The Greek diaspora is a term used to refer to the communities of Greek people living outside of the traditional Greek homelands, but more commonly in southeast Europe and Asia Minor. Members of the diaspora can be identified as those who themselves, or whose ancestors, migrated from the Greek homelands. ^[1]

[edit] History

[edit] Ancient Times

In ancient times, the trading and colonising activities of the Greek tribes from the Balkans and Asia Minor spread people of Greek culture, religion and language around the Mediterranean and Black Sea basins, establishing Greek city states in Sicily, southern Italy, northern Libya, eastern Spain, the south of France, and the Black sea coasts. Greeks founded more than 400 colonies.^[2] Alexander the Great's conquest of the Achaemenid Empire marked the beginning of the Hellenistic period, which was characterized by a new wave of Greek colonization in Asia and Africa, with Greek ruling classes established in Egypt, southwest Asia and northwest India.^[3]

Many Greeks migrated to the new Hellenistic cities founded in Alexander's wake, as far away as what are now Uzbekistan, India,^[4] and Kuwait.^[5] The Hellenistic cities of Seleucia, Antioch and Alexandria were among the largest cities in the world during Hellenistic and Roman times.^[6] 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 late Byzantine period practice of the Greek Orthodox form of Christianity became a defining hallmark of Greek identity.^[7]

[edit] Middle Ages

In the seventh century, Emperor Heraclius adopted Medieval Greek as the official language of the Byzantine Empire. Greeks continued to live around the Levant, Mediterranean and Black Sea maintaining a Greek identity amongst local populations as traders, officials and settlers. Soon after, the Arab-Islamic Caliphate conquered the Levant, Egypt, North Africa and southern Italy from the Byzantine Greeks during the Byzantine–Arab Wars. The Greek populations generally remained in these areas of the Caliphate and helped translate ancient Greek works into Arabic, thus contributing to early Islamic philosophy and science in medieval Islam, which in turn contributed to Byzantine science. Members of the Greek diaspora living under Islamic rule occasionally converted to Islam, most notably Al-Khazini in the 12th century.

[edit] Fall of Byzantium and Exodus to Italy

After the Byzantine–Ottoman Wars, which resulted in the fall of Constantinople in 1453 and the Ottoman Empire's conquest of Greek lands, many Greeks fled Constantinople and found refuge in Italy, bringing with them many ancient Greek writings that had been lost in the West. These helped contribute to the European Renaissance. Most of these Greeks settled in Venice, Florence and Rome.

[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 awareness abroad. Greek merchant families already had contacts in other countries and during the disturbances many set up home around the Mediterranean (notably Marseilles in France, Livorno, Calabria and Bari in Italy and Alexandria in Egypt), Russia (Odessa and St Petersburg), and Britain (London and Liverpool) from where they traded, typically in textiles and grain. Businesses frequently comprised the whole extended family, and with them they brought schools teaching Greek and the Greek Orthodox church. ^[8] As markets changed and they became more established, some families grew their operations to become shippers, financed through the local Greek community, notably with the aid of the Ralli or Vagliano Brothers. With economic success the Diaspora expanded further across the Levant, North Africa, India and the USA.^[9]

After the Treaty of Constantinople the political situation stabilised somewhat, and some of the displaced families moved back to the newly-independent country to become key figures in cultural, educational and political life, especially in Athens. Finance and assistance from overseas were channelled through these family ties, and helped provide institutions such as the National Library, and sent relief after natural disasters.

[edit] 20th Century

In the 20th century, many Greeks left the traditional homelands for economic reasons resulting in large migrations from Greece and Cyprus to the United States, Great Britain, Germany, Belgium, Australia, Canada, Chile, Argentina, Mexico and South Africa, especially after World War II (1939-45), the Greek Civil War (1946-49) and the Turkish Invasion of Cyprus in 1974. ^[1]

After World War I most Greeks living in the territory of modern Turkey were forced or coerced into leaving their homes as part of the population exchange programs between Turkey and Greece. Many came to modern Greece, but The Russian Empire (later USSR) was 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. Hungary even founded a whole new village, Beloiannisz for Greek immigrants.

Another country to admit Greeks in large numbers was Sweden, where today over 15,000 Greek-Swedish descendants live (see Greeks in Sweden). While many immigrants returned later, these countries still have numerous first and second generation Greeks who maintain their traditions.^[1]

The Arab Nationalism of President Nasser of Egypt led to the expulsion of a large Greek population from that country in the 1950s. Until 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 "removed" for many generations, immigrated to modern Greece's main urban centres of Athens and Thessaloniki, and also to Cyprus. Movements from Georgia were most numerous.^[1]

The term Pontic Greeks is used to refer to those who have come from the countries around the Black Sea.

