The country was condemned by the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) for discrimination two years ago.
But in a result announced early yesterday, MPs voted 193-56 in favour of a Bill to extend civil partnerships to same-sex couples.
However, provisions regarding family law that could pave the way for adoption applications by gay couples were dropped before the vote.
Orthodox Christian bishops had vehemently opposed the law, arguing that it undermined the family.
In 2013, the ECHR ruled that Greek law was discriminatory and ordered Athens to pay damages to the gay couples who had brought the case.
MPs from the governing Syriza party backed the Bill, standing to clap when it passed yesterday.
Communist Party of Greece MPs joined the far-right Golden Dawn party in unanimously opposing same-sex partnerships.
Several hundred pro-gay rights demonstrators had gathered outside parliament before the vote, under a large banner bearing the words: “Love is the law.”
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