The Kingdom of Greece is a strong, south-central European nation. She is a major force in the meditarannean region and world wide. Greece is now in warm relations with NATO, Israel and Sardinia. However, it is in a vicious rivalry with Egypt and Turkey for, what Dilios termed, their "... crimes against the Greek people," when Nasser of Egypt expelled the Greek population of Alexadria in 1956 and the Turks for being, well Turks.
History[]
In the closing months of World War Two, Greece was undergoing a massive radical social change. Communists funded by the Soviets were running rampant and the Allied powers were too busy fighting the remaining Germans and Japanese to do anything about it. By February 1945 the Communists had toppled the government, but the declared Athens Soviet was not to last. The Greek royal family fled the country entirely, with the exception of Prince Dilios an eccentric but intelligent young prince, of the extended royal line. Denouncing the rest of the Royal family as cowards and declaring them 'non Greeks', Prince Dilios set about seeking aid from Britain and America while installing himself as leader of the right wing nationalist movement. The British and US governments quickly transferred huge caches of captured Italian and German weapons to the Greek nationalists. Within weeks a counter capital had been declared by the nationalists in Sparta, who successfully with an influx of allied equipment as the war in Germany drew to a close, crushed the Soviet and began putting down resistance.
Many communist insurgents fled over the, Bulgarian, Albanian and Yugoslav borders and the Greek army, baying for blood followed them. As the dust settled Greece was in occupation of Macedonia, Bulgaria and a sizeable piece of Albania. Claiming these territories as Ethnic Greek homelands, they were formaly annexed on the fourth of May 1945. Thousands of Greeks lay dead and Athens was all but destroyed. Prince Dilios was declared in a referendum to be the King of all Greeks, and he quickly declared that the Greeks must never again become the slaves of another nation. Obsessed with ancient Greece and forging Greece once again into a warrior nation, Dilios quickly implemented a set of brutal reforms along the Spartan model. Children, from the moment they could walk were taught in the arts of unarmed fighting. The government controlled media broadcast programs depicting the honourable sacrifice of dying for ones country. At nine children were sent to brutal bording schools where fighting was commonplace and encouraged. Military discipline and martial combat were the main curriculum with Greek history, Maths and science taking a second footing. Children were taught they were the descendents of Achiles, Hercules and Leonadas
The Greek film industry flourished with magnificantly funded epics of Alexander the Great, Achiles and Thermopylie being broadcast across the country. The feeling of national pride was kept up with recolections of the insults that non Greeks had payed to the nation. However, Greece also had a significant non Greek populace, banned from citizenship, these people found great sucess running buisnesses and managing the day to day and economic affairs of the nation allowing the Hellenic army to focus on itself. By the seventies Greece had developed a moderate economy which was stable and growing steadily, and it's army was huge, disciplined, elite and ready to flex its muscles.. Through government persuasion the populace was accepting the ideals of freedom and self sacrifice.
In joint training excersises NATO troops were put to shame time and time again by the Greek army. In 1974 the Greek government sponsored a coup on Cyprus in order to encourage unification. However, Turkey deeming this illegal invaded the isalnd with a large conscript army. Declaring the Turks a non Greek oppressor, Dilios gathered the army and departed for Cyprus. the ensuing battle was to be one of the most humiliating defeats in Turkish history. The Turkish commander sent Dilios a message ordering him to surrender, when he refused, the Turkish commander threatened him that if the Turks enter Limasol then he will burn it to the ground and expel every Greek Cypriot. Dilios sent a single word reply, 'If'. The Turkish army was then devastated when they attempted to drive the Greek army off Cyprus. Casualties spiraled and pressure grew in Turkey to withdraw the forces. Humiliated, the Turks withdrew months later with one reporter noting that 'the Turks needed more ships to take back the bodies of their men, then they did for the living.' The day after it signed the ceasefire the Cypriot government voted to fully join with Greece.
At home the Greek people were extatic, the reforms that they had been wary of and many thought were too brutal had proven to work and had defeated not only a much larger force, but those of the hated enemy, the Turks. The population of Athens lined the streets waving Red and black flags when the boats containing the army came back. The Cheering of the crowd dropped silent in shock, however, as the body of Dilios and the other casualties were carried past, wrapped in crimson cloaks and adorned with wreathes, carried on stetchers. Nobody had told the Greek people of Dilios death. Aristodemus, Dilios son and bearer of his stretcher was crowned king on his return to Sparta. However the week long celebrations of his coronation were cut short when the new king heard a huge Turkish army had crossed the Greek border. Massing all the troops who had not yet returned to their families, Aristodemus deptarted immediately to halt the Turkish advance while his brother, Thesius broght up the rest of the forces for a counter offensive. 25,000 Greek soldiers departed with Aristodemus to fight the Turkish horde numbering over 100,000. The two historic enemies clashed at the town of Kavala and by the time the Greek reserves arrived a week later, less then a thousand Greeks were left fighting in the rubble of Kavala. The ground around the city could not be seen, covered by a blanket of Turkish corpses. The moans of the dead and dying could be heard from miles away. In the streeets of Kavala, the Greeks sheltered behind walls built from the bodies of the dead Turkish soldiers, piled up against still burning Turkish and Greek tanks. The remains of Turkeys elite 1st Para Commando Brigade hung from the barbed wire the Greeks had tied between buildings to catch them as they attempted to insert from the air.
