Gymnasticos Syllogos Iraklis ( el, Γυμναστικός Σύλλογος Ηρακλής, en, Gymnastics Club Heracles), commonly referred to as Iraklis, is a

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...

multi-

sports club A sports club or sporting club, sometimes an athletics club or sports society or sports association, is a group of people formed for the purpose of playing sports. Sports clubs range from organisations whose members play together, unpaid, and ...

based in

Thessaloniki Thessaloniki (; el, Θεσσαλονίκη, , also known as Thessalonica (), Saloniki, or Salonica (), is the second-largest city in Greece, with over one million inhabitants in its Thessaloniki metropolitan area, metropolitan area, and the capi ...

. The club was founded in 1908 as "Macedonikos Gymnasticos Syllogos" (''Macedonian Gymnastics Club'') and is one of the oldest and most historic sports-clubs in Greece. It is named after

Heracles Heracles ( ; grc-gre, Ἡρακλῆς, , glory/fame of Hera), born Alcaeus (, ''Alkaios'') or Alcides (, ''Alkeidēs''), was a divine hero in Greek mythology, the son of Zeus and Alcmene, and the foster son of Amphitryon.By his adoptive ...

, the

mythical Myth is a folklore genre consisting of narratives that play a fundamental role in a society, such as foundational tales or origin myths. Since "myth" is widely used to imply that a story is not objectively true, the identification of a narrati ...

demigod. Their colours are

blue Blue is one of the three primary colours in the RYB colour model (traditional colour theory), as well as in the RGB (additive) colour model. It lies between violet and cyan on the spectrum of visible light. The eye perceives blue when obs ...

cyan Cyan () is the color between green and blue on the visible spectrum of light. It is evoked by light with a predominant wavelength between 490 and 520 nm, between the wavelengths of green and blue. In the subtractive color system, or CMYK color ...

and

white White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White on ...

, inspired by the

Greek flag The national flag of Greece, popularly referred to as the "blue and white one" ( el, Γαλανόλευκη, ) or the "sky blue and white" (, ), is officially recognised by Greece as one of its national symbols and has nine equal horizontal strip ...

. Iraklis traces its roots back in 1899 when ''Omilos Filomouson'' (meaning ''Friends of Music Club'') was established. The club was established as a cultural union of the Greeks of Thessaloniki (then under Ottoman sovereignty), and in 1902 was founded also a sports department. After a merger with a local team, the club was re-founded on 29 November 1908, called ''Macedonikos Gymnasticos Syllogos'' (meaning Macedonian Gymnastics Club). A year later, "Iraklis" (

) was added to the club's name as an honour to the ancient Greek hero.

Departments

Iraklis is considered one of the most historical and important Greek sport clubs and maintains departments in many sports, including: *

Iraklis F.C. Gymnastic Club Iraklis Thessaloniki Football Club ( el, Γυμναστικός Σύλλογος Ηρακλής Θεσσαλονίκης) is a Greek professional Association football, football club based in the city of Thessaloniki, Macedonia ( ...

(''founded in 1908, ceased to compete as a part of the club in 2011'') -

Football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

* Iraklis B.C. (''founded in 1924'') -

Basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

* Iraklis V.C. (''founded in 1921'') -

Volleyball Volleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules. It has been a part of the official program of the Summ ...

Iraklis Track and field Gymnasticos Syllogos Iraklis ( el, Γυμναστικός Σύλλογος Ηρακλής, en, Gymnastics Club Heracles), commonly referred to as Iraklis, is a Greek multi-sports club based in Thessaloniki. The club was founded in 1908 as "Mace ...

(''founded in 1908'') -

Track and field Track and field is a sport that includes athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name is derived from where the sport takes place, a running track and a grass field for the throwing and some of the jumping events ...

Iraklis Handball Gymnasticos Syllogos Iraklis ( el, Γυμναστικός Σύλλογος Ηρακλής, en, Gymnastics Club Heracles), commonly referred to as Iraklis, is a Greek multi-sports club based in Thessaloniki. The club was founded in 1908 as "Mace ...

(''founded in 1994'') -

Handball Handball (also known as team handball, European handball or Olympic handball) is a team sport in which two teams of seven players each (six outcourt players and a goalkeeper) pass a ball using their hands with the aim of throwing it into the g ...

* Iraklis Rugby union (''founded in 2005'') -

Rugby union Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In its m ...

