Coat of arms of Greece

Coat of arms of Greece
Versions
Military version, used by the Greek military and security services and on the Presidential Standard
Details
Armiger	Hellenic Republic
Adopted	1975
Escutcheon	Azure, a Cross Argent
Other elements	The escutcheon is wholly surrounded by two laurel leaves.

The coat of arms of Greece displays a white cross on a blue escutcheon, which is surrounded by two laurel branches.

The constitution does not specify a tincture for the branches, implying proper (i.e. green). The Greek government normally uses a design in which the laurel branches are monochrome blue. A version with golden laurel leaves is displayed by the military and on the presidential standard.

The first Greek coat of arms was introduced during the reign of the Bavarian King Otto. Based on that of the Kingdom of Bavaria, and supported by two crowned lions rampant and surmounted by the royal crown. The escutcheon of pretence was the coat of arms of Bavaria, as a symbol of the House of Wittelsbach.

This emblem was discarded upon the king's exile in 1862.

When Greece became a republic in 1924, all external ornamentation was discarded.

After Otto's fall, the young Prince William of Denmark was in 1864 chosen as king, and the new achievement for the coat of arms bore a strong resemblance to that of the Danish Royal Family. The escutcheon remained the same, but the dynastic arms of the Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg family became the new escutcheon of pretence. The shield remained surmounded by the royal crown. Two new male figures were introduced as new supporters, alluding to the legendary Heracles. The Order of the Redeemer was also added. The motto of the dynasty, i.e. Ἰσχύς μου ἡ ἀγάπη τοῦ λαοῦ ("People's love, my strength"), was also introduced.