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The coat of arms of Greece (Greek: Εθνόσημο, lit. 'national emblem', [eθˈnosimo] (listen)) or national seal of Greece comprises a white Greek cross on a

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blue escutcheon, surrounded by two laurel branches. It has been in use in its current form since 1975. Prior to the adoption of the current coat of arms, Greece used a number of different designs, some of which were not heraldic; the first heraldic design was introduced in 1832 and its main element, the blue shield with the white cross, has been the base for all other national coats of arms since then. The design is a heraldic representation of the Greek national flag adopted in 1822, which featured a white cross on a blue field.

The proper heraldic description of the coat of arms is: Azure, a cross Argent. The Law regulating the coat of arms does not specify a tincture for the laurel branches, implying proper (or vert, i.e. green). Official usage portrays the laurel branches as monochrome blue, while a version with the branches in gold is used by the military and on the presidential standard. Since standardisation in 2010, the Government of Greece has used a stylised version of the coat of arms as a government logo, again in monochrome.

In periods of monarchy, the shield was topped by a royal crown and surrounded by elaborate ornamentation expressive of royal authority, including male figures as supporters, the Order of the Redeemer, a mantle and pavilion, and the royal motto. The shield was also sometimes charged with the dynastic arms of House of Wittelsbach under Otto of Greece, and by those of the House of Glücksburg after his exile. Other designs adopted prior to 1832 made heavy use of ancient Greek imagery, such as Athena and her owl, as well as other popular revolutionary symbols such as the Phoenix rising from its ashes, symbolising the rebirth of Greece as an independent state.

History[edit]

Non-heraldic designs[edit]

The political thinker and revolutionary Rigas Feraios was the first to propose a national emblem for Greece, including a hand-drawing rendition of it in his hand-written New Political Constitution of 1797. Rigas' proposal was composed of a club of Heracles, with the words Liberty – Equality – Fraternity superimposed on it, and three crosses topping it. In his Map of Greece of 1796–1797, Rigas explains that the club stands for the power of Greece, but its use was not limited to ethnic Greeks and could also be used by any of the other Balkan peoples he envisaged would make up his multi-ethnic Hellenic Republic. In his selection of this device, however, he was directly influenced by the Jacobin radicalism of the French Revolution, which utilised the device of the club of Heracles as a symbol of democratic power. The national colours he proposed were red, white, and black, symbolising self-determination, purity, and sacrifice respectively. The club, sewn onto a white cockade, would be the identifying mark by which "free democrats and equal brothers" would recognise each other. This design was never officially adopted.

The first official Greek national emblem was described in the Provisional Constitution adopted by the First National Assembly at Epidaurus on 1 January 1822 and was established by decree on 15 March of the same year. The national emblem was described as a simple cockade of white and blue. These colours were chosen as the national colours over more "revolutionary" choices such as black and red, popular in Greece ever since Rigas had proposed them, so as to disassociate the government and the revolution from any perceived links to radical movements in the eyes of the conservative European royal courts.

Since its establishment, the emblem has undergone many changes in shape and in design, mainly due to changes of regime. Apart from the cockade, the Provisional Administration of Greece used a seal depicting the goddess Athena and her symbol, the Owl of Athena, encircled by the words "Provisional Administration of Greece". During the governorate of Ioannis Kapodistrias (1827–1831), a new seal based on the phoenix, the symbol of rebirth, was created. The words "Hellenic State", accompanied with the date "1821" (the year the Greek War of Independence began) in Greek numerals, surrounded it.

This seal gave Greece's first currency, the Phoenix, its name. The phoenix was also used as a symbol by later Greek non-monarchical governments, including the Second Hellenic Republic (1924–1935) and the junta-proclaimed republic of 1973–1974.

See also[edit]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Coats of arms of Greece.

• Flag of Greece
• Armorial of Europe

References[edit]

1. ^ Jump up to:^{a b c d}
2. ^ Jump up to:^{a b c}
3. ^ Note: Greece officially adopted the Gregorian calendar on 16 February 1923 (which became 1 March). All dates prior to that, unless specifically denoted, are Old Style.
4. ^
5. ^ Jump up to:^{a b c}
6. ^
7. ^ Jump up to:^{a b c d e f g h i} Great Greek Encyclopedia.
8. ^
9. ^
10. ^ Great Greek Encyclopedia, p. 243.
11. ^
12. ^ Jump up to:^{a b}
13. ^ Jump up to:^{a b c d e f} ΦΕΚ 2/1833.
14. ^ The exact words used were πορφυροῦν in Greek and purpurnen in German.
15. ^ Jump up to:^{a b} ΦΕΚ 8/1833.
16. ^ Jump up to:^{a b c d e f} ΦΕΚ 44/1863.
17. ^
18. ^
19. ^ Legislative Decree 180, 16 June 1941
20. ^
21. ^ Jump up to:^{a b c d} ΦΕΚ 108/1975.
22. ^
23. ^ Jump up to:^{a b c d e f} Communication and design guide.
24. ^
25. ^
26. ^
27. ^
28. ^

Sources[edit]

show v t e Symbols of Greece

show v t e Armorial of Europe

show v t e Greece topics

Categories:

• National symbols of Greece
• National coats of arms
• Greek coats of arms
• Coats of arms with crosses

• This page was last edited on 21 February 2023, at 20:24 (UTC).
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