11 things about the Greek crisis you need to know

Greece's long-simmering economic crisis has finally boiled over into a full-fledged political and financial meltdown — banks are closed, Greek citizens' ability to withdraw cash from ATMs is limited, a default on Greece's debts to its fellow European countries looks overwhelmingly likely, and the odds of the country being forced to leave Europe's single currency look very strong.

Yet for all the drama, Greece itself is a rather small and economically marginal country. Consequently, a lot of the commentary about the Greek crisis sheds less light on the actual situation in Greece than it does on the political opinions of the writer. If you actually want to understand Greece, though, these are the key facts you need to know.

In Defence of Greece: 6 Myths Busted

Events in Greece are coming to a head. Over the weekend the leadership of Syriza offered the Greek people a referendum on whether to accept austerity measures – including cuts to pensions and public sector spending, and labour market de-regulation – as the conditions for obtaining funds with which to service its debt repayments. However, by all accounts Greece may be forced to leave the Eurozone before the end of the week. As Syriza has been consistently represented in the mainstream media as an irresponsible and ideologically-driven leftist government, it is important to unpack the seemingly common sense arguments against Syriza.