The Balkan peninsula, delimited to the north by the Balkan Mountains, is one of the three great peninsulas of southern Europe. The area, besides being surrounded by seas, has several rivers, such as the Danube, the Var or the Struma, which facilitate communication between the different regions.
The area comprises several countries such as Greece, Bulgaria, Croatia, Slovenia, Albania and part of Turkey, with a population of almost 53 million inhabitants. A multitude of different languages are spoken in the area, predominantly the Slavic language group (Bulgarian, Slovenian or Macedonian), Greek, and a group of Neo-Latin languages (such as Romanian or Moldavian). In addition, the heterogeneity of the area is also evident in the different cultures of its inhabitants.
The majority ethnic group in the area are the Greeks or Hellenes, with a population of more than 15 million people. They are native to Greece, Cyprus and some other Balkan regions, although, as a result of their enormous historical expansion, they constitute a significant diaspora, with Greek communities established all over the world. In ancient times, the Greeks were organized in city-states where the concept of democracy originated. Their main language is the Greek language, spoken since the time of Ancient Greece. It is an Indo-European language that constitutes a branch in itself and is closely related to Armenian and Indo-Iranian languages. This ethnic group is credited with very notable contributions to the field of universal culture, such as the first alphabet or important foundations in the field of philosophy.
