Flag of Greece of alternating blue and white - or silver - stripes on (several centuries-old) Kallergis' coats of arms is well documented, no depiction of the above described pattern (with the nine stripes and the cross) survives. The stripe-pattern of the Greek flag is visibly similar to that used (though with different colors) in several other flags that have appeared over the centuries, most notably that of the British East India Company's pre-1707 flag or the flag of the United States. Flags as they are known today did not exist in antiquity. Instead, a variety of emblems and symbols ("semeion", pl. "semeia")
Flag of Greece the royal flags, which featured the coat of arms of the House of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg on a square version of the national flag. A square version of the land flag with St. George in the centre was adopted on 9 April 1864 as the Army's colours. The exact shape and usage of the flags was determined by Royal Decree on 26 September 1867. By a new Royal Decree, on 31 May 1914, the various flags of Greece and its military were further regulated. By this decree, the flag with the crown was adopted for use as a state flag by ministries,