what is greece

Greece, officially known as the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe, situated on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula. It shares land borders with Albania, North Macedonia, Bulgaria, and Turkey. Greece has the longest coastline on the Mediterranean Basin and features thousands of islands. It is considered the cradle of Western civilization, being the birthplace of democracy, Western philosophy, literature, historiography, political science, major scientific and mathematical principles, theatre, and the Olympic Games. Greece is a democratic and developed country with an advanced high-income economy, and it is a member of various international institutions, including the European Union, the United Nations, NATO, and the OECD. The country is famous for its ancient philosophers, invention of the Olympic Games and theater, monumental temples with Greek columns, and its unique culture, which is seen in various aspects of modern everyday life, from religious practices to language, folk music, and gastronomy.