Reclaiming the Past - by Jonathan M Hall (Hardcover)

About the Book

Reclaiming 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 Argos-a city continuously inhabited for six millennia-invariably expected to encounter landscapes described in classical texts-yet 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 (1821-1830) 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 city's archaeological heritage and promoting urban development. By carefully assessing the competing knowledge claims between insiders and outsiders over Argos's rich history, Reclaiming the Past addresses pressing questions about who owns the past.

Book Synopsis

Reclaiming 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 Argos--a city continuously inhabited for six millennia--invariably expected to encounter landscapes described in classical texts--yet 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 (1821-1830) 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 city's archaeological heritage and promoting urban development. By carefully assessing the competing knowledge claims between insiders and outsiders over Argos's rich history, Reclaiming the Past addresses pressing questions about who owns the past.

Review Quotes

Offering a carefully researched history of Argos and its "archaeological heritage in the Modern Era," Reclaiming the Past delivers the kind of sophisticated and theoretically aware treatment for which Jonathan Hall is well known. Through a comprehensive portrait of a modern community coming to terms with what has become of its past, this book negotiates uneasy tensions between living up to the Arcadian dreams of Classical bibliophiles and local aspiration.

-- "Bryn Mawr Classical Review"

Hall offers an erudite interpretation of post-classical Argos's navigation and negotiation of its cultural and archaeological heritage.

-- "Choice"

About the Author

Jonathan M. Hall is the Phyllis Fay Horton Distinguished Service Professor in the Humanities at the University of Chicago. His recent books include A History of the Archaic Greek World, ca. 1200-479 BCE and Artifact and Artifice.