--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Greece is the only country in the Balkans…" description: "\"Greece is the only country in the Balkans that does not have territorial designs on its neighbors and wants to live in peace with them.\" — Mikis Theodo..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/643/mikis-theodorakis-12162_balkans_greece-is-the-only-country-in-the-balkan_2599127.jpg" --- # Greece is the only country in the Balkans that does not… ![“Greece is the only country in the Balkans that does not have territorial designs on its neighbors and wants to live in peace with them.” quote by Mikis Theodorakis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/643/mikis-theodorakis-12162_balkans_greece-is-the-only-country-in-the-balkan_2599127.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/643/mikis-theodorakis-12162_balkans_greece-is-the-only-country-in-the-balkan_2599127.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/643/mikis-theodorakis-12162_balkans_greece-is-the-only-country-in-the-balkan_2599127.jpg) > “Greece is the only country in the Balkans that does not have territorial designs on its neighbors and wants to live in peace with them.” [Mikis Theodorakis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mikis-theodorakis/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Greece seeks peaceful coexistence without territorial ambitions, unlike its Balkan neighbors. **In simple terms:** Greece wants peace, no land grabs. Key Takeaway Support diplomatic stability in the region. Themes peace foreign policy regional stability national identity Mood hopeful pragmatic Type political diplomatic When to use this quote - diplomatic negotiations - regional cooperation - conflict prevention - international forums Key Concepts realism non‑expansionism soft power Questions to Reflect On - How can Greece maintain security without expansion? - What benefits arise from a non‑aggressive foreign policy? A Different Perspective Peaceful stance may limit strategic leverage in regional disputes. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Balkans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/balkans/) [Balkans Does](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/balkans-does-1929155/) [Country](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/country/) [Country Balkans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/country-balkans-1929156/) [Greece](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/greece/) [Greece Country](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/greece-country-1929157/) [Live](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/live/) [Live In Peace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/live-in-peace/) [Neighbors](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/neighbors/) [Only](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/only/) [Peace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/peace/) ## Related quotes > [Greece is not the country which has occupied and illegally invaded and illegally occupied Cyprus.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexis-tsipras/greece-is-not-the-country-which-has-occupied-and-illegally-invaded/) [Alexis Tsipras](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexis-tsipras/) > [Greece is not a country that can be humiliated. It is a matter of finding an intersection between the reasonable elements of both sides…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-claude-juncker/greece-is-not-a-country-that-can-be-humiliated-it-is-a-matter-of/) [Jean-Claude Juncker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-claude-juncker/) > [Greece is not a country of happy mediums: everything there seems to be either wonderful or horrible.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nancy-mitford/greece-is-not-a-country-of-happy-mediums-everything-there-seems-to-be/) [Nancy Mitford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nancy-mitford/) > [“Egypt is a fertile valley of rich river soil, low-lying, warm, monotonous, a slow-flowing river, and beyond the limitless desert. Greece is a country…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edith-hamilton/egypt-is-a-fertile-valley-of-rich-river-soil-low-lying-warm/) [Edith Hamilton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edith-hamilton/) > [We are not only talking about waves of refugees coming to Greece, to Italy, and elsewhere. Destabilizing the Balkans means Lebanonization, and that means…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fatos-nano/we-are-not-only-talking-about-waves-of-refugees-coming-to-greece-to/) [Fatos Nano](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fatos-nano/) > [The route for the refugees currently goes through Greece and the Balkans or through Italy; if there were a crisis in north-eastern Europe, Poland…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paolo-gentiloni/the-route-for-the-refugees-currently-goes-through-greece-and-the/) [Paolo Gentiloni](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paolo-gentiloni/) > [In Greece, the picket line is forbidden.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mikis-theodorakis/in-greece-the-picket-line-is-forbidden/) [Mikis Theodorakis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mikis-theodorakis/) > [There are some common problems in the Balkans in the settlement of which Bulgaria should also participate.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/todor-zhivkov/there-are-some-common-problems-in-the-balkans-in-the-settlement-of/) [Todor Zhivkov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/todor-zhivkov/) > [“If you write anything meaningful over there, June, keep it far away from this city. They will turn a story about glue-addicted gypsy children…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-ward/if-you-write-anything-meaningful-over-there-june-keep-it-far-away/) [Annie Ward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-ward/) > [“War is a war. Everywhere is hard and bloody, but the Balkans in it bring their coloring and passion. Someone happened to be on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zlatko-top-i/war-is-a-war-everywhere-is-hard-and-bloody-but-the-balkans-in-it/) [Zlatko Topčić](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zlatko-top-i/) > [The clash of religion. We've had to coexist for hundreds of years in Bulgaria, in the Balkans, and we still don't get along. It's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miroslav-penkov/the-clash-of-religion-we-ve-had-to-coexist-for-hundreds-of-years-in/) [Miroslav Penkov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miroslav-penkov/) > [ Once over there \[Balkans\], I felt extremely patriotic. Here