Greece

Information about the Greek Flag: Colors and Meaning of the Flag of Greece

:: Meaning of the Greece Flag ::

The flag of Greece has undergone several changes. Its pattern and colors have continued to evolve since the 1821, during the Revolution of the Hellenic Nation. The current flag is blue and white in color, with nine alternating blue and white horizontal stripes, starting and ending in blue.

There are many schools of thought on what the meaning of the stripes on the Greek flag represents. Some say that the stripes coincide with the nine syllables of Liberty or Death, which in Greek is Eleftheria i Thanatos, the five blue stripes for Eleftheria and the four white stripes for i Thanatos. This is the motto when the Greeks were fighting the Ottoman Empire in the 19th century. On the other hand some say that the 9 stripes represent the number of letters in Eleftheria, which means freedom.

It is said that the motto inspired the Greeks to finally fight 400 years of slavery and start what was called the Hellenic Revolution. And the stripes were chosen because they resemble the waves of the sea surrounding Greece and when flying, the alternate blue and white stripes look like the surface of the Aegean Pelagos (Aegean Sea) on a windy day.

There is a blue canton on the hoisting side of the Greek flag where the Hellenic Square Cross rests. This is a symbol of the respect and devotion for the Greek Orthodox Church. It also signifies the role that Christianity has in forming the modern Greek nation. It was the Church that helped the slaves to retain their Hellenic language, their ethnic identity, the Byzantine religion and the institution of the secret schools they called Crypha Scholia, that were operated all over Greece in secret to teach the Hellenic heritage passed down by their ancestors. And until today Christianity is still the major religion in Greece.

Different meanings are attached to the blue and white colors of the Greek flag. Some say that the blue looks like the Hellenic sea and the white represents the top of the restless waves. Some attach mythical meanings to the colors, saying that Aphrodite, the Goddess of love and beauty emerged from the waves of the Hellenic Sea. Some say that the blue represents the blue of the Greek sky and the white clouds, while others maintain that the blue and white are similar to the colors of the uniform or vrakes of the Greek sailors while the War of Independence was still waging.

:: Reference ::

http://alexandros.com/grflag.html