Flag of Greece

Facts about the Flag of Greece

1. 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.
2. The cross in the canton represents Greek Orthodoxy, and its inclusion was the point of contention when the flag was standardised.
3. The plain blue and white cross flag without stripes was the land flag until 1978, when the striped ensign was adopted for all purposes.
4. The flag of Greece was officially adopted on December 22, 1978.
5. The design is older than its adoption. It was already in use in 1822, 156 years before it was formally made the flag of Greece.
6. The flag in its present form is 48 years old as of 2026.
7. Design type: Nine stripes with a white cross on a blue canton.
8. The flag is known as Galanolefki (the blue and white), a name used far more often than the formal "flag of Greece".
9. The official proportions are 2:3. It shares that ratio with 82 national flags.
10. The flag uses 2 colours: blue and white.
11. The blue on the flag stands for the sea and the sky.
12. The white on the flag stands for the waves and the purity of the independence struggle.
13. Nine stripes: Widely said to stand for the nine syllables of “Eleftheria i Thanatos” — Freedom or Death.
14. Cross: The Greek Orthodox Church.
15. The design belongs to the "Stripes with a canton" family, shared with 8 other flags in this reference.
16. Flags most often confused with it: Georgia, Hawaii and Liberia.
17. Greece became independent on 3 February 1830 from the Ottoman Empire.
18. The war of independence began on 25 March 1821, which is the date Greece celebrates, and sovereignty was recognised by the London Protocol of 1830.