View source for Greek junta

{{Short description|Military rulers of Greece, 1967–1974}}
{{Redirect|Regime of the Colonels|the Polish regime of colonels|Piłsudski's colonels}}
{{See also|History of the Hellenic Republic}}
{{Multiple issues|
{{More citations needed|date=January 2024}}
{{Essay-like|date=January 2024}}
}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}}
{{Use British English|date=April 2022}}
{{Infobox country
| conventional_long_name = Kingdom of Greece {{small|(1967–1973)}}<br />{{nobold|{{smaller|{{lang|el|Βασίλειον τῆς Ἑλλάδος}}}}<br />{{small|{{Transliteration|el|Vasíleion tís Elládos}}}}}}<hr />Hellenic Republic {{small|(1973–1974)}}<br />{{nobold|{{smaller|{{lang|el|Ἑλληνικὴ Δημοκρατία}}}}<br />{{small|{{Transliteration|el|Ellinikí Dimokratía}}}}}}
| era                    = [[Cold War]]
| government_type        = [[Unitary state|Unitary]] [[constitutional monarchy]] under a [[military dictatorship]] {{small|(1967–1973)}}<br />
[[Unitary state|Unitary]] [[semi-presidential republic]]<!--The 1973 constitution allowed Parliament to pass a motion of no confidence in the government--> under a [[military dictatorship]] {{small|(1 June to 25 November 1973)}}<br />[[Unitary state|Unitary]] quasi-[[parliamentary republic]] under a [[military dictatorship]] {{Small|(25 November 1973 to 24 July 1974)}}
| event_start            = [[1967 Greek coup d'état|Coup d'état of 21 April]]
| date_start             = 21 April
| year_start             = 1967
| date_event6            = 15 July 1974 and 20 July 1974
| event_end              = [[Metapolitefsi#Karamanlis sworn in|Democratization]]
| date_end               = 24 July
| year_end               = 1974
| event1                 = [[Constantine II of Greece|Constantine's II]] [[counter-coup]] attempt and [[Constantine II of Greece|Constantine's II]] exile
| date_event1            = 13 December 1967
| event2                 = [[1968 Greek constitutional referendum|Constitutional referendum]]
| date_event2            = 15 November 1968
| event3                 = [[Republic of Greece|Republic]] declared
| date_event3            = 1 June 1973
| event4                 = [[1973 Greek republic referendum|Republic referendum]]
| date_event4            = 29 July 1973
| event5                 = [[Athens Polytechnic uprising|Polytechnic Uprising]] and [[coup d'état]] led by [[Dimitrios Ioannidis|Ioannidis]] against [[Georgios Papadopoulos|Papadapoulos]]
| date_event5            = 14–17 November 1973 and 25 November 1973
| event6                 = [[1974 Cypriot coup d'état]] and [[Turkish invasion of Cyprus]]
| p1                     = Kingdom of Greece
| flag_p1                = State Flag of Greece (1863-1924 and 1935-1973).svg
| s1                     = Third Hellenic Republic
| flag_s1                = Flag of Greece.svg
| image_flag             = Flag of Greece (1970-1975).svg
| alt_flag               = Flag of Greece
| flag_type              = [[Flag of Greece|Flag<br />(1970–1975)]]
| image_coat             = Coat of Arms of the Hellenic Republic (1973-1974).svg
| image_coat2            = 
| symbol_type            = [[Coat of arms of Greece#Junta-proclaimed republic (1973–1974)|Coat of Arms<br />(1973–1974)]]
| national_motto         = "Ἑλλάς Ἑλλήνων Χριστιανών! (Greece of Christian Greeks!)"
| national_anthem        = [[Hymn to Liberty|Hymn to Freedom]]<br /><div style="display:inline-block;margin-top:0.4em;">{{center|[[File:Hymn to liberty instrumental.oga]]}}<br />[[Anthem of the 21st of April]] (unofficial)
</div><br /><div style="display:inline-block;margin-top:0.4em;">{{center|[[File:Anthem of The Greek Military Junta (1967-1974) - 'Ύμνος 21ης Απριλίου'.ogg]]}}</div>
| image_map              = Kingdom of Greece (1973).svg
| image_map_caption      = Map of Europe in 1973, showing Greece highlighted in green
| capital                = [[Athens]]
| common_languages       = [[Greek language|Greek]]
| religion               = [[Greek Orthodox Church|Greek Orthodoxy]]
| currency               = [[Modern drachma|Greek drachma]]
| currency_code          = GRD
| drives_on              = Right
| title_leader           = [[Monarchy of Greece|Monarchy]]
| leader1                = <br />[[Constantine II of Greece|Constantine II]]
| year_leader1           = [[List of kings of Greece|'''King''']]<br />1967–1973
| leader2                = <br />[[Georgios Zoitakis]]<br />[[Georgios Papadopoulos]]
| year_leader2           = [[List of regents of Greece|'''Regent''']]<br />1967–1972<br />1972–1973
| representative1        = [[Georgios Papadopoulos]]
| representative2        = [[Phaedon Gizikis]]
| year_representative1   = 1973
| year_representative2   = 1973–1974
| title_representative   = [[President of Greece|President]]
| deputy1                = [[Konstantinos Kollias]]
| deputy2                = [[Georgios Papadopoulos]]
| deputy3                = [[Spyros Markezinis]]
| deputy4                = {{nowrap|[[Adamantios Androutsopoulos]]}}
| year_deputy1           = 1967
| year_deputy2           = 1967–1973
| year_deputy3           = 1973
| year_deputy4           = 1973–1974
| title_deputy           = [[Prime Minister of Greece|Prime Minister]]
| demonym                = [[Greeks|Greek]], [[Greeks|Hellene]]
| legislature            = [[Hellenic Parliament]] (''nominal<!--in constitutional texts-->, suspended; ''de-facto'' [[rule by decree|ruled by decree]]'')
| area_km2               = 131957
| area_rank              = 
| population_census      = 8,768,372
| population_census_year = 1971
| GDP_PPP                = 
| GDP_PPP_year           = 
| HDI                    = 
| HDI_year               = 
| today                  = {{Flag|Greece}}
}}
{{History of Greece}}

The '''Greek junta''' or '''Regime of the Colonels'''{{efn|{{langx|el|καθεστώς των Συνταγματαρχών|kathestós ton Syntagmatarchón}}, {{IPA|el|kaθesˈtos ton sindaɣmatarˈxon|IPA}}. }} was a [[Right-wing politics|right-wing]] [[military junta]] that ruled [[Greece]] from 1967 to 1974. On 21 April 1967, a group of colonels [[1967 Greek coup d'état|overthrew]] the [[caretaker government]] a month before [[1967 Greek legislative election|scheduled elections]] which [[Georgios Papandreou]]'s [[Centre Union]] was favoured to win.

The [[dictatorship]] was characterised by policies such as [[anti-communism]], restrictions on [[civil liberties]], and the imprisonment, [[torture]], and [[internal exile in Greece|exile]] of [[Greek anti-junta movement|political opponents]]. It was ruled by [[Georgios Papadopoulos]] from 1967 to 1973, but an attempt to renew popular support in a [[1973 Greek referendum|1973 referendum on the monarchy]] and gradual democratisation by Papadopoulos was ended by another coup by the hardliner [[Dimitrios Ioannidis]]. Ioannidis ruled until it fell on 24 July 1974 under the pressure of the [[Turkish invasion of Cyprus]], leading to the [[Metapolitefsi]] ("regime change"; {{langx|el|Μεταπολίτευση}}) to [[democracy]] and the establishment of the [[Third Hellenic Republic]].

==Background==
{{See also|Percentages agreement|Greek Civil War}}
The 1967 coup d'état and the following seven years of military rule were the culmination of 30 years of national division between the forces of the [[Left wing politics|left]] and the [[Right wing politics|right]] that can be traced to the time of the [[Greek resistance|resistance against Axis occupation]] of Greece during [[World War II]].

Worried by the strength of the communist [[Partisan (military)|partisan]] forces, [[National Liberation Front (Greece)|National Liberation Front]] and [[ELAS]], [[Winston Churchill]] and [[Joseph Stalin]] drew up a secret document known as the [[percentages agreement]], which sought to avoid further conflict in Europe by dividing up Western and [[Soviet Union|Soviet]] [[Sphere of influence|spheres of influence]]. In this negotiation, Greece was viewed by the British as an important asset against further communist progression into Europe. After the country's liberation in 1944, Greece descended into [[Greek Civil War|Civil War]] (1946-1949), fought between the communist forces and those loyal to the newly returned [[Greek government in exile|government-in-exile]]. Clashes between the communist resistance and the Greek collaborationist [[Security Battalions]], largely recruited as part of an anti-communist effort during World War II, led to further post-war political instability. One such was the [[Battle of Meligalas]] in 1944, in which partisans [[Court-martial|court martialled]] and then executed hundreds of collaborationist fighters and the villagers housing them. Right-wing governments from the post-war period until it was ended during the [[Metapolitefsi]] continued to commemorate the anniversary as a marker of left-wing violence, and the event has remained a flash-point for generations.

===American influence in Greece===
{{Main|Operation Gladio#Greece}}In 1944, British prime minister Winston Churchill was determined to halt the Soviet encroachment in the [[Balkans]], and ordered British forces to intervene in the Greek Civil War (see [[Dekemvriana]]) in the wake of the retreating German military. This was to be a lengthy and open-ended commitment by the British. The United States stepped in to further help the Greek government against the communist forces in 1947.
[[File:21april1967.png|upright|thumb|The [[Phoenix (mythology)|Phoenix]] rising from its flames and the silhouette of the soldier bearing a rifle with fixed bayonet was the emblem of the Junta. On the header the word Greece (Ελλάς) and on the footer 21 April 1967, the date of the coup d'état, can be seen in Greek.]]

In 1947, the United States formulated the [[Truman Doctrine]], and began actively supporting a series of [[authoritarian]] governments in Greece, [[Turkey]], and [[Iran]] in order to ensure that these states did not fall under Soviet influence.<ref>Perkins, Bradford; Cohen, Warren; LaFeber, Walter; Iriye, Akira (1995). ''The Cambridge History of American Foreign Relations: Volume 4, America in the Age of Soviet Power, 1945–1991''. Cambridge University Press.</ref> In 1945, officer veterans of the [[Security Battalions]] had organized themselves into a secret society known as the IDEA (''Ieros Desmos Ellinon Axiomatikon''–Holy Bond of Greek Officers).<ref name="auto2">Simpson, Christoper ''Blowback: America's Recruitment of Nazis and Its Effects on the Cold War'', London: Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 1988 p. 81</ref> Several of the future leaders of the junta, such as [[Georgios Papadopoulos]], were members of IDEA.<ref name="auto2"/> With American and British aid, the civil war ended with the military defeat of the communists in 1949. The [[Communist Party of Greece]] (KKE) and its ancillary organizations were outlawed ([[s:Νόμος 509/1947|Law 509/1947]]), and many Communists either fled the country or faced persecution. The [[CIA]] and the Greek military began to work together closely, especially after Greece joined the North Atlantic Treaty Organization ([[NATO]]) in 1952. This included notable CIA officers [[Gust Avrakotos]] and [[Clair George]]. Avrakotos maintained a close relationship with the colonels who would figure in the later coup.<ref name="crile">''Charlie Wilson's War'', George Crile, 2003, Grove/Atlantic.</ref>

In 1952, IDEA issued a manifesto stating that a dictatorship was the only possible solution to Greece's problems, which the Greek scholar Christos Kassimeris called an "astonishing" statement, since the communists had been defeated in 1949, Greece was enjoying a period of relative prosperity after living standards had collapsed in the 1940s, and Greek politics were stable.<ref name="auto7">Kassimeris, Christos ''Greece and the American Embrace: Greek Foreign Policy Towards Turkey, the US and the Western Alliance'', London: I.B. Tauris, 2009 p. 75</ref> Kassimeris argued that since Papadopoulos played a large role in writing the 1952 manifesto, that it was his "personal ambition" rather than objective fear of the sway of Greek communists as motivation. In no way could Greece be presented as on the brink of a communist take-over in 1952.<ref name="auto7"/>

Greece was a vital link in the NATO defence arc which extended from the eastern border of [[Pakistan]] to the northernmost point in [[Norway]]. Greece in particular was seen as being at risk, having experienced a communist insurgency. In particular, the newly founded [[Hellenic National Intelligence Service]] (EYP) and the [[Mountain Raiding Companies]] (LOK) maintained a very close liaison with their American counterparts. In addition to preparing for a [[Soviet Union|Soviet]] invasion, they agreed to guard against a left-wing coup. The LOK in particular were integrated into the European [[stay-behind]] network.<ref>Ganser, Daniele (2005). ''NATO's Secret Armies: Operation Gladio and Terrorism in Western Europe'' Routledge. p. 216.</ref> Although there have been persistent rumors about an active support of the coup by the U.S. government, there is no evidence to support such claims.<ref>Moseley, Ray (17 November 1999). [http://www.hartford-hwp.com/archives/62/411.html Thousands decry U.S. in streets of Athens]. ''[[The Chicago Tribune]]''.</ref><ref>Kassimeris, Christos (2006). "Causes of the 1967 Greek Coup". ''Democracy and Security''. '''2'''(1), 61–72.</ref> The timing of the coup apparently caught the CIA by surprise.<ref>Weiner, Tim (2007), ''Legacy of Ashes: The History of the CIA'', Doubleday, p. 383.</ref>

===Iouliana and political instability===
{{Main|Iouliana}}

After many years of conservative rule, the election of the [[Centre Union]]'s [[Georgios Papandreou]] as [[Prime Minister of Greece|prime minister]] was a sign of change. In a bid to gain more control over the country's government than his limited constitutional powers allowed, the young and inexperienced King [[Constantine II of Greece|Constantine II]] clashed with liberal reformers. In July 1964, Papandreou announced his intention to fire those officers belonging to IDEA, whom the king did not want dismissed, claiming it was his royal prerogative to protect the IDEA officers, which in turn led to massive demonstrations in Athens, which had a republican flavour.<ref>Kassimeris, Christos ''Greece and the American Embrace: Greek Foreign Policy Towards Turkey, the US and the Western Alliance'', London: I.B. Tauris, 2009 p. 46</ref> The king dismissed Papandreou in 1965, causing a [[constitutional crisis]] known as the "Iouliana of 1965".

After making several attempts to form governments, relying on dissident Centre Union and conservative MPs, Constantine II appointed an interim government under [[Ioannis Paraskevopoulos]], and new elections were called for 28 May 1967. There were many indications that Papandreou's Centre Union would emerge as the largest party, but would not be able to form a single-party government and would be forced into an alliance with the [[United Democratic Left]], which was suspected by conservatives of being a proxy for the banned KKE. This possibility was used as a pretext for the coup.

