Greek diaspora

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Greek diaspora (Greek: ελληνική διασπορά elliniki diaspora) is a term used to refer to the communities of Greek people living outside of the traditional Greek homelands of modern Greece,and Cyprus Members of the diaspora can be identified as those who themselves, or whose ancestors, migrated from the Greek homelands.

[edit] History

In ancient times the trading and colonising activities of the Greek tribes and city states spread people of Greek culture, religion and language around the Mediterranean and Black Sea basins, especially in Sicily, southern Italy, Spain the South of France and the Black sea coasts. Under Alexander the Great's Empire Greek ruling classes were established in the middle east and in Egypt. Under the Roman Empire movement of people spread Greeks across the Empire and in the eastern territories Greek became the lingua franca rather than Latin. The Roman Empire became Christianized in the fourth century AD, and in the Byzantine period practice of the Greek Orthodox form of Christianity became a defining hallmark of Greek identity.

In the seventh century Emperor Heraclius adopted Greek as the official language. Greeks continued to live around the levant, mediterranean and Black Sea maintaining a Greek identity amongst local populations as traders, officials and settelers. Under the Ottoman Empire these populations generally remained.

[edit] Modern Times

[edit] 19th Century

During and after the Greek War of Independence Greeks of the Diaspora were important in establishing the fledgling state, raising funds and awarness abroad. Many moved to the new country and were key figures in the cultural, educational and political life of Athens especially.

Meanwhile greek people continued to move away from the traditional homelands to better their lives, Russia, Africa and Egypt being important destinations in this period.

[edit] 20th Century

In the twentieth century many Greeks left the traditional homelands for economic reasons resulting in large migrations from Greece and Cyprus to the United States, Great Britain, Australia, Germany and South Africa, especially after the Second World War (1938-45) the Greek Civil War (1946-49) and the Turkish Invasion of Cyprus in 1974.

After the First World War most Greeks living in the territory of modern Turkey were forced or coerced into leaving areas occupied by Greek people since antiquity. Many came to modern Greece, but The Russian Empire (later USSR) was a also a major destination.

After the Greek Civil War some left wing activists and their families moved to the Communist Countries of Europe due to the political situation.

The Arab Nationalism of President Nasser of Egypt led to the expulsion of a large Greek population from that country in the 1950s. Untill that point Alexandria had been an important centre of Greek culture since antiquity, with the business life of the city dominated by Greeks.

With the fall of Communism in eastern Europe and the USSR, numbers of Greeks of the Diaspora whose Greek ancestry was many generations removed, immigrated to modern Greece's urban centres in Athens and Thessaloniki and onto Cyprus. Movements from Georgia were most numerous, the term 'Pontian Greeks' used to refer to those who have come from the countries around the Black Sea.

[edit] Today

Important centres of the Greek Diaspora today are London UK, New York USA, Melbourne Australia and Toronto Canada.

The General Secretariat for Greeks Abroad is a dependency of the Greek Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and has compiled several studies on the Greeks of the diaspora.

The total number of Greeks living outside Greece and Cyprus today is a contentious issue. Where Census figures are available it shows around 3 million Greeks outside of Greece and Cyprus. Estimates provided by the Council of overseas Greeks {SAE} put the figure at around 7 million worldwide.Integration, intermarriage and loss of the Greek language also influence the definition and self-definition of Greeks of the Diaspora.

[edit] Well Known Greeks of the Diaspora

Queen Cleopatra, King Attalos, Antiochius III, Averof, Arsaki, Maria Callas Jennifer Aniston, George Michael, Telly Savalas, Doménicos Theotokópoulos (El Greco), Georges Corraface Greg Louganis John Varvatos Elia Kazan Constantine Lascaris Marcus Musurus Yiannis Pharmakis Queen Sophia of Spain, Prince Phillip Duke of Edinburgh, Peter Andre Chapman Btothers Jake Chapman, Dinos Chapman Sir Alec Issigonis, Michael Dukakis Olympia Dukakis, Michael Dertouzos, George Bizos Mario Frangoulis George Sava, Spyros Skouras, Arianna Huffington Panayiotis Zavos Nicholas Negroponte, Grigorios S. Kapageridis, Nik Poulos,