Iraklis Ice hockey Gymnasticos Syllogos Iraklis ( el, Γυμναστικός Σύλλογος Ηρακλής, en, Gymnastics Club Heracles), commonly referred to as Iraklis, is a Greek multi-sports club based in Thessaloniki. The club was founded in 1908 as "Mace ...

(''founded in 2009'') -

Ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice hock ...

Iraklis Water polo Iraklis Water Polo Club is the water polo department of G.S. Iraklis multi sport club. It has got teams both men and women. The most successful is the women's team that plays in A1 Ethniki (first division), while the men's team plays in A2 Ethnik ...

(''founded in 1975'') -

Water polo Water polo is a competitive team sport played in water between two teams of seven players each. The game consists of four quarters in which the teams attempt to score goals by throwing the ball into the opposing team's goal. The team with the ...

* Iraklis Swimming (''founded in 1975'') -

Swimming Swimming is the self-propulsion of a person through water, or other liquid, usually for recreation, sport, exercise, or survival. Locomotion is achieved through coordinated movement of the limbs and the body to achieve hydrodynamic thrust that r ...

* Iraklis Synchronized swimming (''founded in 1995'') -

Synchronized swimming Synchronized swimming (in British English, synchronised swimming) or artistic swimming is a sport where swimmers perform a synchronized choreographed routine, accompanied by music. The sport is governed internationally by FINA (the ''Fédérati ...

* Iraklis Freestyle wrestling (''founded in 1967'') -

Freestyle wrestling Freestyle wrestling is a style of wrestling originated from Great Britain and the United States. Along with Greco-Roman, it is one of the two styles of wrestling contested in the Olympic Games. American high school and men's college wrestling ...

* Iraklis Judo (''founded in 1979'') -

Judo is an unarmed gendai budō, modern Japanese martial art, Olympic sport (since 1964), and the most prominent form of jacket wrestling competed internationally.『日本大百科全書』電子版【柔道】(CD-ROM version of Encyclopedia Nipponi ...

* Iraklis Amateur Boxing (''founded in 1965'') -

Amateur boxing Amateur boxing is a variant of boxing practiced at the collegiate level, at the Olympic Games, Pan American Games and Commonwealth Games, as well as many associations. Amateur boxing bouts are short in duration, comprising three rounds of three ...

Iraklis Weightlifting Gymnasticos Syllogos Iraklis ( el, Γυμναστικός Σύλλογος Ηρακλής, en, Gymnastics Club Heracles), commonly referred to as Iraklis, is a Greek multi-sports club based in Thessaloniki. The club was founded in 1908 as "Mace ...

(''founded in 1967'') -

Weightlifting Weightlifting generally refers to activities in which people lift Weight training#Equipment, weights, often in the form of dumbbells or barbells. People lift various kinds of weights for a variety of different reasons. These may include various t ...

* Iraklis Cycling (''founded in 1972'') -

Cycling Cycling, also, when on a two-wheeled bicycle, called bicycling or biking, is the use of cycles for transport, recreation, exercise or sport. People engaged in cycling are referred to as "cyclists", "bicyclists", or "bikers". Apart from two ...

* Iraklis Fencing (''founded in 1972'') -

Fencing Fencing is a group of three related combat sports. The three disciplines in modern fencing are the foil, the épée, and the sabre (also ''saber''); winning points are made through the weapon's contact with an opponent. A fourth discipline, s ...

* Iraklis Table tennis -

Table tennis Table tennis, also known as ping-pong and whiff-whaff, is a sport in which two or four players hit a lightweight ball, also known as the ping-pong ball, back and forth across a table using small solid rackets. It takes place on a hard table div ...

Honours

Football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

Greek Cup The Greek Football Cup ( el, Κύπελλο Ελλάδος Ποδοσφαίρου), commonly known as the Greek Cup or Kypello Elladas is a Greek football competition, run by the Hellenic Football Federation. The Greek Cup is the second most im ...

: 1 **1976 *

Balkans Cup The Balkans Cup was an international football competition for clubs from Albania, Bulgaria, Greece, Romania, Turkey, and Yugoslavia. It was introduced in 1961 and was very popular in the 1960s (the 1967 final attracted 42,000 spectators), being t ...

: 1 **1985

Basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

Men * Greek Championships: 2 **1928, 1935 Women * Greek Championships: 3 **1968, 1971, 1972

Volleyball Volleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules. It has been a part of the official program of the Summ ...

