preview

Ap Human Geography Greece

Good Essays

Intro Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, historically also known as Hellas, is a country in southeastern Europe, with a population of approximately 11 million as of 2015. Athens is the nation's capital and largest city, followed by Thessaloniki. Greece is strategically located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Situated on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula, it shares land borders with Albania to the northwest, the Republic of Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to the northeast. Greece consists of nine geographic regions: Macedonia, Central Greece, the Peloponnese, Thessaly, Epirus, the Aegean Islands, Thrace, Crete, and the Ionian Islands. The Aegean Sea lies to the east of the mainland, the Ionian Sea …show more content…

Greek Orthodox (official religion) 98%, Muslim 1.3%, other 0.7%. Parliamentary Republic;President Prokopios. Nearly two-thirds of the people live in large cities. Athens is the largest city, with over 3.7 million people crowding the metropolis. Nefos, the Greek term for smog, is a big problem in Athens. The Parthenon, the temple to goddess Athena atop the Acropolis, is deteriorating due to pollution and acid rain. Olive trees have been cultivated in Greece for over 6,000 years. Considered the birthplace of western culture and democracy, ancient Greek architecture is best known through its temples and theatres, the 1950s and early 1960s are considered the Greek Golden age of Cinema, directors and actors of this era were recognized as important historical figures in Greece. The culture of Greece has evolved over thousands of years, beginning in Mycenaean Greece, continuing most notably into Classical Greece, through the influence of the Roman Empire and its successor the Byzantine Empire. Other cultures and states such as the Persian Empire, and Frankish states, the Ottoman Empire, the Venetian Republic, Genoese Republic, and British Empire have also left their influence on modern Greek culture, but historians credit the Greek War of Independence with revitalising Greece and giving birth to a single entity of its multi-faceted culture. In ancient times, Greece was the birthplace of Western culture …show more content…

Under the new constitution, there is a president and a prime minister. The prime minister has the most power, and is the leader of the party that has the most seats in the parliament. The president selects cabinet ministers who run government departments. The parliament, called the Vouli, has only one house with 300 members who are elected every four years. Greece became part of the European Union in 1981. The politics of Greece takes place in a parliamentary representative democratic republic, whereby the Prime Minister of Greece is the head of government, and of a multi-party system. Legislative power is vested in both the government and the Hellenic Parliament. Between the restoration of democracy in 1974 and the Greek government-debt crisis the party system was dominated by the liberal-conservative New Democracy and the social-democratic Panhellenic Socialist Movement. The country is a significant agricultural producer within the EU. Greece has the largest economy in the Balkans and is as an important regional investor. Greece was the largest foreign investor in Albania in 2013, the third in Bulgaria, in the top-three in Romania and Serbia and the most important trading partner and largest foreign investor in the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia. The Greek telecommunications company OTE has become a strong investor in former Yugoslavia and in other Balkan countries. The country is a

Get Access