The chamois is found in the higher mountains, such as Pindus,
Parnassus and Tymphrestus. The Cretan agrimi, or wild goat
(Capra nubiana, C. aegagrus), found in Antimelos and said to exist
in Taygetus, the jackal, the stellion, and the chameleon are among
the Asiatic species not found westward of Greece. There is a great
variety of birds; of 358 species catalogued two-thirds are migratory.
Among the birds of prey, which are very numerous, are the golden
and imperial eagle, the yellow vulture, the Gypaëtus barbatus, and
several species of falcons. The celebrated owl of Athena (Athene
noctua) is becoming rare at Athens, but still haunts the Acropolis
and the royal garden; it is a small species, found everywhere in Greece.
The wild goose and duck, the bustard, partridge, woodcock, snipe,
wood-pigeon and turtle-dove are numerous. Immense flocks of
quails visit the southern coast of the Morea, where they are captured
in great numbers and exported alive. The stork, which was
common in the Turkish epoch, has now become scarce. There is a
great variety of reptiles, of which sixty-one species have been
catalogued. The saurians are all harmless; among them the
stellion (Stellio vulgaris), commonly called κροκόδειλος in Mykonos
and Crete, is believed by Heldreich to have furnished a name to the
crocodile of the Nile (Herod. ii. 69). There are five species of
tortoise and nine of Amphibia. Of the serpents, which are numerous,
there are only two dangerous species, the Vipera ammodytes and the
Vipera aspis; the first-named is common. Among the marine
fauna are the dolphins, familiar in the legends and sculpture of
antiquity; in the clear water of the Aegean they often afford a
beautiful spectacle as they play round ships; porpoises and whales
are sometimes seen. Sea-fish, of which 246 species have been
ascertained, are very abundant.
The climate of Greece, like that of the other countries of the Balkan peninsula, is liable to greater extremes of heat and cold than prevail in Spain and Italy; the difference is due to the general contour of the peninsula, which assimilates its climatic conditions to those of the European mainland. Another distinctive Climate. feature is the great variety of local contrasts; the rapid transitions are the natural effect of diversity in the geographical configuration of the country. Within a few hours it is possible to pass from winter to spring and from spring to summer. The spring is short; the sun is already powerful in March, but the increasing warmth is often checked by cold northerly winds; in many places the corn harvest is cut in May, when southerly winds prevail and the temperature rises rapidly. The great heat of summer is tempered throughout the whole region of the archipelago by the Etesian winds, which blow regularly from the N.E. for forty to fifty days in July and August. This current of cool dry air from the north is due to the vacuum resulting from intense heat in the region of the Sahara. The healthy Etesian winds are generally replaced towards the end of summer by the southerly Libas or sirocco, which, when blowing strongly, resembles the blast from a furnace and is most injurious to health. The sirocco affects, though in a less degree, the other countries of the Balkan peninsula and even Rumania. The mean summer temperature is about 79° Fahr. The autumn is the least healthy season of the year owing to the great increase of humidity, especially in October and November. At the end of October snow reappears on the higher mountains, remaining on the summits till June. The winter is mild, and even in January there are, as a rule, many warm clear days; but the recurrence of biting northerly winds and cold blasts from the mountains, as well as the rapid transitions from heat to cold and the difference in the temperature of sunshine and shade, render the climate somewhat treacherous and unsuitable for invalids. Snow seldom falls in the maritime and lowland districts and frost is rare. The mean winter temperature is from 48° to 55° Fahr. The rainfall varies greatly according to localities; it is greatest in the Ionian Islands (53.34 ins. at Corfu), in Arcadia and in the other mountainous districts, and least on the Aegean littoral and in the Cyclades; in Attica, the driest region in Greece, it is 16.1 ins. The wettest months are November, December and January; the driest July and August, when, except for a few thunder-storms, there is practically no rainfall. The rain generally accompanies southerly or south-westerly winds. In all the maritime districts the sea breeze greatly modifies the temperature; it begins about 9 A.M., attains its maximum force soon after noon, and ceases about an hour after sunset. Greece is renowned for the clearness of its climate; fogs and mists are almost unknown. In most years, however, only four or five days are recorded in which the sky is perfectly cloudless. The natural healthiness of the climate is counteracted in the towns, especially in Athens, by deficient sanitation and by stifling clouds of dust, which propagate infection and are peculiarly hurtful in cases of ophthalmia and pulmonary disease. Malarial fever is endemic in the marshy districts, especially in the autumn.
