The 19th century and the invention of an ancient greek city: Revisiting fustel de coulanges

Abstract

From Numa Denis Fustel de Coulanges, La Cité Antique (The Ancient City) is one of the most important works of the second half of the nineteenth century, whose influence on the French historiography up to 1930 was singular, and also inspired many reflections in the second half of the twentieth century. This article aims to re-evaluate this oeuvre, considering the contemporary criticism, aiming to broaden, especially in the Brazilian historiography, the debates around one of the works that were the basis for many generations of historians, archaeologists, and scholars of ancient literature.