See also List of Greek Americans List of Greek Australians List of Greek Canadians Greeks in Great Britain

[edit] Number of Greeks in all countries

Rank	Country	Capital	Number of ethnic Greeks	Main articles
1	Greece	Athens	10,744,740 (2001 census)	Greeks
2	United States	Washington, D.C.	1,213,807 (2000 census) [1] – an estimated 3,000,000 claim Greek descent [2]	Greek American
3	Cyprus	Nicosia	689,471 (2001 census, in gov. controlled area)	Greek Cypriots, Greek Cypriot diaspora
4	Australia	Canberra	375,703 (2001 census) [3] – 700,000 (est.) [4]	Greek Australian
5	Germany	Berlin	354,500 (est.) [5] – 370,000 (2006 est.) [6]	Greeks in Germany
6	Canada	Ottawa	215,105 (2001 census) [7] – 450,000 (est.)[5]	Greek Canadians
7	South Africa	Cape Town	120,000 (est.) [5] – see also [3]	Greeks in South Africa
8	United Kingdom	London	112,163 (2001 census) - excludes all British-born Greeks (est. 200,000) [8]	Greeks in Great Britain
9	Russia	Moscow	97,827 (2002 census) [9] – 150,000 (est.) [5]	Greeks in Russia
10	Ukraine	Kiev	91,500 (2001 census) [10] – 250,000 (est.) [5]	Greeks in Ukraine
11	Albania	Tirana	58,785 (1989 census) [11] – 400,000 (est.) [12]	Greeks in Albania
12	France	Paris	35,000 (est.) [13] [5]	Greeks in France
13	Brazil	Brasília	25,000 – 30,000 (est.) [14]	Greeks in Brazil
14	Belgium	Brussels	25,000 (est.) [5] – 35,000 (est.) [15]	Greeks in Belgium
15	Argentina	Buenos Aires	20,000 (est.) [5] – 30,000 (est.) [16]	Greeks in Argentina
16	Italy	Rome	20,000 (est.) [5] – 30,000 (est.) [17]	Greeks in Italy
17	Georgia	Tbilisi	15,166 (2002 census) [18] – 120,000 (est.) [5]	Greeks in Georgia
18	Kazakhstan	Astana	12,703 (1999 census) [19] – 120,000 (est.) [5]	Greeks in Kazakhstan
19	Sweden	Stockholm	12,000 – 15,000 (est.) [20] – 20,000 (est.) [5]	Greeks in Sweden
20	Uzbekistan	Tashkent	9,500 (est.) [21] – 10,000 (est.) [5]	Greeks in Uzbekistan
21	Switzerland	Bern	8,340 (est.) [5] – 11,000 (est.) [22]	Greeks in Switzerland
22	Romania	Bucharest	6,513 (2002 census) [23] – 14,000 (est.) [5]	Greeks in Romania
23	Austria	Vienna	5,000 (est.) [24] – 6,500 (est.) [5]	Greeks in Austria
24	Turkey	Ankara	5,000 (2006 est.) [25]	Greeks in Turkey
25	New Zealand	Wellington	4,500 (est.) [26] – 10,000 (est.) [5]	Greeks in New Zealand
26	Netherlands	Amsterdam	4,000 (est.) [5] – 12,500 (est.) [27]	Greeks in the Netherlands
27	Egypt	Cairo	3,800 (est.) [28] – 350,000 (1989 est.) [29]	Greeks in Egypt
28	Bulgaria	Sofia	3,408 (2001 census) [30] – 28,500 [31]	Greeks in Bulgaria
29	Czech Republic	Prague	3,231 (2001 census) [32] – 7,000 (est.) [33]	Greeks in the Czech Republic
30	Moldova	Chişinău	3,000 (est.) [34] – 4,000 (est.) [5]	Greeks in Moldova
31	Hungary	Budapest	2,509 (2001 census) [35] – 6,000 (est.) [36]	Greeks in Hungary
32	Lebanon	Beirut	1,500 (est.) [5]	Greeks in Lebanon
