The modern flag of the Hellenic Republic - a small unitary state located in Southern Europe - is a rectangular cloth with nine horizontal stripes of white and blue colors. In the upper left part of the flag there is a blue square field, inside of which there is a white cross with rays of equal length.
The flag of Greece at the Olympic Games is traditionally raised first. The banner of white and blue colors, with a special arrangement of the cross and an odd number of stripes, marks the opening ceremony of the most important sports competitions in the world. After all, the tradition of the Olympics was born in ancient Greece in 776 BC. e. In this article we will talk about how the main state symbol of the country has changed over the centuries, what it personified and how inspired the Greek people during the period of liberation wars against the Turkish invaders.
What does the modern flag of Greece symbolize?
The banner of the Hellenic Republic represents your country, freedom and God's wisdom. Nine stripes on the flag recall the nine syllables of the national motto, which marked the liberation of the country from the Turkish yoke in the war of 1821-1829. - "Eleutheria and thanatos!" (in translation means "Freedom or death!"). They also symbolize the nine geographical areas of the Hellenic Republic - Macedonia, Thessaly, Thrace, Epirus, Peloponnese, Ionian Islands, Crete, Aegean Islands and Central Greece with about. Euboea. In general, for the Greeks, the number 9 has a sacred meaning.
The cross denotes the Christian religion, the faith of the people in God and the enormous role of the Greek Orthodox Church in the difficult war of liberation. The white color of the cross and four stripes symbolizes primordiality, peace, purity of ideals, the holy nature of the struggle for independence. The national flag of Greece is also blue. He personifies a peaceful and cloudless sky, the blessing of the Lord God to fight, as well as the seas - Cretan, Aegean, Mediterranean and Ionian, washing the Greek islands. Now you know what the flag of Greece symbolizes. The photo shows what the most important symbol of state power today looks like.
How did the Greek flag change over time?
Over the centuries, the form of government in Greece has changed more than once, and, of course, along with it, national symbolism has also changed. In the times of Ancient and Hellenistic Greece, flags did not exist as such. Instead of banners, emblems were used that were placed on the sails of ships and the shields of warriors. Such signs symbolized belonging to any policy. It is believed that the first flags that appeared on the territory of Greece were the ancient Roman military standards, which were called the Vexillum. They were quadrangular pieces of matter attached to a crossbar perpendicular to the pole. Veksillums were used during the battle to designate various military units, as well as as a combat banner on admiral ships or over the tents of generals.
Labarums of Byzantine emperors
In the Byzantine period of Greek history, flags continued to serve as combat standards. The most important of them at that time were the so-called labarums - the banners of the Byzantine emperors. According to surviving sources (Madrid Chronicles), the flag of Ancient Greece was often painted in blue and red. Usually, Christian symbolism was placed in the center of the labarum cloth - the cross, the faces of the saints, Jesus Christ or the Mother of God. In the 14th century, the first state flag appeared in the Byzantine Empire, ruling almost all Greek territories. It was a square-shaped cloth divided into four parts. In two quarters, a St. George cross of red color was placed on a white background. In the other two - the image of the banner of the last dynasty of Byzantine rulers, Paleologists.
What flag did Greece have during the period of Ottoman rule
In 1389, the Turks, defeating the Serbs and Bulgarians, headed south to Greece. Athens fell under the onslaught of the army of conquerors in 1458, and the Peloponnese in 1460. By 1500, almost all of the plains of Greece and most of the islands were under the yoke of the Ottoman Empire. One of the most difficult periods in the history of the Greek people has come. However, the Turks granted the Greeks freedom of religion and allowed the use of traditional symbols. For example, detachments of Greek volunteer soldiers as part of Turkish troops marched under a special flag until 1619. It depicted a cross, as well as George the Victorious, defeating the dragon. In the 17th century, Greek private merchant ships sailed under a special commercial tricolor with two red and one blue stripe. What the flag of Greece looked like at that time can be seen in the next photo.
Red color meant the Ottoman Empire, and blue - the Greek people. Such a standard was used until 1830. Also, from 1774, after the signing of the Kuchuk-Kainardzhiysky agreement, Greek merchant ships were allowed to sail under the Russian flag.
Greek flag in the late 18th - early 19th century
During the Second Peloponnesian uprising of 1770 (against the oppression of the Turks), the Greeks began to use special white panels with a blue cross of St. George. In the future, such a banner became a symbol of the struggle of Greek Christians against Ottoman enslavers.
Over time, an overturned crescent was added to the flag. The cross began to be depicted above him. In 1800, the first Greek state was formed on the Ionian Islands, free from Turkish rule. What flag did Greece have then? Until 1863, the banner was the blue panel, which depicted the golden
winged lion of St. Mark, holding one paw on the book. In 1815, a red border was added, and in 1817, the British Union Jack (in patronage of Britain).
Flags of the country during the people's liberation war
In the 20s of the 19th century, various movements arose on the territory of Greece, which had their own banners. The rebels of the islands of the Ionian Sea have created a flag with three stripes - white, red and green. On the banner, near the pole, a black double-headed eagle was depicted . The movement, led by Nikoforos Fokas, was marked by a flag consisting of four white and five blue stripes. In the upper left part of the banner was a white cross and the inscription "With this you will win!" The movement, led by Alexander Ipsilant, had a flag consisting of black, red and white stripes. Also on the canvas were a scene of the erection of the Cross of the Lord by Saints Constantine and Elena and the phoenix reborn from the flame. The banner also contained the inscription: "You will defeat him!" and "I am reborn from the ashes." What the flag of Greece at the beginning of the 19th century looks like, you can see in the next photo.
In 1821, it became the first official symbol of the country and was consecrated by the Metropolitan. True, after the movement was defeated, this symbol disappeared without a trace. In March 1821, another banner appeared in Greece - a dark red flag, in the center of which a black cross and an inverted crescent under it were depicted. Then the black cross was replaced with white.
This banner became known as the national flag.
Flags of Greece in the first half of the 19th century
In March 1822, the provisional government of Greece issued a decree approving the national, naval, and also the flag of the armed forces. The first was a rectangular blue panel, in the center of which there was a white George Cross. The second consisted of nine alternating stripes of blue and white, with a cross in the first quarter. The third was the same as the first.
In 1832 a monarchy was established, and the flag of Greece was modified. An image of a crown with a shield was added to the banner. The latter was removed after the abdication of King Otto I. In 1941-1944. The Greek People's Liberation Army fought against the German invaders under the blue flag, in the center of the cross of which was placed the outline of a triangle inscribed in a circle. The flag of Greece was again amended in 1967, when the military junta of the so-called
black colonels, headed by Georgios Papadopoulos, came to power. The image of the crown was removed from the banner. From 1974 to 1978, after the overthrow of the junta, the blue flag with the St. George Cross was again used. And in December 1978, the state and national flag of Greece was approved, as we see it today.