As Thesius came within view of the city, Aristodemus, blinded by shrapnel, and the remainders of the Greek advance force burst out of the city, lead by their king in the single remaining tank. Covered in blood and fighting with a suicidal disregard for their own safety, the Greeks smashed into the now undermanned frontal defenses of the Turkish encampment. Aristodemus' tank was destroyed in minutes and became a rallying point for the remaining soldiers. With Thesius reserve force coming over the horizon, the Turkish Army fled or surrendered in it's enirety. The estimated casualties of the battle were around 100,000 of Turkeys 120,000 strong invasion force and 24,500 of the 25,000 Greek Advance Force. Thesius, pushed his army forwards and over the Turkish border, the Turkish army melting away as they passed. Horror stories spread like wildfire through the Turkish army and pictures of Kavala from western news stories seemed to confirm the rumours. Istanbul fell in just seven hours to the Greek army, Thesius renamed it Constantinople and left the same day. After pushing onto the Asian continent, Thesius realised if he went any further he would have either lost too many or left too many men on garison duties to be able to effectively fight the Turkish army which was reforming to meet them. With effective propaganda drops from the Greeks which included images of Thesius leading the army and slogans saying 'our leader leads from the front, where is yours?', the Turkish government was forced to sign a peace treaty or face civil revolt. In the treaty significant concessions of land were made to the Greeks who demanded all territories originally belonging to Greece be returned. All of European Turkey and parts of West Asian Turkey were ceded to the Greeks.
Land ceded by Turkey to Greece in the 1975 Peace Treaty.
Thesius returned a hero, his brothers body returned with him and he was burried with his father. Thesius' rule was not as repressive as his fathers, and was geared stronlgy towards reinforcing the Reforms and engraving them in a new constituion of Greece, allowing for some democratic reforms. Included in the constituion also was a clause staing that any man who runs from battle may no longer consider himself Greek. Thesius feared for most of his reign of an attack from or on Communist Italy and spent his time preparing for it. (fearing that not being present for such an attack on another of their hated enemies would be far more shamefull then being attacked by them.)
Citizenship[]
In Greece, there are two classes of people Citizens and Civialians.
A Citizen may vote, but also has responsibilities such as defending the nation, joining the army, serving in compulsary democracies. (soon) They usually have to go through the Agora (Military schooling system) to attain citizenship. Though not allways
A Civilian may not vote, but also does not have to fullfil any of the obligations of a Citizen.
Otherwise they have exactly the same rights.
A citizen can become a civilian if he wishes or vice versa, but these are not common occurences.
People born of citizens generally go through the Agora and people born of Civilians generally don't and remain civilians. Though civilian parents have the right to enter their children into the Agora if they wish.
Civilians are more generally the middle classes, the buisness owners and such. Citizens the working class and nobility.
Government[]
Greece has a complex system of government. The country is divided into six adminstrative regions, Laconia (Sparta), Athens, Thessaly, Macedonia, Thrace and Cyprus. Each region has an individual Greek Royal Families with the senior heir of each family heading the Garousia (Parliament). Other then the Royal families, there is no nobility in Greece.
The National Garousia is the National Parliament of Greece which convenes in Sparta. It consists of one hundred and twenty members including 100 Senators elected by the Citizens, the six Princes, six Ephors, the King and four civilian buisness advisors. The six princes traditionally do not attend except for the annual opening, the Victory Celebrations and tie votes, unless they are appointed a cabinet position. The four buisness advisors by convention do not vote on bills that are not to do with buisness or the economy, though they are within their rights to do so.
There is a single Garousia in every region of Greece, it is headed by the senior Prince or Princess of that region, and other then the Prince is fully elected by and from the Citizen class. Each Garousia contains between fourty and sixty lawmakers. They have the power to make some local laws and distribute funds for healthcare, social services and the like. Other local responsibilities are devolved by the Garoussias to the Apellas. Each Garousia elects an Ephor to represent the Regional Garousia in the National Garousia.
The Apellas are small local councils who meet once a month. Any citizen, male or female is allowed to attend a meeting and vote on issues. The Apellas deal laregely with minor local issues such as granting events licenses and repairing roads. Members of the Garousia are also elected by the Apellas.
Demographics[]
The population of Greece is almost exclusively Greeks. However, the definition of Greek has changed somewhat over the years. Current government guidelines list several groups that do not speak the Greek language as ethnically Greek, this includes Albanians, Magna Grecians and many smaller groups centered around the ancient Greek empire. After the Greco Turkish War in the 1970s, massive population exchanges went on with Turkey, most of Turkeys Greeks returned to Greece willingly, and masses of Turks were expelled from Greece.
Cureently in Greece immigration is strictly limited to people of Greek or Brothers decent. Brother ethnic groups are listed as, amongst others, Phonecians, Sardinians and Corsicans and Celtic Britons. In recent years with the economy going uphill and the heroic acheivements of the Nation being show around the world, many Greeks have started to return from the United States and the United Kingdom and other nations.