33	Oman	Muscat	1,500 (est.) [5]	Greeks in Oman
34	Poland	Warsaw	1,404 (2002 census) [37] – 4,300 (est.) [5]	Greeks in Poland
35	Saudi Arabia	Riyadh	1,300 (est.) [5]	Greeks in Saudi Arabia
36	Luxembourg	Luxembourg	1,200 [5] – 2,000 (est.) [38]	Greeks in Luxembourg
37	Cameroon	Yaoundé	1,200 (est.) [39]	Greeks in Cameroon
38	Armenia	Yerevan	1,176 (2002 census) [40] – 15,000 (est.) [39]	Greeks in Armenia
39	Venezuela	Caracas	1,148 (est.) [41] – 2,500 (est.) [39]	Greeks in Venezuela
40	Zimbabwe	Harare	1,100 (est.) [42] – 4,000 (est.) [39]	Greeks in Zimbabwe
41	Uruguay	Montevideo	1,000 (est.) [39] – 2,000 (est.) [43]	Greeks in Uruguay
42	Chile	Santiago	1,000 (est.) [39] – 1,500 (est.) [44]	Greeks in Chile
43	Mexico	Mexico City	1,000 (est.) [45] [39]	Greeks in Mexico
44	Syria	Damascus	1,000 (est.) [39]	Greeks in Syria
45	Panama	Panama City	800 (est.) [39] – 1,000 (est.) [46]	Greeks in Panama
46	Zambia	Lusaka	700 (est.) [39]	Greeks in Zambia
47	Kyrgyzstan	Bishkek	650 – 700 (est.) [47]	Greeks in Kyrgyzstan
48	Denmark	Copenhagen	500 (est.) [39] – 1,000 (est.) [48]	Greeks in Denmark
49	Ethiopia	Addis Ababa	500 (est.) [49] – 700 (est.) [39]	Greeks in Ethiopia
50	FYROM	Skopje	422 (2002 census) [50] – 250,000 (1994 est.) [51]	Greeks in the Republic of Macedonia
51	Jordan	Amman	400 (est.) [39] – 600 (est.) [52]	Greeks in Jordan
52	Norway	Oslo	350 (est.) [53] [39]	Greeks in Norway
53	Democratic Republic of the Congo (ex. Zaire)	Kinshasa	300 (est.) [54] – 5000 (est.) [39]	Greeks in the Democratic Republic of the Congo
54	Spain	Madrid	300 (est.) [39] – 1,500 – 2,000 (est.) [55]	Greeks in Spain
55	Bahamas	Nassau	300 (est.) [39]	Greeks in the Bahamas
56	Nigeria	Abuja	300 (est.) [56] [39]	Greeks in Nigeria
57	Tanzania	Dodoma	300 (est.) [39]	Greeks in Tanzania
58	Israel	Jerusalem	250 – 300 (est.) [57] – 1,500 (est.) [39]	Greeks in Israel
59	Sudan	Khartoum	250 (est.) [58] – 700 (est.) [39]	Greeks in Sudan
60	Azerbaijan	Baku	250 – 300 (est.) [59]	Greeks in Azerbaijan
61	Lithuania	Vilnius	250 (est.) [60]	Greeks in Lithuania
62	Malawi	Lilongwe	200 (est.) [61] – 800 (est.) [39]	Greeks in Malawi
63	Colombia	Bogotá, D.C.	200 (est.) [39]	Greeks in Colombia
64	Ireland	Dublin	200 (est.) [39] – for further information, see [4]	Greeks in Ireland
65	Kenya	Nairobi	200 (est.) [39]	Greeks in Kenya
66	United Arab Emirates	Abu Dhabi	200 (est.) [39]	Greeks in the United Arab Emirates
67	Morocco	Rabat	180 (est.) [62]	Greeks in Morocco
68	Peru	Lima	150 (est.) [62] – 350 (est.) [63]	Greeks in Peru
69	Portugal	Lisbon	150 (est.) [62] – 240 (est.) [64]	Greeks in Portugal
70	Botswana	Gaborone	150 (est.) [62]	Greeks in Botswana
71	Djibouti	Djibouti City	150 (est.) [62]	Greeks in Djibouti
72	Estonia	Tallinn	150 (est.) [65]	Greeks in Estonia
73	Finland	Helsinki	150 (est.) [66] [62]	Greeks in Finland
