A Concise History of Greece

This book provides a concise, illustrated introduction to the history of modern Greece, from the first stirrings of the national movement in the late eighteenth century until the present day. Greece in 1830 became the first east European country to win full independence, and in 1981 became the first to achieve membership of the European Community. Not only is her heritage of Orthodox Christianity and of Ottoman rule distinctive, but great historical movements such as the Renaissance, the Reformation, the Enlightenment and the French and Industrial Revolutions which so profoundly influenced western Europe have largely passed her by. This has resulted in a pattern of historical development and a society markedly different from that of her west European partners. Moreover, for much of the 150 years of her existence as an independent state there have been more Greeks outside than within the borders of Greece, and large communities of Greek descent are to be found in the United States, Canada, Australia, and elsewhere. These factors give a particular interest to the history of a country that is at once Balkan, Mediterranean and European, and in which the burden of the past weighs particularly heavily on the present. Richard Clogg is recognised internationally as a leading authority on the history of modern Greece. This new book is, however, different in concept from anything yet written, including Professor Clogg's own classic A short history of modern Greece, which is here complemented by a wholly new account of the subject aimed at both general and academic readers.