Greece Flag Pictures History
Greece's 'blue-white' endures road of Republic
The Greek flag, or the blue-white as it is sometimes called, features nine equal horizontal stripes of blue alternating with white, and the Greek jack, a blue square bearing a white cross in the upper left corner. This design was officially adopted in 1978 as the flag of the Hellenic Republic, the official name of Greece; however, it has been in use, with some variations, since 1822.
While the cross symbolizes Greek Orthodox Christianity, the established religion of the country, various theories are offered for the symbolism of the nine stripes. Some say the stripes represent the number of syllables in the Greek national motto: Freedom or Death, while others claim the stripes stand for the nine muses of poetic arts in Greek mythology.
While the origin of the stripes is debated, the use of the colors blue and white are clearly rooted in ancient Greek symbolism and history, from association with the goddess Athena to the armies of Alexander the Great. Only the shade of blue has varied over the years, from light to dark blue, with dark blue predominating since the 1960s.
In addition, the cross symbol also stems from historic uses, including a variation (blue cross on white background) used by the eastern Roman empire established by Constantine in the 4th century.
Modern Greece fell under the Byzantine Empire until its capital Constantinople fell to Crusaders in 1204 AD. In 1453, the Turks conquered Constantinople, and in 1460, today's Greece became a province of the Ottoman Empire until the Greek War for Independence began in 1821.
The provisional Greek government adopted a national flag with the current design on March 15, 1822. Greece won its independence in 1829.
From 1822 until 1978, the basic design of the Greek flag has remained constant. However, throughout the 19th and 20th centuries Greece would come under the rule of several different types of governments and rulers, each of whom would add Coats of Arms or symbols to the flag.
Greece was ruled as a monarchy from 1832 until its war with Turkey following World War I. In 1923 a republic was established. Until 1941, Greece was ruled by two military dictatorships and a monarch.
After Mussolini invaded Greece in 1940, and after a fierce resistance, Greece was overrun and occupied by the Nazis. Following World War II, a civil war ensued and ended when forces of the monarchy defeated the communist rebels in 1949. Greece joined NATO in 1952.
In the 1960s, Greece fell under control of a military junta, which was defeated in 1974, the year the new Greek Republic was established. The current flag was officially adopted in 1978. Greece joined what would become the European Union in 1981.
Major Greek national holidays include Independence Day on March 25, celebrating the start of the war for independence from the Ottoman Empire in 1821; and Ochi Day (literally Day of the No ) on Oct. 28, celebrating the Greeks refusal to yield to the Axis Powers in 1940.
Buy Greek flags at United-states-flag.com
For more information on Greece, see:
Information on Greece and its flag at infoplease.com's World Almanac
Find Greek facts at CIA's World Factbook
See Greece at Flags of the World
Greek flags, symbols at www.theodora.com
Greek flag design,color specifications at Vexilla Mundi
Greek facts, flags at World Flag Database
For centuries, flags have been used to symbolize everything from nations to basic beliefs. Whether flying high over a castle, a ship or a local place for worship, flags are used as a simple visual way of communicating. Today, flags are still used every day in many of the same ways they've been used in the past. However, as technology has taken off new venues have appeared for flags. At FlagPictures.org, we've got royalty free cell phone wallpaper, desktop wallpaper, screensavers, buddyicons, avatars and more in our vast image library of flags. Whether your downloading vector graphics such as clip art flags, or picture flags weve got a huge selection for you to download and do with as you please. Our vector downloads allow you to print free flag pictures at any resolution. Whether you print T-shirts or on paper our high resolution SVG and JPEG options will give you a crisp clear printable flag pictures every time.
Copyright © 2008 Online Stores, Inc. 