===A "Generals' Coup"===
Greek historiography and journalists have hypothesized about a "Generals' Coup",<ref name="Greek historiography">Marios Ploritis, [http://tovima.dolnet.gr/print_article.php?e=B&f=13138&m=B02&aa=2 "Διογένης και άνακτες"] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070929122034/http://tovima.dolnet.gr/print_article.php?e=B&f=13138&m=B02&aa=2 |date=29 September 2007}}, To Vima, 10 December 2000, (in Greek).</ref> a coup that would have been deployed at Constantine's behest under the pretext of combating communist subversion.<ref name="Greek press article">Stilis Alatos, [http://ta-nea.dolnet.gr/print_article.php?e=A&f=18465&m=N56&aa=2 "Tα καμπούρικα"]{{dead link |date=April 2019 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes}}, Ta Nea, 15 February 2007, (in Greek).</ref><ref name="Sulzberger1973">C. L. Sulzberger, ''An Age of Mediocrity; Memoirs and Diaries, 1963–1972'', New York: Macmillan, 1973, p. 575.</ref>

Before the elections that were scheduled for 28 May 1967, with expectations of a wide Center Union victory, a number of conservative [[National Radical Union]] politicians feared that the policies of left-wing Centrists, including [[Andreas Papandreou]] (the son of Georgios Papandreou), would lead to a constitutional crisis. One such politician, [[George Rallis]], proposed that, in case of such an "anomaly", the King should declare [[martial law]] as the monarchist constitution permitted him. According to Rallis, Constantine was receptive to the idea.<ref name="Rallis">Alexis Papachelas, "Everything George Rallis recounted to me", ''To Vima'', 19 March 2006</ref>

According to U.S. diplomat John Day, Washington also worried that Andreas Papandreou would have a very powerful role in the next government, because of his father's old age. According to Robert Keely and John Owens, American diplomats present in Athens at the time, Constantine asked U.S. Ambassador [[Phillips Talbot|William Phillips Talbot]] what the American attitude would be to an extra-parliamentary solution to the problem. To this the embassy responded negatively in principle – adding, however, that, "U.S. reaction to such a move cannot be determined in advance but would depend on circumstances at the time." Constantine denies this.<ref name="RWFKing1">TV documentary "[http://www.rwf.gr/episode1-new.php?id=198 ΤΑ ΔΙΚΑ ΜΑΣ 60's – Μέρος 3ο: ΧΑΜΕΝΗ ΑΝΟΙΞΗ] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080406222452/http://www.rwf.gr/episode1-new.php?id=198 |date=6 April 2008}}" by Stelios Kouloglu</ref> According to Talbot, Constantine met the army generals, who promised him that they would not take any action before the coming elections. However, the proclamations of Andreas Papandreou made them nervous, and they resolved to re-examine their decision after seeing the results of the elections.<ref name="RWFKing1"/>

In 1966, Constantine sent his envoy, Demetrios Bitsios, to [[Paris]] on a mission to persuade former prime minister [[Constantine Karamanlis]] to return to Greece and resume his prior role in politics. According to uncorroborated claims made by the former monarch, Karamanlis replied to Bitsios that he would return only if the King imposed martial law, as was his constitutional prerogative.<ref name="Konstantinos speaks">Alexis Papachelas, "Constantine Speaks", ''To Vima'', 29 January 2006.</ref> According to [[Cyrus Leo Sulzberger II|Cyrus L. Sulzberger]] correspondent for ''[[The New York Times]]'', Karamanlis flew to [[New York City]] to meet with [[United States Air Force|USAF]] General [[Lauris Norstad]] to lobby for a conservative coup that would establish Karamanlis as Greece's leader; Sulzberger alleges that Norstad declined to involve himself in such affairs.<ref name="Sulzberger1974">C.L. Sulzberger, ''Postscript with a Chinese Accent'', Macmillan, 1974, p. 277.</ref> Sulzberger's account rests solely on the authority of his and Norstad's word. When, in 1997, the former King reiterated Sulzberger's allegations, Karamanlis stated that he "will not deal with the former king's statements, because both their content and attitude are unworthy of comment".<ref name="Karamanlis' retort">Giannis Politis, [http://ta-nea.dolnet.gr/print_article.php?e=A&f=15832&m=N07&aa=2 "Συνεχίζει τις προκλήσεις Ο Κωνσταντίνος Γλύξμπουργκ"]{{dead link |date=April 2019 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes}}, Ta Nea, 10 May 1997.</ref>

The deposed King's adoption of Sulzberger's claims against Karamanlis was castigated by Greece's left-leaning media, which denounced Karamanlis as "shameless" and "brazen".<ref name="Karamanlis' retort"/> At the time Constantine referred exclusively to Sulzberger's account to support the theory of a planned coup by Karamanlis, and made no mention of the alleged 1966 meeting with Bitsios, which he referred to only after both participants had died and could not respond.

As it turned out, the constitutional crisis did not originate either from the political parties, or from the Palace, but from middle-rank army [[Coup d'état|putschists]].

==Coup d'état of 21 April==
[[File:Pattakos, Papadopoulos and Makarezos.jpg|thumb|left|The leaders of the 1967 coup d'état: Brigadier [[Stylianos Pattakos]], Colonel [[Georgios Papadopoulos]] and Colonel [[Nikolaos Makarezos]]]]
{{Infobox military conflict
| conflict          = 1967 Greek coup d'état
| date              = 21 April 1967
| image             = 
| image_size        = 370px
| place             = [[Athens]], Greece
| result            = Coup successful
* Establishment of the Greek junta
| combatant1        = {{flagicon image|State Flag of Greece (1863-1924 and 1935-1973).svg}} '''[[Kingdom of Greece|Greek
Government]]'''
* [[Centre Union]]
* [[National Radical Union]]
* [[United Democratic Left]]
| combatant2        = {{flagicon image|Presidential Standard of Greece (1973-1974).svg}}  '''[[Hellenic Armed Forces]]'''<br />
* {{flagicon image|Hellenic Army War Flag.svg}} [[Hellenic Army]]
* {{flagicon image|Naval Ensign of Greece (1863-1924 and 1935-1970).svg}} [[Hellenic Navy]]
* {{flagicon image|Ensign of the Royal Hellenic Air Force.svg}} [[Hellenic Air Force]]
| commander1        = {{plainlist|
*{{flagicon image|State Flag of Greece (1863-1924 and 1935-1973).svg}} '''[[Constantine II of Greece|Constantine II]]'''
*{{flagicon image|State Flag of Greece (1863-1924 and 1935-1973).svg}} [[Panagiotis Kanellopoulos]]
*{{flagicon image|State Flag of Greece (1863-1924 and 1935-1973).svg}} [[Georgios Papandreou]]}}
| commander2        = {{plainlist|
*{{flagicon image|Presidential Standard of Greece (1973-1974).svg}}  '''[[Georgios Papadopoulos]]'''
*{{flagicon image|Presidential Standard of Greece (1973-1974).svg}} [[Stylianos Pattakos]]
*{{flagicon image|Presidential Standard of Greece (1973-1974).svg}}  [[Nikolaos Makarezos]]
}}
| units2            = 5,000 servicemen, on foot or on tanks or armoured cars
}}

On 21 April 1967, just weeks before the scheduled elections, a group of right-wing army officers led by [[Taxiarch|Brigadier]] [[Stylianos Pattakos]] and Colonels [[Georgios Papadopoulos|George Papadopoulos]] and [[Nikolaos Makarezos]] seized power in a [[coup d'état]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.historycentral.com/dates/1967.html |title=American/World History 1967–1968 |publisher=Historycentral.com |access-date=15 June 2013}}</ref> The colonels were able to seize power quickly by using elements of surprise and confusion. Pattakos was the commander of the Armour Training Centre ({{Lang|el|Κέντρο Εκπαίδευσης Τεθωρακισμένων}}, ΚΕΤΘ), based in Athens.

The coup leaders placed tanks in strategic positions in [[Athens]], effectively gaining complete control of the city. At the same time, a large number of small mobile units were dispatched to arrest leading politicians, authority figures, and ordinary citizens suspected of left-wing sympathies, according to lists prepared in advance. One of the first to be arrested was Lieutenant General [[Grigorios Spandidakis]], Commander-in-Chief of the [[Greek Army]]. The colonels persuaded Spandidakis to join them, having him activate a [[Operation Gladio#Greece|previously-drafted action plan]] to move the coup forward. Under the command of paratrooper Brigadier General Kostas Aslanides, the [[1st Raider/Paratrooper Brigade (Greece)|LOK]] took over the [[Minister for National Defence (Greece)|Greek Defence Ministry]] while Pattakos gained control of communication centres, the [[Hellenic Parliament|parliament]], the [[Presidential Mansion, Athens|royal palace]], and – according to detailed lists – arrested over 10,000 people.<ref name="Ganser">Ganser Daniele (2005). ''NATO's Secret Armies: Operation GLADIO and Terrorism in Western Europe''. pp. 220–223 {{ISBN|0-7146-5607-0}}, {{ISBN|978-0-7146-5607-6}}</ref>

By the early morning hours, the whole of Greece was in the hands of the colonels. All leading politicians, including acting prime minister [[Panagiotis Kanellopoulos]], had been arrested and were held incommunicado by the conspirators. At 6:00&nbsp;a.m. [[Eastern European Time|EET]], Papadopoulos announced that eleven articles of the [[Greek constitution]] were suspended.<ref name="Ganser"/> One of the consequences of these suspensions was that anyone could be arrested without warrant at any time and brought before a [[military court]] to be tried. [[Ioannis Ladas]], then the director of [[Greek Military Police|ESA]], recounted in a later interview that "Within twenty minutes every politician, every man, every anarchist who was listed could be rounded up&nbsp;... It was a simple, diabolical plan".<ref name="Ganser"/> Georgios Papandreou was arrested after a nighttime raid at his villa in [[Kastri, Attica]]. Andreas was arrested at around the same time, after seven soldiers armed with fixed [[bayonet]]s and a [[machine gun]] forcibly entered his home. Andreas Papandreou escaped to the roof of his house, but surrendered after one of the soldiers held a gun to the head of his then-fourteen-year-old son [[George Papandreou]].<ref name="Ganser"/>

Papadopoulos' junta attempted to [[Political engineering|re-engineer]] the Greek political landscape by coup. Papadopoulos as well as the other junta members are known in Greece by the term "Aprilianoi" (Aprilians), denoting the month of the coup.<ref name="Chondrokoukēs1983">{{cite book|author=Dēmētrios N. Chondrokoukēs|title=Hē atheatē pleura tou PASOK|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2yzPAAAAIAAJ|year=1983|publisher=Isokratēs|page=145|quote=βραχυκυκλωθή άπό άτομα τά όποία έχουν λιβανίσει μέχρι άηδίας τό έπάρατο καθεστώς τής 7ετίας μέ τά άλλεπάλληλα τηλεγραφήματα, τά όποία έχουν στείλει στούς " Απριλιανούς" δηλώνοντας πίστη, άφοσίωσι, υπακοή κ.τ.λ. }}</ref><ref name="Papandreou1976">{{cite book|author=Andreas George Papandreou|title=Apo to P.A.K. sto PA.SO.K.: logoi, arthra, synenteuxeis, dēlōseis tou Andrea G. Papandreou|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=PX4tAQAAIAAJ|year=1976|publisher=Ekdoseis Ladia|page=127|quote=Τέλος ένοχοι είναι καί Ιδιώτες πού χρησιμοποιώντας τίς προσωπικές τους σχέσεις μέ τούς Απριλιανούς, έθη- σαύρισαν σέ βάρος τοϋ έλληνικοϋ λαοϋ. Ό Ελληνικός λαός δέν ξεχνά πώς, άν είχαν τιμωρηθή οί δοσίλογοι τής Γερμανικής κατοχής, δέν .}}</ref><ref name="Katrēs1983">{{cite book|author=Giannēs Katrēs|title=Hē alētheia einai to phōs pou kaiei|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QagKAQAAMAAJ|year=1983|publisher=Ekdoseis Th. Kastaniōtē|page=30|quote=με αυξημένη βαρβαρότητα απ' ό,τι στους υπόλοιπους καταδικους. Και δεν εννοούμε, φυσικά, τους ελάχιστους Απριλιανούς, που έχουν απομείνει στον Κορυδαλλό, με τους κλιματισμούς, τα ψυγεία και την ασυδοσία των επισκεπτηρίων.}}</ref><ref name="Chondrokoukēs1976">{{cite book|author=Dēmētrios Nik Chondrokoukēs|title=Hoi anentimoi kai ho "Aspida"|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Gmw_AQAAIAAJ|year=1976|publisher=Kedros|page=300|quote=Τό δημοσιευόμενο τώρα σκεπτικό τής απόφασης τοΰ δμελοΰς Έφετείου πού δίκασε τούς πρωταίτιους Απριλιανούς, δικαιώνει τήν άποψη τούτη καί λέγει: "... Έπέφερε άποδυνάμωσιν τής έν τώ στρατώ άντιθέτου ιδεολογικής μερίδος, τής έντόνως&nbsp;...}}</ref><ref name="Chondrokoukēs1976p12">{{cite book|author=Dēmētrios Nik Chondrokoukēs|title=Hoi anentimoi kai ho "Aspida"|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Gmw_AQAAIAAJ|year=1976|publisher=Kedros|page=12|quote=Επρεπε έτσι νά διαβρωθούν οι πολιτικοι θεσμοι της χώρας και νά διογκωθή ό κομμουνιστικός κίνδυνος. "Ολα τούτα οΐ Απριλιανοί τά προπαρασκεύασαν και τά επέτυχαν έντεχνα αλλα "νόμιμα" κάτω άπό τις ευλογίες ενός συντεταγμένου κράτους.}}</ref> The term "Aprilianoi" has become synonymous with the term "dictators of 1974".<ref name="Εκπαιδευτικών2014">{{cite book|author=Ομάδα Εκπαιδευτικών|title=Λεξικό Σύγχρονο της Νεοελληνικής Γλώσσας|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Od8CBAAAQBAJ&pg=PA141|date=14 July 2014|publisher=Pelekanos Books|page=141|id=GGKEY:QD0C0PRDU6Z|quote=απριλιανοί: οι δικτατορες του 1974}}</ref>

===Role of the King===
{{Main|Constantine II of Greece}}

When the tanks came to the streets of Athens on 21 April, the legitimate National Radical Union government, of which Rallis was a member, asked King Constantine to immediately mobilise the state against the coup; he declined to do so, and swore in a new government in accordance with the putschists' stipulations.

The King, who had relented and decided to co-operate, claimed till his death that he was isolated and did not know what else to do. He has since claimed that he was trying to gain time to organise a counter-coup and oust the Junta. He did organise such a counter-coup; however, the fact that the new government had legal sanction, in that it had been appointed by the legitimate head of state, played an important role in the coup's success. The King was later to regret his decision bitterly. For many Greeks, it served to identify him indelibly with the coup and certainly played an important role in the final decision to abolish the monarchy, sanctioned by the 1974 referendum.

The only concession the King could achieve was to appoint a civilian as prime minister, rather than Spandidakis. [[Konstantinos Kollias]], a former Attorney General of the [[Court of Cassation (Greece)|Areios Pagos]] (supreme court), was chosen. He was a well-known royalist and had even been disciplined under the Papandreou government for meddling in the investigation of the murder of MP [[Gregoris Lambrakis]]. Kollias was little more than a figurehead and real power rested with the army, and especially Papadopoulos, who emerged as the coup's strong man and became Minister to the Presidency of the Government. Other coup members occupied key posts.

Up until then constitutional legitimacy had been preserved, since under the Greek Constitution the King could appoint whomever he wanted as prime minister, as long as Parliament endorsed the appointment with a vote of confidence or a general election was called. It was this government, sworn-in during the early evening hours of 21 April, that formalised the coup. It adopted a "Constituent Act", an amendment tantamount to a revolution, cancelling the elections and effectively abolishing the constitution, which would be replaced later.

In the meantime, the government was to rule by decree. Since traditionally such Constituent Acts did not need to be signed by the Crown, the King never signed it, permitting him to claim, years later, that he had never signed any document instituting the junta. Critics claim that Constantine II did nothing to prevent the government (and especially his chosen prime minister, Kollias) from legally instituting the authoritarian government to come. This same government published and enforced a decree, already proclaimed on radio as the coup was in progress, instituting martial law. Constantine claimed he never signed that decree either.

===King's counter-coup===
{{Infobox military conflict
| conflict          = King Constantine's counter-coup attempt
| image             = 
| caption           = 
| date              = 13 December 1967
| place             = [[Kavala]], Greece
| result            = Coup attempt failed
* King Constantine sent into exile.
* Monarchy abolished in 1973.
| combatant1        = {{nowrap|{{flagicon image|State Flag of Greece (1863-1924 and 1935-1973).svg|link=Kingdom of Greece}} '''[[Monarchy of Greece|Monarchy loyalists]]'''}}
* {{flagicon image|War_flag_of_the_Hellenic_Army.svg|link=Hellenic Army}} Army dissidents
| combatant2        = {{flagicon image|State Flag of Greece (1863-1924 and 1935-1973).svg|link=Kingdom of Greece}} Greek junta
| commander1        = {{flagicon image|State Flag of Greece (1863-1924 and 1935-1973).svg}} '''[[Constantine II of Greece|Constantine II]]'''<br />{{nowrap|{{flagicon image|State Flag of Greece (1863-1924 and 1935-1973).svg}} [[Constantine Kollias|Konstantinos Kollias]]}}
| commander2        = {{nowrap|{{flagicon image|State Flag of Greece (1863-1924 and 1935-1973).svg}} '''[[Georgios Papadopoulos]]'''}}
| strength1         = 
| strength2         = 
| casualties1       = 
| casualties2       = 
}}

From the outset, the relationship between Constantine and the colonels was an uneasy one. The colonels were not willing to share power, whereas the young king, like his father before him, was used to playing an active role in politics and would never consent to being a mere figurehead, especially in a military administration. Although the colonels' strong anti-communist, pro-NATO, and pro-Western views appealed to the United States, [[President of the United States|President]] [[Lyndon B. Johnson]] – in an attempt to avoid an international backlash – told Constantine that it would be best to replace the junta with a new government according to Paul Ioannidis in his book ''Destiny Prevails: My life with Aristóteles Onassis''. Constantine took that as an encouragement to organize a counter-coup, although no direct help or involvement of the U.S. (or Britain)<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Nafpliotis|first1=Alexandros|title="A gift from God": Anglo-Greek relations during the dictatorship of the Greek colonels|journal=The Historical Review/La Revue Historique|date=December 2014|volume=11|pages=77–78|doi=10.12681/hr.329|doi-access=free}}</ref> was forthcoming.

The King finally decided to launch his counter-coup on 13 December 1967. Since Athens was militarily in the hands of the colonels, Constantine decided to fly to the small northern city of [[Kavala]], where he hoped to be among troops loyal only to him. The vague plan that Constantine and his advisors had conceived was to form a unit that would invade and take control over [[Thessaloniki]], where an alternative administration would be installed. Constantine hoped that international recognition and internal pressure between the two governments would force the junta to resign, leaving the field clear for him to return triumphant to Athens.

