Ancient Monuments and Modern Identities sets out to examine the role of archaeology in the creation of ethnic, national and social identities in 19th and 20th century Greece. The essays included in this volume examine the development of interpretative and methodological principles guiding the recovery, protection and interpretation of mate

List of FiguresList of ContributorsEditors’ PrefaceList of AbbreviationsIntroduction: Ancient monuments and modern identitiesSofia Voutsaki1. The provenance of Greek painted vases: disciplinary debates and modern identities in the early 19th centuryGiovanna Ceserani2. Travellers and ruins in the Spartan landscape: a ghost storyParaskevas Matalas3. The reception of J.J. Winckelmann by Greek scholarship during the formative stage of the Modern Greek state (1832–1862)Irene Fatsea4. The legal protection of antiquities in Greece and national identityDaphne Voudouri5. Displaying archaeology - exhibiting ideology in 19th and early 20th century Greek museumsAndromache Gazi6. Archaeology and politics: The Greek-German Olympia excavations treaty, 1869-1875Thanassis N. Bohotis7. The Hellenization of the prehistoric past: the search for Greek identity in the work of Christos TsountasSofia Voutsaki8. 'The stamp of national life': plaster casts and their uses in Greece at the end of the 19th centuryAlexandra Alexandri9. Beyond the debt to Antiquity: constructing a national architecture for Modern GreeceEleni Bastéa10. Are histories of archaeology good to think with?Michael Fotiadis11. Why should the state protect the cultural heritage? The answer offered by Greek lawVassilis VoutsakisIndex

"Ancient Monuments and Modern Identities is a valuable work for academics and students of classical archaeology, providing a nuanced and multifaceted investigation of the use and impact of Greek archaeology on modern and contemporary European identity. The volume manages to be at once pleasant to read, historically informative, and critically elucidating, without overbearing or heavy-handed authorial perspectives on the processes investigated... this volume is diverse and nuanced, broad and considered. The authors are all distinctive, but all treat their subject matters with a deft and insightful touch, bearing in mind both the abstract considerations of the subject matter and the human relevance of the discourse. The volume is thought-provoking and insightful, and will well serve any scholar or student interested in the human implications of their scholarship." - Journal of Eastern Mediterranean Archaeology and Heritage Studies