Greece

Greece, (Greek: Ελλάδα Elládha IPA or Ελλάς Hellás IPA ), officially the Hellenic Republic (Greek: Ελληνική Δημοκρατία Ellinikí Dhimokratía) is a country in southern Europe, situated on the southern end of the Balkan peninsula. more...

It is bordered by Bulgaria, the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia and Albania to the north and by Turkey to the east. The Aegean Sea lyes to the east of mainland Greece while the Ionian Sea lyes to the west. Both, parts of the eastern Mediterranean basin, feature a vast number of islands. Regarded as the cradle of western civilization and being the birthplace of democracy and the Olympic Games, Greece has a very long and remarkably rich history during which its culture has proven especially influential in Europe, Northern Africa and the Middle East. Today, Greece is a developed nation, member of the European Union since 1981 and also a member of the Eurozone since 2001.

Name

The historical name of Greece in Greek is Ἑλλάς Ellás /ɛˈlas/. This name is also written as Hellas in English, following the ancient Greek pronunciation /hɛˈl:as/. In Modern Greek, it is called more commonly Ελλάδα Elládha /ɛˈlaða/.

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