Flag of Greece

Country

Flag of Greece uses nine stripes with a white cross on a blue canton. Ratio 2:3 and current adoption December 22, 1978.

Hoist Ratio 2:3 Fly

Flag Reference

Flag	Flag of Greece
Entity Type	Country
Official Name	Hellenic Republic
Identifier	GR / GRC
Region	Southern Europe

Flag Specifications

Current Adoption	December 22, 1978
First Documented Use	1822
Proportion	2:3
Shape	Rectangle
Colours	Blue, White
Construction	Nine stripes with a white cross on a blue canton
Common Name	Galanolefki (the blue and white)

Documented Colour Values

Colour	Appearance	HEX	RGB	CMYK
Blue		#0D5EAF	13, 94, 175	93, 46, 0, 31
White		#FFFFFF	255, 255, 255	0, 0, 0, 0

Design and Symbolism

Blue	the sea and the sky.
White	the waves and the purity of the independence struggle.
Nine stripes	Widely said to stand for the nine syllables of “Eleftheria i Thanatos” — Freedom or Death.
Cross	The Greek Orthodox Church.

Proportions

Ratio	2:3
Hoist	2 units
Fly	3 units

About the Flag of Greece

Nine stripes with a white cross on a blue canton The recorded proportion is 2:3. Within this library it is grouped with stripes with a canton designs.

Colours and construction

The reference palette stored for Greece is Blue (#0D5EAF) and White (#FFFFFF). The colour table above is intended for digital reference; where an issuing authority publishes a different colour standard, that specification takes precedence.

Symbols and recorded meaning

Nine stripes: Widely said to stand for the nine syllables of “Eleftheria i Thanatos” — Freedom or Death; Cross: The Greek Orthodox Church.

History and adoption record

The design record traces first use to 1822. The adoption field for the present record is December 22, 1978.

Additional flag context

The nine stripes are usually said to stand for the nine syllables of the independence motto Eleftheria i Thanatos — freedom or death — though the explanation is traditional rather than official.

The cross in the canton represents Greek Orthodoxy, and its inclusion was the point of contention when the flag was standardised.

The plain blue and white cross flag without stripes was the land flag until 1978, when the striped ensign was adopted for all purposes.

How to identify this flag

For quick identification, look for Nine stripes with a white cross on a blue canton, a 2:3 proportion and the visible nine stripes. Use the comparison and design-family links on this page when another flag has a similar palette or layout.

Verification sources

Flags of the World — Greece — Specialist vexillological reference

Other stripes with a canton flags

See all

Facts about the Flag of Greece

Greece is recorded as nine stripes with a white cross on a blue canton.
The reference proportion for the flag of Greece is 2:3.
The stored palette for Greece contains Blue and White.
The adoption field for this country flag record is December 22, 1978.
The design record traces first use to 1822.
Its construction is grouped with the stripes with a canton design family in this library.
Nine stripes: Widely said to stand for the nine syllables of “Eleftheria i Thanatos” — Freedom or Death.
Cross: The Greek Orthodox Church.
The nine stripes are usually said to stand for the nine syllables of the independence motto Eleftheria i Thanatos — freedom or death — though the explanation is traditional rather than official.
The cross in the canton represents Greek Orthodoxy, and its inclusion was the point of contention when the flag was standardised.

Frequently Asked Questions about the Flag of Greece

What does the flag of Greece look like?

Nine stripes with a white cross on a blue canton, with a recorded proportion of 2:3.

What proportion is recorded for the flag of Greece?

The reference proportion stored for this flag is 2:3.

Which colours are recorded for the flag of Greece?

The reference palette lists Blue #0D5EAF and White #FFFFFF.

What do the symbols on the flag of Greece represent?

Nine stripes — Widely said to stand for the nine syllables of “Eleftheria i Thanatos” — Freedom or Death. Cross — The Greek Orthodox Church.

When was the present flag record for Greece adopted?

The adoption field in this record is December 22, 1978.

Which design family does the flag of Greece belong to?

WorldFlags.online groups it with stripes with a canton designs for visual browsing; that classification describes construction, not necessarily historical ancestry.

Where can I verify information about the flag of Greece?

The verification-source section on this page links to an official, governmental or specialist reference used to check the underlying record. Source wording is not copied into the article.