Greece

Greece (ギリシャ,Girisha) is a character in the series Hetalia: Axis Powers. In 2007 and early 2008, Himaruya gave human names to some of the characters and he received the name Heracles Karpusi (ヘラクレス・カルプシ, Herakuresu Karupushi)

Appearance
Greece has brown hair, green eyes, and olive skin. He wears a brown jacket, with brown pants and a white t-shirt. He occasionally wears a brown hat. In artwork, he is shown to carry a giant cross, which represents Mount Athos.

In a color chart for the characters by Himaruya, his eyes were shown to be teal. However, in all of the actual artwork for the manga, his eyes are colored green.

Personality and Interests
He is said to have a serious personality, but he often seems carefree and casual. He is often seen with cats, a reference to Greece's stray cat population. He loves naps and is often seen sleeping, but even though it seems there is nothing in his head, he has a love for philosophy and history. It is said that if you dig in his backyard, you'll find many ancient ruins and things belonging to his mother, Ancient Greece.

It is also implied that he frequently takes part in sexual activity (presumably a reference to the fact that in Ancient Greece homosexuality and pederasty was acceptable); this is shown in a contribution Himaruya made to a Hetalia doujinshi anthology where England and France try to place the "blame" of the creation of the condom on him, seeing as he uses it very often. He replies by saying that while he does do these "activities" often, he doesn't really use condoms.

Japan
Main Article: Japan

The two get along pretty well, due to their countries' good relationship (see Greece–Japan relations), and also share a love of cats. It's strongly implied that they once slept together during Greece's first visit to Japan (where they discussed the results of a sex frequency poll, Greece being the highest and Japan the lowest), but Japan denies it, believing that "It was a dream!".

Turkey
Main Article: Turkey

The two of them don't get along, and often fought with each other before finally deciding on a cease-fire. Even so, they're still ready to fight over anything, and Turkey takes pleasure in whatever he's able to beat Greece at. One of the most frequent fights between them is about who Japan likes more, though as Japan proved they are very and easy to distract and entertain.

Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus
Main Article: Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus

Greece openly despises TRNC, even threatening to disown Cyprus unless he stops communicating with Turkey. Comparatively, TRNC dislikes Greece's constant fights and struggles with Turkey, and aids Turkey in any conflicts with Greece.

In the Anime
Greece first appeared in Episode 01, where he was shown sleeping during the world meeting. He later shows up in Episode 14 at the supermarket, handing Spain his groceries and taking his time in doing so.

He previews after the credits of Episode 34 walking behind Canada with a cat hanging off the front of his shirt, before finally having a speaking role in Episode 35, conversing with France about the Olympics.

Name
The surname Karpusi is not in fact a real name, but the Greek word for watermelon. His given name Heracles is thought to have been inspired by the Greek demigod of the same name.

Although Heracles Karpusi is the most commonly accepted spelling of his name, the alternate rendering of Herakles Karpossi can sometimes be seen in fan translations, with his surname sometimes being rendered as Karpsh or Carpus.

Trivia

 * Earlygreece_vol3.jpge's birthday was originally listed as October 28th, but was retconned to February 3rd by the time the published manga was released. His first retconned birthdate corresponds to the date that Greece's independence (from the Ottoman Empire) was officially recognized in the London Protocol, on February 3rd, 1830. Greece's 2010 profile, however, changed his birthday to March 25th, corresponding to Greece's national day of independence to commemorate the Greek Revolution.
 * An early draft for a Greece character shows him as a short-haired man with glasses. It first appeared on the Bamboo Thicket blog, though Himaruya left the identity of the nation for viewers to guess. The character was later outed as an early Greece in the special edition booklet that came with Hetalia: Axis Powers volume 3. Himaruya noted that the design was his perception of Greeks, but that it changed after he met a few Greek people even though nobody who is Greek looks like Greece in the finished anime.