Are Greeks considered Slavs?
by 
go_to_hellas
ANSWERS: 2
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Not in terms of language or ethnicity. If you mean geopolitically, then sometimes - by that I mean that you will find people who speak a Slavic language and/or share certain Slavic genetic markers residing within the political borders of Greece, especially in Northern Greece.
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Nah, Greeks are distinct from Slavic peoples. It might sound controversial to say, but Greeks are more "indigenous" to the Balkans than many of their northern neighbors are (I'm not Greek btw - although I might have some ancient Greek ancestry being Sicilian and all). Balkan Slavs are largely a mix of indigenous Balkan peoples such as Illyrians, Thracians, Greeks etc., and the original Slavic neighbors who Slavicized those peoples. This is why South Slavs tend to be darker than Poles, Russians, Czechs, and others, but at the same time on average lighter and distinct-looking from the non-Slavs in the Balkans, such as the Greeks and Albanians. Modern Greeks are largely of ancient Greek origin (genetic studies confirm this), but of course they've also absorbed some Slavic, Turkish, and Albanian ancestry over the years as no population is pure since antiquity. Still, they're not Slavs, Turks, or Albanians, and I wouldn't recommend calling them that! Many modern Greeks have the same features as the ancients (i.e. actress Melina Kanakeredes from CSI: New York is a great example of this).
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