Private holders of Greek government debt have agreed to restructuring their holdings accept new securities with face value of less than half the original amount. The new agreement triggered the credit default swap payments for those participating in such swaps.
According to This Time Is Different, the last time Greece defaulted on its sovereign debt was 1932. 80 years between defaults is pretty good for Greece. It provides reminders to others that sovereign debt has its risks as well as other types of debt.
Global Index Group 
[…] some Greeks are moving to a digital currency, Local Alternative Units. The Greek government has defaulted on its debts, so it is difficult for normal Greek citizens to engage in normal banking functions. One suspects […]
[…] the default of the Greek government and the general concern on the part of investors about the creditworthiness of European […]
[…] Democracies around the world are having trouble balancing their government deficits as the people demand more and more from their governments while not wanting to pay the requisite level of taxes. The level of government promises today remind us of the level of reparations payments required of the German people in the Treaty of Versailles after World War I. The German people did not understand what was happening to them, but after high budget deficits and ever increasing money supply growth to pay the debts helped prop up the German economy for a while, then the Germans suffered through one of the worst hyperinflations in the history of the world. The economic collapse led to a moral collapse in the German society and to Hitler coming to power. One of the truly sad events in history. […]