The Order of Honor (Greece)

• Time Period: Post-WW2
• Year of Institution: 1975
• Country: Greece

The Order of Honor (or Τάγμα της Τιμής in Greek) is an order of Greece, second in rank to the Order of the Redeemer, and was established in 1975 to replace the abolished Royal Order of George I.

The medal is conferred by the Greek government upon “Greek citizens who are distinguished in struggles for the Fatherland, to senior executives of the public administration, to eminent personalities of the arts and letters as well as to distinguished scientists or individuals who excelled in the field of trade, shipping and industry. It is also conferred upon foreigners who, due to their distinguished position and through their personal worth, have contributed to the promotion of Greece“.

As all Greek orders, the Order of Honor has five classes:

• Grand Cross (Μεγαλόσταυρος)
• Grand Commander (Ανώτερος Ταξιάρχης)
• Commander (Ταξιάρχης)
• Gold Cross (Χρυσός Σταυρός)
• Silver Cross (Αργυρός Σταυρός)

The Order of Honor Design

The badge of the order is a blue-enamelled cross, in silver for the Silver Cross class, in gold for the higher classes. The Silver and Gold Crosses have a diameter of 37 mm, while the senior grades have a diameter of 57 mm. A competition followed for the design of the new decoration, won by Konstantinos Kontopanos. His design was finalised in the Presidential Decree 849 of 11 November 1975.

The obverse central disc bears a portrait of the goddess Athena and the legend Ο ΑΓΑΘΟΣ ΜΟΝΟΣ ΤΙΜΗΤΕΟΣ (“Only the righteous should be honoured”) on a white enamel band. The reverse bears a simplified national emblem of Greece in the form of a white Greek cross on blue, and on a circular band the legend ΕΛΛΗΝΙΚΗ ΔΗΜΟΚΡΑΤΙΑ (“Hellenic Republic”) and the year of the order’s founding (1975).

The star of the order is a silver eight-pointed star with straight rays, with the entire badge in the centre. The reverse bears the Greek national emblem in white enamel and the legend ΕΛΛΗΝΙΚΗ ΔΗΜΟΚΡΑΤΙΑ 1975 in gold letters. The ribbon of the Order is blue with orange edges. The first four grades have a ribbon of 35 mm, with 3 mm-wide edges, while the shash of the Grand Cross is 100 mm wide, with edges 8 mm wide.