Men *Greek Championships: 5 **2002, 2005, 2007, 2008, 2012 *Greek Cups: 6 **2000, 2002, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2012 *Greek Super Cups: 4 (record) **2004, 2005, 2007, 2008 *Greek Cup A1 Ethniki: 1 (record) **1999

Αthletics

Men *Greek Championships: 6 **1975, 1976, 1979, 1984, 1985, 1986 *Greek Cups: 2 **1979, 1990 Women *Greek Championships: 1 **1991 *Greek Cross Country Championships: 6 **1967, 1981, 1990, 1991, 1992, 2009 *Greek Cups: 3 **1989, 1990, 1991

Rugby union Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In its m ...

* Greek Championship Rugby Union: 1 **2013

Freestyle wrestling

Men *Greek Championships: 11 **2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010

Fencing

Men *Greek Épée team championship: 1 **1983 Women *Greek Foil team championship: 1 **1978

European honours of team sports

Notable supporters

Grigoris Arnaoutoglou Grigoris Arnaoutoglou ( el, Γρηγόρης Αρναούτογλου; born December 17, 1973) is a well-known Greek television host. He is known for hosting morning daily entertaining show, Omorfos Kosmos To Proi as well as Sunday show Pio Poli ...

, TV presenter * Thodoris Atheridis, actor *

Ieroklis Michailidis Ieroklis Michailidis ( gr, Ιεροκλής Μιχαηλίδης, born 29 September 1960 in Ptolemaida) is a Greek actor. He appeared in more than twenty films since 1992. Selected filmography References External links

* 1960 birt ...

, actor *

Antonis Remos Antonis Remos ( el, Αντώνης Ρέμος, ; born Antonios Paschalidis, el, Αντώνιος Πασχαλίδης, links=no; 19 June 1970) is a Greek singer. Biography Early life He was born in Düsseldorf, West Germany. Later his family ...

, singer * Dimitris Starovas, musician * Paschalis Terzis, singer

Gallery

File:Iraklis 1930 31.jpg, The team for the 1930–31 season File:Kaftantzogleioexterior.jpg,

Kaftanzoglio Stadium Kaftanzoglio Stadium ( el, Καυτανζόγλειο στάδιο) is a sports stadium in Thessaloniki, Greece. The stadium was built with money donated by the Kaftanzoglou Foundation, in honour of Lysandros Kaftanzoglou, hence its name. At th ...

File:IraklisTeam2000.jpg, The team for the 1999–00 season File:Vasilis Xatzipanagis.jpg,

Vasilis Hatzipanagis Vasilis Hatzipanagis ( el, link=no, Βασίλης Χατζηπαναγής, , born 26 October 1954) is a Greek former professional footballer. He played for Iraklis in the Greek Alpha Ethniki and Pakhtakor in the Soviet Supreme League. He a ...

File:Papodopoulos.jpg, alt=Papadopoulos playing for Greece,

Lazaros Papadopoulos Lazaros Papadopoulos (Greek: Λάζαρος Παπαδόπουλος; born 3 June 1980) is a Greek former professional basketball player. He was listed at 7 ft (2.13 m) 265 lbs (120 kg), and he played the center position. During hi ...

File:Sofoklis Schortsanitis naional team (cropped).jpg,

Sofoklis Schortsanitis Sofoklis Schortsanitis (Greek: Σοφοκλής Σχορτσανίτης; born 22 June 1985) is a Greek former professional basketball player and Olympian. An All-EuroLeague First Team selection in 2011, Schortsanitis won the EuroLeague title ...

File:Diamantidis.jpg, alt=Diamantidis playing for Greece,

Dimitris Diamantidis Dimitris Diamantidis ( el, Δημήτρης Διαμαντίδης ; born May 6, 1980) is a retired Greek professional basketball player, who spent the last twelve seasons of his EuroLeague career with Panathinaikos, where he last served as the ...

File:Tom Hoff 2008.jpg,

Thomas Hoff Thomas John "Tom" Hoff (born June 9, 1973) is a retired American volleyball player. He was a middle blocker and has been with the U.S. national team from 1996 until 2009. He is a three-time Olympian in volleyball Olympics: 2000, 2004 and 2008 ...

File:Rolando Despaigne.png, Rolando Jurquin Despaigne File:Matej Černič 4.jpg, Matej Cernic File:Frantz Granvorka.jpg, Frantz Granvorka

References

External links

;Official websites
Iraklis Gymnastics ClubIraklis Football Club

Iraklis Basketball ClubIraklis Volleyball ClubIraklis Track and fieldIraklis Swimming
;Press
Blue Arena
{{DEFAULTSORT:Iraklis Multi-sport clubs in Thessaloniki Athletics clubs in Greece Sport in Thessaloniki