Everyone is waiting for Greece and Europe's leaders to agree on a bailout deal. It seems as if every morning brings another incremental development or regression in Greece's battle against its European creditors. So in the meantime, we've put together a guide to what's been happening in the underbelly of Greece's economy. Everything from demographics to corruption to cigarettes — check it out.Greece has a history of financial troubles — the country's first default occurred way back in the fourth century B.C. Back in the fourth century B.C., 13 Greek city-states borrowed from the Temple of Delos. Most of the borrowers, however, "never made good on the loans and the temple took an 80% loss on its principal." As a reference point, Plato, Aristotle, and Alexander the Great were alive during the fourth century. Source: Investopedia In the modern era, Greece has defaulted a grand total of five times — which is only half as many times as the default leaders, Venezuela and Ecuador, have. Greece defaulted on its external sovereign debt obligations five times: 1826 — It happened during the Greek War of Independence from the Ottoman Empire. 1843 — Greece used funds from the Loan of 1832 on its military and "the upkeep of Otto, a Bavarian prince." The country stopped making payments in 1843. 1860 — After this default, Greece was kicked out of international markets until 1878. 1894 — When the markets opened, lenders were overeager, borrowing increased to unsustainable levels, and the government suspended payments in 1893. 1932 — This happened during the Great Depression. Source: Investopedia Greece has spent a combined 90 years — almost half of the time since its independence — in financial crisis. Greece finally gained independence from the Ottoman Empire in 1830 after Great Britain, France, and Russia intervened to help out in the War of Greek Independence. (Fun fact: even poet Lord Byron joined in to support Greece.) The country has spent 90 out of 196 years since then in financial crisis. Source: Business Insider via Bank of America See the rest of the story at Business Insider
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