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Greater Antilles ... Greek literature

Greater Antilles the four largest islands of the Antilles (q.v.)-Cuba, Hispaniola, Jamaica, and Puerto Rico-lying north of the Lesser Antilles chain. They constitute nearly 90 percent of the total land area of the entire West Indies. Greater Caucasus major range of the Caucasus (q.v.) Mountains, extending west-east for about 750 miles (1,200 km) from the Taman Peninsula on the Black Sea to the Abseron Peninsula on the Caspian Sea. Greater London metropolitan county of southeastern England that is also generally known as London. A brief treatment of the administrative entity follows. For an in-depth discussion of the physical setting, history, character, and inhabitants of the city, see London. For descriptions from early editions of Encyclopaedia Britannica and from the Book of ... Greater Manchester metropolitan county in northwestern England. It encompasses one of the largest metropolitan areas in the country and comprises 10 metropolitan boroughs: Bolton, Bury, Oldham, Rochdale, Stockport, Tameside, Trafford, Wigan, and the cities of Salford and Manchester. Most of the metropolitan county, including the city centres of Manchester and Salford, is ... Greathead, James Henry British civil engineer who improved the tunneling shield, the basic tool of underwater tunneling, essentially to its modern form. Greaves, John English mathematician, astronomer, and antiquary. Greb, Harry American professional boxer who was one of the cleverest and most colourful performers in the ring. His ring name refers to his nonstop punching style of boxing. Greban, Arnoul French author of an important 15th-century religious drama known as Mystere de la Passion (1453/54), dramatizing the events of Jesus' life. In 1507 a performance of his Passion play, revised by Jean Michel to 65,000 lines, occupied six days. Greban also collaborated with his brother Simon on a long mystery ... grebe any member of an order of foot-propelled diving birds containing a single family, Podicipedidae, with about 20 species. They are best known for the striking courtship displays of some species and for the silky plumage of the underparts, which formerly was much used in millinery. The speed with which grebes ... Grebel, Konrad chief founder of the Swiss Brethren, an Anabaptist movement centred on Zurich. Grechaninov, Aleksandr Russian composer notable for his religious works and children's music. Greco, El master of Spanish painting, whose highly individual dramatic and expressionistic style met with the puzzlement of his contemporaries but gained newfound appreciation in the 20th century. He also worked as a sculptor and as an architect. Greco, Emilio Italian sculptor of bronze and marble figurative works, primarily female nudes and portraits. Greco-Persian Wars (492-449 BC), a series of wars fought by Greek states and Persia over a period of almost half a century. The fighting was most intense during two invasions that Persia launched against mainland Greece between 490 and 479. Although the Persian empire was at the peak of its strength, the ... Greco-Roman wrestling style of wrestling practiced in Olympic and international amateur competition. In Greco-Roman wrestling the legs may not be used in any way to obtain a fall, and no holds may be taken below the waist. Other rules and procedures for Greco-Roman wrestling are the same as those for freestyle wrestling, ... Greco-Turkish wars (1897 and 1921-22), two military conflicts between the Greeks and the Turks. Greece: Year in Review 1994 The republic of Greece occupies the southern part of the Balkan Peninsula and several adjoining island groups in southeastern Europe, in and between the Ionian and Aegean seas. Area: 131,957 sq km (50,949 sq mi). Pop. (1993 est.): 10,310,000. Cap.: Athens. Monetary unit: drachma, with (Oct. 4, 1993) a free ... Greece: Year in Review 1995 The republic of Greece occupies the southern part of the Balkan Peninsula and several adjoining island groups in southeastern Europe, in and between the Ionian and Aegean seas. Area: 131,957 sq km (50,949 sq mi). Pop. (1994 est.): 10,365,000. Cap.: Athens. Monetary unit: drachma, with (Oct. 7, 1994) a free ... Greece: Year in Review 1996 The republic of Greece occupies the southern part of the Balkan Peninsula and several adjoining island groups in southeastern Europe, in and between the Ionian and Aegean seas. Area: 131,957 sq km (50,949 sq mi). Pop. (1995 est.): 10,493,000. Cap.: Athens. Monetary unit: drachma, with (Oct. 6, 1995) a free ... Greece: Year in Review 1997 The republic of Greece occupies the southern part of the