THE CONSTITUTION OF GREECE

scription: «I would like you finally to consider the greekness of the Constitution. We have learnt a lot frommany. We have learnt but we have not imitated anyone. This Constitution sprung from the Greek spirit, it was built by the Greek mea- sure and is dedicated to the Greek Nation». This unique and therefore admirable endurance of our Constitution is also attributable to this gift, by which its in- spired drafters endowed it. It is adjusted to the circum- stances and facts of the Country, and for this reason it provides the fertile framework for the longest period of par- liamentary normalcy in our modern history. The Constitu- tion of 1975 did not uncritically import standards external to Greek reality, nor was it the outcome of the historical con- juncture of political changeover. As evidenced, it has incor- porated pursuits and aspirations of a considerable historical depth. Any Constitution, in order to be functional, must take into consideration both the demands of the times and the people, which it is called-upon to serve. This capacity of po- litical adaptability has a very interesting history in our coun- try. The first Constitution of our revolutionized Nation, the Constitution of Epidaurus, was not a copy of other estab- lished Constitutions, as someone might have expected. It had its own unique characteristics. « Χρώμεθα γὰρ πολιτείᾳ οὐ ζηλούσῃ τοὺς τῶν πέλας νόμους ». «Our polity does not copy the laws of others» as Pericles proudly states in his Fu- neral Oration. And here we are, witnessing how, in keeping with all historical analogies, this same tradition reaches down to the Constitution of 1975! Throughout the past 45 years since its enactment, the Constitution of 1975 has been revised four times. The first of those revisions, which took place in the year 1986, focused on the institution of the President of the Re- 8