In the early morning hours of 13 December, the King boarded the royal plane, together with [[Queen Anne-Marie of Greece|Queen Anne-Marie]], their two baby children [[Princess Alexia of Greece and Denmark|Princess Alexia]] and [[Pavlos, Crown Prince of Greece|Crown Prince Pavlos]], his mother [[Frederika of Hanover|Frederika]], and his sister, [[Princess Irene of Greece and Denmark|Princess Irene]]. Constantine also took with him Prime Minister Kollias. At first, things seemed to be going according to plan. Constantine was well received in Kavala, which was under the command of a general loyal to him. The [[Hellenic Air Force]] and [[Hellenic Navy|Navy]], both strongly royalist and not involved in the junta, immediately declared for him and mobilised. Another of Constantine's generals effectively cut all communication between Athens and northern Greece.

However, Constantine's plans were overly bureaucratic, naïvely supposing that orders from a commanding general would automatically be obeyed.

In the circumstances, middle-ranking pro-junta officers neutralised and arrested Constantine's royalist generals and took command of their units, and subsequently put together a force to advance on Kavala to arrest the King. The junta, not at all shaken by the loss of their figurehead premier, ridiculed Constantine by announcing that he was hiding "from village to village". Realising that the counter-coup had failed, Constantine fled Greece on board the royal plane, taking his family and the helpless Kollias with him. They landed in [[Rome]] early in the morning of 14 December. Constantine remained in exile during the remainder of military rule. Although he subsequently returned to Greece, the abolition of the monarchy in 1973 removed his status as King.

===Regency===
The flight of Constantine and Kollias left Greece with no legal government or head of state. This did not concern the military junta. Instead the Revolutionary Council, composed of Pattakos, Papadopoulos, and Makarezos, appointed another member to the military administration, Major General [[Georgios Zoitakis]], as [[Regent of Greece|regent]]. Zoitakis then appointed Papadopoulos as prime minister. This became the only government of Greece following the failure of the King's attempted counter-coup, as Constantine was unwilling to set up an alternative administration in exile.

In hopes of giving legal sanction to the regime, the junta drafted a [[Greek Constitution of 1968|new constitution]]. It made the military the guardians of "social and political order", with wide autonomy from governmental and parliamentary oversight. It also heavily circumscribed the activities of political parties. The new constitution was approved in a [[Greek constitutional referendum, 1968|15 November referendum]], with over 92 per cent approval. However, the referendum was conducted in less-than-free circumstances; the regime deployed extensive propaganda in favour of the new document while muzzling any opposition. Under the new constitution, the regency would continue until elections were held, unless the junta called Constantine back sooner (though Constantine never acknowledged, let alone recognized, the regency). However, the junta announced that the "Revolution of April 21" (as the regime called itself) would need time to reform the "Greek mentality" before holding elections. It also suspended most of the constitution's guarantees of civil rights until the restoration of civilian rule.

In a legally controversial move, even under the junta's own Constitution, the Cabinet voted on 21 March 1972 to oust Zoitakis and replace him with Papadopoulos, thus combining the offices of regent and prime minister. It was thought Zoitakis was problematic and interfered too much with the military. The King's portrait remained on coins, in public buildings, etc., but slowly, the military chipped away at the institution of the monarchy: the royal family's tax immunity was abolished, the complex network of royal charities was brought under direct state control, the royal arms were removed from coins, the Navy and Air Force dropped their "Royal" names, and newspapers were prohibited from publishing the King's photo or any interviews.

During this period, resistance against the colonels' rule became better organized among exiles in Europe and the United States. There was also considerable political infighting within the junta. Still, up until 1973, the junta appeared in firm control of Greece, and not likely to be ousted by violent means.

==Junta characteristics==

===Ideology===
[[File:Flag of Greece (1970-1975).svg|thumb|Under the regime, the old flag of the [[Hellenic Navy|Navy]] became the sole national flag. A darker shade of blue was preferred at this time, but the variant is not exclusively associated with this time period.]]

The colonels preferred to call the coup an {{Lang|el-Latn|Ethnosotirios Epanastasis}} ({{Lang|el|Εθνοσωτήριος Επανάστασις}}, 'revolution to save the nation'). Their official justification was that a "communist conspiracy" had infiltrated Greece's bureaucracy, academia, press, and military, to such an extent that drastic action was needed to protect the country from communist takeover. Thus, the defining characteristic of the Junta was its staunch [[anti-communism]]. They used the term {{Lang|el-Latn|anarchokommounisté}} ({{Lang|el|αναρχοκομμουνισταί}}, '[[anarcho-communist]]') to describe leftists in general. In a similar vein, the junta attempted to steer Greek public opinion not only by [[propaganda]] but also by inventing [[Glossary of the Greek military junta|new words]] and slogans, such as {{Lang|el-Latn|paleokommatismos}} ({{Lang|el|Παλαιοκομματισμός}}, '[[Glossary of the Greek military junta|old-partyism]]') to discredit [[parliamentary democracy]], or {{Lang|el-Latn|Ellas Ellinon Christianon}} ({{Lang|el|Ελλάς Ελλήνων Χριστιανών}}, '[[Glossary of the Greek military junta|Greece for Christian Greeks]]') to underscore its ideology. The junta's main ideological spokesmen included [[Georgios Georgalas]] and journalist [[Savvas Konstantopoulos]], both former [[Marxism|Marxists]].

In 1970, Georgalas published a book ''The Decline of Consumer Society'', stating that consumerism had destroyed the Christian spiritual values of the West, leaving Greece as the last solitary outpost of Christian civilization.<ref name="auto1">Clogg, Richard "The Ideology of the "revolution of 21 April 1967'" pp. 36–58 from ''Greece Under Military Rule'' edited by Richard Clogg & George Yannopoloulos; London: Secker & Warburg, 1971 p. 43.</ref> In the same book, Georgalas stated the solution to social problems was not as many believed increased employment, but instead "lengthy psycho-therapeutic programmes" which would create "the free man in harmonious co-existence with himself and his fellow beings".<ref name="auto4">Clogg, Richard "The Ideology of the "revolution of 21 April 1967'" pp. 36–58 from ''Greece Under Military Rule'' edited by Richard Clogg & George Yannopoloulos; London: Secker & Warburg, 1971 pp. 43–44.</ref> The British historian [[Richard Clogg]] described the writings of Georgalas and Konstantopoluos as "pretentious verbiage", claiming that they tended to use elaborate and impressive-sounding language to mask the shallowness of their theories.<ref name="auto1"/> In essence, intellectuals like Georgalas and Konstantopoulos argued that materialism and consumerism were corroding the spiritual strength of the Greek people, and the military regime would "cure" the Greeks by restoring the traditional values of Orthodoxy (Greek Christianity).<ref name="auto4"/> One of Papadopoulos' first acts after the coup was to change the pension laws to allow the veterans of the Security Battalions to collect pensions.<ref>Simpson, Christoper ''Blowback: America's Recruitment of Nazis and Its Effects on the Cold War'', London: Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 1988 p. 82</ref>

A central part of the regime's ideology was xenophobia, which presented Greeks as the creators of civilization with the rest of the world jealous of the debts they owed to Greece.<ref name="auto3">Clogg, Richard "The Ideology of the "revolution of 21 April 1967'" pp. 36–58 from ''Greece Under Military Rule'' edited by Richard Clogg & George Yannopoloulos; London: Secker & Warburg, 1971 p. 41.</ref> Colonel [[Ioannis Ladas]], the Secretary-general of the Ministry of Public Order, came to international prominence in the summer of 1968 when he personally beat up Panayiotis Lambrias, the editor of magazine ''Eikones'' for running an article saying that homosexuality was accepted as normal in ancient Greece.<ref name="auto3"/> When the BBC's Greek service reported the incident, Ladas gave a rant at a press conference, claiming that the BBC was run by homosexuals, making him into a sort of unofficial spokesman for the regime.<ref name="auto3"/>

At a subsequent speech before a visiting group of Greek-Americans on 6 August 1968, Ladas quoted [[Friedrich Nietzsche]]'s statement that the ancient Greeks invented everything and went on to say: "Foreigners confess and acknowledge Greek superiority. Human civilization was wholly fashioned by our race. Even the enemies of Greece recognize that civilization is an exclusively Greek creation".<ref name="auto3"/> Ladas went on to denounce young men with long hair as "the degenerate phenomenon of hippy-ism", calling hippies "anti-social elements, drug addicts, sex maniacs, thieves, etc. It is only natural that they should be enemies of the army and the ideals which the military way of life serves".<ref name="auto6">Clogg, Richard "The Ideology of the "revolution of 21 April 1967'" pp. 36–58 from ''Greece Under Military Rule'' edited by Richard Clogg & George Yannopoloulos; London: Secker & Warburg, 1971 p. 42.</ref> Ladas ended his speech by arguing that Greeks for racial reasons were still the world's preeminent people, but had only declined of inadequate leadership, a problem which had been solved by the "revolution" of 21 April 1967.<ref name="auto6"/> Ladas claimed that Greece under military leadership would be "cured" of its problems and resume its rightful place in the world. Clogg noted that before the coup, Ladas had been associated with the far-right [[4th of August Party]], and contributed many articles to that party's journal, which was a "racist and anti-Semitic" magazine which glorified not only 4 August Regime, but also the Third Reich.<ref name="auto6"/>

The Greek novelist [[Yiorgos Theotokas]] once coined the term {{Lang|el-Latn|progonoplexia}} ({{Lang|el|Προγονοπληξία}}, 'ancestoritis') to describe an obsession with the heritage of the past, which many felt that Papadopoulos and the rest of the junta suffered from.<ref name="auto">Clogg, Richard "The Ideology of the 'revolution of 21 April 1967'" pp. 36–58 from ''Greece Under Military Rule'' edited by Richard Clogg & George Yannopoloulos; London: Secker & Warburg, 1971 p. 45.</ref> Papadopoulos often described the Greeks in his speeches as the "elect of God", claiming the regenerated ''{{Lang|el-Latn|Ellas Ellinon Christianon}}'' ('Greece for Christian Greeks') would be the example to the rest of the world as maintained that people all over the world would regard his ideology of "Helleno-Christian civilization" alongside the philosophy of Plato and Aristotle as the summit of intellectual achievement.<ref name="auto"/>

The Greek junta has been characterized as [[Neo-fascism|neo-fascist]].<ref>Giannis Katris, The Birth of Neofascism in Greece, 1971</ref><ref>Clogg, Richard "The Ideology of the "revolution of 21 April 1967'" pp. 36–58 from ''Greece Under Military Rule'' edited by Richard Clogg & George Yannopoloulos; London: Secker & Warburg, 1971 p. 53.</ref> The junta's [[Ultranationalism|ultranationalist]], militaristic, and deeply anti-communist character has been likened to that of the [[History of Greece (1923–1940)|interwar]] dictatorship of [[Ioannis Metaxas]], leading to many scholars describing the regime as fascistic.<ref>{{Citation |last=Varsori |first=Antonio |title=Italy and the Greek military regime from the 1967 coup d'état to the fall of the dictatorship |url=https://www.taylorfrancis.com/chapters/edit/10.4324/9780429438691-6/italy-greek-military-regime-1967-coup-%C3%A9tat-fall-dictatorship-antonio-varsori |work=The Greek Junta and the International System |year=2020 |pages=48–57 |doi=10.4324/9780429438691-6 |isbn=9780429438691 |s2cid=213982676 |access-date=2022-09-19|url-access=subscription }}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Kouki |first1=Eleni |last2=Antoniou |first2=Dimitris |date=2017 |title=Making the Junta Fascist: Antidictatorial Struggle, the Colonels, and the Statues of Ioannis Metaxas |url=https://muse.jhu.edu/article/671077 |journal=Journal of Modern Greek Studies |volume=35 |issue=2 |pages=451–480 |doi=10.1353/mgs.2017.0027 |s2cid=148760637 |issn=1086-3265|url-access=subscription }}</ref>

=== "Patient in a cast" and other metaphors ===
Throughout his tenure as the junta strongman, Papadopoulos often employed what have been described by the [[BBC]] as [[Graphic violence|gory]] medical metaphors,<ref name="The Listener">{{cite book|title=The Listener|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0NhBAQAAIAAJ|access-date=25 March 2013|date=January 1968|publisher=British Broadcasting Corporation|volume=79|page=561|quote=It's no secret that Mr George Papadopoulos, the top man of the bunch, with his gory surgical metaphors, his flinty eyes, his flood of garbled messianic language, was for years under psychiatric treatment. Mr Pattakos, the strutting, bullet-headed}}</ref> where he or the junta assumed the role of the "medical doctor".<ref name="McDonald1983">{{cite book|author=Robert McDonald|title=Pillar & Tinderbox: The Greek Press Under Dictatorship|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=YD4TAAAAMAAJ|access-date=24 March 2013|year=1983|publisher=New York : Marion Boyars|isbn=978-0-7145-2781-9|page=110|quote=Papadopoulos, returning to his metaphor of Greece as a patient in plaster, described this legal construct as 'a light walking cast'. The Law on the State of Siege, he said, was 'striving for breath, dying, trying in vain to stand on its feet'.}}</ref><ref name="Current Biography Yearbook">{{cite book|title=Current Biography Yearbook|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=KfgZAAAAYAAJ|access-date=24 March 2013|year=1971|publisher=H. W. Wilson Company|volume=31|page=342|quote=Clinging to his predilection for medical analogies, Papadopoulos declared after the referendum: 'The country is still in a plaster cast and the fractures have not healed. The cast will be kept on even after the referendum so that it should not&nbsp;...'}}</ref><ref name="Greek Report">{{cite book|title=Greek Report|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=VfonAAAAMAAJ|access-date=24 March 2013|year=1969|page=24|quote='We have a patient. We have placed him in a plaster cast. We keep him there until the wound heals,' said Premier George Papadopoulos, the colonel who is strongman of the current Greek military regime. He was only trying to explain why}}</ref><ref name="Green2004">{{cite book|author=Peter Green|title=From Ikaria to the Stars: Classical Mythification, Ancient and Modern|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ROX7f6UwdI8C&pg=PA228|year=2004|publisher=University of Texas Press|isbn=978-0-292-70230-1|pages=228–|quote=Papadopoulos made great play during the Junta years in Greece): something in it for everybody.&nbsp;... For every philosophical sect, as Nussbaum emphasizes, 'the medical analogy is not simply a decorative metaphor; it is an important tool both of discovery and of justification'}}</ref><ref name="Dyck1998">{{cite book|author=Karen Van Dyck|title=Kassandra and the Censors: Greek Poetry Since 1967|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=dnJx1r-85CIC&pg=PA19|access-date=24 March 2013|year=1998|publisher=Cornell University Press|isbn=978-0-8014-9993-7|pages=16–19|quote=And yet metaphor was a necessary part of his persuasive rhetoric; he described Greece as a patient to convince journalists&nbsp;... Papadopoulos's desire for a mimetic relationship between what one said and what one meant is evident in his press law, which&nbsp;... doses; that the 'cast' would be constantly replaced 'where it [was] needed'; and that language and literature would be 'cleansed'.}}</ref><ref name="Barnstone1972">{{cite book|author=Willis Barnstone|title=Eighteen texts|url=https://archive.org/details/eighteentexts0000barn|url-access=registration|access-date=24 March 2013|date=1972|publisher=Harvard University Press|page=xxi|isbn=9780674241756|quote=Thanasis Valtinos' story, 'The Plaster Cast', is based entirely on a metaphor frequently used by Colonel Papadopoulos to justify the military coup and later the prolongation of martial law. Greece, he would say, was in grave danger. We had to&nbsp;...}}</ref> The supposed "patient" was Greece. Typically Papadopoulos or the junta portrayed themselves as the doctor who operated on the patient by putting the patient's foot in an orthopedic cast and applying restraints on the patient, tying him on a surgical bed and putting him under anesthesia to perform the operation so that the life of the patient would not be endangered during the operation. In one of his famous speeches Papadopoulos mentioned:<ref name="Dyck1998"/><ref name="Emmi Mikedakis"/><ref name="Athens Academy">{{cite web|title=Θρυμματίζοντας το γύψο της Χούντας: ο λόγος κι η σιωπή στα Δεκαοχτώ Κείμενα (1970)/Shattering the junta's plaster: the discourse and the silence in Eighteen Texts (1970)|url=https://www.academia.edu/1147135|publisher=[[Athens Academy]]|access-date=25 March 2013|author=Άννα-Μαρία Σιχάνη Πανεπιστήμιο Αθηνών|quote=Η μεταφορά ωστόσο, είναι ο κυρίαρχος ρητορικός τρόπος που χρησιμοποιεί οΠαπαδόπουλος στους λόγους του. Θυμίζω το περίφημο διάγγελμά του: "ευρισκόμεθα προενός ασθενούς, τον οποίον έχομεν επί χειρουργικής κλίνης…οι περιορισμοί είναι ηπρόσδεσις του ασθενούς επί κλίνης δια να υποστή ακινδύνως την εγχείρισιν}}</ref> 
{{blockquote|We are in front of a patient who we have on a surgical bed, and who, should the surgeon not strap on the surgical bed during the operation and the anesthesia, there is a probability, rather than the surgery granting him the restoration of the health, to lead him to his death.&nbsp;... The restrictions are the strapping of the patient to the surgical bed so that he will undergo the surgery without danger.}} 
In the same speech Papadopoulos continued:<ref name="Dyck1998"/><ref name="Emmi Mikedakis">{{cite web|title=Manipulating Language: Metaphors in the Political Discourse of Georgios Papadopoulos (1967–1973)|publisher=Flinders University: dspace.flinders.edu.au |url=http://dspace.flinders.edu.au/xmlui/bitstream/2328/25577/1/Emmi%20Mikedakis%20.pdf|access-date=25 March 2013|author=Emmi Mikedakis}}</ref>  
{{blockquote|We have a patient. We have put him in a plaster cast. We are checking him to find out if he can walk without the plaster cast. We break the initial cast, potentially to replace it with a new one, where necessary. The referendum shall become a general overview of the patient's capabilities. Let us pray for him never to need a cast again; and should he need one, we will put it to him. And the one thing I can promise you, is to invite you to witness the foot without a cast!}}
Other metaphors contained religious imagery related to the [[resurrection of Christ]] at Easter: "{{Lang|el|Χριστός Ανέστη – Ελλάς Ανέστη}}" ("Christ has risen – Greece has risen"), alluding that the junta would save Greece and resurrect her into a greater, new Land.<ref name="Emmi Mikedakis"/> The theme of rebirth was used many times as a standard reply to avoid answering any questions as to how long the dictatorship would last:
{{blockquote|Because the latter is someone else's concern. They are the concerns of those, who lit the fuse of the dynamite for the explosion which led to the rebirth of the State the night of 21 April 1967.}}
The religious themes and rebirth metaphors are also seen in the following:{{original research inline|date=April 2020}}
{{blockquote|Our obligations are described by both our religion and our history. Christ teaches concord and love. Our history demands faith in the Fatherland.&nbsp;... Hellas is being reborn, Hellas will accomplish great things, Hellas will live forever.<ref name="Emmi Mikedakis"/>}}

