A history that was carved on the stones of eternity

What a glorious history?!?!A history that was carved on the stones of eternity. A history that changed the future of this world throughout the ages giving light to the people of this world through medicine, science, mathematics, astronomy. A history that inspired so many philosophers, scientists, mathematicians, engineers. It all began in 270,000 BC with Greece being the first advanced civilization in Europe and is considered the birthplace of Western civilization. The Greek empire spread its glorious DNA from the Mediterranean Sea as its center towards, from the left to the coasts of Spain, and from the right to Middle East. As far as we know through the archaeological founds, it is believed to be one of the most ancient civilizations in this planet. The history continues its glorious path with Alexander the Great and his tremendous victories achieving the impossible task of spreading the Greek culture to the depths of the Middle East. During the Hellenistic period and after the death of Alexander’s the Great, the Roman Republic became increasingly involved in Greek affairs and engaged in a series of wars with Macedon. Even though we were defeated by our enemies they couldn't stop from following our steps in philosophy like the roman hero, Scipio Africanus, who tended to study philosophy and regarded Greek culture and science as an example to be followed. Later in the Medieval period the Greek culture gained again its place through the Byzantine Empire. That lasted up till the Ottoman advanced the Byzantine territory in Greece and its largest city Thessaloniki and the Peloponnese. Later after the fall of Constantinople to the Ottomans in 1453, the Morea was the last remnant of the Byzantine Empire to hold out against the Ottomans. Unfortunately in the end it fell to the Ottomans in 1460, completing the Ottoman conquest of mainland Greece. That had as a result many of the Byzantine Greek scholars, who up until then were largely responsible for preserving classical Greek knowledge, fled to the West, taking with them a large body of literature and thereby significantly contributing to the Renaissance. Four hundred years later and the war of independence revolts on 6 March 1821. After that our cold war, and the beginning of the Second World War with the Germany troops invading and taking control almost of the whole Europe. It was then on 28 October 1940 when the Greek administration refused to the Greco-Italian war and inspired Winston Churchill to say

that “Hence we will not say that Greeks fight like heroes, but we will say that heroes fight like Greeks”. After the invasion Greece was eventually occupied by the Nazis and were controlling the two biggest cities, Athens and Thessaloniki, while the rest of Greece that was under the commands were given to her partners Italy and Bulgaria. Over 100,000 civilians died of starvation during the winter of 1941-1942, ten of thousands more died because of reprisals by Nazis and collaborators. The economy was ruined and the great majority of Greek Jews were deported and murdered in Nazi concentration camps. Despite all the drama and bloodshed one of the most effective resistance in Europe fought vehemently against the Nazis and their collaborators. The series of atrocities, mass executions, wholesale slaughter of civilians and destruction of towns and villages in Greece left us with our 65% of our male population diseased and millions of damages in the Greek economy and infrastructure. After liberation a polarizing civil war between communist and anti-communist forces was occurred, which led to more economic devastation and severe social tensions between rightists and communist leftists for the next thirty years. For the next twenty years there was a rapid economic growth, propelled by the Marshall Plan. Even though George Papadopoulos had given up the Greek government because he refused letting the NATO establishing their base in Suda, the incident on 17 November 1973 sent shockwaves through the regime, and a counter-coup established Brigadier Dimitrios Ioannidis as dictator. On 20 July 1974, as Turkey invaded Cyprus, the regime collapsed. The Metapolitefsi era begun right after that in 1963 and the first elections of 1964 were held on the first anniversary of the Polytechnic uprising. Likely monarchy was chosen not to be restored on 11 June 1975 from a democratic and republican constitution. Meanwhile the story as we all know started and the two parties were created with Andrea Papandreou leading the Panhellenic Socialist Movement (PASOK) and Karamanli leading the New Democracy. The beginning of every bad that has ever happened to Greece, as a country, and to the Greek population for the next forty years with the Greek history already counting two of her biggest migrations. Greece, or let’s better say the people that were running Greece, re-joined NATO in 1980. After being the tenth member of the European Communities on 1 January 1981, ushering in a period of sustained growth, widespread investments in industrial enterprises and getting funds one after the other the Greek “politicians” found the perfect opportunity to make some more money. On top of that the “Greek government decided to get into Euro in 2000 with fake statistics of the country’s economic state which had as a result not to be able to pay off their people and getting one loan after the other. Of course they couldn't keep up with the payments and in 2004 they got

another loan so they could host the Summer Olympic Games. I believe that was the cherry on the cake. After that the downhill was irreversible. The majority of Greek population migrated to other countries because the lifestyle was unbearable. The pack of bills just kept piling up on the table with no enough cash flowing into the families for paying off their debts, their taxes or in some cases not even able to put food on the table. A country with such a glorious history is now considered to be with one foot into the grave. There is only one thing that can reverse the situation and that is if Greece and the people of the country are brave and united and for the actual POLITICIANS that are still left in this country to take control and put Greece back in its glorious state of prosperity with the agriculture and their exporting advantage. I believe Greece can make this come back no matter how hard and horrifying it sounds. If we did it in the past why we can’t do it in the future?!?!?!