are these people, from 18-year-olds to military veterans, enduring real duress for the cause of… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheryl-crow/once-over-there-balkans-i-felt-extremely-patriotic-here-are-these/) [Sheryl Crow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sheryl-crow/) > [There a lot of occasions when Albanians cause trouble, but then we are also very nice people. People sometimes forget that there are good…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/granit-xhaka/there-a-lot-of-occasions-when-albanians-cause-trouble-but-then-we-are/) [Granit Xhaka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/granit-xhaka/) > [“The writer does not dare dream of giving the best of his individuality. No, he must never express his anger. The vacillating demands of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aleksandar-hemon/the-writer-does-not-dare-dream-of-giving-the-best-of-his/) [Aleksandar Hemon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aleksandar-hemon/) > [“The Balkans aren't worth the life of a single Pomeranian grenadier.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/otto-von-bismarck/the-balkans-aren-t-worth-the-life-of-a-single-pomeranian-grenadier/) [Otto von Bismarck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/otto-von-bismarck/) ## More by Mikis Theodorakis > [This taste of freedom is still bitter because left in Athens are my wife and my two children and because so many of my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mikis-theodorakis/this-taste-of-freedom-is-still-bitter-because-left-in-athens-are-my/) [Mikis Theodorakis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mikis-theodorakis/) > [I wanted to unite the popular and the serious, and to make a popular symphony, a popular oratorio.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mikis-theodorakis/i-wanted-to-unite-the-popular-and-the-serious-and-to-make-a-popular/) [Mikis Theodorakis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mikis-theodorakis/) > [I was thankful to him, this man who freed me. At the same time I was annoyed be cause the man who freed me…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mikis-theodorakis/i-was-thankful-to-him-this-man-who-freed-me-at-the-same-time-i-was/) [Mikis Theodorakis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mikis-theodorakis/) > [We people, maybe because we have the greatest wisdom, we are also mad. We destroy the harmony of the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mikis-theodorakis/we-people-maybe-because-we-have-the-greatest-wisdom-we-are-also-mad/) [Mikis Theodorakis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mikis-theodorakis/) > [When I was still a child, there was the Metaxis, a Fascist Youth Movement in which all subteenagers and teenagers were obligatory members, where…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mikis-theodorakis/when-i-was-still-a-child-there-was-the-metaxis-a-fascist-youth/) [Mikis Theodorakis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mikis-theodorakis/) > [I'm not a communist or social democrat or anything else. I'm a free man.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mikis-theodorakis/i-m-not-a-communist-or-social-democrat-or-anything-else-i-m-a-free-man/) [Mikis Theodorakis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mikis-theodorakis/) > [The established politicians, who before the war preached national pride and Christian love, were the first to collaborate with the Germans. But the communists,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mikis-theodorakis/the-established-politicians-who-before-the-war-preached-national/) [Mikis Theodorakis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mikis-theodorakis/) > [I like always to be contemporary. I like to deal with the things of today.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mikis-theodorakis/i-like-always-to-be-contemporary-i-like-to-deal-with-the-things-of/) [Mikis Theodorakis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mikis-theodorakis/) > [My work is based upon contemporary Greek poetry - poetry which is concerned with the problems of today's civilization and, of course, with simple…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mikis-theodorakis/my-work-is-based-upon-contemporary-greek-poetry-poetry-which-is/) [Mikis Theodorakis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mikis-theodorakis/) > [In my youth there must have been 15 synagogues in Salonika alone.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mikis-theodorakis/in-my-youth-there-must-have-been-15-synagogues-in-salonika-alone/) [Mikis Theodorakis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mikis-theodorakis/) > [I like to have the feeling I'm creating something.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mikis-theodorakis/i-like-to-have-the-feeling-i-m-creating-something/) [Mikis Theodorakis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mikis-theodorakis/) > [My father's father fought to free Crete from the Turks, who expelled my mother from her ancestral home in Asia Minor in 1922. So…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mikis-theodorakis/my-father-s-father-fought-to-free-crete-from-the-turks-who-expelled/) [Mikis Theodorakis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mikis-theodorakis/) > [In America the Jewish community is very strong. It controls much of the economy. Certainly the mass media.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mikis-theodorakis/in-america-the-jewish-community-is-very-strong-it-controls-much-of/) [Mikis Theodorakis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mikis-theodorakis/) > [I've directed fragmentarily at the Herod Atticus, but never before a popular laiko unitals concert.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mikis-theodorakis/i-ve-directed-fragmentarily-at-the-herod-atticus-but-never-before-a/) [Mikis Theodorakis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mikis-theodorakis/) > [In the Averoff prison hospital I saw men who had had the bones in their feet broken by the severity of the torture.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mikis-theodorakis/in-the-averoff-prison-hospital-i-saw-men-who-had-had-the-bones-in/) [Mikis Theodorakis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mikis-theodorakis/) [Explore all 56 Mikis Theodorakis quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mikis-theodorakis/) ## More Balkans quotes > [“The Balkans aren't worth the life of a single Pomeranian grenadier.