===Civil rights===
As soon as the coup d'état was announced over Greek radio, martial music was continuously broadcast over the airwaves.<ref name="Ind. obit.">{{cite news|url=http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4158/is_19990628/ai_n14226232/pg_2|title=Obituary: George Papadopoulos|newspaper=[[The Independent]]|date=28 June 1999|author=Robert Shannan Peckham|quote=Greeks woke up on the morning of Friday 21 April 1967 with military marches and national folk music broadcast on the radio, and with the dictatorship a fait accompli.}}</ref><ref name="Swift2010">{{cite book|author=Graham Swift|title=Making an Elephant: Writing from Within|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=d49A5M_iqaYC&pg=PA44|year=2010|publisher=Random House Digital, Inc.|isbn=978-0-307-37420-2|pages=44–|quote=Greece in those days was littered with propaganda, and radios or public loudspeakers regularly blared out martial music. The grotesque symbol of the junta—a soldier standing before a spread-winged phoenix—was everywhere&nbsp;...}}</ref><ref name="The Spectator">{{cite book|title=The Spectator|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-WoHAQAAIAAJ|access-date=25 March 2013|year=1967|publisher=F.C. Westley|volume=219|issue=2|page=772|quote=People went about their business in the usual way, undisturbed by the armoured cars and the martial music churned out by the radio.}}</ref> This was interrupted from time to time with announcements of the junta issuing orders, which always started with the introduction, {{Lang|el-Latn|Apofasizomen ke diatassomen}} ({{Lang|el|Αποφασίζομεν και διατάσσομεν}}, 'We decide and we order').<ref name="To Dentro">{{cite book|title=Το Δεντρο|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=iHrWAAAAMAAJ|access-date=25 March 2013|year=2008|publisher=K. Mauroudēs.|volume=161–162|page=13|quote=Έγινε Χούντα. Ανοίξτε αμέσως το ραδιόφωνο. Το ραδιόφωνο: διάγγελμα Παπαδόπουλου, τσάμικα και καλαματιανά, "αποφασίζομεν και διατάσσομεν". Ό,τι συζητούσαμε ...}}</ref> Long-standing political freedoms and [[civil liberties]], that had been taken for granted and enjoyed by the Greek people for decades, were instantly suppressed. Article 14 of the [[Greek Constitution]], which protected [[freedom of thought]] and [[freedom of the press]], was immediately and fraudulently suspended.<ref>{{cite book |last1=McDonald |first1=Robert |title=Pillar & tinderbox: the Greek press and the dictatorship |date=1983 |publisher=Marion Boyars |location=New York |isbn=0-7145-2781-5 |page=105 |url=https://archive.org/details/pillartinderboxg0000mcdo/mode/2up |access-date=25 May 2022}} "At 0643 on April 21, 1967, Armed Forces Central Radio announced that a Royal Decree had been promulgated implementing the suspension procedure. The statement was fraudulent. The king had signed no decree and most of the cabinet who were supposed to have proposed it, including Prime Minister Panayotis Kanellopoulos, were under arrest."</ref><ref>[http://www.hri.org/docs/syntagma/artcl25.html Greek Constitution (Syntagma)]. Retrieved 15 August 2008.</ref> Military courts were established, and political parties were dissolved. Legislation that took decades to fine tune and multiple parliaments to enact was thus erased in a matter of days. The rapid dismantling of Greek democracy had begun.

In fact, the junta crackdown was so fast that by September 1967, Norway, Denmark, Sweden, and the Netherlands went before the [[European Commission of Human Rights]] to accuse Greece of violating most of the [[human rights]] protected by the [[European Convention on Human Rights]].<ref name="Becket"/> 6,188 suspected communists and political opponents were imprisoned or exiled to remote Greek islands within the first week after the coup.<ref name="Answering"/>

Under the junta, [[torture]] became a deliberate practice carried out both by the Security Police and the [[Greek Military Police]] (ESA),<ref>[[Lawrence Van Gelder]] [http://movies2.nytimes.com/gst/movies/movie.html?v_id=157325 "Din nabos soen"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20030826024820/http://movies2.nytimes.com/gst/movies/movie.html?v_id=157325 |date=26 August 2003 }}. ''[[The New York Times]]''.</ref><ref>[[Lawrence Van Gelder]] (29 August 1984). [http://movies2.nytimes.com/mem/movies/review.html?_r=3&res=9504E6D9143AF93AA1575BC0A962948260&oref=slogin&oref=login. "Danish 'Phoenix' and 'Neighbor's Son'"]. ''The New York Times''.</ref> with an estimated 3,500 people detained in torture centres run by ESA.<ref name="Becket"/><ref name="Answering">{{cite magazine|url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,947162,00.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081212222634/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,947162,00.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=12 December 2008|magazine=[[Time (magazine)|Time]]|title=Greece: Answering to History|quote=Witness after witness testified that within a week of Papadopoulos' 21 April 1967, coup more than 8,000 had been arrested. Of these, 6,188 were banished into exile. Another 3,500 were subsequently sent to ESA torture centers. One prosecution witness, former Colonel Spyridon Moustaklis, 49, was unable to answer questions because brain damage caused by beatings had left him mute and semiparalyzed. Communicating by groans and gestures, glaring at the defendants, Moustaklis clumsily tore his shirt open to reveal the scars that marked his body. Said his wife: 'We have a little girl who has never heard her father's voice.' Verdicts on the 31 accused, which could lead to maximum sentences of 25 years, are due next month.|date=1 September 1975|access-date=7 July 2008}}</ref> Commonly used methods of torture included, but were not limited to, beating the soles of detainees' feet, sexual torture, choking and ripping out body hair. The Special Interrogation Unit of the Greek Military Police (EAT/ESA) used a combination of techniques that included continuous standing in an empty room, sleep and food deprivation, beatings and loud sounds.<ref>{{cite book |title=Killing Hope: U.S. Military and CIA Interventions Since World War II |last=Blum |first=William |year=1995 |publisher=Common Courage Press |location=Monroe, ME |isbn=1-56751-052-3 |page=[https://archive.org/details/killinghopeusmil00blum_0/page/219 219] |url=https://archive.org/details/killinghopeusmil00blum_0/page/219 }}</ref>

[[File:Gyaros Luftbild 01.jpg|thumb|[[Gyaros]], a prison island for dissidents]]

According to recent research based on new interviews with survivors, in the period from May to November 1973 this combination of interrogation techniques also included the repetition of songs that were popular hits of the time.<ref>Papaeti, Anna (2013). "Music, Torture, Testimony: Reopening the Case of the Greek Military Junta (1967–74)". ''The World of Music'' special issue: "Music and Torture | Music and Punishment" 2:1(2013), guest edited by M. J. Grant and Anna Papaeti, pp. 73–80.</ref> These were played loudly and repeatedly from loudspeakers. These methods attacked the senses without leaving any visible traces and have been classified since as torture by international organisations.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://unispal.un.org/UNISPAL.NSF/0/1B3ED23212DCBE3B05256547005C47FA |author=UN Committee Against Torture|date=9 May 1997|title=Concluding observations: Israel|access-date=20 July 2014 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140728224401/http://unispal.un.org/UNISPAL.NSF/0/1B3ED23212DCBE3B05256547005C47FA |archive-date=28 July 2014 }}</ref>{{failed verification|reason=This report is about Israel, not Greece.|date=May 2018}}

[[File:EAT-ESA Door to Cells (AUTH- Vasilis Gimisis).jpg|thumb|upright|The cell of officer [[Spyros Moustaklis]] in [[Greek Military Police|EAT-ESA]] building. During a torture session, he suffered brain trauma and was left paralyzed.]]
[[File:Christos Sartzetakis (1989) cropped.jpg|thumb|upright|Later [[President of Greece]], Magistrate [[Christos Sartzetakis]] was discharged and imprisoned by the junta due to his investigation on [[Grigoris Lambrakis|Lambrakis]]' murder.]]

According to a human rights report by [[Amnesty International]], in the first month of the 21 April coup an estimated 8,000 people were arrested.<ref name="Becket"/><ref name="Answering"/> [[James Becket]],<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0065663/bio |title=James Becket bio from |publisher=IMDb |date=6 August 1997 |access-date=18 April 2009}}</ref> an American attorney and author of ''Barbarism in Greece'',<ref>James Becket. ''Barbarism in Greece: A Young American Lawyer's Inquiry Into the Use of Torture In Contemporary Greece, with Case Histories and Documents''. Walker and Company, 1970, {{ISBN|978-1-399-77872-5}}</ref><ref name="Contemporary Greece">Marion Sarafis, Marion Saraphē, and Martin Eve. [https://books.google.com/books?id=ZCSzc6em25gC&dq=Jame+Becket+Barbarism+in+Greece&pg=PA143 ''Background to Contemporary Greece'']. p. 143 {{ISBN|0-85036-393-4}}</ref> was sent to Greece by Amnesty International.  He wrote in December 1969 that "a conservative estimate would place at not less than two thousand" the number of people tortured.<ref name="Becket">[[William Blum]] (2003). ''Killing Hope: U.S. Military and CIA Interventions Since World War II'', revised edition. Common Courage Press. {{ISBN|1-56751-252-6}}</ref>{{unreliable source?|date=July 2012}}<ref>{{cite book |last1=Altinay |first1=Ayse Gul |last2=Peto |first2=Andrea |author-link=Andrea Pető |title=Gendered Wars, Gendered Memories |date=2016 |publisher=Routledge |location=Oxford and New York |isbn=9781472442857 |page=73 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=clPlCwAAQBAJ |access-date=15 February 2018}}</ref>

The [[Freedom of assembly|right of assembly]] was revoked and no political demonstrations were allowed. Surveillance on citizens was a fact of life, even during permitted social activities.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Nafpliotis |first1=Alexandros |title="A gift from God": Anglo-Greek relations during the dictatorship of the Greek colonels |journal=The Historical Review/La Revue Historique|date=December 2014|volume=11|pages=73|doi=10.12681/hr.329|doi-access=free}}<!--|access-date=22 March 2015--></ref> That had a continuously chilling effect on the population who realized that, even though they were allowed certain social activities, they could not overstep the boundaries and delve into or discuss forbidden subjects. This realization, including the absence of any [[civil rights]] as well as maltreatment during police arrest, ranging from threats to beatings or worse, made life under the junta a difficult proposition for many ordinary citizens. Photography by ordinary citizens was banned in public locations.

The junta allowed citizens to participate in ordinary societal events such as rock concerts. However, citizens lived in extreme fear, as any behaviour that the junta disapproved of, coupled with the complete absence of any civil rights or freedoms, could easily result in torture, beatings, exile or imprisonment, and the labelling of the victims as [[Anarcho-communism|anarcho-communists]]. The absence of a valid code of jurisprudence led to the unequal application of the law among the citizens and to rampant favouritism and [[nepotism]]. Absence of elected representation meant that the citizens' stark and only choice was to submit to these arbitrary measures exactly as dictated by the junta. The country had become a true [[police state]].<ref name="Psychological Origins">{{cite book |title=The Psychological Origins of Institutionalized Torture |author=Mika Haritos-Fatouros|publisher=Routledge |year=2003|isbn=978-0-415-28276-5 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=X-66WuGiGsEC&q=The+country+became+a+true+military+police+state&pg=PA28 |page=28|quote=The country became a true military police state}}</ref> Thousands were jailed for political reasons by the dictatorship and thousands were forced into exile.<ref name="auto5">[https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1999-nov-21-mn-35991-story.html "Clinton Says U.S. Regrets Aid to Junta in Cold War"], ''[[Los Angeles Times]]'', 21 November 1999.</ref>{{better source needed|date=July 2019}} More than 10,000 were estimated to have been arrested in the first few days after the coup.<ref>[https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1999-jun-28-mn-50904-story.html "George Papadopoulos; Led Military Junta in Greece"]. ''Los Angeles Times'', 28 June 1999.</ref>

Complete lack of [[Freedom of the press|press freedom]] coupled with nonexistent civil rights meant that continuous cases of civil rights abuses could neither be reported nor investigated by an independent press or any other reputable authority. This led to a [[psychology]] of [[fear]] among the citizens during the Papadopoulos dictatorship, which became worse under Ioannidis.

===External relations===
{{Further|Containment|Truman Doctrine}}

The military government was given support by the United States as a [[Cold War]] ally, due to its proximity to the [[Eastern European]] [[Soviet bloc]], and the fact that the previous [[Presidency of Harry S. Truman|Truman administration]] had given the country millions of dollars in economic aid to discourage [[communism]]. U.S. support for the junta, which was staunchly anti-communist, is claimed to be the cause of rising [[anti-Americanism]] in Greece during and following the junta's undemocratic rule.<ref name="Poly-Papadopoulos">{{cite magazine|url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,903399,00.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081213130552/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,903399,00.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=13 December 2008|title=The Poly-Papadopoulos|magazine=Time|quote=Many democratic-minded Greeks resent the open U.S. support of the Papadopoulos dictatorship. Last month Washington gave further evidence of its acceptance of his regime by negotiating for home-port rights in the bays near Athens for the Mediterranean-based Sixth Fleet. In addition, the Nixon Administration is trying to persuade Congress to up military aid to Greece from about $90&nbsp;million to $118&nbsp;million.|date=3 April 1972|access-date=6 July 2008}}</ref>

Though all NATO members except for Portugal, then under the authoritarian [[Estado Novo (Portugal)|Estado Novo]] regime, despised the Regime of the Colonels, there was a mixed response to the junta from Western Europe.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Pedaliu |first1=Effie G. H. |date=15 March 2011 |title='A Discordant Note': NATO and the Greek Junta, 1967–1974 |url=https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/09592296.2011.549745 |journal=Diplomacy & Statecraft |volume=22 |issue=1 |pages=101–120 |doi=10.1080/09592296.2011.549745 |s2cid=153727661 |access-date=15 March 2023|url-access=subscription }}</ref> The Scandinavian countries and the Netherlands [[Greek case|filed a complaint]] before the Human Rights Commission of the [[Council of Europe]] in September 1967.<ref name="Pedaliu2016">{{cite journal |last1=Pedaliu |first1=Effie G. H. |date=1 March 2016 |title=Human Rights and International Security: The International Community and the Greek Dictators |url=https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/07075332.2016.1141308 |journal=[[The International History Review]] |volume=38 |issue=5 |pages=1014–1039 |doi=10.1080/07075332.2016.1141308 |s2cid=155986136 |access-date=15 March 2023|url-access=subscription }}</ref> The Commission on Human Rights took the exceptional step of constituting a Sub-Commission to investigate the accusations of gross human rights abuses. The sub-commission reported its extensive on-site investigation and unearthed significant evidence of torture and human rights violations.<ref name="Report of the Sub-Commission">{{cite report|url=https://www.echr.coe.int/Documents/Denmark_v_Greece_I.pdf|title=Report of the Sub-Commission|access-date=29 January 2019}}</ref> Greece however opted to leave the Council of Europe in December 1969 before a full verdict of the commission could be handed down.<ref name="Pedaliu2016" />

