Public opinion on homosexuality in Greece is generally regarded as culturally liberal,[5] with civil partnerships being legally recognised since 2015 and same-sex marriage since 16 February 2024.

[16][17][18][19] Following the country's independence from the Ottoman Empire, the penal code of 1834 stipulated in Article 274 that anyone guilty of sodomy shall be punished with at least one year imprisonment and police surveillance.

[26] The Greek Government under George Papandreou, leader of Panhellenic Socialist Movement (PASOK), was preparing legislation for same-sex registered partnerships, which, however, never took place, as LGBT groups believed that they were going to be insufficient.

[36][37][38] Finally, on 23 December, the draft concerning the enriched and improved cohabitation agreement legislation was passed (193 to 56) with a significant absence of 51 MPs, making Greece the 26th European country to adopt same-sex recognition laws.

The largest groups to oppose the cohabitation agreement bill were the Communist Party of Greece, Golden Dawn and the Greek Orthodox Church.

Furthermore, Greece's Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras, while debating the law in Greek Parliament, issued an apology to the LGBT community for the years of discrimination they had faced.

[40] In December 2016, the Greek Parliament passed a bill expanding the rights of same-sex couples and ensuring equal protection in workplaces regardless of gender, religion or sexual orientation.

[55] On 17 April 2018, a bill, titled the Child Adoption Law (Νόμος 4538/2018 - Μέτρα για την προώθηση των Θεσμών της Αναδοχής και Υιοθεσίας και άλλες διατάξεις), aimed at overhauling and simplifying the country's child adoption legislation, which has been criticized in the past as being overly bureaucratic and ineffective and for its extremely slow procedures, was submitted to the Greek Parliament.

[12][56] In a debate at a parliamentary committee, the bill's Article 8 was supported by the vast majority of the country's agencies, organizations, and experts, with the exception of the conservative Orthodox Church of Greece, which voiced its opposition to it.

New Democracy (ND), Democratic Alignment (DISI) and the Union of Centrists (EK) abstained, whereas Golden Dawn voted against it,[60] It was due for final ratification by Parliament.

While there has been considerable legal progress, conservative social mores still hold some influence and the Orthodox Church has often denounced homosexuality as a sin and "defect of human nature.

[21][70][71] On 2 December 2016, further anti-discrimination protections on the basis of sexual orientation, gender and religion in the workplace were passed by the Hellenic Parliament in a 201–21 vote with 5 abstaining and 73 absent.

[2] In February 2018, the Marousi County Court ruled in favor of Jason-Antigone Dane's request to have their male birth name, Jason, changed on Registry Office files to a gender-neutral one by adding the female name Antigone next to it.

[82][83][84] On 23 December 2016, the Ministry of Education, Research and Religious Affairs announced that, starting from 2017, a thematic week would be taking place every second semester of the school year.

The thematic week seeks to inform students and their parents about, among others, issues such as sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, homophobia and transphobia.

[86] On 17 March 2021, by decision of the Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, a committee was set up with the aim of drafting a National Strategy for the Equality of LGBTQI+ people in Greece.

One of the most notable events in Thessaloniki, concerning LGBT rights, is the attempt to raise a 20m long banner, urging people to boycott the Sochi 2014 Winter Olympics, on the city's most famous landmark, the White Tower.

[118][119] One year later, in one of his announcements just a few days before the pride event of 2013, he stated that, the Holy Metropolis of Thessaloniki would once again have to tolerate the sad and unacceptable festival of the homosexuals who want to "celebrate their sickness in a carnival sort of way".

By general assessment the 2014 pride event was a major success, with the participation of 10,000 people in the parade, along with the Mayor Yiannis Boutaris and a block of diplomats.

[123] That year, vigil masses took place along with gatherings of believers, where priests made an outcry over the "desecration of holy Thessaloniki", the "imposition of Islam and homosexuality by the New World Order, the gay pride events which are part of a Western conspiracy, the "appointment of homosexual male and female bishops and protested over the victory of Conchita Wurst at the Eurovision Song Contest.

[122][124] Metropolitan Anthimos once again made similar comments about it in an interview, deeming it as "disgraceful", "challenging", "a perversion of the human existence", adding that the Church orders to "Not give what is holy to dogs".

[138] Responding to government proposals in 2008 to introduce legal rights for cohabiting couples, Archbishop Ieronymos of Athens, the leader of the autocephalous Orthodox Church of Greece, suggested that "There is a need to change with the time".

[25] Following government talks in November 2013 regarding the legalisation of civil unions for homosexual couples, the Metropolitan of Piraeus Seraphim voiced vehement opposition against it, threatening that he can and will excommunicate any MPs who should vote for it.

Additionally, he mentioned that such movements constitute "significant offenses of public decency" by sending out messages of "perverted sexual behaviours" to young people that "torpedo the foundations of family and society".

[140] In August 2014, during discussions about the long-awaited vote for an anti-racism bill, several Metropolitans voiced their opposition to it due to certain articles pertinent to the criminalization of hate speech against, among others, homosexuals, with increased penalties for civil servants (members of the clergy included) who engage in it during their duties.

[142] The Metropolitan of Gortyna Ieremias, citing Bible passages, called homosexuals "dogs", argued that under the new bill "several prophets and Saints would be regarded as racists", and characterized it as a "horrible and deplorable" law while adding a homophobic word play.

[143] The religious reaction eventually resulted in Antonis Samaras accepting the church's objections and not including articles relative to the protection of homosexuals in the bill.

Below is a list of some homophobic/transphobic incidents by the Greek media and other companies and bodies: The far-right neo-Nazi ultranationalist organisation and former political party Golden Dawn has made a very infamous statement when addressing gay men and women, saying that "after the immigrants, you're next".

[189] A 2020 poll conducted by the Friedrich Naumann Foundation in cooperation with the KAPA Research, found that the concept of liberalism is becoming increasingly popular in Greece, with the majority of the Greeks viewing it positively.

[191][175] The 2023 Eurobarometer found that 57% of Greeks thought same-sex marriage should be allowed throughout Europe, and 57% agreed that "there is nothing wrong in a sexual relationship between two persons of the same sex".