Greece

• Capital of Greece : Athens
• Official language: Greek
• The currency : Euro(€)
• Climate: Mediterranean
• Population: 11.306.183 (2010 estimate)
• Calling code: The international calling code of Greece is +30

Greece (Greek: Ελλάδα) is a country in Southern Europe,politically considered part of Western Europe. The name of Greece differs in Greece in comparison with the names used for the country in other languages and cultures, just like the names of the Greeks. Although the Greeks call the country Hellas or Ellada (Greek: Ελλάς, Ελλάδα) and its official name is Hellenic Republic, in English the country is called Greece, which comes from Latin Graecia as used by the Romans and literally means 'the land of the Greeks'.

The English name Greece and the similar adaptations in other languages derive from the Latin name Graecia, literally meaning 'the land of the Greeks', which was used by the Romans to denote the area of modern day Greece. Similarly, the Latin name of the nation was Graeci, from which the English name Greeks originates. These names in turn trace their origin from Graecus, the Latin adaptation of the Greek name Γραικός, which means 'Greek' but its etymology remains uncertain. There is some obscurity for the reason why the Romans called the country Graecia and its people Graeci, while the Greeks called their land Hellas and themselves

Aristotle was the first to use the name Graeci (Γραικοί) in Meteorology, saying that the area about Dodona and Achelous was inhabited by the Selli and a people formerly called Graeci, but at his time Hellenes. From this statement of Aristotle it is asserted that the name of Graeci was at one period widely spread in Epirus and the western coast of Greece in general, hence it became the one by which the Hellenes were known to the Italic peoples on the opposite side of the Ionian Sea. According to Hesiod, in his work Catalogue of Women, Graecus was the son of Pandora and Zeus; he gave his name to the people who followed the Hellenic customs, while his brother Latinus gave his name to the Latins. In Ethnica, Stephanus of Byzantium also states that from Graecus, the son of Thessalus, the Hellenes derived the name of Graeci.

Greece is the ideal place for city tourism. Discovering the soul of a Greek city is much more than a quick tour around its monuments and sightseeing. Greek cities are full of possibilities, easily accessible and visitor friendly around the year, offering a great sum of modern facilities and choices. Greek cities combine excellent conference facilities with unique museums, archaeological sites, shopping and nightlife.

•  Greece (wikipedia) - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greece

(src: wikipedia and www.visitgreece.gr)