Countries such as the United Kingdom and [[West Germany]] on the other hand were voicing criticism about Greece's human rights record but supported the country's continued membership in the Council of Europe and NATO because of the country's strategic value for the western alliance.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Pedaliu |first1=Effie G. H. |date=22 February 2007 |title=Human Rights and Foreign Policy: Wilson and the Greek Dictators, 1967–1970 |url=https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/09592290601163118 |journal=Diplomacy & Statecraft |volume=18 |issue=1 |pages=185–214 |doi=10.1080/09592290601163118 |s2cid=154692915 |access-date=15 March 2023|url-access=subscription }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Nafpliotis |first1=Alexandros|title="A gift from God": Anglo-Greek relations during the dictatorship of the Greek colonels |journal=The Historical Review/La Revue Historique|date=December 2014 |volume=11 |pages=67 |doi=10.12681/hr.329|doi-access=free}}<!--|access-date=22 March 2015--></ref><ref name="Nafpliotis2012">{{cite book |author=Nafpliotis, Alexandros|title=Britain and the Greek Colonels: Accommodating the Junta in the Cold War |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Px2buAAACAAJ&q=alexandros+nafpliotis |year=2012 |publisher=London: I.B. Tauris |isbn=9781848859524}}</ref>

Unusually, in spite of the anti-communism of the Regime of the Colonels, it developed better relations with the [[Socialist Republic of Romania]], ruled by the similarly brutal and despotic [[Nicolae Ceaușescu]]. Ceaușescu's rationale for seeking good working relations with the Greek junta stemmed from a mutual desire to maintain stability in the Balkans and due to the shared dictatorial characters of the two regimes.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Pechlivanis |first1=Paschalis |date=14 May 2020 |title=An Uneasy Triangle: Nicolae Ceaușescu, the Greek Colonels and the Greek Communists (1967–1974) |journal=[[The International History Review]] |volume=43 |issue=3 |pages=598–613 |doi=10.1080/07075332.2020.1764609 |s2cid=219486083 |doi-access=free }}</ref>

===Sociocultural policies===
To gain support for his rule, Papadopoulos projected an image that appealed to some key segments of Greek society. The son of a poor but educated rural family, he was educated at the prestigious [[Hellenic Military Academy]]. Papadopoulos allowed substantial social and cultural freedoms to all [[social class]]es, but political [[oppression]] and [[censorship]] were at times heavy-handed, especially in areas deemed sensitive by the junta, such as political activities, and politically related art, literature, film and music. [[Costa-Gavras]]'s film ''[[Z (1969 film)|Z]]'' and [[Mikis Theodorakis]]'s music, among others, were never allowed even during the most relaxed times of the dictatorship, and an index of prohibited songs, literature and art was kept.

====Western music and film====
Remarkably, after some initial hesitation and as long as they were not deemed to be politically damaging to the junta, junta censors allowed wide access to Western music and films. Even the then-racy West German film ''[[Helga – Vom Werden des menschlichen Lebens|Helga]]'', a 1967 [[sex education]] [[Documentary film|documentary]] featuring a live birth scene, had no trouble making its debut in Greece just like in any other Western country.<ref name="Helga on IMDB">{{cite web|url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0157743/ |title=Helga on IMDB |publisher=IMDb |access-date=18 April 2009}}</ref> Moreover, the film was only restricted for those under 13 years of age. In 1971 [[Robert Hartford-Davis]] was allowed by the junta to film the classic horror film ''[[Incense for the Damned]]'', starring [[Peter Cushing]] and [[Patrick Macnee]] and suitably featuring {{Lang|el-Latn|Chryseis}} ({{Lang|el|Χρυσηίς}}), a beguiling Greek [[Siren (mythology)|siren]] with [[vampire]] tendencies, on the Greek island of [[Hydra, Saronic Islands|Hydra]].<ref name="Blood suckers">Summarised by the [http://www.stellarfilms.com/horror_film_archive.htm Horror Film Archive] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070928141041/http://www.stellarfilms.com/horror_film_archive.htm |date=28 September 2007 }} thus: "A young man finds himself turning into a bloodsucking monster. Set on the Greek island of Hydra. A must for all Cushing fans"</ref><ref name="Incense for the Damned">[https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0065887/ ''Incense for the Damned''] on IMDB, which summarises the film as "A group of friends search for a young English Oxford student who has disappeared whilst researching in Greece&nbsp;..."</ref><ref name="New York Times review">[http://movies2.nytimes.com/gst/movies/movie.html?v_id=6188 Review of "Bloodsuckers"], ''The New York Times''</ref> In 1970 the film ''[[Woodstock (film)|Woodstock]]'' was shown all over Greece, with reports of arrests and disturbances especially in Athens as many youths flocked to see the film and filled theatres to capacity, while many others were left outside.<ref name="Woodstock">[http://www.elefsis.net/forum/viewtopic.php?p=2379&sid=12eaaacaaa93b84b52af561155a3ce07 "Woodstock"]. {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070927132007/http://www.elefsis.net/forum/viewtopic.php?p=2379&sid=12eaaacaaa93b84b52af561155a3ce07 |date=27 September 2007 }}, Greek blog site. Translation: "The beatings and arrests during the Woodstock showing in 1970&nbsp;..."</ref><ref name="Matt Barrett, The Rise of the Junta in Greece">Matt Barrett. [http://www.ahistoryofgreece.com/junta.htm "The Rise of the Junta in Greece"]. "In 1971 the movie Woodstock is shown in Athens, causing near riots. For young people it is one of the most exciting events of the period and when Jimi Hendrix appears on the screen the glow of a thousand bic-lighters and candles fills the theater." and "Savopoulos becomes a hero of the youth. His album ''Vromeko Psomi'' (''Dirty Bread'') is a classic, a thinly veiled attack on the dictatorship, that if they heard it, must have had the colonels wringing their hands wondering what to do with this guy."</ref> Films such as ''[[Marijuana Stop!]]'' dealt with the [[hippie culture]] and its perception in Greek society as drug-using.<ref name="Papadogiannis2015">{{cite book|author=Nikolaos Papadogiannis|title=Militant Around the Clock?: Left-Wing Youth Politics, Leisure, and Sexuality in Post-Dictatorship Greece, 1974–1981|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=htCdBAAAQBAJ&pg=PA46|year=2015|publisher=Berghahn Books|isbn=978-1-78238-645-2|page=46}}</ref><ref name="Kornetis2013">{{cite book|author=Kostis Kornetis|title=Children of the Dictatorship: Student Resistance, Cultural Politics and the 'Long 1960s' in Greece|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=g_UcAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA177|year=2013|publisher=Berghahn Books|isbn=978-1-78238-001-6|page=177}}</ref>

Meanwhile, at [[Matala, Crete|Matala]], [[Crete]], a [[hippie]] colony which had been living in the caves since the 1960s was never disturbed. Singer-songwriter [[Joni Mitchell]] was inspired to write the song "[[Carey (song)|Carey]]" after staying in the Matala caves with the hippie community in 1971. Hippie colonies also existed in other popular tourist spots such as "Paradise Beach" in [[Mykonos]].<ref name="Matt Barrett, November 17th, Cyprus and the Fall of the Junta">Matt Barrett. [http://www.ahistoryofgreece.com/november17.htm "November 17th, Cyprus and the Fall of the Junta"]. "Because tourism is such an important part of the Greek economy, the bans on mini-skirts, long hair and other symbols of decadence are not enforced." and "Places like Paradise Beach in Mykonos and Matala, Crete become hippy colonies, made up mostly of foreigners and a handful of adventurous young Greeks."</ref>

====Greek folk music====
During its rule, the dictatorship heavily utilized [[Greek folk music|folk music]] in mass media in order to help solidify the relationship between the junta and Greek national identity, in turn legitimizing its rule over the country. The regime sponsored song contests and concerts featuring folk musicians throughout its existence. The favoured types of music employed by the government were those which accompanied the [[Kalamatianos]] and [[Tsamiko]] folk dances. Additionally, the regime encouraged the production of new folk songs with lyrics praising the government and its leaders, like Georgios Papadopoulos. Because the [[clarinet]] was so strongly featured in the music of the junta, it remains associated with the Colonels by many Greeks today. The ideology behind the promotion of folk music was twofold: to bridge the gap of continuity with Greece's past and present, and to limit foreign cultural influences such as [[psychedelic music]] (which could hold political connotations contrary to those of the junta) by substituting them with traditionally Greek ones. Folk music was also used as an ideological weapon against dissidents, and it was played constantly in detention centres to help break prisoners.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Papaeti |first1=Anna |date=January 2015 |title=Folk Music and the Cultural Policies of the Military Junta in Greece |url=https://soundscapesofdetention.files.wordpress.com/2019/06/2.2-m-logos-i0002-a0022-papaeti_with-corrections.pdf |journal=Mousikos Logos |issue=2 |issn=1108-6963 |access-date=15 October 2019 }}</ref>

====Greek rock====
In the early days of the dictatorship, Western music broadcasts were limited from the airwaves in favour of [[martial music]], but this was eventually relaxed. In addition, [[pop music|pop]]/[[rock music]] programmes such as the one hosted by famous Greek music/radio/[[List of Greek language television channels#Greece|television]] personality and [[promoter (entertainment)|promoter]] [[Nico Mastorakis]] were very popular throughout the dictatorship years both on radio and television.<ref name="Nikos Mastorakis">[http://www.museum.tv/archives/etv/G/htmlG/greece/greece.htm "Nikos Mastorakis"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091010010652/http://www.museum.tv/archives/etv/G/htmlG/greece/greece.htm |date=10 October 2009 }}. Museum of Broadcast Communications. "Nikos Mastorakis was the TV personality [[sine qua non]] of the dictatorship years."</ref> Most Western record sales were similarly not restricted. In fact, even rock concerts and tours were allowed such as by the then popular [[Rock band|rock groups]] [[Socrates Drank the Conium]] and [[Nostradamos (band)|Nostradamos]].<ref>{{YouTube|4O-6PpGLBQE|Nostradamos: Dos mou to heri sou}} (Give me your hand) on YouTube</ref><ref name="Athens Guide on Socrates">''Athens Guide''. [http://www.athensguide.com/socrates/ "Socrates"]. "Socrates will probably never get inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. But while other groups were becoming well known in the free world, this Hendrix-style blues band was playing to standing-room-only crowds in a small club in Athens, during Greece's military dictatorship, a period when even Rolling Stone albums were hard to find, and for a time illegal."</ref><ref name="NOSTRADAMOS radiogold.com">{{cite web|url=http://www.radiogold.com/m.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070930100538/http://www.radiogold.com/m.htm |archive-date=30 September 2007 |title=Millennium Top-1000: Nostradamos Ta Paramythia Ths Giagias and Dws'moy to Xeri Soy |access-date=18 April 2009 |url-status=dead  }}</ref><ref>{{YouTube|AaMVtuZZNl0|Nostradamos Ta Paramythia tis yayas}}</ref>

Another pop group, [[Poll (band)|Poll]], was a pioneer of Greek pop music in the early 1970s.<ref>{{YouTube|CqnmHymnz_A|Poll}}</ref> Its lead singer and composer was Robert Williams, who was later joined, in 1971, by [[Kostas Tournas]].<ref name="Kostas Tournas website">{{cite web|url=http://www.tournas.gr/ |title=Kostas Tournas official website |publisher=Tournas.gr |access-date=18 April 2009}}</ref> Poll enjoyed a number of nationwide hits, such as "{{Lang|el-Latn|Anthrope Agapa}} (Mankind Love One Another)", an [[anti-war]] song composed by Tournas, and "{{Lang|el-Latn|Ela Ilie Mou}} (Come, My Sun)",<ref>{{YouTube|Ij6mOxVfqdg|Poll Ela Ilie mou}}</ref> composed by Tournas, Williams.<ref name="Anthrope agapa">[[:el:Κώστας Τουρνάς|Kostas Tournas article on Greek Wikipedia]]. "(The song) "Anthrope agapa" was motivated by an anti-war film"</ref><ref>{{YouTube|-dWFc7Bgya0|Paul Williams: Anthrope Agapa}}</ref> Tournas later pursued a solo career and in 1972 produced the [[Progressive rock|progressive]] [[psychedelic rock|psychedelic]] hit solo album {{Lang|el-Latn|Aperanta Chorafia}} ({{Lang|el|Απέραντα Χωράφια}}, 'Infinite Fields').<ref name="Kostas Tournas">[http://lost-in-tyme.blogspot.com/2006/07/kostas-tournas-greece-1972-aperanta.html Lost in Tyme]. "After the split of 'Poll', Kostas Tournas went on to record a great progressive-psychedelic concept solo album."</ref> He wrote and arranged the album using an [[orchestra]] and a rock group ("Ruth") combination, producing a [[rock opera]] which is considered a landmark of [[Greek rock]].<ref name="Athinorama">{{cite web |author1=Χρήστος Καρράς |title=Ο Τουρνάς ξαναπερπατά τα "Απέραντα Χωράφια" |url=https://www.athinorama.gr/music/article/o_tournas_ksanaperpata_ta_aperanta_xorafia-121102.html |website=Athinorama |date=6 October 2012}}</ref><ref name="musicpaper.gr">{{cite web|author=Δελτίο Τύπου musicpaper.gr
|script-title=el:"Απέραντα χωράφια" του Κώστα Τουρνά καρποφορούν 40 χρόνια μετά  |url=http://www.musicpaper.gr/news/72-09-2012/2221-kostas-tournas-40xroniameta|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121204070437/http://www.musicpaper.gr/news/72-09-2012/2221-kostas-tournas-40xroniameta|archive-date=4 December 2012|date=11 September 2012|publisher=musicpaper.gr|access-date=8 March 2013|quote= Η Ορχήστρα Σύγχρονης Μουσικής της ΕΡΤ υπό τη διεύθυνση του Στάθη Σούλη παρουσιάζει ένα μοναδικό μουσικό ταξίδι με ένα έργο ορόσημο της ελληνικής ροκ σκηνής [translation: presents a unique musical journey with a work-landmark in the Greek rock scene], το Σάββατο 15 Σεπτεμβρίου, στις 20:30, στο "Κηποθέατρο" του Δήμου Παπάγου. 40 χρόνια μετά "Τα απέραντα χωράφια" του Κώστα Τουρνά θα ακουστούν ξανά με τη σύμπραξη της Ορχήστρας Σύγχρονης Μουσικής της ΕΡΤ σε μια βραδιά-αφιέρωμα στη μουσική του...|language=el}}</ref><ref name="Newsbeast.gr">{{cite web |title="Τα απέραντα χωράφια" του Κώστα Τουρνά |url=https://www.newsbeast.gr/entertainment/arthro/418462/ta-aperada-horafia-tou-kosta-tourna |publisher=Newsbeast.gr |date=25 September 2019 |quote=Σύμφωνα με το περιοδικό "Ποπ & Ροκ" ο δίσκος συγκαταλέγεται ανάμεσα στους δέκα δίσκους-σταθμούς του ελληνικού ροκ. Το προοδευτικό και ψυχεδελικό αυτό άλμπουμ το ηχογράφησε ο Τουρνάς συνδυάζοντας τη συμφωνική ορχήστρα με το ροκ γκρουπ "Ρουθ", κάτι πρωτοποριακό για την εποχή.}}</ref> In 1973 Kostas Tournas created the album {{Lang|el-Latn|Astroneira}} (''Stardreams''), influenced by [[David Bowie]]'s ''[[The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars|Ziggy Stardust]]''.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.nme.com/awards/video/id/7ag44UPria8|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303200847/http://www.nme.com/awards/video/id/7ag44UPria8|url-status=dead|title=NME online music magazine|website=[[NME]]|archive-date=3 March 2016}}</ref><ref>{{YouTube|5HQt-vp5XW4|O Archon Nous (The Ruling Mind}}) from Astroneira</ref>

Songwriter [[Dionysis Savvopoulos]], who was initially imprisoned by the regime, nevertheless rose to great popularity and produced a number of influential and highly politically [[allegory|allegorical]], especially against the junta, albums during the period, including {{Lang|el-Latn|To Perivoli tou Trellou}} ({{Lang|el|Το Περιβόλι του Τρελλού}}, 'The Madman's Orchard'), {{Lang|el-Latn|Ballos}} ({{Lang|el|Μπάλλος}}, the name of Greek folk dance) and {{Lang|el-Latn|Vromiko Psomi}} ({{Lang|el|Βρώμικο Ψωμί}}, 'Dirty Bread').<ref name="Matt Barrett, The Rise of the Junta in Greece"/>

====Tourism====
Concurrently, [[Tourism in Greece|tourism]] was actively encouraged by Papadopoulos' government and, funding scandals notwithstanding, there was great development of the tourist sector. With tourism came nightlife. However, under Papadopoulos, in the absence of any civil rights these sociocultural freedoms existed in a legal vacuum that meant they were not guaranteed, but rather dispensed at the whim of the junta. In addition any transgressing into political matters during social or cultural activities usually meant arrest and punishment. Tourism was furthered by the [[1969 European Championships in Athletics]] in Athens which showed political normality. Even the boycott of the West German team was not directed against the junta, but against its own team leadership.<ref>[[Arnd Krüger]]. "A Cultural Revolution? The Boycott of the European Athletics Championships by the West German Team in Athens 1969", in: CESH (Hrsg.), ''Proceedings Fourth Annual Conference''. Band 1. Florenz 1999, 162–166.</ref> Although discos and nightclubs were, initially, subjected to a curfew, partially due to an [[energy crisis]], this was eventually extended from 1:00&nbsp;a.m. to 3:00&nbsp;a.m. as the energy crisis eased.<ref name="Matt Barrett, November 17th, Cyprus and the Fall of the Junta"/> These freedoms were later reversed by [[Dimitrios Ioannidis]] after his coup.

