1910: Cretan politician Eleftherios Venizelos is elected prime minister of Greece.

1912: First Balkan War. Greece, Serbia, Montenegro and Bulgaria fight against the Ottomans. Greece obtains parts of Macedonia, Epirus and the north Aegean islands.

1913: Second Balkan War. Greece and Serbia fight against Bulgaria. Crete unites with Greece.

1914: King Constantine insists that Greece remains neutral during the First World War. Venizelos wants to enter the war on the side of the Allies. The King leaves the country and Greece enters the war.

1919: The allies award Venizelos, being on the winners’ side, certain parts of Turkish and Bulgarian Thrace and the right to place troops in the area of Smyrna on the Turkish coast, where a large and prosperous Greek population exists.

1921: The Greek troops begin a massive campaign and advance towards Ankara.

1922: The resurgent Turkish army drives the Greeks back to the coast and Smyrna is burnt down on August 31. More than a million Greeks abandon their homes and become refugees on the Greek mainland. There follows a massive exchange of populations between Greece and Turkey, based on religious faith, under the Treaty of Lausanne.

1936: King George supports the dictatorship of General Metaxas.

1940: After occupying Albania, Italy demands the right of passage through Greece. Greeks respond to the Italian ultimatum with a single word, “No”, on October 28. Greek troops repel the Italian forces into the Albanian mountains, advancing towards Albania during the winter.

1941: In April, Germany invades Greece and the country is occupied by German, Italian and Bulgarian forces. The big famine of the winter of 1941 leaves more than 40,000 dead, mainly in Athens and other major cities. Greeks take to the mountains, form resistance groups and declare a ‘Free Greece’ on the inaccessible mountainous mainland.

1944: The last Wermacht soldier departs from Athens on October 12. Greek and British troops enter the liberated capital. In December, fighting breaks out in the streets of Athens between communist supported resistance groups and the National Army supported by the British. After a month of intense fighting, the guerrillas surrender.

1945: A period of persecution against anyone suspected as a communist drives thousands of people to the mountains.

1947: A guerrilla army is put together on the mountains by the Communist Party and a bitter three year civil war erupts. The Dodecanese islands are united with Greece, giving the country its final shape.

1949: The National Army, with heavy support from the US, drives back the guerrillas through the northern borders of Greece. More than 50,000 communists and their families become political refugees behind the Iron Curtain.

1952: Greece joins NATO.

1962: Greece becomes the first associated member of the European Community.

1967: A group of middle ranking army officers, seize power and a seven-year dictatorship begins. King Constantine II flees the country. Military junta led by Colonel Papadopoulos rules Greece.

1973: In November, an uprising of students in Athens against the dictatorial regime, known as the Athens Polytechnic Uprising, is crushed with bullets and tanks.

1974: A coup in Cyprus results in Turkish invasion and occupation of the northern part of the island. Military regime collapses in Athens. A Republic is proclaimed by referendum. Presidential democracy adopted.

1981: Greece becomes the tenth member of the European Union. Socialist party PASOK wins the elections.

1985: Athens becomes Europe’s first Cultural Capital.

2002: Greece joins the Euro zone and abandons the Drachma after 167 years.

2004: Centre-right wing party of New Democracy wins the elections. Kostas Karamanlis becomes Prime Minister. Greece successfully organizes the Olympic Games.

2005: Karolos Papoulias, a former socialist foreign minister, is elected President of the Republic.

2007: Kostas Karamanlis wins the elections for a second term.

2008: Archbishop Christodoulos, leader of the Greek Orthodox church, a charismatic and controversial figure dies in January.