74	Hong Kong	–	150 (est.) [62]	Greeks in Hong Kong
75	Kuwait	Kuwait City	140 (est.) [67] –150 (est.) [62]	Greeks in Kuwait
76	Latvia	Riga	100 (est.) [68] – 10,000 (est.) [62]	Greeks in Latvia
77	Japan	Tokyo	100 (est) [62] – 300 (est.) [69]	Greeks in Japan
78	Bolivia	La Paz	100 (est.) [70] [62]	Greeks in Bolivia
79	People's Republic of China	Beijing	100 (est.) [71]	Greeks in China
80	Costa Rica	San José	80 (est.) [62]	Greeks in Costa Rica
81	Indonesia	Jakarta	72 (est.) [72]	Greeks in Indonesia
82	Papua New Guinea	Port Moresby	70 (est.) [62]	Greeks in Papua New Guinea
83	Iran	Tehran	60 (est.) [62] – 80 (est.) [73]	Greeks in Iran
84	Côte d'Ivoire	Yamoussoukro	60 (est.) [62]	Greeks in Côte d'Ivoire
85	Madagascar	Antananarivo	60 (est.) [62]	Greeks in Madagascar
86	Slovenia	Ljubljana	54 (2002 census) [74]	Greeks in Slovenia
87	Croatia	Zagreb	50 (est.) [75]	Greeks in Croatia
88	Tunisia	Tunis	50 (est.) [62]	Greeks in Tunisia
89	Senegal	Dakar	50 (est.) [62]	Greeks in Senegal
90	Central African Republic	Bangui	40 (est.) [62]	Greeks in the Central African Republic
91	Qatar	Doha	40 (est.) [62]	Greeks in Qatar
92	Singapore	–	40 (est.) [76]	Greeks in Singapore
93	Malta	Valletta	35 – 40 (est.) [77]	Greeks in Malta
94	Cuba	Havana	30 (est.) [62]	Greeks in Cuba
95	Algeria	Algiers	30 (est.) [62]	Greeks in Algeria
96	Eritrea	Asmara	30 (est.) [62]	Greeks in Eritrea
97	Slovakia	Bratislava	apart from some 80 students currently in Slovakia, there are no more than twenty Greeks, and no form of association [78]	Greeks in Slovakia
98	Paraguay	Asunción	20 (est.) [62] – 25 (est.) [79]	Greeks in Paraguay
99	Chad	N'Djamena	20 (est.) [62]	Greeks in Chad
100	Ecuador	Quito	20 (est.) [62]	Greeks in Ecuador
101	Guatemala	Guatemala City	20 (est.) [62]	Greeks in Guatemala
102	Mozambique	Maputo	20 (est.) [62]	Greeks in Mozambique
103	Namibia	Windhoek	20 (est.) [62]	Greeks in Namibia
104	Togo	Lomé	20 (est.) [62]	Greeks in Togo
105	Republic of the Congo	Brazzaville	10 (est.) [62]	Greeks in the Republic of the Congo
106	Belarus	Minsk	unknown – for further information, see [5]	Greeks in Belarus
107	Serbia	Belgrade	unknown – for further information, see [6]	Greeks in Serbia

[edit] See also

• Antiochian Greeks
• Cappadocian Greek language
• Church of Greece
• Cypriot Orthodox Church
• Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople
• Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople
• Greek Byzantine Catholic Church
• Greek Orthodox Church of Alexandria
• Greek Orthodox Church of Antioch
• Greek Orthodox Church of Jerusalem
• Greek-Calabrian dialect
• Greeks
• Griko language
• Orthodox Church in America
• Pontic Greeks

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• General Secretariat for Greeks Abroad
• Greek Ministry of Foreign Affairs