Book

Ours once more: folklore, ideology, and the making of modern Greece

Pella Publishing Co.New York • Published In 1986 • Pages:

By: Herzfeld, Michael.

Abstract
In this book, Herzfeld examines the role of folklorists in the building of the modern Greek nation state. He argues that folklore studies contributed significantly to the Hellenist movement in the period between Greek Independence (1821) and Greece's conclusive defeat by Turkey, short of reclaiming Constantinople, the jewel of their former Byzantine Empire, in 1924. Herzfeld examines the contradictions between Greece's pagan Hellenism and eastern Orthodox Christianity, and Byzantine and European identities. Songs of bandit-rebel bands (KLEFTS) were an important source material for folklorists who linked the songs to ancient Greek myths and ballades in an effort to identify with western Europe, while at the same time using Western powers to help them reclaim a past Byzantium glory.
Subjects
Cultural revitalization and ethnogenesis
Verbal arts
Revolution
Humanistic studies
culture
Greeks
HRAF PubDate
2003
Region
Europe
Sub Region
Southeastern Europe
Document Type
Book
Evaluation
Creator Type
Ethnologist
Document Rating
4: Excellent Secondary Data
Analyst
Ian Skoggard ; 2002
Field Date
not specified
Coverage Date
1453-1922
Coverage Place
Greece
Notes
Michael Herzfeld
Includes bibliographical references (p. 165-197)
LCCN
86062459
LCSH
Greece