The area of the country was 18,341 sq. m. before the acquisition of the Ionian Islands in 1864, 19,381 sq. m. prior to the annexation of Thessaly and part of Epirus in 1881, and 24,552 sq. m. at the census in 1896. If we deduct 152 sq. m., the extent of territory ceded to Turkey after Area and population. the war of 1897, the area of Greece in 1908 would be 24,400 sq. m. Other authorities give 25,164 and 25,136 sq. m. as the area prior to the rectification of the frontier in 1898.[1] The population in 1896 was 2,433,806, or 99.1 to the sq. m., the population of the territories annexed in 1881 being approximately 350,000; and 2,631,952 in 1907, or 107.8 to the sq. m. (according to the official estimate of the area), showing an increase of 198,146 or 0.81% per annum, as compared with 1.61% during the period between 1896 and 1889; the diminished increase is mainly due to emigration. The population by sex in 1907 is given as 1,324,942 males and 1,307,010 females (or 50.3% males to 49.6 females). The preponderance of males, which was 52% to 48% females in 1896, has also been reduced by emigration; it is most marked in the northern departments, especially in Larissa. Only in the departments of Arcadia, Eurytania, Corinth, Cephalonia, Lacedaemon, Laconia, Phocis, Argolis and in the Cyclades, is the female population in excess of the male.
Neither the census of 1896 nor that of 1889 gave any classification by professions, religion or language. The following figures, which are only approximate, were derived from unofficial sources in 1901:—agricultural and pastoral employments 444,000; industries 64,200; traders and their employés 118,000; labourers and servants 31,300; various professions 15,700; officials 12,000; clergy about 6000; lawyers 4000; physicians 2500. In 1879, 1,635,698 of the population were returned as Orthodox Christians, 14,677 as Catholics and Protestants, 2652 as Jews, and 740 as of other religions. The annexation of Thessaly and part of Epirus is stated to have added 24,165 Mahommedan subjects to the Hellenic kingdom. A considerable portion of these, however, emigrated immediately after the annexation, and, although a certain number subsequently returned, the total Mahommedan population in Greece was estimated to be under 5000 in 1908. A number of the Christian inhabitants of these regions, estimated at about 50,000, retained Turkish nationality with the object of escaping military service. The Albanian population, estimated at 200,000 by Finlay in 1851, still probably exceeds 120,000. It is gradually being absorbed in the Hellenic population. In 1870, 37,598 persons (an obviously untrustworthy figure) were returned as speaking Albanian only. In 1879 the number is given as 58,858. The Vlach population, which has been increased by the annexation of Thessaly, numbers about 60,000. The number of foreign residents is unknown. The Italians are the most numerous, numbering about 11,000. Some 1500 persons, mostly Maltese, possess British nationality.
By a law of 27 November 1899, Greece, which had hitherto been divided into sixteen departments (νόμοι) was redivided into twenty-six departments, as follows:—
| Departments. | Pop. | |
| 1 | Attica | 341,247 |
| 2 | Boeotia | 65,816 |
| 3 | Phthiotis | 112,328 |
| 4 | Phocis | 62,246 |
| 5 | Aetolia and Acarnania | 141,405 |
| 6 | Eurytania | 47,192 |
| 7 | Arta | 41,280 |
| 8 | Trikkala | 90,548 |
| 9 | Karditsa | 92,941 |
| 10 | Larissa | 95,066 |
| 11 | Magnesia | 102,742 |
| 12 | Euboea | 116,903 |
| 13 | Argolis | 81,943 |
| 14 | Corinth | 71,229 |
| 15 | Arcadia | 162,324 |
| 16 | Achaea | 150,918 |
| 17 | Elis | 103,810 |
| 18 | Triphylia | 90,523 |
| 19 | Messenia | 127,991 |
| 20 | Laconia | 61,522 |
| 21 | Lacedaemon | 87,106 |
| 22 | Corfu | 99,571 |
| 23 | Cephalonia | 71,235 |
| 24 | Leucas (with Ithaca) | 41,186 |
| 25 | Zante | 42,502 |
| 26 | Cyclades | 130,378 |
The population is densest in the Ionian Islands, exceeding 307 per sq. m. The departments of Acarnania, Phocis and Euboea are the most thinly inhabited (about 58, 61 and 66 per sq. m. respectively).
Very little information is obtainable with regard to the movement of the population; no register of births, deaths and marriages is kept in Greece. The only official statistics are found in the periodical returns of the mortality in the twelve principal towns, according to which the yearly average of deaths in these towns for the five years 1903–1907 was approximately 10,253, or 23.8 per 1000; of these more than a quarter are ascribed to pulmonary consumption, due in the main to defective sanitation. Both the birth-rate and death-rate are low, being 27.6 and 20.7 per 1000 respectively. Infant mortality is slight, and in point of longevity Greece compares favourably with most other European countries. The number of illegitimate births is 12.25 per 1000; these are almost exclusively in the towns.
Of the total population 28.5% are stated to live in towns. The population of the principal towns is:—
| 1896. | 1907. | ||
| Athens | 111,486 | 167,479 | |
| Peiraeus | 43,848 | 73,579 | |
| Patras | 37,985 | 37,724 |
- ↑ No state survey of Greece was available in 1908, though a survey had been undertaken by the ministry of war.
