The Greeks (Greek: Έλληνες Ellines [ˈelines]) are an ethnic group native to Greece, Cyprus, Western Anatolia, Southern Italy and other regions. They also form a significant diaspora, with Greek communities established around the world. Greek colonies and communities have been historically established in most corners of the Mediterranean, but Greeks have always been centered around the Aegean and Ionian seas, where the Greek language has been spoken since the Bronze Age.Until the early 20th century, Greeks were uniformly distributed between the Greek peninsula, the western coast of Asia Minor, Pontus, Egypt, Cyprus, Southern Italy and Constantinople; 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 the ancient Greek colonization. In the aftermath of the Greco-Turkish War (1919–22), a large-scale population exchange between Greece and Turkey confined most ethnic Greeks to the borders of the modern Greek state and Cyprus. Other longstanding Greek populations can be found from southern Italy to the Caucasus and in diaspora communities in a number of other countries. Today, most Greeks are officially registered as members of the Greek Orthodox Church. Greeks have greatly influenced and contributed to culture, arts, exploration, literature, philosophy, politics, architecture, music, mathematics, science and technology, business, cuisine, and sports, both historically and contemporary.
Posted on: Tue, 26 Aug 2014 05:31:53 +0000
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