Introduction
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For a long period Fleur de Coin had absolutely no information on where it is located, or better where I am located since the web hosting company and the domain I have used point to the United States. This was a conscious decision, as I really did not want to start waving flags to my visitors, but I have received quite a few questions about where I am located so I created this page (the amazing performance of the Greek national football team in Euro 2004 had a lot to do with my decision too). Who knows? Maybe I can help Greek tourism ;-)
By the way, the formal name of the country is Hellas or Hellenic Republic.
History of the Greek Flag
The number of the lines is based on the number of the syllables in the Greek phrase: Eleutheria H Thanatos (Freedom or Death). Freedom or Death was the motto during the years of the Hellenic Revolution against the Ottoman Empire in the 19th century [There are claims that the number of lines reflects the number of letters in the Greek word for Freedom which equals 9]. This word stirred the heart of the oppressed Greeks, it created intense emotions and inspired them to fight and gain their freedom after 400 years of slavery. The line pattern was chosen because of their similarity with the wavy sea that surrounds the shores of Greece. The Greek Square Cross that rests on the upper left-side of the flag and occupies one fourth of the total area demonstrates the respect and the devotion the Greek people have for the Greek Orthodox Church and signifies the important role of Christianity in the formation of the modern Hellenic Nation.
Greek National Anthem
The Greek National Anthem is based on the "Hymn to Freedom", a large - 158 stanzas- poem written by Dionysios Solomos (depicted on the 50 drachmas 1994 and the 20 cents 2002 coin), a distinguished poet from Zakynthos Island. The poem was inspired by the Greek Revolution of 1821 against the Ottoman Empire. During 1828 the prominent musician from Kerkyra Island Nicolaos Mantzaros composed the music for the Solomos' Hymn. Although King Othon (Otto) decorated both of them for their work (1845 and 1849), he did not replace the Royal Anthem of that time, a musical derivative from the German one, with a text glorifying Othon and its Dynasty. After the overthrow of the Othon's Dynasty, the new King George I and the Greek establishment decided to replace the Anthem with a clearly Greek work, both with respect to the poetry and the music.
"We knew thee of old,
Oh, divinely restored,
By the lights of thine eyes
And the light of thy Sword.
From the graves of our slain
Shall thy valour prevail
As we greet thee again-
Hail, Liberty! Hail!
Long time didst thou dwell
Mid the peoples that mourn,
Awaiting some voice
That should bid thee return.
Ah, slow broke that day
And no man dared call,
For the shadow of tyranny
Lay over all.
And we saw thee sad-eyed,
The tears on thy cheeks
While thy raiment was dyed
In the blood of the Greeks.
Yet, behold now thy sons
With impetuous breath
Go forth to the fight
Seeking Freedom or Death.
Segnorees apo tin kopsi too spathyoo tin tromeri;
Segnorees apo tin opsi poo me vya metra tin yee.
Ap ta kokkala vyalmenee ton elleenon ta yera
Ke san prawt' anthreeomenee hyer'o hyeri eleftherya.
Ke san prawt' anthreeomenee hyer'o hye r'eleftherya,
Ke san prawt' anthreeomenee hyer'o hye r'eleftherya.
RTTTL/Nokring Format:
d=8,o=6,b=180:a5, p, a#5, 4c, 4p, a#5, a5, p, a#5, 4c, p, a5, 4p, a#5, p, c, 4d, 4p, d, e, p, e, 4f
Ringtone Composer Format:
Tempo=180:8a1, 8-, 8#a1, 4c2, 4-, 8#a1, 8a1, 8-, 8#a1, 4c2, 8-, 8a1, 4-, 8#a1, 8-, 8c2, 4d2, 4-, 8d2, 8e2, 8-, 8e2, 4f2
Key Press Format:
Tempo=180:68, 0, 6#, 19*, 0, 68**#, 6, 0, 6#, 19*, 08, 68**, 09, 6#, 0, 1*, 29, 0, 28, 3, 0, 3, 49
Quick Statistics
Area: 131,940 sq km
Land boundaries: 1,228 km (border countries: Albania 282 km, Bulgaria 494 km, Turkey 206 km, The Former
Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia 246 km
Population: 10,647,529 (July 2004 est.)
