Commemorations of the Greek Revolution: Places of memory and national identity
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Title
Commemorations of the Greek Revolution: Places of memory and national identity
Alternative Title
Les commémorations de la Révolution Grecque: lieux de mémoire et identité nationale
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Date
21 October 2021
Abstract
Already in 1822, the Greek revolutionaries wanted to commemorate the declaration of Greek independence in Epidaurus by erecting a modern monument hitherto unseen in the Ottoman Empire. After the creation of the state (1830), the construction of monuments was linked to irredentism and the educational role of public sculpture. The living memory of the heroic past was supposed to be necessary for national regeneration through the realisation of the Great Idea. Memory therefore became a national heritage that should be passed on to the next generations. Memorial moments (1871, 1921, 1930) played a special role in building the national pantheon and standardising symbolic images and heroic figures who will gradually be recognised as ancestors. This paper analyses how modern Greece commemorated its real or imaginary pasts, focusing on the revolutionary past (1821-1831): what were the processes of constructing places of memory and how did memory policies become the arena of social and political conflict? Historical painting, monuments, popular shows, historical processions, military parades, national holidays etc. will provide the documentation necessary to discuss how the historical past was represented, staged, perceived and consumed during the 19th and 20th centuries. The analysis of the commemorative practices of the first century of Greek independence will lead to a reflection on the commemoration of the bicentenary of 2021.
(Slightly modified abstract from the conference programme)
From the description of the lecture, as it was published on the website of the French School at Athens.
(Slightly modified abstract from the conference programme)
From the description of the lecture, as it was published on the website of the French School at Athens.
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BY-NC-ND Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives CC0 No Rights Reserved
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