
This was the week Greece made history by defaulting on its €1.55bn debt to the International Monetary Fund (IMF), becoming the first developed economy to miss a repayment.
Its banks closed, the Athens stock exchange was shut, and cash machine withdrawals were capped at €60.
A snap referendum was called by prime minister Alexis Tsipras to let the Greek people determine the country's fate – accept a bailout deal from their international creditors, or reject it in a move widely seen as a vote for Eurozone withdrawal.
Greek voters have a stark decision to make on Sunday, but their crisis is a murky one in which myths abound...
1. Grexit is now inevitable
Unable to repay its IMF debt, Greece is now in default – something which assures the country's exit from Europe. Or so it has been argued.
While the situation is perilously close to the point of no return, a Grexit is still not a sure thing.
From a legal standpoint, Greece's default does not entail automatic Eurozone expulsion. Addressing the European Parliament in April, Victor Constancio – VP of the European Central Bank (ECB) – said he was "convinced" a Greek exit would not result from a missed repayment, adding: "The treaty doesn't foresee that a country can be formally legally expelled from the euro."
However, a 'No' vote in Sunday's referendum on whether Greece should accept fresh bailout proposals would, it is widely believed, be the death knell for the country's Eurozone membership.
2. Greece alone is to blame for the debt crisis
It is easy to point the finger of blame in situations as desperate as this one, but it would be wrong to say Greece is solely responsible.
As vulnerable to market forces as any country in the world economy, Greece was crippled by the global financial meltdown in 2008. Fiscal mismanagement followed, veering the state toward bankruptcy.
While bailouts from the IMF – alongside the other Troika organisations – averted catastrophe in the short term, a series of dismal misjudgements made the default almost inevitable.
From failing to restructure Greek debt to its catastrophic imposition of public sector budget cuts, the IMF must bear a significant portion of the blame for the current situation. As put by The Independent's economics editor Ben Chu:
"It has been one of the biggest economic disasters since the Second World War."