Balkan Peninsula and several adjoining island groups in southeastern Europe, in and between the Ionian and Aegean seas. Area: 131,957 sq km (50,949 sq mi). Pop. (1996 est.): 10,493,000. Cap.: Athens. Monetary unit: drachma, with (Oct. 11, 1996) a free ... Greece: Year in Review 1998 Area: 131,957 sq km (50,949 sq mi) Greece: Year in Review 1999 Area: 131,957 sq km (50,949 sq mi) Greece: Year in Review 2000 The year 1999 in Greece started with a major political shock. On February 15 Kurdish rebel leader Abdullah Ocalan was seized by Turkish security forces from the Greek embassy in Nairobi, Kenya, where he had sought refuge. Previously, Ocalan had shown up at a number of airports, including that of ... Greece: Year in Review 2001 On Feb. 8, 2000, the Greek Parliament reelected Pres. Konstantinos (Kostis) Stephanopoulos with 269 of the 300 votes. It was the first time since the restoration of democracy in 1974 that the head of state had been elected with the votes of both leading parties, the Panhellenic Socialist Movement (Pasok) ... Greece: Year in Review 2002 On April 6, 2001, the Greek Parliament adopted a thorough constitutional revision, which changed 78 articles of the country's basic law. Many amendments were passed jointly by the two biggest political parties, the ruling Panhellenic Socialist Movement (Pasok) and the centre-right New Democracy (ND). Changes to the constitution included better ... Greece: Year in Review 2003 In 2002 Greek security forces managed to crack down on the elusive left-wing terrorist group November 17. Heretofore, not a single suspected member of the group believed to have been responsible for 23 killings since 1975 had been arrested. The breakthrough came when on June 29 an explosive device went ... Greece: Year in Review 2004 During the first half of 2003, when Greece held the rotating European Union presidency, a number of notable events took place. The accession treaty for the 10 countries that would join the EU in 2004 was signed in Athens on April 16, and the draft EU constitution was presented to ... Greece: Year in Review 2005 In 2004 Greece not only saw significant political developments at home but was also in the international limelight as the host of the 2004 Olympic Games. On March 7 parliamentary elections brought an end to 11 years of rule by the Panhellenic Socialist Movement (PASOK) and the return to power ... Greece: Year in Review 2006 On Feb. 8, 2005, the parliament elected Karolos Papoulias the new president of Greece. The 75-year old Papoulias, a veteran politician of the Panhellenic Socialist Movement (PASOK) and former foreign minister, received 279 votes in the 300-member parliament and became the first Socialist to accede to the Greek presidency. Papoulias's ... Greece: Year in Review 2007 On Feb. 14, 2006, Greek Prime Minister Konstantinos (Kostas) Karamanlis comprehensively reshuffled his government. Key changes included the appointment of Athens Mayor Theodora (Dora) Bakoyiannis as foreign minister and of New Democracy (ND) Secretary Evangelos (Vangelis) Meimarakis as defense minister. Vyron Polydoras became public-order minister in place of Giorgios Voulgarakis, ... Greece: Year in Review 2008 Six months ahead of schedule, Greeks elected a new parliament on Sept. 16, 2007. Prime Minister Konstantinos (Kostas) Karamanlis and his New Democracy (ND) party were returned to power with 41.8% of the vote, albeit with a reduced majority of 152 of the 300 seats in the parliament. The Panhellenic ... Greece: Year in Review 2009 Throughout 2008 the government of Greek Prime Minister Konstantinos (Kostas) Karamanlis was shaken by a series of scandals that undermined the ruling New Democracy (ND) party's public standing and led to dissatisfaction within the ND, including among prominent politicians. The suicide attempt in late December 2007 of former Culture Ministry ... Greece: Year in Review 2010 In 2009 the government of Greek Prime Minister Konstantinos (Kostas) Karamanlis struggled with eroding public trust due to a series of corruption scandals, the effects of the global economic crisis, and fallout from the riots in Athens in late 2008. On January 7 Karamanlis reshuffled his cabinet; the most notable ... Greece: Year in Review 2011 For Greece 2010 was marked by the country's deep financial and economic crisis and by the measures taken to tackle it. On February 3 Prime Minister George Papandreou announced a public-sector pay freeze and tax hikes to curb the extremely high budget deficit and public debt. The same day, the ... Greece: Year in Review 2012 Throughout 2011 Greece struggled to cope with its deep financial and economic crisis and to