National colours of Greece of arms of Greece consists of a white cross on a blue escutcheon which is surrounded by two laurel branches. Although the tincture for the branches is designated as "proper", which implies the colour found in nature, it is usually displayed with blue laurel branches; the president, military, and security services use golden branches instead. The Flag of Greece is also blue and white, as defined by Law 851/1978 "Regarding the National Flag". It specifies the colour of "cyan" (Greek: κυανό, "kyano"), meaning "blue", so the shade of blue is ambiguous. The Order of the Redeemer and military decoration Cross
Flag of the Republic of Macedonia in particular as a symbol of the Argead dynasty of Philip II of Macedon and his son Alexander the Great. From the late 1970s it had also been adopted by many both in Greece and the then Socialist Republic of Macedonia to symbolise historical connections with ancient Macedonia and had been paraded in demonstrations by Greeks and ethnic Macedonians at home and abroad. The flag, the new state's constitution and its name all became the focus of a dispute between the two countries, during which Greece imposed an economic blockade on the Republic from February 1994. In July 1995, Greece