The Greek Flag
According to
the Wikipedia:
Greek: Σημαία της
Ελλάδος, popularly referred to as the
Γαλανόλευκη or the
Κυανόλευκη, the "blue-white") is
based on nine equal horizontal stripes of blue alternating with
white. There is a blue canton in the upper hoist-side corner
bearing a white cross, the cross symbolises Greek Orthodoxy, the
established religion of the country. This also demonstrates the
respect and the devotion the Hellenic people have for the Greek
Orthodox Church and signifies the important role of Christianity
in the formation of the modern Hellenic Nation. Christianity is
still the dominant religion among Greeks. Therefore, the
significance of the Cross is justified. According to popular
tradition, the nine stripes represent the nine syllables of the
phrase "Έλευθερία ή Θάνατος"
("Liberty or Death", " E-lef-the-ri-a i Tha-na-tos"), the
five blue stripes for the syllables "Έλευθερία"
and the four white stripes "ή Θάνατος".
There is also a different theory, that the nine stripes
symbolize the nine Muses, the goddesses of art and civilization
(nine has traditionally been one of the numbers of reference for
the Greeks) ). Liberty or Death was the motto during the years
of the Hellenic Revolution against the Ottoman Empire in the 19th
century
The blazon of the flag is
Azure, four bars Argent; the canton Azure with a Greek cross
throughout Argent. The shade of blue used in the flag has
varied throughout its history, from light blue to dark blue, the
latter being increasingly used since the late 1960s.
The above patterns were
officially adopted by the First National Assembly at Epidaurus
in January 1822. Blue and white have many interpretations,
symbolizing the colors of the famed Greek sky and sea (combined
with the white clouds and waves), traditional colors of Greek
clothes (vrakes) of the Greek sailors during the War of
Independence on the islands. The interchanging of blue and white
colors makes the Greek Flag on a windy day to look like the
Aegean Pelagos (sea). According to the mythic legends, the
Goddess of Beauty and Love, Aphrodite (Venus) emerged from these
waves..
On 15 March of
the same year the Executive Body (the Government), which had
taken over the interim administration of Greece, specified by
Decree 540 three types of flag: one land flag and two marine
flags, one of which was for the navy and the other for the
merchant marine.
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