implement reforms aimed at averting default. In the face of increasing public dissatisfaction with the course and cost of reforms, a deepening political crisis culminated in November in the resignation of the government headed by ... Greece: Year in Review 2013 In early 2012 the government of Greece, the European Commission, the European Central Bank (ECB), and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) were engaged in intense negotiations to finalize a euro130 billion (about $170 billion) aid deal that had been agreed upon in 2011. In parallel negotiations with the Institute of ... Greece the southernmost of the countries of the Balkan Peninsula. Geography has greatly influenced the country's development. Mountains have historically restricted internal communications, but the sea has opened up wider horizons. The total land area of Greece (one-fifth of which is made up of the Greek islands) is comparable in size ... Greece, Church of the established church of Greece, and one of the most important autocephalous, or ecclesiastically independent, churches of the Eastern Orthodox communion. Greece, flag of national flag consisting of nine horizontal stripes of blue and white with a blue canton bearing a white cross. The flag has a width-to-length ratio of 2 to 3. Greed American silent film drama, released in 1924, that was director Erich von Stroheim's big-budget masterpiece. Hours were cut from the film and are presumed lost forever. Greek alphabet writing system that was developed in Greece about 1000 BC. It is the direct or indirect ancestor of all modern European alphabets. Derived from the North Semitic alphabet via that of the Phoenicians, the Greek alphabet was modified to make it more efficient and accurate for writing a non-Semitic language ... Greek Anthology collection of about 3,700 Greek epigrams, songs, epitaphs, and rhetorical exercises, mostly in elegiac couplets, that can be dated from as early as the 7th century BCE to as late as 1000 CE. The nucleus of the Anthology is a collection made early in the 1st century BCE by Meleager, ... Greek calendar any of a variety of dating systems used by the several city-states in the time of classical Greece and differing in the names of their months and in the times of beginning the year. Each of these calendars attempted to combine in a single system the lunar year of 12 ... Greek Catholic church an Eastern Catholic church of the Byzantine rite, in communion with Rome since the mid-19th century. A small body of Greek Catholics came into existence in Constantinople (modern Istanbul) and Thrace largely through the efforts of John Hyacinth Marango, a Latin priest, and Polycarp Anastasiadis, a Greek priest. An apostolic ... Greek Civil War (December 1944-January 1945 and 1946-49), two-stage conflict during which Greek communists unsuccessfully tried to gain control of Greece. Greek fire any of several flammable compositions that were used in warfare in ancient and medieval times. More specifically the term refers to a mixture introduced by the Byzantine Greeks in the 7th century AD. The employment of incendiary materials in war is of ancient origin; many writers of antiquity refer to ... Greek Independence Day national holiday celebrated annually in Greece on March 25, commemorating the start of the War of Greek Independence in 1821. It coincides with the Greek Orthodox Church's celebration of the Annunciation to the Theotokos, when the Archangel Gabriel appeared to Mary and told her that she would bear the son ... Greek Independence, War of (1821-32), rebellion of Greeks within the Ottoman Empire, a struggle which resulted in the establishment of an independent kingdom of Greece. Greek language Indo-European language spoken primarily in Greece. It has a long and well-documented history-the longest of any Indo-European language-spanning 34 centuries. There is an Ancient phase, subdivided into a Mycenaean period (texts in syllabic script attested from the 14th to the 13th century BC) and Archaic and Classical periods (beginning with ... Greek law legal systems of the ancient Greeks, of which the best known is the law of Athens. Although there never was a system of institutions recognized and observed by the nation as a whole as its legal order, there were a number of basic approaches to legal problems, certain methods used ... Greek literature body of writings in the Greek language, with a continuous history extending from the 1st millennium BC to the present day. From the beginning its writers were Greeks living not only in Greece proper but also in Asia Minor, the Aegean Islands, and Magna Graecia (Sicily and southern Italy). Later, ...