And Ancient Greece; the Hellenistic period; beginning with Alexander the Great’s death in 323 BC and ending with Rome’s annexation of the Greek peninsula and islands in 146 BC; the Roman Period, lasting from 31 BC to 180 AD; The Byzantine Empire stretching from 610 until 1453 and commonly noted as one of the most significant periods in Greek history; the Ottoman period, lasting from 1453 until 1829 and the modern Greek state.
Greece declared itself independent of Ottoman rule in 1821 but did not however achieve its desired state of independence until 1829. During the 20th century, the country sided with the alliance against Turkey and the other central powers in WWI while in WWII, it contributed to the Allied efforts against Nazi Germany. Following WWII, the country developed rapidly in many respects. Democracy was restored in 1975 and in 1981, Greece joined the European Union.
