| Total population | |
|---|---|
| 60,000[1]-80,000[2] | |
| Regions with significant populations | |
| Athens,Piraeus,Thessaloniki,Kavala | |
| Languages | |
| Armenian,Greek | |
| Religion | |
| Armenian Apostolic Church | |
| Related ethnic groups | |
| Hayhurum |
.jpg)
TheArmenians in Greece (Armenian:Հայերը Հունաստանում,romanized: Hayery Hunastanum;Greek:Αρμένιοι στην Ελλάδα,romanized: Arménioi stin Elláda) areGreek citizens ofArmenian descent. The Armenian presence in Greece began centuries ago when Armenians, for various reasons, settled in the wider area ofThessaly,Macedonia (Thessaloniki) andThrace. Traces of Armenians can also be found on the Greek islands ofCrete andKerkyra (Corfu). The Armenians in Greece however, acquired the character of a community after the 1920s, when 70,000 to 80,000 survivors of theArmenian genocide[3] fled to Greece fromCilicia,Smyrna,Ionia,Constantinople and other regions ofAsia Minor, scattering all over Greece.
Today, immigration toNorth America has diminished the Armenian population of Greece. The number now counts for roughly 20,000–35,000 Armenians.
The presence of Armenians in Greece dates back to theByzantine era, when Armenians settled in Thessalia, Macedonia, Thrace and the islands of Crete andKerkyra for various reasons such as war and business. ManyByzantine emperors were also of Armenian origin (such asArtabasdos) etc.
Additional proof of their presence in Greece can be found in several historical testimonies, the genealogical history of certain old Armenian families and the names of some towns or villages that have Armenian names, such as an old village ofThessalia that was named Armenos, a village between the cities ofLarissa andVolos that is calledArmenio and other settlements in various places ofmainland Greece,Crete and islands.
A Munich newspaper quoted about 87,000 Armenians "mostly in Greece" in year 1823.[4]
In 1890, there was a small community of Armenians inAthens and inPiraeus of about 150 people which turned into 600 after the incorporation ofThessaloniki (1912) and some cities of Macedonia after theBalkan Wars.
During theHamidian massacres, Armenians that managed to escape and who were saved from the slaughters were given shelter at the harbour ofPiraeus. More than 1,000 Armenians enjoyed the hospitality of the Greeks. At that time thePrime Minister of Greece,Theodoros Deligiannis, showed fatherly affection to them.
After the genocidal campaign of theOttoman Empire against the Armenians and Greeks, Greece welcomed a large influx of refugees consisting of about 80,000 Armenians and 1,500,000 Greeks into its country. The refugees mostly came from Cilicia, Smyrna, Ionia, Constantinople and other regions of Asia Minor. The Greco-Armenians were very active in art and commerce producing painters like Edouard Sakayan.
Armenia gained independence from theSoviet Union in 1991. It had faced enormous problems by the1988 Spitak earthquake and, soon after its nationhood, got involved in theFirst Nagorno-Karabakh War. This constituted a new challenge for the Armenians in Greece (just like for the entireArmenian Diaspora). They tried to be of help to their country when the devastating earthquake struck the northern part of their country, then with the conflict for Nagorno-Karabakh, followed by major economic and living problems such as hunger and energy thirst caused by the embargo imposed on Armenia byTurkey andAzerbaijan. The provisional also accommodation and the caring of some hundreds of refugees that resorted to Greece were covered up to one degree by the Armenian community.
As of 2007, the number of Armenians in Greece is estimated at approximately 20,000–35,000, living mainly in Attica (Athens, Piraeus and the suburbs) and in smaller communities in Thessaloniki, Kavala, Komotini, Xanthi, Alexandroupolis, Didimoticho, Orestiada and Crete. The majority of Greco-Armenians areArmenian Apostolic Christians, with the rest beingCatholics andEvangelicals, and very fewEastern Orthodox Christians, particularlyGreek Orthodox Christians. There are a number of Armenian institutions in Greece, among them being:
Armenians also have two newspapers: the over fifty years old dailyAzat Or (Free Day), which has the largest circulation all over Greece and the weeklyNor Ashkharh (New World); The magazineΑρμενικά (Armenian) is published every two months in Athens. The community's main political representative is theArmenian National Committee of Greece. Its headquarters are in Athens with branches all over Greece. It expresses theArmenian Revolutionary Federation's (Dashnaktsutiun) political perspective. The organization Homenetmen is also active in Greece, organizing sporting and Scouting events for Armenians in the country.
...Greece's 60,000-strong Armenian community...
 | ||
| Historic areas of Armenian settlement | ||
| Caucasus | ||
| Former Soviet Union | ||
| Americas | ||
| Europe | ||
| Middle East | ||
| Asia | ||
| Africa | ||
| Oceania | ||
| Hellenic | |
|---|---|
| Traditional | |
| Recent | |
