Beyond the Acropolis: Rethinking Athens’ Tourism Identity in the Shadow of Classical Antiquity
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2025-07-08
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en
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This thesis investigates how the commodification of Greece’s image, predominantly shaped by its Classical antiquity, influences mainstream tourism and narrows down visitors’ experiences of the country’s cultural heritage and identity. The romanticization of an “iconic” Greece has perpetuated the enduring influence of a stereotype that impacts tourists’ modern perceptions. This branding approach leads to an overreliance on the Classical age that marginalizes the representation of other sides of Greece’s culture. Focusing on the key examples of the Acropolis of Athens and its museum, this study explores how the constructed narrative of an “iconic” Greece rooted in its Classical past frames tourists’ interactions with the broader cultural landscape offered by the country. The central question driving this thesis is to what extent this emphasis on the Classical past, which characterizes Athens’ tourism branding, overshadows aspects of the city’s contemporary culture. Several cultural institutions that could be at the forefront of Athens’ tourism offering, showing visitors what Athens truly is, do not receive the required attention. For example, the Stavros Niarchos Foundation Cultural Center (SNFCC) in Athens, home to the National Library and the Greek National Opera, plays a key role in shaping the city’s evolving cultural identity. Yet, its presence to the international audience remains overlooked. In this study, I employ semi-structured interviews with visitors, participant observation, content analysis in the Acropolis Museum, and a SNFCC survey to explore how Classical imagery forms perceptions of modern Athens in tourism. The study also considers the implications of this dynamic for cultural sustainability and the diversification of Athens as a tourist destination. Ultimately, this research seeks to highlight the potential for a more balanced representation of Greek cultural identity — one that integrates both its Classical and contemporary cultural scene — to foster a richer, more inclusive cultural experience for visitors.
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