====Agriculture====
The farmers were Papadopoulos's natural constituency and were more likely to support him, seeing him as one of their own because of his rural roots. He cultivated this relationship by appealing to them, calling them {{Lang|el-Latn|i rahokokalia tou laou}} ({{Lang|el|η ραχοκοκαλιά του λαού}}, '[[Glossary of the Greek military junta|the backbone of the people]]') and cancelling all agricultural loans.<ref name="Google Book">Michel Forsé. [https://books.google.com/books?id=XE97ryf8noAC&dq=contradictions+Papadopoulos+dictatorship&pg=PA11 ''Recent Social Trends in France, 1960–1990'']. "In addition the writing-off of agricultural debts, the gradual abolition of hard monetary policy and the supply of loans for opportunist investments created a climate of economic euphoria (mainly in 1970–1973). Although the way in which loans were being provided and their uncontrollable use constituted the introduction to the process of de-industrialization which begins with the Ioannidis period. The collapse of the dictatorship, due to the nationalist fury of the last period, the Ioannidis period, led to the collapse of the compulsive interconnections of power that the civil war and its consequences had shaped." p. 12 {{ISBN|0-7735-0887-2}}</ref><ref>Dimitris Charalambis, Laura Maratou-Alipranti, and Andromachi Hadjiyanni. ''Recent Social Trends in Greece, 1960–2000''. Translated by Dimitris Charalambis, Laura Maratou-Alipranti, Andromachi Hadjiyanni Contributor Dimitris Charalambis, Laura Maratou-Alipranti, and Andromachi Hadjiyanni. McGill-Queen's Press, 2004 {{ISBN|978-0-7735-2202-2}}.</ref> By further insisting on promoting, but not really enforcing for fear of middle-class backlash, religion and patriotism, he further appealed to the simpler ideals of rural Greece and strengthened his image as people's champion among farmers, who tended to ridicule the middle class. Furthermore, the regime promoted a policy of economic development in rural areas, which were mostly neglected by the previous governments, that had focused largely on urban industrial development.

====Urban classes====
While never strongly supported by the urban middle class, they at first generally accepted Papadopoulos's rule (albeit reluctantly).  Bourgeois Greeks acquiesced to the junta with the understanding that the dictatorship would be temporary and that the colonels would hold free elections upon the restoration of order.<ref name="The Metapolitefsi that never was"/> In addition, the Greek business community largely approved of the regime's economic policies, especially its promotion of tourism.

====Greek language====
On the [[Greek language question]] of whether Greece should adopt ''[[Katharevousa]]'', based on Ancient Greek, or [[Demotic Greek]], based on the vernacular actually spoken by most Greek, the junta came firmly down on the side of ''Katharevousa''.  In 1968, ''Katharevousa'' was made the official language of the state, including education; Demotic was banned from schools except for the first three years of primary classes, and even there the Demotic used was altered to make it as much like ''Katharevousa'' as possible.<ref name="Mackridge 2009">{{cite book |last=Mackridge |first=Peter |title=Language and National Identity in Greece, 1766-1976 |date=2009 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-921442-6}}>{{rp|316}}</ref>  ''Katharevousa'' became so closely identified with the junta that its eventual downfall settled the question once and for all in favor of Demotic.

===Economic policies===
The 1967–1973 period was marked by high rates of economic growth coupled with low inflation and low unemployment. Economic growth was driven by investment in the [[tourism industry]], loose emigration policies, public spending, and pro-business incentives that fostered both domestic and foreign capital spending. Several international companies invested in Greece at the time, including [[The Coca-Cola Company]]. Economic growth started losing steam by 1972.<ref name="The Metapolitefsi that never was"/>

In addition, large scale construction of [[Hydroelectricity|hydroelectric dam]] projects, such as in [[Haliacmon|Aliakmon]], Kastrakion, Polyphytos, the expansion of [[thermoelectric]] generation units and other significant infrastructure development, took place. The junta used to proudly announce these projects with the slogan: {{Lang|el-Latn|I Ellas ine ena ergotaxion}} ({{Lang|el|Η Ελλάς είναι ένα εργοτάξιον}}, 'Greece is a construction zone'). The always smiling [[Stylianos Pattakos]], also known as {{Lang|el-Latn|to proto mistri tis elladas}} ({{Lang|el|Το πρώτο μυστρί της Ελλάδας}}, 'the first trowel of Greece'), since he frequently appeared at project inaugurations with a [[trowel]] in hand, starred in many of the {{Lang|el-Latn|Epikaira}} propaganda documentaries that were screened before feature film presentation in Greek cinemas.<ref name="Pattakos on Kathimerini">[https://web.archive.org/web/20070930035739/http://news.kathimerini.gr/4dcgi/_w_articles_columns_1_22/01/2006_170957 Kathimerini]. "Remember Pattakos, the striking baldie superstar of the junta, who never missed a chance to pose with a trowel at hand and never missed a documentary of Epikaira"</ref>

Economists have criticized the waste, fraud, and abuse derived from the junta's economic policies.  One notable example is tourism minister [[Ioannis Ladas|Ioannis Ladas']] practice of granting ill advised loans to would be hoteliers in order to promote the tourism industry. This fostered the erection of a multitude of hotels, sometimes in non-tourist areas, and with no underlying business rationale. Several such hotels were abandoned unfinished as soon as the loans were secured, and their remains still dot the Greek countryside. These questionable loans are referred to as {{Lang|el-Latn|Thalassodania}} ({{Lang|el|Θαλασσοδάνεια}}, 'loans of the sea'), to indicate the loose terms under which they were granted.<ref>[http://www.eleftherovima.gr/cgi-bin/news/viewnews.cgi?newsid1069362910,23284, Elefthero Vima] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120902073543/http://www.eleftherovima.gr/cgi-bin/news/viewnews.cgi?newsid1069362910,23284, |date=2 September 2012 }} Quote: "Αλλά, για να έρθει και η ψυχική κάθαρση να βγουν τα κιτάπια των τραπεζών για τα θαλασσοδάνεια που πήραν επί χούντας οι ευυπόληπτοι πολίτες και αγόρασαν γη και οικόπεδα για να κτίσουν." Translation: "...&nbsp;for the loans of the sea which were received, during the junta years, by respected citizens and bought land and properties to build on"</ref>

Another contested policy of the regime was the writing-off of agricultural loans, up to a value of 100,000 drachmas, to farmers. This has been attributed to an attempt by Papadopoulos to gain public support for his regime.

==Italian connection==
{{further|Borghese Coup}}
At the time, the Italian far right was very impressed with the methods of Papadopoulos and his junta.  In April 1968, Papadopoulos invited fifty members of the Italian far right on a Greek tour, to demonstrate the junta's methods.<ref name="Ganser"/> Invitees included [[Stefano Delle Chiaie]] and members of [[Ordine Nuovo]], [[Avanguardia Nazionale]], Europa Civiltà, and FUAN-La Caravella.<ref name="Ganser"/><ref name="Laruelle2015">{{cite book|author=Marlene Laruelle|title=Eurasianism and the European Far Right: Reshaping the Europe–Russia Relationship|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=V9nRCQAAQBAJ&pg=PA103|date=1 July 2015|publisher=Lexington Books|isbn=978-1-4985-1069-1|pages=103–104}}</ref> (cf Frattini, Entity, 2004, p.&nbsp;304) The Italians were impressed.  Upon returning to their country, they escalated their political violence, embarking on a terror campaign of bombings and other violence which killed and injured hundreds.<ref name="Ganser"/> Afterwards, the right-wing instigators of this violence blamed the communists.<ref name="Ganser"/>

After their visit to Greece, the Italian neo-fascists also engaged in [[false flag]] operations and embarked on a campaign of infiltration of leftist, anarchist, and Marxist–Leninist organisations.<ref name="Laruelle2015"/> One of the neo-fascists conducted frequent provocations and infiltrations that have been suggested were connected to the [[Piazza Fontana bombing]] on 12 December 1969, although no hard proof has ever been uncovered to link the actions.<ref name="Laruelle2015"/> The Greek junta was so impressed with the manner in which their Italian counterparts were paving the way toward an Italian coup d'état that, on 15 May 1969, Papadopoulos sent them a congratulatory message stating that "His Excellency the Prime Minister notes that the efforts that have been undertaken by the Greek National government in Italy for some time start to have some impact".<ref name="Ganser"/>

== Anti-junta movement ==
{{more citations needed section|date=April 2012}}

The entire left wing of the Greek political spectrum, including the long outlawed Communist Party of Greece, opposed the junta from the start.  Many new militant groups formed in 1968, both in exile and in Greece, to promote democratic rule.  These included [[Panhellenic Liberation Movement]], [[Democratic Defense]], and the [[Socialist Democratic Union]].  The first armed action against the junta was [[Alexandros Panagoulis]]'s failed attempt to assassinate [[Georgios Papadopoulos|George Papadopoulos]], on 13 August 1968.

===Assassination attempt by Panagoulis===
The assassination attempt took place on the morning of 13 August, when Papadopoulos went from his summer residence in [[Lagonisi]] to [[Athens]], escorted by his personal security motorcycles and cars. Alexandros Panagoulis ignited a bomb at a point of the coastal road where the limousine carrying Papadopoulos had to slow down, but the bomb failed to harm Papadopoulos. Panagoulis was captured a few hours later in a nearby sea cave, as the boat that would let him escape the scene of the attack had not shown up.

Panagoulis was transferred to the [[Greek Military Police]] (EAT-ESA) offices, where he was questioned, beaten, and tortured (see the proceedings of Theofiloyiannakos's trial).  On 17 November 1968, he was sentenced to death.  He remained in prison for five years.  After democracy was restored, Panagoulis was elected into Parliament.  He is regarded as emblematic of the struggle to restore democracy.

===Broadening of the movement===
The funeral of [[George Papandreou, Sr.]], on 3 November 1968, spontaneously turned into a massive demonstration against the junta.  Thousands of Athenians disobeyed the military's orders, and followed the casket to the cemetery.  The junta arrested 41 people.

On 28 March 1969, after two years of widespread censorship, political detentions and torture, [[Giorgos Seferis]], recipient of the [[Nobel Prize for Literature]] in 1963, took a stand against the junta. He made a statement on the [[BBC World Service]],<ref>John Karavidas, [https://translate.google.com/translate?hl=en&sl=el&u=http://www.bbc.co.uk/greek/seferis.shtml&sa=X&oi=translate&resnum=1&ct=result&prev=/search%3Fq%3D%25CE%25A3%25CE%25B5%25CF%2586%25CE%25AD%25CF%2581%25CE%25B7%25CF%2582%2B%25CF%2587%25CE%25BF%25CF%258D%25CE%25BD%25CF%2584%25CE%25B1%2BBBC%26hl%3Den%26safe%3Doff%26rlz%3D1B3GGGL_enCA205CA242 George Seferis and the BBC], BBC Greek service, translation by Google. Retrieved 6 July 2008</ref> with copies simultaneously distributed to every newspaper in Athens. Attacking the colonels, he passionately demanded that "This anomaly must end".  Seferis died before the junta ended.  His funeral, on 20 September 1972, turned into a massive demonstration against the military government.

Also in 1969, [[Costa-Gavras]] released the film [[Z (1969 film)|''Z'']], based on a book by celebrated left-wing writer [[Vassilis Vassilikos]]. The film, banned in Greece, presented a lightly fictionalized account of the events surrounding the assassination of [[United Democratic Left]] MP [[Gregoris Lambrakis]] in 1963. The film captured the sense of outrage about the junta. The soundtrack of the film was written by [[Mikis Theodorakis]], who was imprisoned by the junta and later went into exile, and the music was smuggled into the country and added to other inspirational, underground Theodorakis tracks.

A lesser known [[Danish language|Danish]] film, in Greek, ''[[Your Neighbor's Son]]'', detailed the subordination and training of simple youths to become torturers for the junta.

===International protest===
[[File:Bundesarchiv Bild 183-F0503-0204-005, Stuttgart, Maikundgebung.jpg|thumb|Protest against the junta by Greek political exiles in Germany, 1967]]

The junta exiled thousands, on the grounds that they were communists and/or "enemies of the country". Most of them were subjected to internal exile on Greek deserted islands, such as [[Makronisos]], [[Gyaros]], [[Gioura]], or inhabited islands such as [[Leros]], [[Agios Eustratios]] or [[Paleo Trikeri|Trikeri]]. 
The most famous were in external exile, most of whom were substantially involved in the resistance, organising protests in European capital cities or helping and hiding refugees from Greece.

These included: [[Melina Mercouri]], actor, singer (and, after 1981 [[Minister for Culture (Greece)|Minister for Culture]]); [[Mikis Theodorakis]], composer of resistance songs; [[Costas Simitis]] ([[Prime Minister of Greece|prime minister]] from 1996 to 2004); [[Andreas Papandreou]] (prime minister from 1981 to 1989 and again from 1993 to 1996); and Lady [[Amalia Fleming]] (wife of Sir [[Alexander Fleming]], philanthropist, political activist).<ref>{{cite book|last=Nafpliotis|first=Alexandros|title=Britain and the Greek Colonels: Accommodating the Junta in the Cold War|year=2012|publisher=I.B. Tauris|location=London|pages=276–277|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Px2buAAACAAJ&q=alexandros+nafpliotis|isbn=9781848859524}}</ref> Some chose exile, unable to stand life under the junta. For example, Melina Mercouri was allowed to enter Greece, but stayed away on her own accord.

In the early hours of 19 September 1970, in Matteotti square in [[Genoa]], [[geology]] student [[Kostas Georgakis]] set himself ablaze in protest against the dictatorship of George Papadopoulos. The junta delayed the arrival of his remains to [[Corfu#Famous persons associated with Corfu|Corfu]] for four months, fearing public reaction and protests. At the time, his death caused a sensation in Greece and abroad, as it was the first tangible manifestation of the depth of resistance against the junta. He is the only known anti-junta resistance activist to have sacrificed himself.  He is considered the precursor of later student protest, such as the [[Athens Polytechnic uprising]]. The Municipality of Corfu dedicated a memorial in his honour, near his home in [[Corfu (city)|Corfu city]].

