Historical earthquakes in Greece

An examination of the time variation of the rate of known strong (M>6.0) earthquakes (number of known earthquakes per unit time) in Greece and surrounding area (34°N-43°N, 18°E-30°E) during the period 550 B.C.-1990 A.D. reveals that this variation is sensitive to the development of experimental science and to the general scientific thought. Five periods of constant rate of known strong earthquakes (550 B.C.-600 A.D., 600-1300, 1300-1600, 1600-1845, 1845-1990) correspond well to five phases of the experimental scientific thought. It is also shown that macroseismic information on historical earthquakes are of primary importance for improving the accuracy of both seismic zonation and seismicity parameters.