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/otto-von-bismarck/the-balkans-aren-t-worth-the-life-of-a-single-pomeranian-grenadier/) [Otto von Bismarck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/otto-von-bismarck/) > [“The writer does not dare dream of giving the best of his individuality. No, he must never express his anger. The vacillating demands of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aleksandar-hemon/the-writer-does-not-dare-dream-of-giving-the-best-of-his/) [Aleksandar Hemon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aleksandar-hemon/) > [There a lot of occasions when Albanians cause trouble, but then we are also very nice people. People sometimes forget that there are good…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/granit-xhaka/there-a-lot-of-occasions-when-albanians-cause-trouble-but-then-we-are/) [Granit Xhaka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/granit-xhaka/) > [ Once over there \[Balkans\], I felt extremely patriotic. Here are these people, from 18-year-olds to military veterans, enduring real duress for the cause of… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheryl-crow/once-over-there-balkans-i-felt-extremely-patriotic-here-are-these/) [Sheryl Crow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sheryl-crow/) > [The clash of religion. We've had to coexist for hundreds of years in Bulgaria, in the Balkans, and we still don't get along. It's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miroslav-penkov/the-clash-of-religion-we-ve-had-to-coexist-for-hundreds-of-years-in/) [Miroslav Penkov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miroslav-penkov/) > [“War is a war. Everywhere is hard and bloody, but the Balkans in it bring their coloring and passion. Someone happened to be on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zlatko-top-i/war-is-a-war-everywhere-is-hard-and-bloody-but-the-balkans-in-it/) [Zlatko Topčić](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zlatko-top-i/) > [“If you write anything meaningful over there, June, keep it far away from this city. They will turn a story about glue-addicted gypsy children…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-ward/if-you-write-anything-meaningful-over-there-june-keep-it-far-away/) [Annie Ward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-ward/) > [There are some common problems in the Balkans in the settlement of which Bulgaria should also participate.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/todor-zhivkov/there-are-some-common-problems-in-the-balkans-in-the-settlement-of/) [Todor Zhivkov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/todor-zhivkov/) > [ In terms intellectually, \[what\] shaped my life was the whole Munich thing \[the Munich Agreement\] that I knew about all my life, in terms… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madeleine-albright/in-terms-intellectually-what-shaped-my-life-was-the-whole-munich/) [Madeleine Albright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madeleine-albright/) > [We have carried out the attempted premeditated murder of an entire nation. We were caught in that criminal act and have been obstructed. Now…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dimitrije-tucovic/we-have-carried-out-the-attempted-premeditated-murder-of-an-entire/) [Dimitrije Tucovic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dimitrije-tucovic/) > [In a Balkan country, not so many years ago, a party which had been beaten by a narrow margin in a general election retrieved…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bertrand-russell/in-a-balkan-country-not-so-many-years-ago-a-party-which-had-been/) [Bertrand Russell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bertrand-russell/) > [“The neo-cons, or some of them, decided that they would back Clinton when he belatedly decided for Bosnia and Kosovo against Milosevic, and this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/the-neo-cons-or-some-of-them-decided-that-they-would-back-clinton/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) > [We have taken a grave and hazardous decision to sustain the Greeks and try to make a Balkan Front.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/winston-churchill/we-have-taken-a-grave-and-hazardous-decision-to-sustain-the-greeks/) [Winston Churchill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/winston-churchill/) > [“In this city, the victors had delusions of grandeur. It was visual. Across the street from the hotel stood City Hall, sporting an oversized…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-maass/in-this-city-the-victors-had-delusions-of-grandeur-it-was-visual/) [Peter Maass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-maass/) > [The reality of Canadian history is that we've been willing to do the important things the world demanded of us: fighting in World War…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-alexander/the-reality-of-canadian-history-is-that-we-ve-been-willing-to-do-the/) [Chris Alexander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-alexander/) [Browse all 71 Balkans quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/balkans/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Greece is the only country in the Balkans that does not have territorial designs on its neighbors and wants to live in peace with them.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Mikis Theodorakis" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mikis-theodorakis/greece-is-the-only-country-in-the-balkans-that-does-not-have/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Balkans" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mikis-theodorakis/greece-is-the-only-country-in-the-balkans-that-does-not-have/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/643/mikis-theodorakis-12162_balkans_greece-is-the-only-country-in-the-balkan_2599127.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/643/mikis-theodorakis-12162_balkans_greece-is-the-only-country-in-the-balkan_2599127.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/643/mikis-theodorakis-12162_balkans_greece-is-the-only-country-in-the-balkan_2599127.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Greece is the only country in the Balkans that does not have territorial designs on its neighbors and wants…” — Mikis Theodorakis", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Mikis Theodorakis", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mikis-theodorakis/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Greece is the only country in...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mikis-theodorakis/greece-is-the-only-country-in-the-balkans-that-does-not-have/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mikis-theodorakis/greece-is-the-only-country-in-the-balkans-that-does-not-have/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```