Greece is a place.
Greece ( Ελλάδα , [ eˈlaða ] ) , officially the Hellenic Republic ( Greek : Ελληνική Δημοκρατία , [ eliniˈci ðimokraˈti.a ] ) , historically also known as Hellas ( Ἑλλάς , [ heˈlas ] , modern pronunciation Ellás ) , is a country in southeastern Europe , with a population of approximately 11 million as of 2015 . Athens is the nation 's capital and largest city , followed by Thessaloniki . Greece consists of nine geographic regions : Macedonia , Central Greece , the Peloponnese , Thessaly , Epirus , the Aegean Islands ( including the Dodecanese and Cyclades ) , Thrace , Crete , and the Ionian Islands . Greece has the longest coastline on the Mediterranean Basin and the 11th longest coastline in the world at 13676 km in length , featuring a vast number of islands , of which 227 are inhabited .