[edit] Greek Nationality

Any person who is ethnically Greek born outside of Greece may become a Greek citizen through naturalization, providing he/she can prove a parent or grandparent was born as a national of Greece. The Greek ancestor's birth certificate and marriage certificate are required, along with the applicant's birth certificate, and the birth certificates of all generations in between until the relation between the applicant and the person with Greek citizenship is proven.

Greek citizenship is acquired by birth in Greece or if one of your parents is a Greek citizen. Your mother and/or father are Greek citizens if they are registered in the Municipality Registry of a city/village in Greece. Also, if you were born out of wedlock to a father that is a Greek citizen and a mother that is a non-Greek, then you automatically gain Greek citizenship if your father recognizes you as his child before you turn 18. For the above cases you don’t have to apply for Greek citizenship; rather, you may just seek it whenever you wish to use it. For example, just by knowing the above facts you can get a Greek passport.^[10][11]

[edit] Today

Important centres of the Greek Diaspora today are Chicago, London, New York, Melbourne and Toronto.^[1]

The SAE - World Council of Hellenes 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.

To learn more about how factors such as intermarriage and assimilation influence self-identification among young Greeks in the diaspora, and help clarify the estimates of Greeks in the diaspora, the Next Generation Initiative is currently conducting an academically-supervised research study that began in the United States in 2008.

[edit] Demographics

These are the numbers of Greeks outside of Greece.

