Modern antiquity: An introduction to Athenian metropolitan modernity

This essay discusses the ways in which an idealized image of classical Athens contributed towards the formation of a city in which the coexistence between the ancient and the modern, old and new convey a unique urban experience. This ‘modern antiquity’, or the socially constructed and aesthetically perceived image of the city’s past as exclusively classical was promoted by a number of different actors, from German classicists who never visited Greece, English and French travellers, to Greek governments and communities of city dwellers. The essay focuses on the role of the latter two categories in the building of modern Athens and explores three spheres where the emphasis on antiquity redefined the city’s past and hindered its modernization, namely royal decrees, local and national governmental obstructions to an organized city plan, and the various perceptions of the city’s concrete apartment buildings.