Hellenisms : Culture, Identity, and Ethnicity From Antiquity to Modernity

The volume casts a fresh look at the multifaceted expressions of diachronic Hellenisms. A distinguished interdisciplinary group of historians, classicists, anthropologists, ethnographers, cultural studies, and comparative literature scholars contribute original essays exploring Greek ethnicity from 750 BCE to 2005CE. Given the scarcity of books on diachronic Hellenism in the English-speaking world, the publication of this volume represents nothing less than a breakthrough. The book provides a valuable forum to reflect on Hellenism, and is certain to generate further academic interest in the topic. The specific contribution of this volume consists in the fact that it sets out to offer a much-needed public dialogue between disparate voices, and explores a variety of different Hellenisms and in the process proves this very possibility of 'polyphony'.Topics explored range from European Philhellenism to Hellenic Hellenism, from Athens 2004 Olympics to Greek film, from a psychoanalytical engagement with anthropological material to a subtle ethnographic analysis of Greek-American women's material culture. The introduction and the afterword constructively contextualize this interdisciplinary dialogue on Hellenism, explore its potential for the reader, and map future research directions. The readership envisaged is both academic and non-specialist; with this aim in mind, all quotations from ancient and modern sources in foreign languages have been translated into English. This volume casts a fresh look at the multifaceted expressions of diachronic Hellenisms. A distinguished group of historians, classicists, anthropologists, ethnographers, cultural studies, and comparative literature scholars contribute essays exploring the variegated mantles of Greek ethnicity, and the legacy of Greek culture for the ancient and modern Greeks in the homeland and the diaspora, as well as for the ancient Romans and the modern Europeans. Given the scarcity of books on diachronic Hellenism in the English-speaking world, the publication of this volume represents nothing less than a breakthrough. The book provides a valuable forum to reflect on Hellenism, and is certain to generate further academic interest in the topic. The specific contribution of this volume lies in the fact that it problematizes the fluidity of Hellenism and offers a much-needed public dialogue between disparate viewpoints, in the process making a case for the existence and viability of such a polyphony. The chapters in this volume offer a reorientation of the study of Hellenism away from a binary perception to approaches giving priority to fluidity, hybridity, and multi-vocality. The volume also deals with issues of recycling tradition, cultural category, and perceptions of ethnicity. Topics explored range from European Philhellenism to Hellenic Hellenism, from the Athens 2004 Olympics to Greek cinema, from a psychoanalytical engagement with anthropological material to a subtle ethnographic analysis of Greek-American women's material culture. The readership envisaged is both academic and non-specialist; with this aim in mind, all quotations from ancient and modern sources in foreign languages have been translated into English. Contents......Page 6 Preface......Page 8 List of Contributors......Page 10 Notes on Transliteration......Page 14 List of Abbreviations......Page 16 Introduction......Page 18 Part I: Hellenic Culture and Identity from Antiquity to Byzantium......Page 36 Herodotus' Four Markers of Greek Identity......Page 38 Greek Identity in the Archaic and Classical Periods......Page 54 Greek Identity in the Hellenistic Period......Page 76 Graecia Capta: The Confrontation between Greekand Roman Identity......Page 96 Hellenic Identity, Romanitas,and Christianity in Byzantium......Page 144 Part II:Cultural Legacies Traveling Hellenisms: Mediterranean Antiquity,European Legacies, and Modern Greece......Page 166 Philhellenism, Cosmopolitanism, Nationalism......Page 168 Philhellenic Promises and Hellenic Visions:Korais and the Discourses of the Enlightenment......Page 186 Hellenism and the Making of Modern Greece:Time, Language, Space......Page 218 The Quest for Hellenism: Religion, Nationalism,and Collective Identities in Greece, 1453-1913......Page 254 Part III:Ethnic Identity: Places, Contexts, Movement Facets of Hellenism:Hellas, Europe, Modern Greece, Diaspora......Page 288 Dreams of Treasure: Temporality, Historicization,and the Unconscious......Page 290 Cultural Difference as National Identity inModern Greece......Page 314 "Reel" Hellenisms: Perceptions of Greece in Greek Cinema......Page 338 Against Cultural Loss: Immigration, Life History,and the Enduring "Vernacular"......Page 372 Greek-American Identity: What Women's Handwork Tells Us......Page 396 Bibliography......Page 416 Select Glossary......Page 474 Index......Page 478