Greece Flag

The nine stripes represent either the nine syllables of the motto 'Eleftheria i Thanatos' ('Freedom or Death') or the nine historical Greek regions. Blue symbolizes the sky and sea, evoking Greece’s maritime heritage. White stands for purity and the struggle for independence. The white cross in the canton represents the country’s Orthodox Christian faith and the guiding principles of national unity.

During the Greek War of Independence (1821–1829), various flags were flown by revolutionaries, often bearing crosses and stripes. In 1822, a national flag with a cross and plain blue field was proposed. The striped version emerged in 1822 as a symbol of national resistance. It became the official flag of the Kingdom of Greece in the 1830s and was retained by the Second Republic in 1924, the restored monarchy in 1935, and finally re‑adopted as the national flag in 1978 with an exact legal definition to standardize the shades of blue and proportions.

Nine equal horizontal stripes alternating blue and white, each stripe's height being one‑ninth of the flag's width, in a 2:3 proportion. The blue canton contains a white Greek cross. Official shade is 'Cyprus Blue'. The stripes evoke waves and syllables; the cross symbolizes Greek Orthodoxy. A swallow‑tailed 'naval jack' variant exists for use by the Navy and Coast Guard.

The flag of Greece must be hoisted at sunrise and lowered at sunset on public buildings, schools, and during official occasions. Flags should be well‑maintained and never allowed to touch the ground. Lowering to half‑mast is observed during national mourning or by royal decree. National Flag Day is celebrated on 26 October (Anniversary of the Ohi Day declaration). The use of the naval jack and war flag is regulated by military flag protocols.