Rank	Country	Capital	Number of ethnic Greeks	Main article
1	United States	Washington, D.C.	1,153,307 (2000 census)[12] – 1,350,600 (2008 est.)[13] / 3,000,000[14]	Greek American
2	Cyprus	Nicosia	635,914 (2001 census) [15] - 689,471 (est.)[16]	Greek Cypriots, Greek Cypriot diaspora
3	United Kingdom	London	400,000	Greek Britons
4	Australia	Canberra	365,150 (2006 census) [17] - 700,000 (est.)[16]	Greek Australian
5	Germany	Berlin	294,891 (Greek citizens)[18] - 320,000 (est.) [19] – 370,000 (est.)[16]	Greeks in Germany
6	Canada	Ottawa	215,105 (2001 census) [20] – 450,000 (est.)[16]	Greek Canadians
7	Albania	Tirana	300,000 (est.) [21][22]	Greeks in Albania
8	Chile	Santiago	90,000-120,000[23]	Greeks in Chile
9	South Africa	Pretoria	50,000-60,000 [24] - 120,000 (est.) [16] – see also [4]	Greeks in South Africa
10	Russia	Moscow	97,827 (2002 census) [25]	Greeks in Russia
11	Ukraine	Kiev	91,500 (2001 census) [26]	Greeks in Ukraine
12	Brazil	Brasilia	25,000 [27] – 30,000 (est.) [28] 50,000 in Sao Paulo (counting also the descendants)[29]	Greeks in Brazil
13	France	Paris	35,000 (est.) [30]	Greeks in France
14	Argentina	Buenos Aires	20,000 (est.) [16] – 30,000 (est.) [31]	Greeks in Argentina
15	Italy	Rome	20,000 (est.) [16] – 30,000 (est.) [32]	Greeks in Italy
16	Belgium	Brussels	15,742 (2007) [33] – 26,474 (est.) [34]	Greeks in Belgium
17	Georgia	Tbilisi	15,166 (2002 census) [35]	Greeks in Georgia
18	Serbia	Belgrade	15,000 (est.) [36]	Greeks in Serbia
19	Kazakhstan	Astana	12,703 (1999 census) [37]	Greeks in Kazakhstan
20	Sweden	Stockholm	12,000 – 15,000 (est.) [38]	Greeks in Sweden
21	Uzbekistan	Tashkent	9,500 (est.) [39]	Greeks in Uzbekistan
22	Switzerland	Bern	8,340 (est.) [16] – 11,000 (est.) [40]	Greeks in Switzerland
23	Romania	Bucharest	6,513 (2002 census) [41]	Greeks in Romania
24	Austria	Vienna	5,000 (est.) [42]	Greeks in Austria
25	New Zealand	Wellington	4,500 (est.) [43] – 10,000 (est.) [16]	Greeks in New Zealand
26	Netherlands	Amsterdam	4,000 (est.) [16] – 12,500 (est.) [44]	Greeks in the Netherlands
27	Egypt	Cairo	3,800 - 30% egpit populacion (est.) [45] – 5,000 [27]	Greeks in Egypt
28	Bulgaria	Sofia	3,408 (2001 census) [46] – 28,500 [47]	Greeks in Bulgaria
29	Czech Republic	Prague	3,231 (2001 census) [48] – 7,000 (est.) [49]	Greeks in the Czech Republic
30	Moldova	Chişinău	3,000 (est.) [50]	Greeks in Moldova
31	Hungary	Budapest	2,509 (2001 census) [51] – 6,000 (est.) [52]	Greeks in Hungary
32	Turkey	Ankara	2,500 (est.) [53]	Greeks in Turkey
33	Bosnia and Herzegovina	Sarajevo	1,900 (est.) [54]	Greeks in Bosnia and Herzegovina
34	Lebanon	Beirut	1,500-2,500 (est.) [16][55]	Greeks in Lebanon
35	Oman	Muscat	1,500 (est.) [16]	Greeks in Oman
36	Poland	Warsaw	1,404 (2002 census) [56]	Greeks in Poland
37	Saudi Arabia	Riyadh	1,300 (est.) [16]	Greeks in Saudi Arabia
38	Luxembourg	Luxembourg	1,571 (01/07/2009) [57]	Greeks in Luxembourg
39	Cameroon	Yaoundé	1,200 (est.) [58]	Greeks in Cameroon
40	Armenia	Yerevan	1,176 (2002 census) [59]	Greeks in Armenia
41	Venezuela	Caracas	1,148 (est.) [60]	Greeks in Venezuela
42	Zimbabwe	Harare	1,100 (est.) [61]	Greeks in Zimbabwe
43	Uruguay	Montevideo	1,000 (est.) [58] – 2,000 (est.) [62]	Greeks in Uruguay
44	Mexico	Mexico City	1,000 - 25,000 (est.) [63]	Greek Mexican
45	Syria	Damascus	1,000 (est.) [58]	Greeks in Syria
46	Panama	Panama City	800 (est.) [58] – 1,000 (est.) [62]	Greeks in Panama
47	Zambia	Lusaka	800 (est.) [64]	Greeks in Zambia
48	Kyrgyzstan	Bishkek	650 – 700 (est.) [65]	Greeks in Kyrgyzstan
49	Denmark	Copenhagen	500 (est.) [58] – 1,000 (est.) [66]	Greeks in Denmark
50	Ethiopia	Addis Ababa	500 (est.) [67]	Greeks in Ethiopia
51	Uganda	Kampala	436 (est.) [68]	Greeks in Uganda
52	Republic of Macedonia	Skopje	422 (2002 census) [69]	Greeks in the Republic of Macedonia
53	Jordan	Amman	400 (est.) [58] – 600 (est.) [70]	Greeks in Jordan
54	Norway	Oslo	350 (est.) [71]	Greeks in Norway
55	Democratic Republic of the Congo	Kinshasa	300 (est.) [72]	Greeks in the Democratic Republic of the Congo
56	Spain	Madrid	300 (est.) [58] – 1,500 – 2,000 (est.) [73]	Greeks in Spain
57	Bahamas	Nassau	300 (est.) [58]	Greeks in the Bahamas
58	Nigeria	Abuja	300 (est.) [74]	Greeks in Nigeria
59	Tanzania	Dodoma	300 (est.) [58]	Greeks in Tanzania
60	Barbados	Bridgetown	300 (est.) [75]	Greeks in Barbados
61	The Gambia	Banjul	300 (est.) [76]	Greeks in The Gambia
62	Costa Rica	San José	290 (est.)[77]; 80 (est.) [78]	Greeks in Costa Rica
63	Israel	Jerusalem	250 – 300 (est.) [79] (non-Jewish Greek only)	Greeks in Israel
64	Sudan	Khartoum	250 (est.) [80]	Greeks in Sudan
65	Azerbaijan	Baku	250 – 300 (est.) [79]	Greeks in Azerbaijan
66	Lithuania	Vilnius	250 (est.) [81]	Greeks in Lithuania
67	Malawi	Lilongwe	200 (est.) [82]	Greeks in Malawi
68	Colombia	Bogotá, D.C.	200 (est.) [58]	Greeks in Colombia
69	Ireland	Dublin	200 (est.) [58] – for further information, see [5]	Greeks in Ireland
70	Kenya	Nairobi	200 (est.) [58]	Greeks in Kenya
71	United Arab Emirates	Abu Dhabi	200 (est.) [58]	Greeks in the United Arab Emirates
72	Morocco	Rabat	180 (est.) [78]	Greeks in Morocco
73	Peru	Lima	150 (est.) [78] – 350 (est.) [83]	Greeks in Peru
74	Portugal	Lisbon	150 (est.) [78] – 240 (est.) [84]	Greeks in Portugal
75	Botswana	Gaborone	150 (est.) [78]	Greeks in Botswana
76	Djibouti	Djibouti City	150 (est.) [78]	Greeks in Djibouti
77	Estonia	Tallinn	150 (est.) [85]	Greeks in Estonia
78	Finland	Helsinki	150 (est.) [86]	Greeks in Finland
79	Hong Kong	–	150 (est.) [78]	Greeks in Hong Kong
80	Kuwait	Kuwait City	140 (est.) [87]	Greeks in Kuwait
81	Latvia	Riga	100 (est.) [88]	Greeks in Latvia
82	Japan	Tokyo	100 (est) [78] – 300 (est.) [89]	Greeks in Japan
83	Bolivia	La Paz	100 (est.) [90]	Greeks in Bolivia
84	People's Republic of China	Beijing	100 (est.) [91]	Greeks in China
85	Philippines	Manila	100 (estimated)[92]	Greeks in the Philippines
86	Indonesia	Jakarta	72 (est.) [93]	Greeks in Indonesia
87	Papua New Guinea	Port Moresby	70 (est.) [78]	Greeks in Papua New Guinea
88	Iran	Tehran	60 (est.) [78] – 80 (est.) [94]	Greeks in Iran
89	Côte d'Ivoire	Yamoussoukro	60 (est.) [78]	Greeks in Côte d'Ivoire
90	Madagascar	Antananarivo	60 (est.) [78]	Greeks in Madagascar
91	Slovenia	Ljubljana	54 (2002 census) [95]	Greeks in Slovenia
92	Croatia	Zagreb	50 (est.) [96]	Greeks in Croatia
93	Tunisia	Tunis	50 (est.) [78]	Greeks in Tunisia
94	Senegal	Dakar	50 (est.) [78]	Greeks in Senegal
95	Thailand	Bangkok	50 (mainly made out of businessmen) [97]	Greeks in Thailand
96	Central African Republic	Bangui	40 (est.) [78]	Greeks in the Central African Republic
97	Qatar	Doha	40 (est.) [78]	Greeks in Qatar
98	Singapore	–	40 (est.) [98]	Greeks in Singapore
99	Malta	Valletta	35 – 40 (est.) [99]	Greeks in Malta
100	Cuba	Havana	30 (est.) [78]	Greeks in Cuba
101	Algeria	Algiers	30 (est.) [78]	Greeks in Algeria
102	Eritrea	Asmara	30 (est.) [78]	Greeks in Eritrea
103	Slovakia	Bratislava	100 [100]	Greeks in Slovakia
104	Paraguay	Asunción	20 (est.) [78] – 25 (est.) [98]	Greeks in Paraguay
105	Chad	N'Djamena	20 (est.) [78]	Greeks in Chad
106	Ecuador	Quito	20 (est.) [78]	Greeks in Ecuador
107	Guatemala	Guatemala City	20 (est.) [78]	Greeks in Guatemala
108	Mozambique	Maputo	20 (est.) [78]	Greeks in Mozambique
109	Namibia	Windhoek	20 (est.) [78]	Greeks in Namibia
110	Togo	Lomé	20 (est.) [78]	Greeks in Togo
111	Taiwan	Taipei	20 (est.) [78]	Greeks in Taiwan
112	Republic of the Congo	Brazzaville	10 (est.) [78]	Greeks in the Republic of the Congo
113	Belarus	Minsk	unknown – for further information, see [6]	Greeks in Belarus
114	Dominican Republic	Santo Domingo	14 (est.) [101]	Greeks in the Dominican Republic
115	Vietnam	Hanoi	10 (est.) [102]	Greeks in Vietnam

