Flag of Greece
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Image:Flag of Greece L.svg The Flag of Greece is based on nine equal horizontal stripes of blue alternating with white. There is a blue square in the upper hoist-side corner bearing a white cross; the cross symbolises Greek Orthodoxy, the established religion of the country. According to popular tradition, the nine stripes represent the nine syllables of the phrase "Έλευθερία ή Θάνατος" ("Freedom or Death", " E-lef-the-ri-a i Tha-na-tos"), the five blue stripes for the syllables "Έλευθερία" and the four white stripes "ή Θάνατος". There is also a different theory, that the nine stripes symbolize the nine Muses, the goddesses of art and civilisation. The official flag ratio is 2:3.
Image:Flag of Greece War L.svg
The above patterns were officially used for the new Greek state in the 1820s. Blue and white have many interpretations, symbolizing the colors of the famed Greek sky and sea (combined with the white clouds and waves), traditional colors of Greek clothes in the islands and the mainland, etc.
Actually, white and blue have been symbolic Greek colors since antiquity with historic significance, and their adoption was rather natural. In ancient Greece they were used in ceremonies celebrating goddess Athena, in Alexander the Great's army banners, while Greeks abroad were often recognized by their white clothes with blue details. During Byzantine times white and blue were the colors of navy flags, coats of arms of imperial dynasties, uniforms, Emperors' clothes, Patriarchs' thrones etc. The cross was a symbol of the empire, and was a common pattern in Byzantine flags since the 4th century AD. During the Greek uprisings the most prevalent versions used were the blue cross on a white field (similar to the early Byzantine navy flag, as well as the late Byzantine imperial flag) since 1769 and, reverse, the white cross on a blue field (also reminiscent of older patterns) since 1807.
The cross-and-stripe pattern was adopted in 1822 and it almost certainly evolved from a much older design, the virtually identical coat of arms of the Kallergis family, whose pattern in turn dates to the coat of arms of their ancestor, Byzantine Emperor Nicephorus II Phocas (Nikephoros Phokas, 963-969 AD). This pattern included the nine stripes alternating blue and white, and the cross on the upper left corner. (N. Zafeiriou, 'The Greek Flag from antiquity till our times', Athens 1947 - in Greek). The flag adopted in 1822 was meant for use only at sea, while the plain white cross on a blue field became the national flag. In reality both flags were often used simultaneously. After a number of slight alterations in the shade of blue, the cross-and-stripe flag was adopted as the national flag in 1978. The modern Greek flag does, though, show remarkable similarities to that of the British East India Company pre-1707 flag.
The Double-headed eagle
It is rather surprising that one of the most recognizable (other than the cross) and beloved Greek symbols, the double-headed eagle, is not a part of the modern Greek flag or coat of arms - although it is officially used by the Greek army, with a cross in its chest in pure Byzantine tradition, as well as by the church of Greece. One suggested explanation is that, upon independence, an effort was made for political reasons to limit expressions implying efforts to recreate the Byzantine empire.
Greek scholars have tried to make links with ancient symbols: eagle was a common design representing power in ancient city-states, while there was an implication of a "dual-eagle" concept in the tale that Zeus left two eagles fly around the world, eventually meeting in Delphi thus proving it to be the center of the earth. However, there is virtually no doubt that its origin is a blend of Roman and Eastern influences. Indeed, the early Byzantine Empire inherited the Roman eagle (extended wings, head facing to the right) as an imperial symbol. During his reign, emperor Isaac Comnenus (Isaakios Komnenos, 1057-1059 AD), modified it as double-headed, influenced by traditions about such a beast in his native Paphlagonia in Asia Minor (in turn reflecting possibly much older local myths). Many modifications followed in colors and flag details, often combined with the cross. The eagle was soon made to "hold" in his feet symbols of the dual power (secular and religious) of the Empire also represented by its two heads, such as a sword and a globe with cross. After the recapture of Constantinople by the Byzantine Greeks in 1261 two crowns were added (over each head) representing the intermediate empires of Epirus and Nicaea.
After the Ottoman conquest of Constantinople the double-headed eagle became a strong national symbol of the Greeks, along with the cross, featured in several flag designs, especially during uprisings and revolts. Most characteristically, the church of Greece kept, and is to this date still using the last Byzantine flags. But after the Ottoman conquest this symbol found its way to a "new Constantinople" (or Third Rome), i.e. Moscow. Russia, deeply influenced by the Byzantine Empire, saw herself as its heir and adopted the double-headed eagle as its imperial symbol. It was also adopted by the Serbs, the Albanians and a number of Western rulers, most notably in Germany and Austria.
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ca:Bandera de Grècia de:Flagge Griechenlands el:Σημαία της Ελλάδας es:Bandera de Grecia fr:Drapeau de la Grèce it:Bandiera greca he:דגל יוון hu:Görögország zászlaja nl:Vlag van Griekenland ja:ギリシャの国旗 pl:Flaga Grecji pt:Bandeira da Grécia ro:Steagul Greciei ru:Флаг Греции sv:Greklands flagga zh:希腊国旗