Continuity, identity and folk studies in Greece

Abstract

This article will focus on folk studies in Greece and the role they played both in the creation of the Greek national state and in the shaping of Greek identity. The Great Idea, the official ideology of the Greek state from 1843 to 1922, exercised influence both on the formation and the development of folklore studies. This specific idea of expanding the boundaries of Greece by way of liberating other areas inhabited by Greeks, located outside the Greek national borders of the time, outlined the framework for the folklore studies and defined their relationship with the ancient Greeks and their culture. Thus, the key concept in dealing with the Great Idea is the theory of continuity which is common ground in folk studies around the world. The article is an effort to illuminate folklore studies and Greek folklorists' attitude against basic concepts such as national state, identity, continuity.