In a speech before the U.S. Senate on 6 November 1971, Senator [[Lee Metcalf]] listed the members of the Greek junta who had served in the collaborationist [[Security Battalions]] and denounced the administration of [[Richard Nixon]] for supporting what he called a "junta of Nazi collaborators".<ref>Simpson, Christoper ''America's Recruitment of Nazis and Its Destructive Impact on Our Domestic and Foreign Policy'', London:  Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 1988 pp. 81–82.</ref> The German writer, [[Investigative journalism|investigative reporter]] and journalist [[Günter Wallraff]] traveled to Greece in May 1974. While in [[Syntagma Square]], he protested against human right violations. He was arrested and tortured by the police, as he did not carry, on purpose, any papers on him that could identify him as a foreigner. After his identity was revealed, Wallraff was convicted and sentenced to 14 months in jail. He was released in August, after the end of the dictatorship.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.guenter-wallraff.com/biographie.html |title=Biography of Günther Wallraff |publisher=Guenter-wallraff.com |date=9 December 1969 |access-date=18 April 2009}}</ref>

===''Velos'' mutiny===
[[File:Velos D16.jpg|thumb|upright=1.15|The destroyer {{Lang|el-Latn|Velos}} ({{Lang|el|Βέλος}}, 'Arrow'), now a museum ship at [[Palaio Faliro]] in Athens]]

In an anti-[[military junta|junta]] protest, on 23 May 1973, [[USS Charrette|HNS ''Velos'']], under the command of Commander [[Nikolaos Pappas]], refused to return to Greece after participating in a [[NATO]] exercise and remained anchored at [[Fiumicino, Italy]]. During a patrol with other NATO vessels between continental Italy and [[Sardinia]], the commander and the officers heard over the radio that a number of fellow naval officers had been arrested in Greece. Commander Pappas was involved in a group of democratic officers who remained loyal to their oath to obey the Constitution and planned to act against the junta. [[Evangelos Averoff]] also participated in the ''Velos'' mutiny, for which he was later arrested as an "instigator".<ref>{{cite book|last=Nafpliotis|first=Alexandros|title=Britain and the Greek Colonels: Accommodating the Junta in the Cold War|year=2012|publisher=I.B. Tauris|location=London|pages=183–184|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Px2buAAACAAJ&q=alexandros+nafpliotis|isbn=9781848859524}}</ref>

Pappas believed that since his fellow anti-junta officers had been arrested, there was no more hope for a movement inside Greece. He therefore decided to act alone in order to motivate global public opinion. He mustered all the crew to the stern and announced his decision, which was received with enthusiasm by the crew.{{Citation needed|date=April 2010}}

Pappas signalled his intentions to the squadron commander and NATO headquarters, quoting the preamble of the [[North Atlantic Treaty]], which declares that "all governments&nbsp;... are determined to safeguard the freedom, common heritage and civilisation of their peoples, founded on the principles of democracy, individual liberty and the rule of law", and, leaving formation, sailed for Rome. There, anchored about {{convert|3.5|nmi|km|0}} away from the coast of Fiumicino, three ensigns sailed ashore with a whaleboat, went to [[Fiumicino Airport]] and telephoned the international press agencies, notifying them of the situation in Greece, the presence of the destroyer, and that the captain would hold a press conference the next day.{{Citation needed|date=April 2010}}

This action increased international interest in the situation in Greece.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Nafpliotis|first1=Alexandros|title="A gift from God": Anglo-Greek relations during the dictatorship of the Greek colonels|journal=The Historical Review/La Revue Historique|date=December 2014|volume=11|pages=95–96|doi=10.12681/hr.329|doi-access=free}}</ref> The commander, six officers, and twenty five [[petty officer]]s requested permission to remain abroad as political refugees. Indeed, the whole crew wished to follow their commander but were advised by its officers to remain onboard and return to Greece to inform families and friends about what happened. ''Velos'' returned to Greece after a month with a replacement crew. After the fall of the junta all officers and petty officers returned to the Navy.{{Citation needed|date=April 2010}}

==Collapse==
The collapse of the junta both ideologically and politically was triggered by a series of events which unfolded soon after Papadopoulos' attempt at liberalisation, with ideological collapse preceding its eventual political collapse. During and following this ill-fated process the internal political strains of the junta came to the fore and pitted the junta [[Political faction|factions]] against each other, thus destroying the seemingly monolithic cohesion of the dictatorship.

This had the effect of seriously weakening the coherence of the political message and, consequently, the regime's credibility.  Later events showed that this was a fatal blow, from which the junta never recovered.  At the same time, during Papadopoulos' attempt at liberalisation, some of the junta constraints were removed from Greece's [[body politic]].  This led to demands for more freedoms, and political unrest, in a society well used to democratic action prior to the dictatorship.

===Normalization and attempts at liberalization===
[[File:Flag of the President of Greece (1973–1974).svg|thumb|Presidential standard (1973–74)]]
Despite his heavy-handed approach to dissent, Papadopoulos had indicated as early as 1968 that he was eager for a reform process. He had declared at the time that he did not want the "Revolution" ([[Glossary of the Greek military junta|junta speak]] for the "dictatorship") to become a "regime".  He attempted to initiate reforms in 1969 and 1970 but was thwarted by the hardline members of the junta, including Ioannidis.  Subsequent to his 1970 failed attempt at reform, he threatened to resign.  He was dissuaded when the hardliners renewed their personal allegiance to him.<ref name="The Metapolitefsi that never was">Ioannis Tzortzis, {{cite web|url=http://www.lse.ac.uk/collections/hellenicObservatory/pdf/TheMetapolitefsiThatNeverWas.pdf |title=The Metapolitefsi that never was |access-date=15 June 2007 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070710022854/http://www.lse.ac.uk/collections/hellenicObservatory/pdf/TheMetapolitefsiThatNeverWas.pdf |archive-date=10 July 2007}} Quote: "The Americans asked the Greek government to allow the use of their bases in Greek territory and air space to supply Israel; Markezinis, backed by Papadopoulos, denied on the grounds of maintaining good relations with the Arab countries. This denial is said to have turned the US against Papadopoulos and Markezinis." Quote: "Thus the students had been played straight into the hands of Ioannidis, who looked upon the coming elections with a jaundiced eye." Quote: "The latter [i.e. Markezinis] would insist until the end of his life that subversion on behalf… Markezinis was known for his independence to the US interests." Quote: "In that situation Ioannidis was emerging as a solution for the officers, in sharp contrast to Papadopoulos, whose accumulation 'of so many offices and titles (President of Republic, Prime Minister, minister of Defence) was harming the seriousness of the regime and giving it an unacceptable image, which was not left un-exploited by its opponents". Quote: "The first attempt of Papadopoulos to start a process of reform occurred in the spring of 1968. He was claiming that if the 'Revolution' stayed more than a certain time in power, it would lose its dynamics and transform into a 'regime', which was not in his intentions. He tried to implicate Markezinis in the attempt; however, he met the stiff resistance of the hard-liners. Another attempt was again frustrated in the end of 1969 and the beginning of 1970; Papadopoulos was then disappointed and complaining 'I am being subverted by my fellow Evelpides cadets!’ As a result of this second failure, he considered resigning in the summer of 1970, complaining that he lacked any support from other leading figures, his own closest followers included. But the rest of the faction leaders renewed their trust to him." Quote: "The 1973 oil crisis finally dealt a real financial shock to the Greek economy, as it did to all non-oil producing countries, and marked the end of inflation-free growth in Greece for more than two decades."</ref> There was a significant divide in the junta between those like Papadoupolos who identified with the legacy of [[Eleftherios Venizelos]] and hardliners who identified with [[Ioannis Metaxas]].

On 10 April 1970 Papadopoulos announced the formation of the {{Lang|el-Latn|Simvouleftiki Epitropi}} ({{Lang|el|Συμβουλευτική Επιτροπή}}, "Advisory Council") otherwise known as "Papadopoulos' (pseudo) Parliament".<ref>[http://www.tovima.gr/default.asp?pid=2&ct=78&artid=188180&dt=20/04/2008 Το (πολιτικό) παρασκήνιο του τελικού στο Γουέμπλεϊ Ιούνιος 1971] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090823075822/http://www.tovima.gr/default.asp?pid=2&ct=78&artid=188180&dt=20%2F04%2F2008 |date=23 August 2009 }} Quote: "Δύο μεγάλα αθλητικά γεγονότα μέσα στην ίδια χρονιά, το 1971, έφεραν την Ελλάδα ξανά στο προσκήνιο μετά τη διεθνή απομόνωσή της για τρία χρόνια εξαιτίας του θλιβερού πραξικοπήματος του 1967. Θέλοντας να δημιουργήσει την εντύπωση μιας δήθεν φιλελευθεροποίησης στη λειτουργία του πολιτεύματος, ο Παπαδόπουλος «προκηρύσσει» μέσα στην ίδια χρονιά «εκλογές» για την ανάδειξη '''Συμβουλευτικής Επιτροπής''', ''ενός είδους υβριδικής, μικρής Βουλής'', και αδειάζει τα ξερονήσια και τις φυλακές από κάμποσους πολιτικούς κρατουμένους, μερικοί από τους οποίους παίρνουν διαβατήριο και αναχωρούν για το εξωτερικό. " ΦΩΤΕΙΝΗ ΤΟΜΑΗ | Κυριακή 20 Απριλίου 2008 Article: To Vima By Fotini Tomai 20 April 2008 (In Greek)</ref><ref name="Eleftherotypia">[http://www.iospress.gr/ios2007/ios20070930.htm Ο κ. πρόεδρος και η χούντα from isopress] "Mr President and the Junta" Ελευθεροτυπία, 30 September 2007 Eleftherotypia 30 September 2007 Quote: "Τη δημιουργία της «Επιτροπής» εξήγγειλε στις 10.4.70 ο δικτάτορας Γεώργιος Παπαδόπουλος σε συνέντευξη Τύπου, ως μέτρο φιλελευθεροποίησης του καθεστώτος. Οπως εξήγησε στους ξένους και Ελληνες δημοσιογράφους, ο Παπαδόπουλος χρησιμοποίησε τον όρο «'''Συμβουλευτική Επιτροπή'''», γιατί θεωρούσε τη λέξη Βουλή «ολίγον κακόηχον»."</ref> Composed of members elected through an electoral type process but limited only to {{Lang|el-Latn|ethnikofrones}} ({{Lang|el|Εθνικόφρων}}, '[[Glossary of the Greek military junta|regime supporters]]'), it was bicameral, composed of the Central Advisory Council and the Provincial Advisory Council. The Central Council met in Athens in the Parliament Building. Both councils had the purpose to advise the dictator. At the time of the announcement of the formation of the council, Papadopoulos explained that he wanted to avoid using the term {{Lang|el-Latn|Vouli}} ({{Lang|el|Βουλή}}, 'Parliament') for the Committee because it sounded bad.<ref name="Eleftherotypia"/>

The council was dissolved just prior to Papadopoulos' failed attempt to liberalise his regime. As internal dissatisfaction grew in the early 1970s, and especially after an abortive coup by the [[Hellenic Navy|Navy]] in early 1973,<ref name="The Metapolitefsi that never was"/> Papadopoulos attempted to legitimize the regime by beginning a gradual "democratization" (See also the article on [[Metapolitefsi#Prologue|Metapolitefsi]]).

On 1 June 1973, he abolished the monarchy and declared Greece a republic with himself as president. He was confirmed in office after [[Greek republic referendum, 1973|a controversial referendum]], the results of which were not recognised by the political parties. He furthermore sought the support of the old political establishment, but secured only the cooperation of [[Spiros Markezinis]], who was appointed prime minister. Concurrently, many restrictions were lifted, and the army's role significantly reduced. Papadopoulos intended to establish a [[presidential republic]], with extensive–and within the context of the system, almost dictatorial–powers vested in the presidency. The decision to return to political rule and the restriction of the military's role was resented by many of the regime's supporters in the [[Hellenic Army|Army]], whose dissatisfaction with Papadopoulos would become evident a few months later.

===Uprising at the Polytechnic===
{{Main|Athens Polytechnic uprising}}

Papadopoulos' heavy-handed attempt at liberalisation did not find favour among many in Greece. The stilted democratisation process he proposed was constrained by multiple factors. His inexperience at carrying out an unprecedented political experiment of democratisation was burdened by his tendency to concentrate as much power in his hands as possible, a weakness he exhibited during the junta years when he would sometimes hold multiple high-echelon government portfolios. This especially antagonised the [[intelligentsia]], whose primary exponents were the students. The students at the Law School in Athens, for example, demonstrated multiple times against the dictatorship prior to the events at the Polytechneion.

The tradition of [[student protest]] was always strong in Greece, even before the dictatorship. Papadopoulos tried hard to suppress and discredit the student movement during his tenure at the helm of the junta. But the liberalisation process he undertook allowed the students to organise more freely, and this gave the opportunity to the students at the [[National Technical University of Athens]] to organise a demonstration that grew progressively larger and more effective. The political momentum was on the side of the students. Sensing this, the junta panicked and reacted violently.<ref>Kostis Kornetis (2013). Children of the Dictatorship. Student Resistance, Cultural Politics and the "Long 1960s" in Greece. New York : Berghahn Books.</ref>

In the early hours of Saturday, 17 November 1973, Papadopoulos sent the army to suppress the student strike and sit-in of the {{Lang|el-Latn|Eleftheri Poliorkimeni}} ({{Lang|el|Ελεύθεροι Πολιορκημένοι}}, 'Free Besieged'), as the students called themselves, at the Athens Polytechnic which had commenced on 14 November. Shortly after 3:00&nbsp;am. EET, under almost complete cover of darkness, an [[AMX 30]] tank crashed through the rail gate of the Athens Polytechnic with subsequent loss of life. An estimated 24 people were killed. The army also occupied [[Syntagma Square]] for at least the following day. Even the sidewalk cafes were closed.

Ioannidis' involvement in inciting unit commanders to commit criminal acts during the uprising, so that he could facilitate his own upcoming coup, was noted in the indictment presented to the court by the prosecutor during the [[Greek junta trials]], and in his subsequent conviction in the Polytechneion trial where he was found to have been morally responsible for the events.<ref name="Tsevas">[http://www.vrahokipos.net/old/history/gr/polytexneio/Tsevas.htm Tsevas report] Quote: "Οι Ιωαννίδης και Ρουφογάλης, δια των εις αυτούς πιστών Αξιωματικών και πρακτόρων, επηρεάζουν σοβαρώς και σαφώς την όλην επιχείρησιν, εξαπολύοντες κύμα βιαιοτήτων και πυροβολισμών, επί τω τέλει της δημιουργίας ευνοϊκών δια την προαποφασισθείσαν κίνησιν συνθηκών ασφαλείας, αναταραχής και συγκρούσεων."</ref><ref name="Unrepetant">[https://archive.today/20130217215014/http://www.enet.gr/online/online_text/c=112,dt=23.07.2008,id=2496400,10059024,24232592 Eleftherotypia] Unrepentant for the Dictatorship. Retrieved 15 August 2008 (In Greek)<br />[https://translate.google.com/translate?hl=en&sl=el&u=http://www.enet.gr/online/online_text/c%3D112,dt%3D23.07.2008,id%3D2496400&sa=X&oi English translation by Google]</ref>

===Ioannidis coup and regime===
{{Infobox military conflict
| conflict    = Ioannidis coup and regime
| image       = 
| caption     = 
| date        = 25 November 1973
| place       = [[Athens]], Greece
| result      = Coup successful
* [[Georgios Papadopoulos]] overthrown and put under house arrest.
* [[Dimitrios Ioannidis]] assumes power.
* Coup reverses attempts to liberalize the military junta. 
| combatant1  = {{flagicon image|Flag of Greece (1970-1975).svg}} Hardliner faction
* {{flagicon image|War_flag_of_the_Hellenic_Army.svg|link=Hellenic Army}} Army dissidents
| combatant2  = {{flagicon image|Flag of Greece (1970-1975).svg}} Government
| commander1  = {{flagicon image|Flag of Greece (1970-1975).svg}} [[Dimitrios Ioannidis]]<br>{{flagicon image|Flag of Greece (1970-1975).svg}} [[Phaedon Gizikis]]
| commander2  = {{flagicon image|Flag of Greece (1970-1975).svg}} [[Georgios Papadopoulos]]<br>{{flagicon image|Flag of Greece (1970-1975).svg}} [[Spyros Markezinis]]
| strength1   = 
| strength2   = 
| casualties1 = 
| casualties2 = 
}}
The uprising triggered a series of events that put an abrupt end to Papadopoulos' attempts at "liberalisation".<ref>''[[Washington Post]]'' 16 April 1973, p. A6.</ref>

Brigadier [[Dimitrios Ioannidis]], a disgruntled junta hardliner and long-time protégé of Papadopoulos as head of the feared Military Police, used the uprising as a pretext to reestablish public order, and staged a counter-coup that overthrew Papadopoulos and [[Spyros Markezinis]] on 25 November. Military law was reinstated, and the new junta appointed General [[Phaedon Gizikis]] as president and economist [[Adamantios Androutsopoulos]] as prime minister, although Ioannidis remained the behind-the-scenes strongman.

Ioannidis's heavy-handed and opportunistic intervention had the effect of destroying the myth that the junta was an [[Ideal (ethics)|idealistic]] group of army officers with exactly the same ideals who came to save Greece by using their collective wisdom. The main tenet of the junta ideology (and mythology) was gone and so was the collective. By default, he remained the only man at the top after toppling the other three principals of the junta. Characteristically, he cited ideological reasons for ousting the Papadopoulos faction, accusing them with straying from the principles of the Revolution, especially of being corrupt and misusing their privileges as army officers for financial gains.

