Description
Book SynopsisReclaiming the Past examines the post-antique history of Argos and how the city''s archaeological remains have been perceived and experienced since the late eighteenth century by both local residents and foreign visitors to the Greek Peloponnese. The first western visitors to Argosa city continuously inhabited for six millenniainvariably expected to encounter landscapes described in classical textsyet what they found fell far short of those expectations. At the same time, local meanings attributed to ancient sites reflected an understanding of the past at odds with the supposed expertise of classically educated outsiders.
Jonathan M. Hall details how new views of Argos emerged after the Greek War of Independence (18211830) with the adoption of national narratives connecting the newly independent kingdom to its ancient Hellenic past. With rising local antiquarianism at the end of the nineteenth century, new tensions surfaced between conserving the cit
Trade Review
Hall offers an erudite interpretation of post-classical Argos's navigation and negotiation of its cultural and archaeological heritage.
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Table of ContentsIntroduction: Who Owns the Past?
Part One: From Ancient History to the Modern Era
1. A Greek Town for 6,000 Years
2. The Rediscovery of Argos
3. Devastation and Reconstruction
Part Two: Reclaiming the Past
4. Safeguarding Heritage
5. A New Age of Archaeological Heritage
Conclusion: Preservation or Progress?
