Fouseki, K; (2015) ‘Live your myth in Greece’: The reception of myth represented in tourist shops at the historic centre of Athens. In: Petrides, A and Efthymiades, S, (eds.) Μυθοπλασίες: Χρήση και Πρόσληψη των Αρχαίων Μύθων από την Αρχαιότητα μέχρι Σήμερα. (pp. 369-385). Εκδοτικός Όμιλος Ίων: Athens, Greece.

Text Fouseki_MYTHOPLASIES_369-386 kef18.pdf Access restricted to UCL open access staff Download (10MB)

Abstract

The reception of material and immaterial culture and heritage is a rapidly growing field. Indeed, scholars representing a variety of disciplines, such as anthropology, sociology, classics, public archaeology, heritage studies – to name just a few- have been investigating the reception of the ‘past’, in its widest sense, from different and diverse perspectives. This paper adopts a cross-disciplinary methodological and theoretical approach. Although this research is still at its initial stages, the analytical approach that this paper introduces is vital for understanding people’s interaction with the ‘past’. The element of the ‘past’ that has been chosen for analysis is the depiction of ancient Greek myth on tourist shops located in the historic centre of Athens (Plaka). The paper will demonstrate through a semiotic and ethnographic approach the ways in which the representation of myth projects dominant national discourses. Simultaneously, the paper will reveal the personal reasons for shop owners to select a particular mythical figure or theme for naming their shop. Thus this paper will focus on analysing the reception of myth during its ‘production’ – the selection by shop owners – and its ‘consumption’ by tourists and everyday citizens.

Download activity - last month

Export as JSONXMLCSV

Download activity - last 12 months

Export as CSVXMLJSON

Downloads by country - last 12 months

Export as JSONXMLCSV

Archive Staff Only

View Item