Papadopoulos and his junta always claimed that the 21 April 1967 "revolution" saved Greece from the old party system. Now Ioannidis was, in effect, claiming that his coup saved the revolution from the Papadopoulos faction. The dysfunction as well as the ideological fragmentation and fractionalisation of the junta was finally out in the open. Ioannidis, however, did not make these accusations personally as he always tried to avoid unnecessary publicity. The radio broadcasts, following the now familiar "coup in progress" scenario featuring martial music interspersed with military orders and curfew announcements, kept repeating that the army was taking back the reins of power in order to save the principles of the revolution and that the overthrow of the Papadopoulos-Markezinis government was supported by the army, navy and air force.<ref name="BBC: On this day">[http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/november/25/newsid_2546000/2546297.stm BBC: On this day] quote:A military communiqué announced the overthrow of the government was supported by the army, navy and air force and said it was a "continuation of the revolution of 1967", when the Greek colonels, headed by Mr Papadopoulos, seized control. The statement went on to accuse Mr Papadopoulos of "straying from the ideals of the 1967 revolution" and "pushing the country towards parliamentary rule too quickly".</ref>

At the same time they announced that the new coup was a "continuation of the revolution of 1967" and accused Papadopoulos with "straying from the ideals of the 1967 revolution" and "pushing the country towards parliamentary rule too quickly".<ref name="BBC: On this day"/>

Prior to seizing power, Ioannidis preferred to work in the background and he never held any formal office in the junta. He was now the ''de facto'' leader of a [[Puppet state|puppet regime]] composed by members some of whom were rounded up by [[Greek Military Police]] (ESA) soldiers in roving jeeps to serve and others that were simply chosen by mistake.<ref name="Greece marks '73 student uprising">[http://www.athensnews.gr/athweb/nathens.print_unique?e=C&f=12502&m=A01&aa=3&eidos=A "Greece marks '73 student uprising"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080617131656/http://www.athensnews.gr/athweb/nathens.print_unique?e=C&f=12502&m=A01&aa=3&eidos=A |date=17 June 2008 }}, and: "the notorious Brigadier Dimitrios Ioannidis now serving a life sentence for his part in the 1967 seizure of power – immediately scrapped a programme of liberalisation introduced earlier" and: "His was but to do the bidding of a junta strongman who had never made a secret of his belief that Greeks were not ready for democracy."
''Athens News'', 17 November 1999</ref><ref name="Mario Modiano">Mario Modiano ''[[The Times]]'', [http://www.athensnews.gr/athweb/nathens.print_unique?e=C&f=13076&m=A06&aa=1&eidos=A "A long, happy summer night 30 years ago"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090605043730/http://www.athensnews.gr/athweb/nathens.print_unique?e=C&f=13076&m=A06&aa=1&eidos=A |date=5 June 2009 }}, ''Athens News'', 23 July 2004 quote1: "My friend had been sworn in as a minister by mistake. After his coup, Ioannidis dispatched military policemen in jeeps to round up the people he needed to man a puppet government. When they turned up at my friend's home and ordered him to follow them, he was convinced that the soldiers intended to shoot him." quote 2: "The meeting lasted five hours. Then there was a break, and by the time the meeting resumed, Evangelos Averoff, the former foreign minister, who was there, had already telephoned Constantine Karamanlis in Paris to urge him to return immediately and assume the reins of power."</ref> The Ioannidis method of forming a government dealt yet another blow to the rapidly diminishing credibility of the regime both at home and abroad.

The new junta, despite its rather inauspicious origins, pursued an aggressive internal crackdown and an expansionist foreign policy.

===Cypriot coup d'état, Turkish invasion and fall of the junta===
{{Main|1974 Cypriot coup d'état|Turkish invasion of Cyprus|Metapolitefsi}}
[[File:Cy-map.png|thumb|Map showing the division of Cyprus]]

Sponsored by Ioannidis, on 15 July 1974 a [[1974 Cypriot coup d'état|coup d'état]] on the island of [[Cyprus]] overthrew Archbishop [[Makarios III]], the [[President of Cyprus|Cypriot President]]. Turkey replied to this by [[Turkish invasion of Cyprus|invading Cyprus]] and occupying the northern part of the island, after heavy fighting with the Cypriot and Greek [[ELDYK]] Forces ({{Lang|el|ΕΛ.ΔΥ.Κ. (Ελληνική Δύναμη Κύπρου)}}, "Greek Force for Cyprus"). During a military council, Ioannidis is reported to have said angrily to the American minister [[Joseph J. Sisco]] (who was present) "You betrayed us! You had assured us that you would prevent any Turkish landing".<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.defence-point.gr/news/%ce%bc%ce%b9%ce%b1-%cf%83%ce%b7%ce%bc%ce%b1%ce%bd%cf%84%ce%b9%ce%ba%ce%ae-%cf%83%cf%85%ce%bd%ce%b5%ce%b9%cf%83%cf%86%ce%bf%cf%81%ce%ac-%cf%83%cf%84%ce%b7%ce%bd-%ce%b1%ce%bb%ce%ae%ce%b8%ce%b5%ce%b9|title=Μια σημαντική συνεισφορά στην αλήθεια για το 1974 &#124; Defence-point.gr}}</ref>

There was a well-founded fear that an all-out war with Turkey was imminent. The Cyprus fiasco led to senior Greek military officers withdrawing their support for junta strongman Brigadier [[Dimitrios Ioannidis]]. Junta-appointed President [[Phaedon Gizikis]] called a meeting of old-guard politicians, including [[Panagiotis Kanellopoulos]], [[Spiros Markezinis]], [[Stephanos Stephanopoulos]], [[Evangelos Averoff]], and others.

[[File:Karamanlis-konstantinos2.jpg| thumb|upright|left|[[Konstantinos Karamanlis]] led the country's transition to democracy, the establishment of the [[Third Hellenic Republic]], the trial of the junta leaders, and the purge of the Army of its members.]]
The agenda was to appoint a national unity government that would lead the country to elections. Although former prime minister [[Panagiotis Kanellopoulos]] was originally backed, on 23 July, Gizikis finally invited former prime minister [[Konstantinos Karamanlis]], who had resided in Paris since 1963, to assume the role.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/july/23/newsid_2515000/2515819.stm|title=1974: Greek military rule gives in to democracy|work=[[BBC Online]]|access-date=23 July 2011|date=23 July 1974}}</ref> Karamanlis returned to [[Athens]] on a [[President of France|French Presidency]] [[Learjet]] made available to him by President [[Valéry Giscard d'Estaing]], a close personal friend, and was sworn in as prime minister under President [[Phaedon Gizikis]]. Karamanlis' new party, [[New Democracy (Greece)|New Democracy]], won the [[Greek legislative election, 1974|November 1974 general election]], and he became prime minister.

Parliamentary democracy was thus restored and the [[Greek legislative election, 1974|Greek legislative elections of 1974]] were the first free elections held in a decade. A referendum held 8 December 1974 rejected re-establishment of the monarchy by a 2-to-1 margin, and Greece became a republic.<ref>[https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=Aul-kAQHnToC&dat=19741209&printsec=frontpage&hl=en "Greeks Spurn Monarchy"], ''[[Deseret News]]'' 9 December 1974, p. 1A.</ref>

== Trials of the junta (1975)==
{{Main|Greek junta trials}}

In January 1975 the junta members were arrested and in early August of the same year the government of Konstantinos Karamanlis brought charges of [[high treason]] and [[insurrection]] against Georgios Papadopoulos and nineteen other co-conspirators of the military junta.<ref name="Time Korydallos">[https://web.archive.org/web/20081213130557/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,917678,00.html "The Colonels on Trial"]. ''Time''. Retrieved 15 August 2008.</ref> The mass trial was staged at the [[Korydallos Prison]]. The trial was described as "Greece's [[Nuremberg Trials|Nuremberg]]".<ref name="Time Korydallos"/> One thousand soldiers armed with [[submachine gun]]s provided security.<ref name="Time Korydallos"/> The roads leading to the jail were patrolled by tanks.<ref name="Time Korydallos"/>

[[File:Trial of the junta.jpg|thumb|upright=1.15|Members of the junta on trial. Front row (from left): Papadopoulos, Makarezos, and Pattakos. Ioannidis can be seen on the second row, just behind Pattakos.]]

Papadopoulos, Pattakos, Makarezos and Ioannidis were sentenced to death for high treason.<ref name="Answering to History">{{cite magazine|url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,947162,00.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081212222634/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,947162,00.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=12 December 2008 |title=Answering to History |magazine=Time |date=1 September 1975 |access-date=18 April 2009}}</ref> These sentences were later commuted to [[life imprisonment]] by the Karamanlis government for humanitarian reasons. A plan to grant amnesty to the junta principals by the [[Konstantinos Mitsotakis]] government in 1990 was cancelled after protests from conservatives, socialists and communists.<ref>[https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9C0CE7DF163FF932A05751C1A966958260 "Greece Cancels Plan to Pardon Ex-Junta Members"]. ''Time''. 31 December 1990. Retrieved 15 August 2008.</ref>

Papadopoulos died in the hospital in 1999 after being transferred from Korydallos while Ioannidis remained incarcerated until his death in 2010. This trial was followed by a second trial which centred on the events and the murders during the [[Athens Polytechnic uprising]] and a third called "The trial of the torturers".

==Legacy and Greek public opinion==
The historical repercussions of the junta were profound and are still felt to this day in Greece. Internally the absence of civil rights and the oppression that followed created a sense of fear and persecution among many in the population creating trauma and division that persisted long after the fall of the junta. The Cyprus debacle created a tragedy that is still unfolding.<ref name="Karamanlis Time"/><ref>{{Cite journal |doi=10.2307/1147991 |jstor=1147991 |quote=to crystallize as the Cyprus tragedy was enlarged by the Turkish invasion. |title=Bitter Lessons: How We Failed in Cyprus |last1=Stern |first1=Laurence |journal=Foreign Policy |date=1975 |issue=19 |pages=34–78 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |doi=10.1353/mgs.2002.0004 |quote=problem of Cyprus and might have spared the island from the tragedy of 1974 |title=Recent Perspectives on Cyprus |date=2002 |last1=Coufoudakis |first1=Van |journal=Journal of Modern Greek Studies |volume=20 |pages=143–146 |s2cid=145139267 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Modiano |first=Mario |date=July 23, 2004 |title=A long, happy summer night 30 years ago |work=Athens News |url=http://www.athensnews.gr/old_issue/13076/11554?action=print |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120125214839/http://www.athensnews.gr/old_issue/13076/11554?action=print |archive-date=25 January 2012 |quote=It was clear that this was a critical day for the future of Greece. Turkey had invaded Cyprus on 20 July while the general mobilisation ordered by the Greek regime turned out to be a major fiasco. The civilian government of Adamantios Androutsopoulos, appointed by the second junta under Military Police Brigadier Demetrios Ioannidis, had suddenly vanished from public sight}}</ref>

While the Cyprus fiasco was due to the actions of Ioannidis,<ref>[http://www.ciaonet.org/isa/gas02/ Models of Transitional Justice] – A Comparative Analysis Stephen A. Garrett International Studies Association 41st Annual Convention Los Angeles, CA 14–18 March 2000 Quote: "Perhaps as important as anything else in establishing the vulnerability of that regime to prosecution was its total discreditation as an institution. Certainly the Cyprus fiasco played a key role here, but also important was the failure of the Papadopolous/Ioannidis government ever 'to consolidate, to institutionalize and to legitimate itself'."</ref> it was Papadopoulos who started the cycle of coups. Externally, the absence of human rights in a country belonging to the [[Western Bloc]] during the [[Cold War]] was a continuous source of embarrassment for the free world, and this and other reasons made Greece an international pariah abroad and interrupted its process of integration with the [[European Union]] with incalculable [[opportunity cost]]s.<ref name="Karamanlis Time">[https://web.archive.org/web/20081213130517/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,879413-2,00.html {{"'}}I Am with You, Democracy Is with You{{'"}}]. ''Time''. 5 August 1974. Quote: "Denied Benefits. When the Council of Europe tried to investigate charges that the regime was torturing prisoners, Athens quit the respected if powerless body rather than risk the inquiry. The Common Market was so repelled by the actions of the junta that it expelled Greece from associate membership in the EEC, thus denying the Greek economy some $300 million annually in agricultural benefits." and "Caramanlis called the crisis 'a national tragedy' and appealed to Greece's armed forces to bring about a 'political change' in a liberal and democratic direction." Retrieved 6 July 2008</ref>

The 21 April regime remains highly controversial to this day, with most Greeks holding very strong and polarised views in regards to it. According to a survey by Kapa Research published in the centre-left newspaper ''[[To Vima]]'' in 2002, the majority of the electoral body (54.7%) consider the regime to have been bad or harmful for Greece while 20.7% consider it to have been good for Greece and 19.8% believe that it was neither good nor harmful.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.hri.org/cgi-bin/brief?/news/greek/mpab/2002/02-04-21.mpab.html#01|title=Macedonian Press Agency: News in English, 02-04-21|website=hri.org}}</ref> In April 2013, the Metron Analysis Poll, found that 30% of Greeks yearned for the "better" days of the Junta.<ref>{{cite news| url=http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/politics-and-nation/one-in-three-greeks-yearns-for-junta-years-poll/articleshow/19663813.cms | work=[[The Times of India]] | title=One in three Greeks yearns for junta years: Poll}}</ref>

The experiences in Greece were formative for several CIA officers, including [[Clair George]] and [[Gust Avrakotos]]. Avrakotos, for example, dealt with the aftermath when [[Revolutionary Organization 17 November]] murdered his superior, CIA station chief [[Richard Welch]], in 1975. Many of his junta-connected associates were also assassinated in this time period. Avrakotos himself had his cover blown by the media and his life became endangered.<ref name="crile"/> In 1999, U.S. President [[Bill Clinton]] apologised on the behalf of the U.S. government for supporting the military junta in the name of Cold War tactics.<ref>"Clinton lamenta el apoyo de EU a Junta Griega", ''[[La Opinión]]'': Los Angeles, CA, 21 November 1999, page A1.</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Hunt |first=Terence |date=21 November 1999 |title=Clinton concedes regret for U.S. support of Greek junta |work=[[The Topeka Capital-Journal]] |agency=Associated Press |url=http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4179/is_19991121/ai_n11735030 |access-date=18 August 2008 |via=[[FindArticles]] |archive-date=26 December 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081226134656/http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4179/is_19991121/ai_n11735030 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

There has been speculation that lingering social effects of the junta played a role in the rise of [[Golden Dawn (Greece)|Golden Dawn]], an [[Far-right politics|extreme right-wing]] party which gained eighteen seats in parliament in two [[Greek legislative election, May 2012|successive]] [[Greek legislative election, June 2012|elections]] in 2012, in the midst of Greece's ongoing [[Greek debt crisis|debt crisis]]. Golden Dawn's leader, [[Nikolaos Michaloliakos]], met the leaders of the junta while in prison and was inspired to lay the foundations for the party. Some have linked alleged support of Golden Dawn by [[Hellenic Police]] officers to the party's statements sympathising with the junta, which commentators note would appeal to policemen whose livelihoods are threatened by harsh [[austerity]] measures.<ref>[https://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2012/06/are-greek-policemen-really-voting-in-droves-for-greeces-neo-nazi-party/258767/ Are Greek Policemen Really Voting in Droves for Greece's Neo-Nazi Party?], ''The Atlantic'', 22 June 2012</ref>

==See also==
* [[History of modern Greece]] and [[timeline of modern Greek history]]
* ''[[A Man]],'' book by [[Oriana Fallaci]] about [[Alexandros Panagoulis]], a would-be assassin and resistance fighter.
* "[[Imaste dio]]", a song by ''Mikis Theodorakis''
* ''[[Your Neighbor's Son]]'', a 1976 Danish [[docudrama]] about the making of the junta torturers
* ''[[Loafing and Camouflage]]'', a 1984 Greek film.
* [[White Terror (Greece)]]
* [[Greek Civil War]] and [[percentages agreement]]

==Notes==
{{notelist}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Bibliography==
* {{Cite book |last=Woodhouse |first=Christopher M. |author-link=Montague Woodhouse, 5th Baron Terrington |url=https://archive.org/details/moderngreece00cmwo |title=Modern Greece: a Short History |publisher=[[Faber & Faber]] |year=1998 |isbn=978-0-571-19794-1 |edition=5th |location=London |ref=none}}
* {{Cite book |last=Woodhouse |first=Christopher M. |url=https://archive.org/details/risefallofgreekc0000wood |title=The Rise and Fall of the Greek Colonels |publisher=[[Granada Publishing|Granada]] |year=1985 |isbn=978-0-246-12469-2 |location=London |url-access=registration}}
* {{Cite book |last=Naupliōtēs |first=Alexandros |title=Britain and the Greek Colonels: Accommodating the Junta in the Cold War |publisher=[[I.B. Tauris]] |year=2012 |isbn=978-1-84885-952-4 |location=London}}

==External links==
* Barrett, Matt. [http://www.ahistoryofgreece.com/junta.htm "The Rise of the Junta in Greece"].
* Barrett, Matt. [http://www.ahistoryofgreece.com/november17.htm "November 17, Cyprus and the Fall of the Junta"].
{{Commons category|Greek military junta}}{{Cold War}}
{{Greek junta}}
{{portal bar|1960s|Greece}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Greek junta}}
[[Category:Greek junta| ]]
[[Category:1960s in Greek politics]]
[[Category:1970s in Greek politics]]
[[Category:Military coups in Greece|1967]]
[[Category:Military dictatorships]]
[[Category:Neo-fascism in Greece]]
[[Category:Fascist states]]
[[Category:1967 in Greece]]
[[Category:Conflicts in 1967]]
[[Category:States and territories established in 1967]]
[[Category:States and territories disestablished in 1974]]
[[Category:1967 establishments in Greece|*]]
[[Category:1974 disestablishments in Greece]]
[[Category:1960s coups d'état and coup attempts]]