More recently the Greek government has become concerned that there may be people of Greek blood from Catalonia amongs the Spanish slaves in the Inca Empire.
Religion
Christianity in Greece has become less and less important. With a state system based almost exclusively around fighting and killing, Christianity has declined, while 60% of the population list themselves as Christian, less then 15% regularly attend Church. The other 45% have become known as Christians 'in name only'. The rest of the population list themselves as Atheist or Agnostic, but additionally it is no longer uncommon to see people referencing some of the old Greek gods such as Ares (the god of war), with many serving soldiers having his symbol, the eagle owl painted on their helmets. These practices are begining to gain in popularity, especially as much of the population now was born after the Rebirth of the Greek state, and see the Orthadox church as a weakner of the state that allowed Greece to fall from glory in the first place. Especially amongst the young, the old gods are starting to be referenced more and more.
There is no official religion in Greece and the state is strictly secular. 0.38% of the population list their religion as something other then Christian/atheist/agnostic/traditional beliefs. Most of these are Jews who number roughly 100,000.
Military[]
The military of Greece is the center of Greek culture, many aspects of Greek life revolve entirely around the military including schooling and sports. The Military consists of four branches, the Army, the Royal Navy, the Hellenic Air Force and the Hellenic Guard (Special Forces). All arms of the Greek military are completely volentary, however, service is required to gain citizenship and graduates of the Agoge are expected to join the military. In order to join the Military, a person must be at least 50% ethnic Greek. People with recent Turkish or Arab ancestry are also excluded. Because of the nature of the Agoge system and children being trained froma young age in the art of warfare, the Greek military is often considered the best trained military in the entire world.
Army
An average Greek infantry soldier is comparable in skill and fitness to a British Royal Marine. The Greek army uses mostly up to date British and American made kit. The Greek Army consists of three Direct Combat Arms; The Infantry, the Armoured Corp, and the Artillary, as well as several combat support arms such as the Signals and Engineers.
The Infantry include the Parachute Regiments and the Infantry Regiments/
The Armoured Corp includes the Tank Regiments, Helicopter Regiments and Armoured Fist units.
The Artillary include the Artillary Regiments and Air Defence Battalions.
Hellenic Guard
The Hellenic Guard is the elite of the Greek armed forces. Selected from the best of the Infantry, Paras and Marines they are truly elite and serve as a strong striking and defending force. Disciplined and strictly loyal they are the pinnacle of Dilios's reforms. However, at the top of the Special Forces are the Strix. Numbering only 500 the Strix are the best of the best, absorbed in their regiments cultures and traditions, they are viewd by many to be more then a little mad. Living only for war and glorious deaths the Strix are often covered in intracate tatoos and some have been reported to drink the blood of their enemies.
Royal Navy
The Royal navy is a fairly modern navy with some larger older ships, such as the Aircraft Carrier Dilios. The navy is one of the primary fleets in the mediteranian, however, is often complained that it is not big enough to guard against all of Greeces Islands. It's roles include, amongst other things, guarding the Bosporus from being compromised. The fleet is largely deployed in the mediteranian with a small detachment in the black sea to keep things with Russia civil.
Education[]
Education in Greece is divided up between two systems, on for Citizens and one for Civilians.
Agoge
The only form of education for future citizens in Greece is the Agoge. Children from any class may be enroled in the Agoge as young as four, no later then seven. In primary years, from four to eleven, children are taught unarmed and close arm combat, including the use of weapons such as staffs, sheilds and swords, they are also taught history, dance, maths, Greek, physical education and art. English, Russian or Italian may be taught on the wishes of the parents. Almost all the subjects revolve in some way around warfare. In the final year of education children are taught to use firearms, and are carefully monitored with the best being selected through to the sniper courses in the secondary stage.
In the Secondary stage children continue being taught the subjects from the primary stage, but are allowed to chose additional subjects to study. Full military training becomes a key and mandatory part of education, with additional subjects such as sniper courses, engineering, philosophy and cookery being optional courses. the current King's youngest Brother, Prince Leonidas is currently in the Secondary stage.
The Tertiary Stage is for children who have shown exceptional talent and is a one year course from 17-18 in which officers and specialists are trained. Nobody without talent can get into this stage and it is not unheard of for Royal Family members to fail selection. Nor is it frowned upon if they do, as the schools emphasise that the lowliest private is as important as the highest general. Most recently King Odysseus graduated from the tertiary stage, and his brother Prince Atlas is currently in it.
The Agoge is truly a classless system. All children attend the same schools regardless of wealth, all materials needed are provided by the school and no personal equiement is allowed. Pupils are given two unifroms and expected to maintain them themselves. Quarels between students are sorted out in school sanctioned fights with 'seconds' being allowed if one pupil clearly outclasses another. It is rare for a child to make it through the Agoge without at least one trip to the hospital.
Public School
Public schools in Greece are for the Civilian class. They are government funded, but some private schools also exist. These schools are similar to state schools in most western countrys, but have an emphasis on buisness studies, as the civilian class are largely expected to become the economic middle class of Greece.