Archaeological Museums in Greece (1829-1909): The Display of Archaeology

This study examines the way in which the Greek archaeological heritage was presented through Greek archaeological displays of the period 1829-1909 and outlines the history of Greek archaeological museums during the above period. The study starts by examining the impact that the West-European idealisation of ancient Greece had on the Greeks' perception of their own cultural past. It then looks at the Greek concepts of the Greek antiquity from the eighteenth century to the end of the period under study (1909). Effort is made to examine whether, or not, any obvious ideology was involved in the Greeks' attitude towards their antiquities, how this translated into practice and how it was promulgated through museum displays. This involves a delineation of modem Greek history and ideology, along with an outline of the first efforts to safeguard the antiquities before and after the formation of the modem Greek state. Emphasis is given to the official manifestation of ideology towards the antiquities, as this was expressed by the government and other authoritative institutions. Within this frame, the study then outlines the museum concept in Greece, as expressed in museum legislation and in other relevant documents. It also outlines attitudes to museum displays, implicit in museum legislation and in the language used in museum publications. The main part of the thesis "reconstructs" the displays of Greek archaeological museums during the period under study and provides a historical insight into museums' general development. Finally, the theoretical intentions to museum displays are compared with their practical application in a detailed analysis, the ultimate aim of which is to show if museum displays reflected the ideological stance of the Greek state towards the Greek archaeological heritage or if they proliferated a different message.