2. SITUATION OF GREECE IN EUROPE
Greece is located on
the south of the Balkan
Peninsula, bounded on
the north by Bulgaria,
the Republic of
Macedonia and
Albania, to the east by
Turkey and the Aegean
Sea; on the south by
the Mediterranean and
the Ionian Sea and on
the west by the Adriatic
Sea.
3. Greece is mostly
mountainous with
several chains
including the Rhodope
mountains, the chain of
Olympus and others.
Greece is the
European country with
the largest number of
mountain peaks. Its
greatest height is in the
chain of Olympus, at
2,919 m in the mount
Mytikas, this being the
fifth in Europe in
prominence.
4. Greece is divided into 7
decentralized
administrations, in turn
divided into 13 suburbs,
74 are in peripheral units
and the latter in 325
municipalities. There is a
separate area, Mount
Athos, which has its own
autonomy under Greek
sovereignty.
5. The Hellenic Parliament
Greece is currently a parliamentary
republic:
The President is elected every five
years by the Hellenic Parliament.
Every four years the Hellenic
Parliament elections after which the
Prime Minister and his government
held renews.
The legislature is unicameral and
is represented by 300 members of the
Hellenic Parliament, representing the
Greek people.
The judiciary is independent and
is represented by three superior
courts.
Greece is governed according to
the Constitution of 1975, as amended
in the years 1986, 2001 and 2008.
Greece is an EU member since
1981.
6. Károlos Papoulias is
the president of the
Hellenic Republic
since 2005.
Antonis Samarás is
the Prime Minister
since 2012.
7. The Parthenon is one of the main
preserved Doric temples, built
between 447 and 432 a. C. Their
approximate dimensions are: 69.5
meters long by 30.9 wide;
columns are 10.4 meters in
height. It is dedicated to the
Greek goddess Athena, whom the
Athenians considered their
protector.
Athena Parthenos was the name of an imposing
chryselephantine sculpture (gold and ivory) of the
Greek goddess Athena by Phidias carved and erected
in the Parthenon in Athens.
8. The Statue of Zeus at Olympia was
chryselephantine sculpture, made by famed
classical sculptor Phidias about 436. C., in
what is now known as Olympia, Greece, and
part of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient
World.
The statue occupied the whole width of the
aisle of the temple built to house it. According
to a contemporary source was approximately
forty feet high.
