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Thanks for the Memories: The Athenian Agora as a Lieu de Mémoire

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posted on 2021-12-08, 23:12 authored by Liu, Ziming

The relationship between memory and place can often be expressed through association. When one thinks of the birthplace of democracy, it does not tax the imagination for Athens and the Athenian Agora to spring to mind. The fact that the connection between the agora and democracy is so embedded in the collective consciousness even today is no coincidence. Rather, it is evidence of a naturally occurring space at the foot of the Athenian Akropolis undergoing several millennia of transformative experiences, shaping and being shaped by the identities of its inhabitants, in order to become the place now recognised as the Athenian Agora: the heart of Athens, the birthplace of democracy, and truly, a lieu de mémoire. A transformative process, which I argue, began at the end of 6th century Athens with the collapse of the Peisistratid tyranny and was only strengthened by the advent of oligarchy in the final decade of the 5th century.

History

Copyright Date

2020-01-01

Date of Award

2020-01-01

Publisher

Te Herenga Waka—Victoria University of Wellington

Rights License

Author Retains Copyright

Degree Discipline

Classics

Degree Grantor

Te Herenga Waka—Victoria University of Wellington

Degree Level

Masters

Degree Name

Master of Arts

ANZSRC Type Of Activity code

1 PURE BASIC RESEARCH

Victoria University of Wellington Item Type

Awarded Research Masters Thesis

Language

en_NZ

Victoria University of Wellington School

School of Art History, Classics and Religious Studies

Advisors

Kierstead, James