--- title: President Obama in Greece: The History Behind the Trip description: The first visit to Greece by a sitting U.S. President took place in 1959 when Dwight D. Eisenhower made the journey to Athens canonical: https://time.com/4560783/obama-eisenhower-greece/ author: Lily Rothman article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2016-11-14T14:00:15.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-04T07:54:59.149Z article:section: History og:title: Here's What Happened the First Time a U.S. President Went to Greece og:description: The first visit to Greece by a sitting U.S. President took place in 1959 og:url: https://time.com/4560783/obama-eisenhower-greece/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltbea3048284cc426e/6988ad51cd1bba61a1703001/greece.jpeg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: Dwight Eisenhower King Paul og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Here's What Happened the First Time a U.S. President Went to Greece twitter:description: The first visit to Greece by a sitting U.S. President took place in 1959 twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltbea3048284cc426e/6988ad51cd1bba61a1703001/greece.jpeg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Here's What Happened the First Time a U.S. President Went to Greece > Sponsored content. 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They are at time.com/newsletters and are separate from a paid subscription. ## Video: A Desperate Crossing [Watch (HLS stream): A Desperate Crossing](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/Chck0kIJ.m3u8) (3:24)  _Published 2015-09-09. TIME gets exclusive access to the Greek coast guard as they search for, and rescue migrants_  by [Lily Rothman](https://time.com/author/lily-rothman/)  ## Lily Rothman Rothman is managing editor at TIME. Nov 14, 2016 2:00 PM UTC  U.S. President Dwight Eisenhower and King Paul of Greece Standing in Convertible Car, Athens, Greece, 1959. U.S. President Dwight Eisenhower and King Paul of Greece Standing in Convertible Car, Athens, Greece, 1959. Universal History Archive / Getty Images  by [Lily Rothman](https://time.com/author/lily-rothman/)  ## Lily Rothman Rothman is managing editor at TIME. Nov 14, 2016 2:00 PM UTC On Monday, President Obama [travels to Greece](https://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2016/10/25/statement-press-secretary-presidents-travel-greece-germany-and-peru) at the start of a trip that will also bring him to Germany and Peru. The stop in Greece, per the White House, will be an opportunity for the U.S. “reaffirm our support for ongoing efforts to place the Greek economy on a path to sustainability and renewed prosperity.” That goal, reassuring the world about the U.S. commitment to the Greek economy, is a departure from the Cold War concerns that dominated when a sitting U.S. president visited that nation for the [first time,](https://history.state.gov/departmenthistory/travels/president/greece) in December of 1959, when Dwight Eisenhower paid an official visit. (George H.W. Bush and Bill Clinton would later do the same; President Obama is the fourth.) The voyage was part of a trip that was, at the time, the longest foreign voyage ever made by a sitting president, as TIME [reported](http://time.com/vault/issue/1959-12-07/page/19/): “he will travel for 19 days through 19,600 miles by plane, 270 by helicopter, 1,500 by ship, 1,000 by train and car.” The trip was an attempt to show, while visiting 11 nations, that he supported “the goals that free nations share.” More specifically, however, Eisenhower had some things to talk about with Greece’s leadership, as TIME explained: --- > “” --- But, TIME noted, Eisenhower’s visit was not just about the Cold War: when he arrived in Athens, “cheering throngs” lined the streets as he passed in a Rolls-Royce with King Paul of Greece. “Ike could see the Parthenon glowing in light on the Acropolis, the ruins of the Temple of Olympian Zeus, and a small obelisk monument to Americans who were killed in Greece’s 1821-29 war for independence from the Ottoman Empire,” the magazine continued, before he laid a wreath at that monument. As the crows cheered, he was seen to laugh in joy over the happy welcome he received. “I think he’s absolutely getting to love this,” a staffer told TIME’s reporter. “He doesn’t say so, but he’d have to be superhuman not to feel this way.” **_Read the full story, here in the TIME Vault:_** [Pages of History](http://time.com/vault/issue/1959-12-28/page/11/) ## Transcript [ INAUDIBLE ] Before this summer, the life of a Greek coast guard wasn't all that exciting. Nights were spent patrolling up and down the Greek maritime border with Turkey, looking for poachers and smugglers. But then as the weather improved this spring, the migrant boats started coming across. Each one with about 40 people Most of them trying to flee the war in Syria. [ FOREIGN ] By the end of August, the Coast Guards were catching up to ten of these boats on a single night's patrol. It's a dangerous crossing, and nearly 3, 000 people have drowned this year while trying to reach Greece on these rickety boats. [ MUSIC ] So these days the Coast Guard's mission is not to turn the migrants away, but to rescue them. For that they have to earn their trust. [ FOREIGN ] [ FOREIGN ] [ FOREIGN ] Human traffickers who load these boats tell migrants not to stop until they reach a Greek island. So most boats try to plow ahead, even as the Coast Guard approaches. You do not know what you're doing. [ MUSIC ] One night in early September, when Tyme went on a night patrol with the Coast Guards, a migrant boat even rammed into the side of their ship while trying to escape. [ CROSSTALK ] Okay, okay. That maneuver could easily have sunk the boat and its driver got slapped around for it once the coast guards pulled him safely onboard along with his fellow migrants. [ FOREIGN ] [ FOREIGN ] [ FOREIGN ] [ FOREIGN ] [ MUSIC ] From there, migrants are brought to the naval base on the Island of Farmakonisi. By that point, their relief sets in. They've reached European shores. [ FOREIGN ] [ MUSIC ] And after a cigarette break, the Coast Guards then set out to catch the next boat. It is a seemingly endless routine. [ FOREIGN ] [ MUSIC ] For every boat they rescue this way, many others slip past and reach a Greek island. Then all the Coast Guards can do is watch the migrants scramble onto the beaches, and make sure there are no armed traffickers trying to escape the scene. [ BLANK_AUDIO ] By morning, the migrants are brought to the island of Leros, where they are registered by the police. [ BLANK_AUDIO ] [ MUSIC ] They will eventually travel farther North and join the tide of asylum seekers now making the way to Western Europe. 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