[edit] Well known Greeks of the Diaspora

Well known people in the Greek diaspora include:

• George Averoff,
• Nicolas Sarkozy,
• Mark Philippoussis,
• Pete Sampras,
• Nick Galis,
• Maria Callas,
• Jennifer Aniston,
• Constantinos Karatheodori,
• Billy Zane,
• Melina Kanakaredes,
• Nia Vardalos,
• Elias Koteas,
• Greg Louganis,
• Pyrros Dimas,
• Joseph Pilates,
• Harry Agganis,
• George Michael,
• Jeff Bezos,
• Telly Savalas,
• Doménicos Theotokópoulos (El Greco),
• Georges Corraface,
• John Varvatos,
• Elia Kazan,
• Constantine Lascaris,
• Marcus Musurus,
• Yiannis Pharmakis,
• Queen Sophia of Spain,
• Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh,
• Jake and Dinos Chapman
• Sir Alec Issigonis,
• Michael Dukakis,
• Olympia Dukakis,
• Michael Dertouzos,
• George Bizos,
• Mario Frangoulis,
• Spyros Skouras,
• Arianna Huffington,
• Panayiotis Zavos,
• Nicholas Negroponte,
• Spiro Agnew,
• George Stephanopoulos,
• Peter Andre,
• Fotini Markopoulou-Kalamara,
• John Stamos

[edit] See also

• SAE - World Council of Hellenes Abroad
• Greek colonies
• Magna Graecia
• Antiochian Greeks
• List of Greek Americans
• Greek Australian
• Greek Canadians
• Greeks in Great Britain
• Greeks in New Zealand
• 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
• Hellenistic civilization
• Orthodox Church in America
• Pontic Greeks
• Grecheskaya Operatsiya

[edit] References

[edit] External links

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

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