Greece appealed for a debt rescue from the European Union and International Monetary Fund. Here are the key dates in the crisis:
October 4, 2009: George Papandreou, the Socialist opposition leader, wins a resounding victory in a general election, promising to rescue the economy.
October 16, 2009: Papandreou warns parliament that the country's finances are in "a state of emergency" after reports of a ballooning public deficit.
December, 2009: The world's three main credit ratings agencies, Fitch, Standard & Poor's and Moody's, downgrade Greece.
December 14, 2009: Papandreou outlines massive public spending cuts to bring down the deficit after EU pressure but investors react sceptically.
February 3: The European Commission unveils a system of unprecedented controls to monitor Greece's progress in cutting its deficit.
February 11: EU leaders pledge solidarity with Greece at an emergency meeting in Brussels but offer few details on any potential financial assistance.
February 24: A 24-hour general strike brings Greece to a standstill. Police clash with hundreds of protesters as tens of thousands take to the streets.
February 26: Papandreou warns that Greece risks possible bankruptcy unless strict austerity measures are implemented.
March 17: German Chancellor Angela Merkel takes a hard line, warning the eurozone should be able to remove one of its members from the club.
March 25: European leaders clinch a deal on a joint EU-IMF arrangement to back Greece if it needs help to raise fresh funds but again gives scant details.
April 8: Greek bond yields, the interest rate the government must pay to borrow, spike above 7.5 percent -- a record for the eurozone.
April 11: Eurozone finance ministers agree to offer Greece up to 30 billion euros (41 billion dollars) in emergency 36-month loans if needed, with another 15 billion euros to come from the International Monetary Fund.
April 21: Athens begins talks with EU, IMF officials on how the aid package would be put into effect, if Greece asked for help to avert partial default on debt falling due in May, and to pay its bills for the rest of the year.
April 22: The EU's statistics office shocks financial markets by raising the estimate of the Greek public deficit last year again, to 13.6 percent of output and warns it could rise further still because doubts about underreporting of Greek overspending.
Moody's downgrades Greece's sovereign debt rating to A3 and warns it could go lower, and markets push government borrowing costs towards nine percent, on a par with some emerging economies.
April 23: A Greek government source tells AFP that Greece is ready to appeal for the EU and IMF to come in with rescue funds.
April 28: Standard & Poor's downgrades the credit ratings of Greece to 'junk'.
