance, but today Ikariotikos is a very quick dance
10.
Cinema of Greece
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The Cinema of Greece has a long and rich history. Though hampered at times by war or political instability, the Greek film industry dominates the market and has experienced international success. Characteristics of Greek cinema include a dynamic plot, strong character development, two Greek films, Missing and Eternity and a Day, have won the Palme dOr at the Cannes Film Festival. Five Greek films have received nominations for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film, though Greek cinema took root in the early 1900s, the first mature films werent produced until the 1920s, after the end of the Greco-Turkish War. Films during this period, such as Astero by Dimitris Gaziadis and Maria Pentagiotissa by Ahilleas Madras, Orestis Laskoss Daphnis and Chloe, one of the first Greek films to be shown abroad, contained the first voyeuristic nude scene in a European film. During the Axis occupation, the Greek film industry struggled as it was forced to relocate overseas, following the Greek Civil War, Greek cinema experienced a revival. Inspired by Italian neorealism, directors such as Grigoris Grigoriou and Stelios Tatasopoulos created works during this period shot on location using non-professional actors, during the 1950s and 1960s, Greek cinema experienced a golden age, starting with Michael Cacoyanniss Stella, which was screened at Cannes. The 1960 film Never on Sunday was nominated for five Academy Awards, Cacoyanniss Zorba the Greek won three Academy Awards. Censorship policies of the 1967 junta and rising foreign competition led to a decline in Greek cinema, after the restoration of democracy in the mid-1970s, the Greek film industry again flourished, led by director Theo Angelopoulos, whose films frequently captured international awards. The drift toward art-house cinema in the 1980s led to a decline in audiences, in the 1990s, younger Greek filmmakers began experimenting with iconographic motifs. In the spring of 1897, the Greeks of Athens watched the first cinematic ventures, in 1906 Greek Cinema was born when the Manakis brothers started recording in Macedonia, and the French filmmaker Leons produced the first Newscast from the midi-Olympic games of Athens. The first cine-theater of Athens opened about a later and other special projection rooms begun their activity. In 1910-11 the first short comic movies were produced by director Spiros Dimitrakopoulos, in 1911 Kostas Bachatoris presented Golfo, a well known traditional love story, considered the first Greek feature film. In 1912 was founded the first film company and in 1916 the Asty Film, during the First World War, production was limited to documentaries and newscasts only. Directors like George Prokopiou and Dimitris Gaziadis are distinguished for filming scenes from the battlefield and later, during the Greco-Turkish War, the first commercially successful Greek film was Villar in the Womens Baths of Faliro, written, directed by and starring comedian Villar and Nitsa Philosofou. In 1924, Michael Michael, a Greek comedian, presented some short film comedies, in 1926, Gaziadis founded Dag Films and tried to produce the first speaking movies. This company presented its first movie, Love and Waves, in 1927, the company mainly produced historical movies, usually adaptations of novels. In 1930, Dag produced a movie, Apaches of Athens
11.
Sport in Greece
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Greece has risen to prominence in a number of sporting areas in recent decades. Football in particular has seen a rapid transformation, with the Greek national football team winning the 2004 UEFA European Football Championship, the nation has competed at every Summer Olympic Games, one of the only four countries to have done so, and most of the Winter Olympic Games. During the parade of nations Greece is always called first, as the nation of the ancient precursor of modern Olympics. Having won a total of 110 medals, Greece is ranked 32nd by gold medals in the all-time Summer Olympic medal count, after a long period of poor tallies, the 1992 Summer Olympics marked an uptum and Greece made successive medal-winning records in the three following Olympic Games. Winter sports have not played a role in Greece, thus the country has not won any medal in the Winter Olympics so far. Despite that, Greece leads the Parade of Nations also in the Winter Olympics, Paralympic Sports have grown significantly in Greece since the late 1970s. The first participation of athletes with a disability at Paralympic Games was in 1976, the organisation of the Paralympic Games in Athens led to significant growth. The Hellenic Team participated in 17 of the 19 sports and won 20 medals, at the Beijing 2008 Paralympic Games the Greek Team made its most successful appearance ever with 24 medals. Greece has won in total 80 medals at the Paralympic Games, Athletics has been another very successful individual sport in Greece. During the semifinals Halkia set an Olympic record of 52.77 seconds, Niki Bakoyianni won a silver medal at the 1996 Summer Olympics after a tough competition with Stefka Kostadinova. Her personal best jump of 2.03 metres is the current Greek record. Iakovakis achieved his personal best of 47.82 seconds on 6 May 2006 in Osaka during the IAAF World Athletics Tour and he became European Champion in Gothenborg, Sweden finishing at 48.46 seconds in the final. Anastasia Kelesidou is a retired Greek discus thrower best known for winning medals at the 2000 and 2004 Summer Olympics. During her career she set seven Greek records in discus throw, Konstantinos Kenteris won gold medals in the 200 metres at the 2000 Summer Olympics, the 2001 World Championships in Athletics and the 2002 European Championships in Athletics. Kenteris became the first White male to win a 200-meter sprinting medal at the Olympics since Pietro Mennea achieved the feat by winning gold at the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow. He is one of the few elite runners who have run the 200m distance under 20 seconds. Haralabos Papadias won the medal in 60 metres at the 1997 World Indoor Championships, in a time of 6.50 seconds. Voula Patoulidou became a Greek sporting legend in 1992, when she was the winner of the Womens 100 m hurdles race at the Olympic Games in Barcelona. Ekaterini Thanou won the medal in the womens 100 metres at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney
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